Evaluation Question 1

Evaluation of Media Products

Explain what your brief was:

The brief of my media production was to in a group; create a music video for a song of up to 5 minutes of our own chosen genre. To accompany the music video I would create, I had to produce two ancillary products; a magazine advert and a digipak, which would help to promote the artists music.

Introduce group members:

For creating my music video I was in a group that consisted of 3 other individuals. The first was Daisy Morecroft, who I have previously worked with for the production of our AS level opening thriller video. Working together proved a success and therefore we decided to continue working together as we believed we had learnt each other’s strengths and weaknesses and therefore we believed we would be able to successfully produce a conventional music video as a team. In addition to this my second group member was Ella Sutherland. I decided that Ella would be perfect to work with us as a group as she has an extremely high interest in camera work and has a keen eye for detail. Therefore working with her was likely to improve the quality of our music video and I believed we would work efficiently together. My third group member is Millie Cooper, whom I have also not worked with before. This did not prove an issue as once we started on the pre production process we all worked extremely well together which therefore allowed us to create a more appealing  music video as we were able to communicate ideas effectively.

Explain what your role was and what you were responsible for and what you learnt from it:

Within my group we discussed the allocation of roles and responsibilities before the production of the music video so that we all had an equal input into the process of creating the music video. I was allocated with the role of director as I had previously experimented with this role, alongside Daisy Morecroft in the production of the thriller. In addition to this, as a group we believed that I had a clear vision of what we anticipated the outcome of the music video to be. Therefore we all believed that by taking upon this role I would be able to help the process of the production of our music video run smoothly, resulting in a high quality music video that we all hoped to produce. My group member; Daisy Morecroft, was allocated the role of Sound Technician. She was therefore in charge of finding an appropriate song of the indie genre that we had chosen to create a music video to. As a group we believed that Daisy was the ideal group member for this role as she has the greatest interest in indie music out of all our group members and in turn we felt she would be able to successfully choose an ideal song that we could make a music video to. As a group we allocated the role of Camera Operator to Ella Sutherland. This is because we also believed that she had a clear idea of how we anticipated the outcome of the music video to be. In addition to this we thought that Ella would be good at framing specific camera shots to benefit the quality of the music video. My final group member; Millie Cooper, was allocated the role of location manager and being in charge of equipment and iconography. As a group we believed this would be the ideal role for Millie as she is organised and would therefore ensure that locations, equipment and iconography were all organised and suitable for each day of filming. Within my group we decided that we should all take upon the role of editing our music video. This is so that we would all have an equal input into the outcome of our final music video, and would be able to experiment with our own separate ideas that we may have come up with during the filming and editing process. From taking upon the role of director and sharing the role of editor I learnt that a lot regarding the production process of a music video. From the role of director I learnt that planning before the filming process is vital to reduce wasted time on the day. I also learnt that having a clear idea of the outcome you anticipate allows the directing of the music video to run more smoothly. From sharing the role of editor I was able to increase my range of knowledge of the Final Cut programme that we used to edit our music video. I also learnt of how accurate camera shots and timings had to be due to working alongside a song.

Did your group work well within a group?

Working well as a group was paramount so that we would be able to produce a successful music video that all group members were happy with. Fortunately my group worked extremely well together which meant the process for producing our music video was something that we all enjoyed and were able to complete with a somewhat ease. One of the reasons my group worked exceptionally well together was due to us all individually par taking in each process that we had to complete during the production of our music video. This allowed us to all have an equal input which meant the final music video we created was how we all anticipated and in turn we were all extremely satisfied with the outcome.

Explain if you think you have made a successful music video and ancillary texts:

I think that as a group we successfully produced a conventional music video and ancillary products to promote my artists music. As a group we decided to create a conventional indie music video to the song ‘Noserings and Shoestrings’ by Nina Nesbitt. We were firstly introduced to this artist by my group member Daisy Morecroft who has been a fan of her music since she first entered into the music industry. As a group we all decided that we liked her music and in turn we all chose to create a music video to her song ‘Noserings and Shoestrings’ as we believed we would be able to create a high quality, conventional music video to this song. Overall I believe that we created a successful music video and ancillary products as there was an evident link throughout with allowed each product to be consistent with the others. This therefore made the products more appealing to our target audience. Elements that were apparent in all products were the indie style clothing our artist was seen wearing, the naturalistic locations and also the employment of the acoustic guitar. These are all highly conventional indie elements and in turn allowed our products to become more conventional to the indie genre.

Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Brief – what was your production brief? What were you asked to create?

The production brief I was given was to create a music video of up to 5 minutes to a song of my choice which could be of any music genre within a group of 3-4 other people. To accompany the music video that myself and my group would produce, we had to create ancillary products that consisted of a magazine advert and a digipak which would assist in promoting our artists music. Before the production of our music video we had to make some important decisions surrounding how we anticipated executing our music video. These decisions included whether we planned on following or subverting conventions of our chosen music genre and also who our target audience would be. The decisions we had to make were supported by the fact we conducted market research and therefore gained public opinions surrounding the decisions we had to make.

What is a music video? (Explain what a music video is and explain your understanding of one – this can be the same one as your blog – include the styles and conventions)

The purpose of a music video is to promote an artist or song that they have just released which helps the audience to understand more about the meaning of the song. It usually involves a narrative that will attract the target audiences’ attention, which is likely to result in them remembering the music video as it appeals to them and relates to the meaning of the song. By the audience remembering a specific artist’s music video it may encourage them to promote that artist without even realising. If consumers introduce friends and family to that particular artist and music video it may therefore result in the artists fan base increasing. In addition to this if the narrative of a music video engages the audience it is in turn likely that they understand the meaning behind the song, which is the purpose of a music video. A music video also allows fans to buy into the artists’ lifestyle as they may be promoting a specific brand or item in their music video, which would entice a fan to go out and purchase the product. This may therefore encourage consumers to attain materialistic items to be like their desired artist, which may also work as a promotion strategy not just for the product but also the artist. This also allows the fans to build a relationship with the artist as the music video evokes aspects of the artist’s personality and way of life throughout. By having fans build a relationship with the artist it allows them to understand the messages behind their songs in much depth. This is because they understand more regarding who the artist is and in turn will recognise the meanings behind their songs. Therefore by the artist having a music video it allows them to build a deeper connection with fans. Music videos also include codes and conventions of the genre of a specific music video. For example; Drakes ‘Over; music video of the Rap genre includes conventions such as; projections, women in minimal clothing and extreme special effects. Whereas Katy Perry’s ‘Wide Awake’ music video, of the Pop genre, includes conventions such as; fictional, fairytale settings, costumes and special effects. Having music videos containing specific genre related conventions means that the audience can understand more about the artist and their music, which is a main purpose behind the production of a music video for a song.

Explain what the codes and conventions are of an indie music video, include detailed examples, to support the points you have made:

The music genre I chose within my group was indie. This was because collectively as a group we all had a great interest in this particular music genre, and therefore we thought we would be able to create a high quality music video to an indie song as we listen to them often in our everyday lives. Artists within this genre that were popular amongst our group included; Ellie Goulding, Ed Sheeran and Arctic Monkeys. There are a number of codes and conventions that are associated with the indie genre and therefore inform the audience of the songs genre visually. A beanie hat and army style boots are attire that are conventional to the indie genre and are apparent in Ellie Gouldings music video to the song ‘Your Song’. In addition to this natural locations such as a park are also conventional to the indie genre as they are simplistic and realistic to the audience. They are also popular locations for indie artists to busk in and gain potential fans. This convention can also be seen in Ellie Gouldings music video. The pace of an indie genre music video is generally slow, as this allows the audience to learn and understand the narrative/concept in more depth regarding the music video. It also gives the audience the opportunity to build a relationship with the artist. In addition to this certain effects that are employed on camera shots within indie genre music videos enforces the genre to the audience. Retro style effects help the audience understand the songs genre at their first glance, and therefore allows them to decide whether they will continue to watch the music video or not. Seeing the artist performing in their music video is also a highly conventional aspect of an indie genre music video as it informs the audience that the artist is extremely talented, and if they are seen playing an instrument it show them that they are overall talented musicians. These two specific conventions of an indie genre music video can be seen in One Night Only's’ ‘Say You Don’t Want It’ music video.

Explain if your finished music video and ancillary texts, develops or challenges your chosen music genre:

My groups finished music video and ancillary texts follow, develop and challenge the indie music genre. My music video follows conventions of an indie style music video through the iconography. I incorporated a guitar into my music video as it is an instrument that is highly recognisable with fans of the indie genre as it is what indie artists are seen playing. In addition to this my music video further follows conventions of the indie genre through the artists image with the clothing she wears. E.g. floral dress and denim jacket. These pieces of clothing relate to our target audience as they wear the same clothes and can therefore view the artist as a role model. Further to this we also develop the indie music genre through the slow pace editing style we include throughout our music video. This editing style allows the audience to fully understand the narrative and engage with the characters, and therefore enhances their experiences whilst watching the music video. It also allows the audience to build a relationship with my artist as they become a part of the narrative and therefore feel the emotions that she feels throughout. Also the locations in my music video follow the indie genre as they are simple and naturalistic, such as the forest and skate park settings. These locations allow the music video to seem realistic to the audience which therefore means they can relate to them which enhances the level of enjoyment they receive from watching. In addition to this the simplistic aspect of the artist performing in front of a white wall which we employed in our music video allows the audience to engage and build a relationship with our artist as they connect with her through the emotions she is expressing. These simplistic features allow the audience to understand the narrative through the actors in our music video and also the song itself, heightening their experiences during the viewing.

Although the skatepark location is naturalistic and simple which follows the indie conventions, it also somewhat develops the genre. This is because a skate park may not be considered as entirely simple due to the graffiti designs that are evident throughout the skate park. These designs may resemble that of a grime/hip hop type genre which therefore develops the indie music genre within my music video. In addition to this my music video develops the indie genre as it is more narrative based than performance. This is unusual for an indie genre music video as it is typically more performance based to allow the audience to develop a connection with the artist through their music. The narrative in my music video also develops the indie music genre as it is based around a rebellious character, which is not typical for an indie style music video. This is due to the characters behaviour being somewhat more relatable for a grime/hip hop music video. 

My music video also challenges the indie music genre mainly through the editing styles I incorporated. This includes the 360 degree camera shot of the artists boyfriend. This challenges the indie music genre as it is a complex editing style which is unusual for an indie genre music video to feature. In addition to this within my music video I contrasted the performance camera shots of my artist so that they appeared more brighter and of a higher quality. I did this by incorporating a glow effect onto the clips in Final Cut Pro X and altering the levels of the effect on the camera shots. This therefore makes the performance shots appear less realistic which therefore challenges the indie style music genre. 

The magazine advert develops the indie genre due to the components that my group and I have combined which create a conventional product. The background of the magazine advert is of a brick wall which is conventional to the indie genre and provides an edgy appearance to the advert. It would therefore gain vital attention from our target audience as the brick wall background would be a highly recognisable element for them. My artist in the advert is wearing indie conventional clothing, the same as in our music video, which therefore provides a link between both products. It also reinforces the genre of our music video and allows their curiosity and interests to grow surround the artist and her music. The artist is also seen holding an acoustic guitar which is highly conventional of the indie music genre as a majority of indie artists play the acoustic guitar. It is also a recognisable piece of iconography among my target audience which would therefore entice them to listen to the artists music. It may also encourage my target audience to build a relationship with the artist as they may share the same interests regarding what instruments they play. My digipak further develops the indie music genre due to the indie style components flowing through all three products which keep them consistent and visually appealing. The digipak has a recurring theme of a brick wall background and forest locations. These are conventional to the indie genre as they are simplistic and natural locations and therefore mean the digipak is relatable for the audience due to the realistic locations. The brick wall background also provides a link between the digipak and magazine advert allowing them to be visually coherent and conventional to the indie genre.