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

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

When creating my media product of which was a Music Video I had to ensure it would come across as realistic and professional, to do this I researched into existing media products and created a list of key conventions of a music video.

 Firstly the genre, being drum and bass, I had to make my video look as if it were an existing drum and bass music video and use specific shots, angles and editing preferences as well as props costumes and settings. This all falls into the representation of my music video in which I tried to create a surreal and dream like video by shooting it in strange settings for example an underground car park, an empty pub and use specific camera angles that created an eerie feeling as if the model himself is being watched and followed throughout my video. Not only did I do this but I intended to conjoin the use of black and white and distorted editing to make my video as visually pleasing as possible and make the viewer feel as if its something they can relate too. I also had to ensure that the costumes used would be recognised by my target audience as something they would wear and create a bond making the audience feel a friendship growing with my model.

In terms of Andrew Goodwin’s theory that music video lyrics have to intertwine with the narrative, I have challenged this as I have not made my narrative clear as you only have a rough indication of what’s actually going on, however by the feedback gained my audience enjoyed this as it lets you interpret my video pretty much anyway you want allowing your mind to wonder and let you enjoy the music video to your taste. The song used by Miike Snow – Black and Blue however is a very emotionally related song, and in parts of my music video certain hints are given off to enhance the emotion whether it being a happy atmosphere or sad. After allowing my music video to have a rough narrative structure it enhanced the use of my ‘flashbacks’ and the sense of what if? Therefore really allowing my audience to question the music video. Furthermore Andrew Goodwin’s theory’s states that music can be used to amplify emotions and moods of which my music video conforms by having a sad storyline in relation to the lyrics of my chosen song therefore amplifying the emotion of the song and also leaving the video ending on a vague note.

When thinking about representation in my music video I had originally focused on using a sense of ‘love’ in a relation to the song lyrics, however decided to switch it up and focus on the idea of life and time and how making certain decisions can affect you in several ways, I believe this related to my target audience significantly as my audience is aged between 18-25 where themselves have to make big decisions about life. Themes of alcohol and going out also relate to my intended audience as nowadays it is a big part of ‘teenage life’.

In addition to Genre when filming my music video the whole look of the video had to be thoroughly planned and though about, for example I had to ensure it looked like an existing drum and bass music video. I did this by making a list of 2 main factors – shot’s and editing. This helped me reach my target as firstly I gathered similar shots that I had seen in other drum and bass videos such as extreme close up’s, CCTV shots, long shots, lots of panning and finally reversed shots I then took these shots and used editing to match existing videos for example I made choices to edit in black and white, use lots of dip to white and black, strobe effects and distorted videos to match the style of song and genre I was portraying.

Another main factor in my music video, which makes it aesthetically pleasing, is my focus on locations and my diverse use of shots at these locations. When beginning to film my music video I had to make sure all the locations would merge nicely and relate to my audience however I also wanted to feature an urban feel to my video therefore I gelled the two themes together and featured pub’s, underground car park’s, house’s, streets and alleyway’s to create a more teen related out look on my video.

Overall I am very pleased with my finished product and believe I have met all the requirements to make it look like an existing drum and bass music video with surreal and abstract themes that relate to my intended audience.