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

I chose to produce a music promo package for the song ‘Magic’. I took the original song and devised my own version of the narrative by analysing the lyrics in detail - manipulating the style, genre and form slightly. In order to create my final products, I had to go through many stages of planning and research tasks before creating my final music video; which I uploaded onto YouTube. Furthermore, I then chose to create a six-panel digipak and an album poster for my fictional artist to help promote the products, via Photoshop. I will evaluate my media texts below on the effectiveness of the use of conventions used and how this coincides with real media products. 

In order to understand media texts, there are expected conventions of both the form and the genre. The difference between the two is the form is the product and the genre is the conventions linked to the specific genre. Within a music video, there are expected conventions that an audience would expect to see in order to understand it – the singer/artist featuring in it, music, performance, lip sync, editing to the beat, narrative, cinematography, editing and mise-en-scene. Whereas, conventions of genres are different; for example, within a pop genre there would be common elements that would be usually seen - promiscuous women, lip syncing, money, fame, and many different locations.

To understand expected conventions of both form and genre, I analysed two music videos from different genres; Jay Z - 99 Problems (Rap) and Magic - Coldplay (Pop/Rock). I then devised a textual analysis on both videos to compare and contrast the different conventions within them.

Jay Z - 99 Problems

Coldplay - Magic

Textual Analysis: 'Jay-Z - 99 Problems' and 'Coldplay - Magic'

Fading into a black and white medium close up shot of stairs, immediately communicates the location of the music video: an urban area; which is an expected convention of a location for a rap song. Via the use of the black and white filter, it connotes a sense of danger and violence – which is usually stereotyped with black rap music where ‘gangs’ and  ‘hoods’ are commonly apparent. A stedicam is used to film parts of the urban area where the location of the video is set – shown on screen are snippets of tall buildings and graffiti on the walls – creating a negative feel for the audience. The opening lyrics of the song “If you’re having girl problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one” suggests how males in ‘gangs’ perhaps view their girls as being a sexual object (Laura Mulvey) - Jay Z is referring to his girl as a ‘bitch’; connoting negativity and that she is there to be used whenever he feels necessary, as she is just an object to him. 

A low angle is used when Jay-Z first appears on screen to make him appear tough and hard. Shown to be wearing a hoodie and baggy jacket along with a big necklace implies that he is a gangster from the hood. This idea is reinforced by the lyrics “I’m from the hood”. Simple cuts are used throughout the video to change shots – helping to create continuity within the editing. The use of a canted angle and slow motion is often used – creating the idea that perhaps Jay Z’s thoughts are confused due to the fact he is from a gang and could be associated with drugs– therefore, as an audience we stereotype that he is all bad (Tessa Perkins – Stereotypes). 

Via the use of mise-en-scene, it adds to the convention of the genre - rap music through the use of props; guns, police, fighting, promiscuous women, rough dogs and raves. These props correspond to the explicit lyrics within the song “nigga”, “pussy”, “fucking”, “shit”. Together, these things represent a corrupt image for the youth living in the hood. However, through the lyrics, Jay Z addresses the fact that most young black lads are stereotyped for being bad so get picked on by the police– “Am I under arrest or should I guess some mo? “Well you was doing fifty five in a fifty four. License and registration and step out of the car, are you carrying a weapon on you I know a lot of you are””. These lyrics show the harsh reality of how some black males get treated purely due to their ethnic origin. 

Editing the different shots to the beat of the song creates an effective and interesting media text to follow – keeping the audience interested. A tracking shot is used to follow Jay Z around the hood almost like he is taking the audience on a tour of where he came from; the urban streets. As Jay Z is now a self-maid multi-millionaire, the video represents the idea that anybody can make something out of themselves no matter where they come from – proving that they don’t have to conform to their stereotypical label.

Like Jay Z’s – 99 Problems, Magic by Coldplay fades into a black screen. However, it soon differs as white writing appears on screen “A Jonas Akerlund film” whilst non-diegetic music plays in the background; the opening introduces the video almost as if it’s an old fashioned movie – revealing the cast members staring in it (‘Cecile – a beautiful young magician’, ‘Claude – her mustachioed husband, the famous but drunk magician’ and ‘Christophe – her assistant’). As the music fades out, via the use of editing, a fade in transition is used; revealing a white dove on screen. White doves portray purity – hence, the fact the dove is circling around Chris Martin (lead singer of Coldplay playing Christophe) suggests that he is the protagonist in the story. Similarly to ’99 Problems’, a black and white filter is used - conversely, instead of connoting danger it implies a sense of mystery – adhering to the title of the song ‘Magic’.  Next, a long shot reveals to the audience the location of the video: a magic show where the plot begins to develop.

Unlike ’99 Problems’, the structure of ‘Magic’ follows Tzvetan Todorov’s (1977) narrative theory – where a media text follows a simple 5 staged narrative structure. Stage 1: A point of stable equilibrium, where everything is satisfied, calm and normal – all actors are ploughing along with their obtained roles. Stage 2: This stability is disrupted by some kind of force, which creates a state of disequilibrium – Christophe decides to start trying magic as he likes Cecile which upsets Claude. Stage 3: Recognition that a disruption has taken place – Christophe sees that Claude has been abusing Cecile due to his drunken antics. Stage 4: It is only possible to re-create equilibrium through action directed against the disruption – Christophe devises a great magic trick and comes up with a plant to get rid of Claude. Stage 5: Restoration of a new state of equilibrium. The consequences of the reaction is to change the world of the narrative and/or the characters so that the final state of equilibrium is not the same as the initial state – Christophe performs a magic trick on Claude to make him go away and Cecile and Christophe result in being happily left alone together. Through this narrative structure, the music video acts as short film – whereas, ’99 Problems’ conforms to the stereotypical music video – including the expected conventions of lip singing, editing to the beat and a performance. 

Within the music video ‘Magic’, the variety of shot types are more varied – unlike ’99 problems’. For example, there are close ups, long shots, over the shoulder shots, extreme close ups, low angles and shot reverse shots; along with fading transitions to different scenes. This wide range of cinematography and editing adds to the development of the narrative, whilst keeping the audience interested. Furthermore, the video conforms to the stereotypical conventions of the pop genre – due to the main star being focused on throughout (Richard Dyer – Star Theory). Although there are 4 members in the band Coldplay, only Chris Martin gets shown in the video – following Dyer’s idea that viewers perception of a film is heavily influenced by the perception of its starts and that publicity materials and reviews determine the ay that audiences experience a media text. Therefore, as Chris is the most popular member of the band, viewers will watch the video purely to see his performance.

To conclude, from my in-depth textual analysis of two different genres – rap and pop/rock, it is clear that different genres contain different conventions - making distinct recognisable conventions within music media texts for different genres. However, both videos conform to expected conventions of music videos, in order for audiences to understand them. These include the artist/singer featuring in it, music, performance, narrative and micro technical elements – mise en scene, editing, cinematography and sound. By completing this textual analysis of two existing music video, it has allowed me to understand different forms and conventions - therefore, I could pick and choose which ones i needed/wanted to incorporate into my music video. 

For my product, I chose to flout the typical conventions of a pop music video as I didn’t include the artist lip-syncing and didn’t adhere to the typical conventions of the pop genre. Instead, I focused heavily upon the narrative to tell the story; through the use of contemporary dance and magic scenes of Amelia and Henry, I devised a story about love in a simple but effective way. I did this in order to make my music video stand out, due to the music market being very competitive. I have completed a textual analyses of my own music video – including how the use of mise-en-scene, editing, cinematography and sound is used to make an appealing and enjoyable music video.

https://youtu.be/fgca0UJjl2E

Within my music video I tried to make my work look as professional as possible. Through research, I have found that there is always a connection and a link between the lyrics of the song and the visuals; this is common to keep a solid narrative. Therefore, I devised a lyric analysis to my chosen song, in order to understand it before I came to any planning.

Lyrics within a song create a link between the artist and their experiences which they are portraying to the audience through singing. Therefore, by analysing the lyrics of ‘Magic’ in depth, I was able to devise my narrative to reflect the story told from the lyrics. To show how I did this I have made the following prezi:


http://prezi.com/kgj13zg2ahwd/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share


Lighting

For the dancing scenes of the music video, I felt it was extremely important to get the lighting right – in order to create and set the mood of the narrative: a relationship breaking down. Therefore, I researched into existing music videos with a similar narrative (love story) and took note of the lighting used. 

Within the following three existing music videos (below), I found that a similar idea was used for the lighting – dark lighting with a blue tint and a spotlight. I feel that this look creates the perfect mood for the opening of my music video; a magical / intriguing tone with the only focus upon Amelia - the main star in the music video. Furthermore, I feel that the lighting adheres to Richard Dyer’s ‘Star Theory’; the idea that viewers perception of a film is heavily influenced by the perception of its stars and that publicity materials and reviews determine the way that audiences experience a media text; meaning that the audience will view my video and automatically identify Amelia as the main role as the focus and attention is upon her.

Ellie Goulding - 'Love Me Like You Do'

Ariana Grande - 'Love Me Harder'

Beyonce - 'Halo' (Live)

My Music Video

Colour

I used colour in my video to represent different periods of time and locations. I chose to use a black and white filter effect for the magic scenes of Amelia and Henry together to represent that they were in the past. I thought that by doing this, the narrative is easier to understand for the audience. The original ‘Magic’ music video by ‘Coldplay’ is all filmed in a black and white effect; which is where I got my inspiration from. I thought that it made the music video appear really interesting so decided to incorporate it into parts of my own. Furthermore, as I already challenged conventions of a pop / rock song by creating a romance genre for the music video, I thought that by changing the colour kept the individuality of my video.

Magic - Coldplay

Magic - Greta Swift

Digipak

Information

Digipacks are a casing/cover for either a CD or Vinyl, which is produced to promote, protect and portray an idea of what the album is about. Digipack’s are typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs. The digipack is often looked at in such a way that it is a premium style or deluxe way of keeping the tracks. However, in today’s post-modern society, technology has advanced and the music industry has changed. Everything is now bought through online forums, downloads or conglomerates such as YouTube, ITunes, or Spotify.

Digipacks often include things like extra CD’s, bonus tracks or a DVD with behind the scene features. It gives a personality and identity to the artist and gives them a chance to show their fans more information about themselves, as well as just listening to their music. Furthermore, it plays a part of establishing the artist as a recognisable brand and creating familiarity with its audience; meaning that fans than own one album will be subconsciously drawn to an advert for a new album release.

Existing Digipack's 

Maroon 5’ digipack was influenced by painter ‘Pablo Picasso’ which is clear from the album covers. The print used includes bright colours, primarily pink, which makes the title ‘Overexposed’ stand out; attracting customers on a shop shelf or online. Furthermore, their album cover is very different as it incorporates surrealistic cartoon like drawings collages together. Furthermore, there is also a parental advisory sticker to highlight the use of explicit language within the lyrics of their songs, separating their music from a younger audience.




Red Hot Chilli Peppers ‘I’m With You’ digipack contrasts to Maroons 5’ in many different ways. The minimal artwork, which can be seen on the left, was unveiled via the band’s mailing list. The album art was designed by Damien Hirst – which Chill Peppers front man Anthony Kiedis said “Its art. Iconic. We didn’t give it it’s meaning but it’s clearly open to interpretation”. Their album cover is quite the opposite too Maroons 5’s as hardly any colour has been used, there is no parental advisory sticker and it conveys a calm tenor to their music; which in fact juxtaposes to their rock style songs. In December 2011, Q voted the album cover art as one of the best album covers of 2011.

My Digipack

From researching into exiting digipaks, I came to the conclusion that intertextuality is a key feature to include and consider when creating my own – the images and font often links it to its merchandises and to other promotional materials; in order to keep familiarity with the audience and continuity through house style. I also realised that there is a close relationship with the digipak design and target audience, as well as it linking directly to the genre of the music – each genre usually having identifiable characteristics and conventions. Digipak’s of my genre (Pop/Rock) are usually very outgoing with bright colours and images. However, it is clear that these stereotypical conventions are also flouted due to ‘Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ album cover being quite the opposite. Therefore, when creating my digipak, I have explored different options until I come up with the suitable fitting digipak for my album.

In order to make my digipak appear professional looking, I have used all the relative conventions:

• Barcode
• Copyright Infringements
• Artist Webpage
• Label Logos
• Track list
• Album Title
• Album Name
• Main Images

The following video shows how I layered the digipak from a blank page to the final version.

https://youtu.be/Rt7giVMtMrc

Within this video, I demonstrate how each layer adds something new to the digipak; showing the transformation from start to finish. At the end of the video, I rotate the image 180 degrees to show how it looks from all angles.

Inspiration

From researching into many different existing albums, I gathered inspiration into creating my own.



This front cover from the ACDC 'Back in Black' album inspired me for my own - due to the simplicity and colour. I liked how the band's name is placed at the top, in the centre with the album name just below. I thought that the white colour of the text contrasts well with the plain black background. However, I didn't like how there was no main image - therefore, decided to add one into my album cover. Also, I added more colour onto my album cover to make it stand out. I kept the continuity of the blue/purple dress - so incorporated these colours into the album name and the artist name.

In order to make my products look as professional as possible, I made sure that I included also the essential logos, copyright messages and information. From thorough research, I chose an existing music label which fitted best with my pop/rock genre: Interscope Records. 

I also researched into how to conduct a real copyright message: © 2016 Amelia Lauren under exclusive license to Interscope Records. A Universal Music Company. (P) 2016 Amelia Lauren. All recording is owned by Amelia Lauren. Warning: All rights reserved. Unauthorised copying, reproduction, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting prohibited. Manufactured and distributed in USA by Universal Music Distribution.

Poster

Album Advertisements

From looking at these two advertisements, I realised that I should either base my own product on a main picture of my artist (Amelia) so it could also appear on the front cover of the album or make it relevant to the music video with a piece of artwork. I put all of the conventions I took inspiration from to include, in bold, on the two existing advertisements.

Overall Codes and Conventions of an Album Poster

The purpose of a magazine advert for an album is to persuade people to purchase the album. In order to create a successful album advert, a similar pattern and approach is usually adhered to when devising one.

• Colour: A similar colour scheme must be used in conjunction with the album itself – therefore people will recognise the album when they see it in its physical form.
• Typography: This is a key feature of album posters – the font in which the poster is written must follow the font used within the digipak; in order to create cohesion between the products.
• Band Name: The Band(s) name is arguably the most important part of a poster, as the poster is made to advertise the artist and their music. Publicity will be expanded through the inclusion of the band’s name as people will instantly recognise it.
• Album Art / Image: Album covers are not essential on an album advertisement – however, if it is included, it makes it easily recognisable for an audience when they see it available online or in its hard format: CD.
• Language: Album posters often consist of short declarative sentences – explaining the basic features of the album, date of release and any other further information that persuades an audience to go out and purchase the album, before it sells out.

When creating my poster, I didn't have a specific model which particularly inspired me - instead, I just researched into different existing album posters and took note of the conventions used:

• Album Name
• Artist Name
• Main Image
• Artist Webpage
• Label Logos
• Date of Release
• Including a 'Bonus Single'

The following video shows how I layered the poster from a blank page to the final version.


https://youtu.be/XsW2-nNgyQA

Within this video, I demonstrate how each layer adds something new to the poster; showing it front start to finish. At the end of the video, I flick between the two layers on the main image - to show how it looks left normal and how it looks with the painting effect on added on. From conducting audience feedback on Facebook, the overall preferred picture was the one with the painting effect on; hence, I chose that one.

In order to keep continuity with my digipak and poster, I kept to these sorts of colours from a colour pallet I devised. Like my album cover, I decided to keep the background of the poster black so that the colour on the key text; album name, artist name, release date, artist webpage, including 'bonus track' all stood out - catching the audience's attention.

This is my album cover on a real CD - in order to show how it would appear in the market.

I placed my poster on an advertisements board on the road - in order to attract a large audience into buying my album, when they drive past. 

I placed the front cover of my album on an iPhone and manipulated it to appear that it is being played through iTunes music; due to my soundtrack and album being available to download from the iTunes store. Furthermore, a lot of individuals download their music in today's society - therefore, I wanted to show that it looks realistic on a device.

This is my poster appearing on a Billboard in NY. I picked to show it advertised in NY as my record company is 'Interscope Records', which is a huge record label with many famous artist signed to it. Therefore, this demonstrates that my artist will also be successful with the album I have created.

This is my promotional poster on an iPad. I did this as in today's society, everything is accessible electronically - demonstrating that my album poster is available to view online; also attracting and reaching a wide audience to download my album.