Evaluation: How have you used, developed, or challenged Conventions of Real Media texts?

BY HANNAH ALLEY

Each media text adapts certain typical conventions according to its genre, such as pop, rock, R&B etc. If you watch a variation of music videos, you will realise that they all cater to certain genre conventions, which are repeated over and over until they eventually become familiar to an audience. However, you could argue that some artists like Gaga for example, essentially have their own genre, as Gaga is so unique in so many ways.

My music video

My music video - Goodwins Dancing in the Distraction Factory theory

My music video uses a pop song, so when it came to producing it, I knew I needed to decide whether to conform to fixed pop conventions, develop them or challenge them. I ended up wanting to have a contrasting balance of both challenging and using pop conventions, which was very fun to do. Firstly, my video definitely conforms to Goodwins Dancing in the Distraction Factory theory, stating that there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals firstly. I definitely conform to this idea, as for example, when Ellie Goulding sings I left my house, left my clothes I correlate this with footage of Georgina putting on her jacket and leaving her house. I made sure to repeat this aspect quite a few times to represent familiarity, but not too many times for it to become repetitive and predictable.

I left my house, Left my clothes

Relationship between the music and visuals

Secondly, my music video really conforms to the idea that theres a relationship between the music and visuals, as I made sure to match every single shot to each beat of the song with the marking tool, so that the rhythm and pace was consistent and easy to watch. The second draft of my music video however, did not have this and watching it back/receiving feedback made me realise it really did need short, snappy cuts to match the song rhythm, so of course I changed this.

Lighting and star image

The lighting on the happy shots of the couples first date and their comfortable/inlove stage are high key, to represent happiness and lightheartedness which is what many pop music videos replicate. However, when things start to go wrong and Georgina gets rejected, the lighting instantly becomes low key and shots fasten up to represent her frustration and overwhelming emotion. Also, as Goodwin stated, it emphasises her star image which is a consistent aspect throughout pop music videos.
High-key lighting: when Georginas singing about the happy times Low-key lighting: when Georgina discovers Matts texts to other girls

Challenging voyeurism

However, one of his theories I did not use was voyeurism. I felt that in order for the audience to really empathise with Georgina, especially girls, Georgina needed to come across as innocent and feminine. By representing her in an overtly sexual way, I feel that especially a female audience would not have been able to sympathise with her but instead would have perhaps felt intimidated, and males would have just seen her as a sexual object. Therefore I challenged this convention.

Notion of looking & Intertextuality

Lastly, I used notion of looking and intertextual reference, especially in the narrative of my music video. For example, when Georgina discovers that Matt has been speaking to other girls on his phone, I used a slow camera zoom into the phone screen, which was a Blackberry. I did this because it shows the audience that these teenagers are just like them modern and relatable. I found this aspect would be really effective in my music video.

Shot amplification

Additionally, Goodwin states that the music videos pace etc may be used to illustrate emotions and moods, without overtly showing them. I would say that my music video conforms to this perfectly, as I use a steady pace of cuts throughout the video until it gets to the actual climax of the song. In the climax, the beat and singing of the song fastens and dramatises massively, and I captured the break up of the couple just at this time. In order for the emotions/anger felt to be amplified, I simply used extremely short cuts that flickered from the couple arguing, to the sky spinning quickly above Georgina. These cuts flickered back and forth in a high speed, and some of the narrative shots of where for example Georgina pushes matt, I used a slow motion effect on this to dramatise it and add intense emotion to the shot. I found this feature of my music video really successful and it received a lot of positive feedback, purely because the climax is captured at exactly the right time, and all emotions are erratically being thrown around in these short cuts.

Mise-en-scene and conforming to pop fashion ideology

In contrast to this, I used the mise-en-scene to really bring out certain features/the storyline of my music video. For example, in terms of pop fashion ideology/representation, Georgina wore a white, flowy dress with simple black pumps and a small denim jacket. I planned out her costume carefully, as I knew that the colour white connotes innocence and purity. I did not want her to look too glamorous, as the aim of my music video was to encourage sympathy from the audience for Georgina, and victimise her. She is represented in fashionable, girly and casual clothes, so that there is a variety in her image to signify unpredictability but also so that the female viewers perhaps look up to her and see her as a role model. Many pop genre music videos have a main female protagonist who is fashionable to trigger this successful effect.

Varying costumes & their meanings

Furthermore, I have made sure that both of my actors wear a variation of different outfits in each stage to ensure that it sustains the audiences interest with the variety. Also, I ensured that their outfits fit the context, for example in a restaurant they were more glamorously-dressed and when they were at home they were dressed casually in tracksuits, etc.. This is so that the music video is realistic to watch, being another typical convention of pop music videos as they often fit in with real life so that the audience can actually believe them, triggering a more understanding response from the viewers. Georginas outfits in particular also match the emotion within each stage. For example, when on their date, Georgina wears a red dress to signify the passion she feels for Matt. In terms of make-up, Georgina was very natural and subtle. I find that if she looked too dolled-up, again she may just be harder to sympathise with. However, her bright red hair goes against this convention, and in fact makes her stand out from the woods as she wanders around it; which for me, is a great feature because it made her unique.

Date: red connotes passion/love, she looks glamorous

Cooking: blue connotes cool, calmness. They both look casual for a comfortable setting

Arguments: red & black connote anger. She is more smart as her guard is back up

Acceptance: grey& white: neutral, moving on. Smart.

The setting and its representation

The idea of the woods is that it captures isolation and someone essentially being lost that being Georgina. I found this was the perfect place to highlight the fact that Georgina is trapped (in the woods) by her own emotions, and cannot escape as random props trigger her imagination. This also portrays a childlike sense within her, making her easier to empathise with.

Antonio Gramiscis hegemony & Binary Opposites by Levi-Strauss

Additionally, Antonio Gramisci used the term hegemony to describe what is the social norm in people. I believe that my music video supports the hegemonic norm of a typical weak and heartbroken girl who is drawn in by love. She is represented as not as strong as Matt, and this is signified through close up shots of her looking sad, or long shots of her looking lost and vulnerable, whilst constantly being reminded of her sad past love life. And funnily enough, the audience is shown no sign of remorse or weakness of emotion within Matt, as the male. I did not purposely do this, however, it definitely conforms to the pop conventions as most pop music videos represent females and males in this way. This essentially uses the idea of Binary Opposites by Levi-Strauss, which again is a very common convention in pop music videos. The effect of this is that when Matt rejects Georgina in the storyline, the audience may feel even more sympathy for Georgina as Matts image is masculine and hard, compared to Georgina who is soft and sensitive, emphasising her heart-break and vulnerability when they split.

Challenging conventional pop ideas

However, there are many aspects in my music video that challenge typical pop conventions. Overall, I would describe my video as quite strange and quirky. Most pop videos are fun, fast, lovey-dovey and perhaps cheesy. I have seen some pop music videos with sad storylines, however they are part of the minority. The fact that my music video uses both performance and narrative-based shots is quite unusual for a pop music video, as they usually only use performance shots. Also, the idea of Georgina discovering props that are a figure of her imagination could be considered as quite odd most pop music videos keep things simple and easy to understand. However, I wanted my music video to be different and have depth to it; something only people who really paid attention to it, would understand.

Signifier and signified

I would say I definitely use the idea of signifier and signified through the use of props. Georgina discovers props along the way that link to flashbacks from her previous relationship, such as the random spoon on the floor which she picks up and it links to a shot of a spoon on the kitchen side, followed by the couple cooking together. The effect of this is that the audience will be able to familiarise with the props and realise that they are meaningful in her mind, and also figures of her imagination.

Added meaning to my video

Furthermore, the idea of the gymnastic/ribbon shots I used, where we see a gymnast perform in slow motion every now and then randomly throughout, is not conventional of the pop genre. Its quite eccentric and unusual something that would perhaps confuse people. But I wanted added meaning to my music video, and emotion to be conveyed in other ways than blatantly through visuals. Pop music videos dont usually use these sort of random shots, however I felt that emotion was amplified through these. For example, I used a shot of the gymnast simply jumping in the air in slow motion, which was used right next to the narrative shots of when Georgina and Matt first started dating. This was meant to convey Georginas sudden freedom as she jumps out there and begins her love life with this male. I also felt that in some of the shots, the ribbon portrayed the flowing of Georginas emotion. The last shot of the gymnast leaping in the air was used after the shot of Georgina burning Matts letter this again, represents Georginas sudden freedom as she is finally moving on from her ex lover.

Challenging Laura Mulveys The Male Gaze

Adding on to this idea, I think this is where Laura Mulvey's 'The Male Gaze theory' comes in to my music video. This is another prime example of a conventional pop theory I have challenged and not used in my music video. In music videos like Rihanna's 'Rude Boy' which is another pop video, highly contrasting towards my video itself, Rihanna is represented as overtly sexual and confident. This is portrayed through shots emphasising her curves and bare legs, or her breasts. However, like I previously stated with Goodwin's theory of voyeurism, The Male Gaze was not necessary for me. I felt I did not want Georgina to be viewed in specifically a heterosexual male's point of view, because if I presented her in such a sexual way, she would become merely a seductive object, not a representation of a normal, typical teenage female. I want my teenage target audience to be able to relate with her, not feel intimidated by her or envious of her. Like I previously stated, I feel that if Georgina was represented in too much of a glamorous, sexual way, females especially would find it hard to empathise with her. So I avoided this theory was much as possible by using long shots of her running through the woods looking lost so that we see her at her most innocent, vulnerable manner, and her body features aren't particularly emphasised by the camera movement/shots/angles I used. Furthermore, her clothes cover her up any way, so I felt successful with my attempt to challenge this theory.

Unconventional settings that teenagers can relate to

As well as this, with most pop music videos you watch, there are high-class settings like a green screen, London, and overall bright and bubbly backgrounds. However, my music video uses the woods as the performance shots, which is quite unusual. The only time I have ever seen the woods used in a music video was in Paramores Brick By Boring Brick, which used the idea of Alice in Wonderland lost in the unknown depth of the land. I was inspired by this and in turn wanted to add an Alice in Wonderland essence to my music video, but at the same time using narrative shots set at houses, outside, etc.. My music video uses quite a lot of casual scenes, like in a house kitchen, bedroom, lounge etc, but I wanted to create a typical teenage love story that the audience could actually relate to and feel it is not far off from reality. I did contrast this with using an actual restaurant for their date night, so that there was a variety of settings used, but I feel this does challenge pop conventions quite a bit as they usually use more artistic scenery than this.

Setting correlated with the song

However, in some respects my music video conforms to the pop genre conventions and also my songs conventions. The song Guns and Horses uses a light, melodic acoustic background sound, which when I first listened to it, made me think of woods, trees, birds and the sun. The woods was my instant reaction, and I still do feel now that the woods I used really correlate with the songs sound, as the acoustic feel matches the nature provided. Wide angle long shots of the sun peering through the trees and bushes towards the camera are typical shots used in order to create a calm, acoustic feel to the video. However of course I knew that my music video needed something else to add a more dramatic feel to it, in order to match with its song, which is when I brought in Georgina being lost and the narrative shots of the couples story together

Escapism

I do feel that those who listen to my music video would enjoy the outside feel given with it, and those who listen to pop who perhaps live in the city or are tired of the same superficial conventions given in pop music videos would enjoy and appreciate the naturistic feel I have shown in my music video, as it may provide a sense of escapism. Also, my music video conforms to the pop genre by using a love story and flashbacks, which is often used in pop music videos.

In-concert experience Firth 1988

I made sure to use a love story narrative as well as a performance which holds typical pop ideology as the majority of pop videos include some sort of narrative, along with performance shots. The effect of using performance in my music video is that it conveys a sense of the in-concert experience to the audience (as said by Firth 1988). It reminds the viewer that the soundtrack is still important.

Mode of Effects & linear structure

Furthermore, my music video definitely uses the Mode of Effects convention as it assumes that my young teenage target audience will appreciate the love storyline. I, as the producer, have assumed that most teenagers have been through what I convey in my Guns and Horses storyline, so they can relate to it and therefore it will be successful. My music video functions like a mini-film. It uses flashbacks throughout, especially in the choruses, to trigger an emotional reaction from the audience as its bringing back previous moments from the couples relationship. My music video is very structured and linear, with specifically 5 different stages of a relationship portrayed throughout, beginning from the couples first date, ending with the acceptance of their break-up. This makes my music video very clear to understand and reveals information omnisciently. Perhaps it is quite clich, but a common feature of the Pop genre.

Conforming to Todorovs equilibrium theory

According to Todorov, there is usually a equilibrium then a new equilibrium/resolution at the end of the video. The resolution leaves the audience feeling satisfied as everything has been solved after such a build-up. I applied this aspect to my music video, as at the end my main actress finds her way out of the woods, and after all of the heartwrenching flashbacks, she simply reminisces of the happy memories her and Matt had together. Even though this is quite realistic and not the happiest ending, it creates a satisfying feeling for the audience because it is just life and things aren't so bad anymore.

Target audience & conforming to Bulmer and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory

My video would essentially appeal to young girls within the ages of 12-24. Id say this is because Ellie was only 23 when she sung Guns and Horses, and her lyrics really portray this, so they would appeal to those of a similar generation. In result, I carefully picked my main actress to appear as a young girl, small in size, petite and innocent-looking. This was to ensure that my audience would feel a personal identification with my actress, helping them to engage more with the narrative. This means it applied to Bulmer and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory. After watching previous pop music videos, like Rihanna and Katy Perrys, I realised that the artist needs to be confident and outgoing in order to appeal to an audience, so I chose Georgina as I knew she would be confident and comfortable with miming correctly and acting accordingly to the role, which I felt she did perfectly.

In conclusion

Overall, I feel that my music video both conforms, challenges and develops typical conventions of the pop genre, as the visuals/music link to the lyrics, it conforms to many theories/ideology, yet it also has its own unique, quirky feel that jumps out of the typical pop conventions and is one of its own.

My Digipak

How I created the nostalgic, mysterious tone & conforming to Andrew Goodwins theories

My digipak main cover maintains the dreamy, nostalgic style of Georgina being lost in a woods, reminiscing of her past relationship through light blue filters that add a glow effect, making her look innocent and angelic. I actually took the photos in the woods, in the exact same place we filmed the video, so that Georgina could replicate the actual lost feeling she acted in the music video. She definitely did this as in the photo, she is looking in an upwards direction at something unknown, representing how lost and dreamy she is. I used a close up to conform to Goodwin's theory of 'personal identity', assuming that the audience will identify with her in this way. To reinforce this dreamy, Alice in Wonderland feel, I added sparkles underneath the title LIGHTS which are multicoloured and faded just a tad. This is quite conventional of a pop digipak cover as female ones are usually quite colourful and girly, yet mysterious which I feel I replicated. It also portrays Andrew Goodwins theory of amplifying emotion/feeling in subtle ways, which I have done through a close up of Georgina, not only representing her star image but allowing the audience to relate/empathise with her through her facial expression, which connotes sadness and heartbreak.

The CD holders

The CD holders and all of the other photos used are all of trees/nature. This is because I am trying to convey the tone of the album, highlighting the acoustic/soft tone used in the song. I feel that the target audience members of soft pop will instantly associate themselves with albums of this look. The filters used on these photos make the leaves and scenery seem sunlit and warm, therefore appealing and eye catching. This keeps it simple and pleasant.

Providing familiarity in part 4

Then, on part 4 there is an image of Georgina actually discovering her first prop in the music video: the ribbons. Therefore, this image replicates this exact moment in the video, providing familiarity with the audience and consistency.

Personal touch to part 5

Part 5 is an image of a torn up small note on the ground with leaves on it, saying I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.. Ellie x. I came up with this idea myself and wrote this down on a small piece of paper in script writing, to connote passion. I thought it was a great idea to add the artists personal touch to my digipak, so that the audience can identify with them more. It also continues the idea of the woods floor with leaves and nature, again reinforcing the familiarity within the audience. The note also suggests that Ellie actually really enjoyed taking part in the music video herself, and singing the song, which I feel adds a great touch to the digipak.

Last part

The last part is a simple image of Georginas hand brushing across a tree bark, which is faded behind the track listings which are bold and in black, but the track numbers are in red. I added a drop shadow to make it stand out, as most pop digipaks do themselves. The copyright details are also included as well as typical generic conventions such as the track list and barcode. These all contribute to making my product look as professional and as close to real-life media texts as possible.

In conclusion

Its easy to notice as well, that my whole digipak continues the actual naturistic music video feel as much as possible, creating familiarity within the audience. I didnt take any photos in a studio, purposely for this effect. I chose to use 6 parts to my digipak to add more of a personal feel to it - as if more effort has been put into creating it, for the audience to appreciate.

Magazine advert

Additionally, my magazine advert also maintains the nostalgic, 'Alice in Wonderland' type of theme throughout. The main image is of Georgina walking through the woods, staring up into space. The audience are not completely aware of where she is looking, which again reinforces the tone of mystery. However, I have strongly linked the image to my music video, ensuring that they are consistent and similar, by actually capturing a motion/action shot of Georgina walking through the words. This links with Goodwin's personal identity, as I am assuming that the audience will be able to identify with the idea that Georgina is actually in the same setting that she was when 'Guns and Horses' was filmed. The successful outcome of this is that it looks like Georgina actually 'sticks to her routes' by taking the photo in this same scene.

Challenging Voyeurism & The Male Gaze

Similarly, I have challenged Goodwin's theory of Voyeurism and Laura Mulvey's The Male Gaze, because as you can see, Georgina is dressed in a white dress that flows to her knees and covers the majority of her body, with a denim jacket over the top, black tights and pumps. This represents her as extremely innocent and feminine as white connotes purity, and this is exactly how Georgina came across in the video, so I intended to continue this representation of her. By representing her as merely a sexual object, that would be defeating the point of trying to provoke empathy and sympathy within the audience for her, so I avoided this. This is because, if I represented her as too overtly sexual and promiscuous through her costume, my female target audience may feel almost intimidated by her and envious of her instead of feeling sorry for her, which is not my aim.

Conforming to pop fashion ideology

Additionally, the image conforms to the idea of Pop fashion ideology, as she is dressed considerably 'fashionable' for Spring time, and her costume is well in-season. The success of this is that the audience will feel they can personally identify with her and relate to her because she is 'similar to them' through dressing like them. Also, they may see her as a role model and want to dress like her.

Entrapment

As well as this, in the image you will notice there is a lot of wood background, and a tree behind Georgina that arches slightly over her. This almost conforms to Goodwin's theory that media products should link with their initial ideas, and I did exactly this. When taking this photo, I aimed to capture Georgina's imprisonment and entrapment within the woods, by having her walk underneath an arched tree which is supposed to look like it is 'holding her inside the woods'. As you can see, the actual setting of the image represents not only nature - a consistent theme throughout my products - but another theme throughout my music video: entrapment.

Furthermore, in the landscape version of my album advert, I have used a very 'curvy' font type because this brings out its modernity hopefully something the audience can identify with and feel it is 'up to date'. I used a large font size for the white 'LIGHTS' title so it would stand out and catch the reader's attention easily, as well as contrasting this with 'elliegoulding' which is in red and slightly smaller, all in lower case letters. Furthermore, I believe that audiences will only make the effort with a product if it has overtly positive reviews, and I have conformed to this idea by placing two star ratings by newspapers either side of the bottom of my album adverts. As you can see, I have also conformed to the conventions of real-world Media products in relation to the Pop genre. Also, I believe that the audience that the album is really worth buying, therefore hopefully the album would appeal to them even more so. Lastly, the mentioning of 'limited edition vinyl' again displays the idea that people will be 'getting what they bargained for' and will be receiving something special when buying the album.

As well as this, I conform yet again to Goodwin's idea of personal identity through placing Ellie Goulding's twitter @ name and website address at the bottom of both versions of my album covers. I believe that when the audience see the main image, they will want to identify with Ellie more and find out more about her because she is such a large focus of the advert. Therefore, placing her Twitter name and website on the advert will allow them to carry out their own research on her and the album, thus encouraging them to buy the album even more so. Lastly, the reason I created one in portrait and one in landscape is because I wanted to ensure the album could be advertised in various places, for example: a bus stop advert in portrait and also perhaps a billboard in landscape.