Evaluation Question One

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

A music video is a crucial source for an artist to promote their songs and albums and provide a display of the star' style and image as well as their creativity and versatility- all of which are needed to remain fresh and original in the music industry and exciting to an audience. A music video allows a song to be visually represented on screen and and can support the intentions for the narrative in a song. They also create scenarios that aid live performances where aspects of the video are recreated.

When planning our music video the group wanted to ensure it felt as authentic in its style as existing music videos so we paid careful attention to incorporating all the typical conventions we found in our research and try to conform to many of the theories behind music videos.

Narrative and Performance

Our Music Video has a strong narrative that creates a link between the visuals and the lyrics of the song and so effectively includes a typical convention of existing music videos. Firstly, incorporating a section of pre-song material immediately creates a cinematic feel that gives the music video and an initial depth, making it more believable and realistic. This was an aspect that the group wanted to achieve at the start of the project and we have successfully met our aims. The establishing shot of the house allows the audience to see where some of the action takes place, setting the scene and inviting them into the girl's world. Furthermore the zoom through the window with the couple arguing inside sets up the main narrative of the video song that relates the lyrics that describe a girl's unhappiness with her boyfriend. From this point all the locations and costumes were chosen deliberately to sustain the narrative of an innocent, naive and vulnerable girl singing about her unhappiness and frustration towards her boyfriend from the comfort and safety of her bedroom and big garden before the music becomes more upbeat and she becomes fed up of being weak and 'transforms' herself visually to becoming more confident and vent her anger out at the world. This is an effective narrative as it allows the girl to progress along a journey throughout the song with which the audience goes on with her and is an interesting interpretation of the lyrics that goes beyond literally representing them through the visuals, this enables us to conform to the narrative and performance theory by Steve Archer.

“Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’ factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a part of the story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-synch close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it.” (Steve Archer 2004)

Our video conforms to this theory because the artist is a participant in the story, she plays the girl in the troubled relationship and goes on the journey from the big, luxurious house to the dirty streets transforming her personality as she goes. The video also cuts between narrative sections such as the arguing sequence, looking through a photo album and looking upset to performance sections such as manipulating the mannequin and performing by the wall or cage. Therefore we conform to Steve Archer's theory effectively and the audience watching could believe it was a real music video because it incorporates the typical features that define what a music video is. When showing a member of family- who is often very critical- the video they thought it looked like a professional video. This thought has been expressed by others in the feedback stage and I believe this is because we conform closely to the style and conventions of existing music videos.

However our video also develops upon the theory of narrative and performance as our video actually combines both together in the same shots, instead of being totally different sections. The singing at the bench, cage, wall and streets are performance sections however they are all part of the narrative as well because the girl is on a journey singing about her boyfriend and her anger in those locations and situations. Almost like in a musical where song, story and acting is combined where performance is used to tell the story. In addition, the shots with the mannequin introduce ambiguity and symbolism to our video as it has multiple meanings. It represents her boyfriend, it represents that she wants to have the model, perfect boyfriend as it is an actual model and her moving it around in the video represents her taking charge for once in her life, wanting to change her boyfriend and her life. This allows the video to have the repeatability factor because the audience will want to watch it again to work out what it means. It also conforms to the reception analysis theory because the audience can have their own individual interpretations of what the mannequin represents, which could all be different depending on the person. Furthermore, other conventions and theories suggest:

'Music videos allow an element of acting, which could include facial expressions, eye contact and mise en scene which allows the performer to be accessed by the audience in various ways, like the use of close ups and panning so everything is seen. This adds a story to the song which can match the lyrics or explore other meanings. As with star image this makes the song memorable and allows connections and implications the song would not have without a music video for people to see the song visually depicted'. (Pete Fraser)

Our music video involves a lot of acting as Sophie, the member of our group who plays the singer and girl in the video performs realistically the emotions of the a girl tormented by an unhappy relationship. The video opens with the argument sequence that includes myself playing the role of the boyfriend and I think our experience in GCSE and A Level Drama comes through as we portray anger and frustration in our facial expressions and body language. I come across as quite threatening by getting close in the girl's face shouting. Sophie then leans on the window sill with a really believable expression on her face that displays the emotion of upset and torment. Then Sophie conveys a range of emotions throughout the music video. In the slower sections of the song she sings with more upset, vulnerable and reflective expressions on her face such as on the bench where she looks up whilst singing to reflect her wishing her boyfriend would be better. Then in the choruses which are more upbeat and set in the cage fence or wall she uses her body language and gestures that move wildly and her facial expressions to convey anger, aggression and frustration. The acting really portrays the emotions of the song and character and make the story much more believable, I am really proud of the acting and performance in our video and believe it is one of the strongest elements that all of the group had a part in. Sophie performed on her own instincts and experience and myself and Andrew directed her on what else would look good, for example more emotion and upset in the slower sections and more aggression and movement in the choruses. Beyonce's If I Were a Boy video is very narrative driven and is about the same concept as our music video with a women unhappy with her relationship- with this one focussing on how he does not understand what it is like for a woman. The video involves a lot of acting and scenes rather than just singing and targets a female demographic as many women complain about their men, therefore it is a popular and relatable to them.

Overall, I believe the narrative and performance is one of the strongest aspects of our video and has the repeatability factor because of the emotions and journey of the character that create an engaging story for the audience. It is also a topic that the teenage part of our audience can relate to because they are often perceived to be involved in troubled relationships.

Camerawork and Editing

'A variety of camera angles and movements of different locations featuring the artist are used in quick succession to create the unique music video style that differs from how a film operates. This style of camerawork gives the video a more dynamic feel and vibe that promotes the song and generates interest by leaving an 'imprint' or memory on the audience so whenever they hear the song they will have an image of the music video in their head'. (Pete Fraser)

From the planning stage of our music video the group knew we wanted to avoid long takes of shots and locations because it would make the video seem very static and would be dull, boring and repetitive to watch and It would capture the style of music video. Therefore we conform to this convention because when filming the different sequences in various locations we captured them using different shot types and from multiple angles to make the sequence more dynamic and interesting to watch. For example we filmed the bench sequence for the first verse four times using a close up, a side on mid- shot, a long shot and a high angle shot. All serve different purposes- the long shot sets the scene, revealing the location and the close up allows the emotions of the artist to be portrayed clearly as well as creating the vital connection with the audience to attract their attention. The side on mid-shot offers a different angle (where the girl is facing in the close up), reveals more about her location and allows the emotions to be further conveyed through her body language and the high angle shot represents her vulnerability and innocence. Then in the editing stage we used sections of each of the shots to cut between during the first verse to incorporate the uses for all of the shots and make the sequence varied for the audience to watch. It also demonstrates our ability to put a sequence of shots together and maintain continuity by ensuring the girl's position is the same between the shots and when she moves her head the camera cuts to where she is looking. Therefore we create an authentic video as the camerawork is true to the style of actual music videos by including different shot types and angles of the same location. The multiple angles we use in each section also makes our video conform Pete Fraser's opinion that 'the camerawork telling a story is essential and needs various angles to make it memorable'. Rihanna's Disturbia video features many locations that are displayed from different angles. For example the start of the video cuts between a long shot of the room Rihanna sits in to set the scene and then cuts to close ups of the different parts of the room and the people around her to display more detail. In addition the section where she is in the cage features long shots and close ups of the same location. The video has other simalarties to ours in its use of a mannequin.

In addition, the shots we use conform to the typical shot types explained by Pete Fraser below: 'Camera angles often accompany performers as they walk, sing or interact/ engage in different scenarios or events. Fixed long, wide angle shots are used to show dance rountines with a varitey of shots close to the artist to recreate the moving feel of dancing. Close ups are often used in music videos, to show the artist singing and to increase the connection with the audience to help the engage with the video'.

Throughout filming we captured a wide range of shot types, angles and movements to create a varied and diverse music video that is dynamic and exciting to watch and to demonstrate our proficiency with the camera and ability to use shots for different purposes. In addition it conforms to the conventions of music videos, which incorporate a variety of shot types to cut between to create the fast paced display that fits the music. Our video opens with a wide angle pan of the house to set the scene and a slow zoom into a window that focusses on the girl upset after an arguement to set up the narrative. The moving shots immediately bring a sense of movement to the video, conveying that it won't just be static and dull. From there we use close ups in the bench and wall sequences to create a connection with the audience and allow a detailed portrayal of the artist and her different emotions- from upset at the start to anger and aggression near the end. We use high angle and bird's eye view shots of the bed and mannequin to create intimacy and represent her vulnerability. Furthermore we include more long shots later in the video in the mannequin, wall and cage sequences so the audience can see the girls growing aggression by seeing the movement of her body. They also represent her getting stronger and more confidient- at the start of the video more close ups are used to show she is quite weak, upset and self-consicous however once she 'transforms' into the corset costume she becomes stronger and confident, so more of her body is shown. We also use shots where the camera looks into a mirror and reflects the image of the girl looking into it, this is another dynamic and original shot that differs from standardly showing the artists face and represents the audience looking into her life. Finally, we use a pan around the artist singing in the street and a zoom out as she walks towards the camera at the end of the video to show her venting her anger out at the world and further include movements into our video to ensure it is not too static. Therefore we have a great range of shot types and angles which effectively mimics the conventions of camerawork in real music videos and make the video more interesting to watch, giving it the repeatability factor.

In the editing stage, we spent a lot of time and effort ensuring the lip-syncing was accurate and in time with the music. This was made easier in filming because Sophie sung the words clearly out loud in all the shots and so avoids looking fake and miming when put to the song. Therefore another one of the strongest aspects of the video is the lip-synching as she is actually singing the song and makes the video much more believable. Moreover, we filmed in different locations with different costumes to create multiple sections for the music video that had their own visual style. There is the casual costume of white top and jeans and big house, garden and bedroom that represents vulnerability, there is the corset costume that is sexy and confidient in the wet and dirty streets and the sophisticated dress with the mannequin. Not only does this add variety to the video but in editing it allowed us to cut between these sections to show the progression from different locations throughout the video, displaying the journey in the story and song. Furthermore it conforms to the editing style of many existing female pop videos that feature the artist in different costumes and locations as the video progresses. There are sequences at the start that are not necessarily at the end- this holds true with our video. For example Lady GaGa's Telephone video starts off with sections of her in prison in multiple locations and costumes and then moves to a cafeteria and escape sequence whilst she wears various outfits.

In addition, we also included effects in the editing such as fades to black on some of the heavy beats of the song to match visuals with the music and fades between shots in some of the slower sections of the song to create flashbacks. The theory above suggest music videos are edited so that shots move quickly between each other, our video also does this, with no shots being very long and this is another key area of how are music video is successful as this is one aspect that determines what a music video. Therefore we effectively conform to this convention, however we challenge the part that of Pete Fraser's theory that says 'the most common form of editing associated with the music promo is fast cut montage, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing thus ensuring multiple viewing'. This is because we edited our video by where we cut between shots between the lines of the lyrics or at points in the beat of the music, therefore the song dictated the editing and shots. We chose to do this so the shots moved between each other at the pace of the music, rather than going quicker than the music. Also when we tried quick flashes of shots they looked much to quick and not very professional. In all I think the editing of our video is strong because the shots and their transitions run smoothly and link naturally with the cues from the song.

Voyeurism

'This convention means, looking promiscuous in order to gain sex appeal/ pleasure. Camera angles and editing techniques sometimes emphasise certain parts of the female artist to enhance their sex appeal and to attract viewers, mostly men, in being attracted to not only their video but their albums and other merchandise as well'

Our video effectively conforms to this convention by our use of various different outfits, particularly the corset costume as it attracts sexual appeal to it it being reveal and having sexual connotations. In addition the shot that shows parts of Sophie's skin as she puts on and takes off the corset.