In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?

I wanted to make a music video which challenged many of the conventions of
Hip Hop videos. Normally these videos are very male orientated I wanted to
make something that was more imaginative and psychedelic and which
celebrated a female singer. In creating the video and all the attendant ancillary
texts and social media postings, I was aware of course that I was launching a
new artist for the first time. I have to be careful and clear about her image and
about how best to promote her as a brand. In research for my main product, I
began by looking into a range of different music genres such as, R&B, Hip-Hop,
Electro, Grime, Rock, and many others.
But I was particularly drawn to a song written an composed by Lola Aviva which
has a particularly Hip-Hop, alternative element but takes the listener on a
more spiritual and interior journey. I started to primarily focus on Hip-Hop, and
Indie music; I was compelled by the imagery conveyed in many Alternative/ Indie
music videos; however, I was more enticed by the actual music and sound that
Hip-Hop expresses- particularly as it related to the song that I was using.
However, after listening to the music of Lily Allen, I noticed a distinct relationship
between her music and the feel of Avivas music. This realisation led me to
primarily focus on many other female artists such as, Lauryn Hill, Corrine Bailey
Rae and Amy Winehouse; three of which are British singers. Similarly to
Winehouse, a prominent aspect of Avivas music is the compatible way she
combines her written poetry with her music.
Prior to this, I had seen the music video for The Zone by The Weekend- I was
attracted to the dark, mysterious atmosphere and one convention that
particularly caught my eye, was the close up shot of eyes, which is portrayed
against a very dark, unsettling background an image that I had played with in
my own media project a year earlier. I have always been enticed by the powerful
integrity created by the eye line shot, and the direct mode of address from the
performer. I already knew that I wanted to recreate this shot for my music video.
Another, very similar convention that I adapted for my music video was from the
novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald- where he describes an
advertising billboard of a pair gazing eyes .'The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are
blue and gigantic their irises are one yard high. They look out of no face, but,
instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose. Evidently some wild wag of an oculist set them there to fatten his
practice in the borough of Queens, and then sank down himself into eternal
blindness, or forgot them and moved away. But his eyes dimmed a little by many
paintless days, under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground.
(Chapter 2). I found this a very powerful image, as these rather dark, mysterious
eyes, are placed in front of a very vibrant, colourful background. There is

something so enticing about the use of eyes, as it can convey a great depth of
emotion, and seriality.
The lyrics of the song Gloom by Lola Aviva convey the story of a girl who is
trapped in a dream sequence, trying to escape her own miserable reality. I found
f the lyrics very powerful, and I knew that I could do some very beautiful,
psychedelic imagery for this. However, I knew that to do some further research
into other artists music videos. I started by focusing on Florence and The
Machine- who is also an independent female artist; I have always been greatly
appreciative of her music videos- which convey a particularly dreamy and
psychedelic nature to them. Some of these videos include Cosmic Love, Dog
Days Are Over and
In terms of the mise en scene for my music video, particularly focusing on Lolas
appearance- this includes her outfits, make up, also the way Lola is perceived
through camera angles. After viewing many of Florence and The Machines music
videos, I was particularly drawn to the naturalistic elements of her clothing. She
had seen to be wearing a lot of floaty, light clothing, all which was very
alternative, and indie. Whilst deciding what Lola should wear, I found a white,
very light chiffon shirt, and a red crotchet crop top; also it wasnt as glamourous
as Florences, but it was close enough.
Florence and The Machines visual work depicts a great amount of surrealism,
through nature. The music video for Cosmic Love is particularly significant in
the way it depicts a fantasy of nature and celebrates the mystery of a powerful
female artist. There is an emphasis here too on the singers eyes which are here
unpredictable, exotic and unknowable.
A lot of other visually imagery, inspired my media product, particularly the
photography of Sally Mann. In my house, I have many framed photographs of her
work; I was particularly drawn to one which depicts a girls face, with her hair
spread across the image; there is something quite peaceful, and beautiful about
this image; her eyes are closed, and she looks completely immersed in her sleep.
Ive seen many music videos in the past, including some which dont relate to my
music video however; I knew from the start that I would like to portray a lot of
close up shots of Lola in my music video - to really give an intimate view of her
vision. I knew this meant filming a lot of close up shots and I find that by doing
these shots, you can create a great depth of intimacy through the shot. The
Zone by The Weekend similarly depicts the woman in the video as a beautiful
young woman we are drawn in by the close up shots,
At the beginning of the scene, I included close up shots of Lola applying makeup,
and gazing straight into the camera, also wearing very little clothing to create
intimacy for the viewer. However, later on in the scene, the girl is depicted sitting
in a dark empty room. it starts with a very close up shot of her face - she looks
mortified, yet shes laughing at the same time, beaming flashing white lights
shine on her face, as she sits there in despair, we see that she is sitting in the
middle of an empty room. I found that shot extremely powerful, as it provoked

great emotion for the audience. It also made me feel like I was completely
submerged in this scene, as if I was sitting there at the opposite end of the room
staring back at her.
Whilst filming my music my music video- specifically referring to the scene of
Lola in the clouds- I used a projector, to overlay images and white sheets as a
reflection. I planned the camera angles for this very thoroughly. Whilst the video
was being played over her, I deliberately focused on her face because the
camera is so close. It almost creates the illusion that we are peering into this
persons life- we feel that we shouldnt be looking at them in their moment of
despair and misery. The Zone also influenced many of the other shots in my
product. One of the most powerful was Lola looking away, and then suddenly
turning to look at the camera. There was something very intimidating and
challenging about this shot. In many of the historic Venus paintings, I wanted to
portray how the woman know they are being watched- but at the same time
they deliberately choose to look away from the camera in a very monistic
fashion.
Throughout the video, I chose to portray Lola in different angles - particularly
many where, she is not positioned right in front of the camera- I wanted to show
a great variety of different camera angles. However, still overlay them onto
moving shots of trees- to provoke a very surreal, interior and hallucinogenic
journey. In the end I wanted to create a very unusual, abstract video; something
that entices the viewer visually, leading them on a visually/ musically explorative
journey.
The narrative of my music video is supposed to depict a woman, falling into a
deep dream, completely immersed by her surroundings. To follow this narrative, I
chose to focus on other artists that convey this type of surreal atmosphere
through their own work- such as Florence and The Machine, and Lana Del Rey.
Another convention I wanted to adapt into my own was the use of projected
images. I found that by playing projected images or videos on top of someone
who is already singing could be a great way to provoke emotion for the audience.
In the second verse Lola is talking about being immersed in the waves, the
imagery in the lyrics is so compelling; that I was completely drawn to the idea of
Lola lying in the centre of white sheets, which would be moving (rippling like the
water), and would also show projected images of waves; this would show how
immersed she is with her environment, but I think it would also portray a very
psychedelic atmosphere.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary
texts?
There is a distinct relationship between my main product and ancillary texts.
The DIGI-PACK
This contains six images of the artist inspired by my video. I used multiple
overlaid images which I devised on Photoshop to echo the psychedelic imagery.

Three of the images are of Lola; two of which are screenshots taken from the
actual music video.

In the final image I pasted all the lyrics to the song. Collectively the digipack
invokes the tone and atmosphere of the video, foregrounding the artist and
encouraging the viewer to read the lyrics and think about the meaning of her
song
The Website
The home page of the website is centred on a powerful clip from the video. I
chose a clip which would be especially effective in grabbing the audiences
attention. I wanted it to appear immediately as you click on the page to take the
viewer instantly into the world of Lola, her music and my video. I wanted to use a
black background for the website because I wanted to create a dark, gothic
atmosphere and bring attention to the striking pictures of the artist.
The website also has other still images from the video that you can click on. It
also has a number of links to upcoming concerts and to Sound cloud, a website
where you can listen to more of her music for free. The website is a key tool in
promoting Lola and encouraging people to be inspired by her and interact with
her as a brand.
Other Social Media
In promoting my artist, I used different social platforms- this included Wix, the
website dedicated to my artist- as well as links to other mediums, such as
Twitter, and Instagram. I am now prepared to start sharing images of Lola on
Instagram as well as tweeting information about the video and her upcoming
concerts. I have also created a Facebook page for her which can be accessed
through the main website.
What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
From my given audience feedback, it has, in fact applied a lot of construction to
my work. I first showed my media product to five individuals in my year (17-18
years of age) - as my video is targeted to an audience of between the ages,
fifteen to twenty five year olds- I thought this would be effective in achieving my
primary audience. Their first initial response to my video was that it did include
a lot of surreal or trippy images, as one person addressed. However, each
individual did state that there still needs to be some editing to be made, and
possibly some sort of narrative to the story. I completely agreed with this, as I re
watched my video over and over again- I noticed that there wasnt a clear
constructive narrative throughout. I wanted my audience to be led through a
story of
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research,
planning and evaluation stages?

A great amount of digital technology was used in the creation of my music

video; not only does this just include the camera equipment that I used, but also
the editing software- as well as other social platforms that I have created, to
promote my artist.
We shot the film on a Canon 305, which was lightweight and easy to use in
creating hand-held close ups of the artist. Although, I was privileged with this
fantastic equipment, I still had no idea how to use it. Researching methodology
online and trial and error enabled me get to grips with the basic uses of it. As I
was working independently I was responsible for filming, and also editing my
main product. My first day filming with this camera was quite challenging, as it
was extremely heavy- as I had to hold it up on my shoulder.
In terms of editing, I used Final Cut Pro to edit all of my footage. I wanted to edit
at home, so I had to download the software on my laptop. Although I was at an
advantage with able to edit this independently, it also came with its
disadvantages; particularly when I lost a large majority of my edited footage.
However, I chose to not dwell on this lost work, and continue editing.
Another use of digital technology that I used for my media product was a
projector. Once I had completed some very successful shooting with the camera,
I downloaded the footage of Lola onto Final Cut Pro; which I then connected with
my projector and played on top of her. The results of this were far better than I
had expected; images of her, being played against her, created a very surreal,
unusual illusion.
In creating my digipack, I used many other forms of digital technology in creating
these images. I firstly started by photographing Lola on her balcony; in which I
used a Canon 400. These photographs were easily taken as I was already quite
advanced with using this camera. However, after viewing these photographs I
knew that I wanted to portray Lola in a more modernistic way; I began by looking
at the album cover of FKA Twigs album; in which she uses multi plat formed
colours; which led me to using gel filters to photograph Lola a second time; these
colours included red, blue, green, pink, and yellow; To my disbelief these
photographs actually came out more successfully than I had hoped for. Using
Photoshop, a programme which I wasnt too familiar with at the beginning- I
edited these images. In relation to my music video which depicts quite surreal,
psychedelic images- I knew that I wanted to convey this element to these
images. As I wasnt advanced with this programme, I did spend a lot of time
experimenting with different images I had taken of Lola. I learnt that by adding
different layers, you can overlay different images on top of one another- a very
important technique that I was later revisit using photo shop. Whilst taking these
photographs of Lola I deliberately asked her to turn her head in different anglessome from the left hand side, others from the right hand side, and many from
front view point; by doing this, it meant that I had so much variety of shots to
choose from when editing on Photoshop. Two of the images featured in the
digipack depict Lolas face from a front view point- with two overlaid images of
her turned either side displayed on top of the original image. Creating this image

was quite time consuming as I had to cut out the background of two of the
images, using the lasso tool. However, once these compositions were completed,
I began editing the colour; this involved using the saturation tool, as well
experimenting on the different images colour balance. Altogether, the outcome
of this was very successful- the colours had converted into a heavily saturated
vibrant composition.
In promoting my artist, I used different social platforms- this included Wix, the
website dedicated to my artist- as well as links to other mediums, such as
Twitter, and Instagram. I found creating the website very challenging, as I have
never created a website before. However, I have both Instagram and Twitter
accounts so this part of the process was easily made.