Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Location:
Throughout the making of our music video, we had lots of influences from different media
products to create our final version. Many horror films including Paranormal activity,
Hanna and Mama inspired our wooded outdoor location to connote an eerie and
mysterious feel, representing our gang as intimidating and frightening. Alongside the
horror films, a key influence for the exterior scenes was the indie band Twin Shadows
video 5 seconds, with the focus on the masked gang, running through the forest; we
used many of the action scenes of this video (the hand-held camera and left to right pan)
to mediated an exciting and high action effect on this small section as this paralleled
with the increasing tension in the song. The varied interior locations of the bed, shower,
bath and floor all connote an emotional and tense atmosphere, providing a contrasting
emotion to that of the gang. We developed the minimal aesthetics of these locations
from a research on Pinterest and mood boards of locations to create the look we desired.
The fact that the lead features in both of these contexts, means that we were able to
develop the convention of featuring performance and an element of narrative by linking
them together (Archers theory). The fact that fire is used, featuring the lead singer,
suggests that she also had this kind of aggression and parallels with the meaning of the
video (that they are angry at society for denying them the ability to be individuals). We
developed the fire aspect from looking at videos like Sias Fire Meet Gasoline as we
thought this was very effective at portraying violence to the audience, but by featuring
the lead singer, this meant it didnt feel separate to our video, developing the idea.
The drowning in the bath scenes were developed from Radioheads video No Surprises
where Thom Yorke was seen drowning in a divers helmet. We liked the interesting use of
water, highlighting a struggle, in this video and thought it was ideal for our video. We
thought it would be more fitting, through a symbolic code (one of Barthes narrative
codes), to suggest the social issues suicide to filming this scene in a bath for this would
produce high impact and creating a sense of verisimilitude, developing the original
idea. This also highlights the important ministry of mediating the power of society
through music videos as it gives the audience a sense of reality. The short video
by Ruby Rose called Break Free inspired us to focus on societal issues of individuality
and subconsciously the bath scenes. Both the interior and exterior scenes featured a
contrast from light to dark, especially when it reaches the flares scene, juxtaposed by the
light in the bed scenes. This provides a direct link to the narrative feature of antagonist
versus protagonist to make the audience feel the same kind of escapism that they
would if they were watching a film. The Wombats Greek Tragedy video also features
this contrast and shows that this is very conventional of music videos to have film
connotations.
Camera angles:
We tried to emulate the long-short-long or contrasting shots technical code in our
music video so that it didnt become boring or too similar. Through looking at multiple
music videos, we came to the conclusion that this principle isn't necessary for every
single shot (as seen in the Sia video), however it is seen across most of the shots in
stereotypical music videos, so we used this technique to communicate a sense of
verisimilitude. We put most of the emphasis on portraying emotion in the close up
shots to make the emotion clear to the audience in an illustrative way. We used this
convention from the 5 Seconds Twin Shadow video as their use of emotion is many
convey through close up to extreme close up shots. From this video we also we inspired
to feature many slow panning shots to make the video feel as if it is always moving and
prevent it from looking too static. As Twin Shadow used slow motion to create this effect,

we developed this by doing it in normal speed, so that the performance and lip syncing
would still be at the same time and to the same slow pace of the song.
Theorists:
Throughout our video we tried to incorporate many music video theorists conventions so
that or video would be realistic and fit in with other music videos. We follow many of the
rules that Andrew Goodwin suggests are essential to creating a good music video. We
featured the notion of looking during many aspects of our video; at points 0.04-0.07 and
0.36-0.39 there is direct eye contact with the audience from the lead singer, enabling the
audience to feel closer to her and create more empathy towards her. This aspect is used
frequently through many music videos: Taylor Swift, Blondie and Radiohead, highlighting
that it is a common convention that is used to bridge the temporal and situational gap
between the performers and the audience. At points 0.56-1.00 and 0.19-0.23 in our
music video the notion of looking is one again featured but through a mirror this time;
either looking from the mirrors point of view or from the side looking at her looking into
the mirror. This aspect is also seen in the Ruby Rose Break Free video and in many other
music videos to mediate an idea of self- criticising and realisation, which is what is being
portrayed in our music video.
Goodwins rule of having a link between the music and visuals is also seen in our video
as the cutting rhythm is matched the majority of the time, apart from the odd cut to give
the video some variation. This puts greater emphasis on the music and sells it better to
the audience, making them enjoy it. This again is seen in the Twin shadow and used this
aspect to give the video the same pace in which this video emulates. The emotion shown
by the singer also provides a link between the music and visuals, as at points 2.15-2.17
and 2.34-2.36 in the song there is screaming and the singer is shouting underwater,
allowing a direct link to the music. Many indie music videos use emotion to connote the
atmosphere of the song like Catfish and The Bottlemens Kathleen where Van McCann
portrays his aggression in the visuals that link to the fast pace of the song. We developed
this idea by creating a more upsetting emotion through the female and aggression
through the gang, as these allow the audience to recognise the stereotypes for women.
However, by having her as one of the gang, this also contrast the stereotypes,
challenging typical representations to the audience.
Laura Mulveys theory of the male gaze is also seen through one of Goodwins rules in
voyeuristic treatment of the female body. At points 0.05-0.17 and 1.32-1.36 the female
body is seen to be focused on as the slow pan up her body and the crawling towards the
camera both highlight how men look at women, with the aim to attract men to the video
and provide structures which mediate gender divisions. This is commonly seen in
indie music videos as in The 1975s video Girls there is many images of voyeuristic
treatment of the female body to attract the male gaze by featuring bare skin and heavy
makeup. We challenged this convention, through the singer portraying the motif of
emotion, throughout the video through messy makeup to suggest shes been crying,
which is used to transmit to the audience her sadness to being unaccepted in society
and this is done to show men that women feel pressure to conform to these feminine
stereotypes.
We challenged Archers theory that strong link is needed between performance (with
instruments) and narrative as we only have a singer and a sense of narrative to back up
the emotion connoted in the video. We thought this would match the mood of the song
and present a type of story that is contrasting to Archers theory, but still made sense
to the audience.
Band/ duo:
We based our lead singer on other female leads in indie/ rock band like Blondie and

London Grammar as these show an atypical female lead in the indie/rock genre. We
wanted to use this contrasting idea as we thought it was empowering for new female
artists and present the brand identity of the duo. We decided to only feature Lily from
the band in the video as Marina is the producer for the song and thought to follow the
conventions of these other female leads, to only feature her in the song. This also meant
(as Debbie Harry does through many of their music videos) Lily is able to create a
relationship with the audience and fit one of Goodwins rules of having close ups to
create an identity for the singer and Svens theory of the singer becoming a televised
bard, as a singing storyteller for the audience.
Editing:
Editing was a big part of our video as this provided a clear link to the indie genre. Catfish
and the Bottlemens Kathleen was our many video of where we got the idea to use
colour effects and overlapping; we wanted to use these techniques frequently 0.39-0.4,
2.00-2.03 and many other times) as from looking at Kathleen we though this key
element is what mediates interest and heightened emotion, which is what we wanted to
recreate in out video.
Costume/ props:
The contrast of the white shirt and black hoodies in the different locations meant that we
were able to present a clear juxtaposition in emotions and impact in the video, as the
white connotes the womans vulnerability and the black connotes the gangs danger.
Both of these stylings were very minimal as we didnt want to over complicate the
aesthetics. Once again we look to the Twin Shadow video for the idea of the masks and
weapons and for we thought this was generic conventions for gang representation, not
only in indie videos, but all music videos and films (like Kill List- where we got some of
the cult/ gang inspiration for their portrayal of deindividuation) so the audience can
recognise the representation were trying to create.
Overall, we looked at a variation of videos, films and popular culture within and without
of our genre, to create representations in our video, so that we could create a
relationship with the audience and create a sense of realism within the video.
Digipak:
The simplistic design of my digipak came from looking at Foster the People, The Kooks
and The Royal Concept as they all feature little text but have a bright/ key colour
scheme. I took my main inspiration for the colour scheme, photography and layout from
looking at artwork of Blondie and The Royal Concepts Goldrushed as I though the use of
bright colours to attract the audience is the best way to create am impacting first
impression. I thought the use of coloured images was very conventional of the indie
genre, with the intent to be unique, so this is why I decided to use this technique for my
final digipak. The use of minimal typography in a thin font was taken from The Royal
Concept and Foster the People for the back and inside panels as I saw this as a
convention of the indie genre that portrayed a cool and modern styling, which I liked. I
developed the positioning of the barcode from the Goldrushed album as I thought it
would look more aesthetically pleasing to put it in the central bottom than the top right
for the layout of my back panel, but kept the same sizing as I thought this looked the
right size. For the CD of my digipak I developed the style of The Kooks album Inside Out
CD, as I really liked the way the bold font cut off the sides and was very eye-catching to
the audience. I thought this would look better with the same background as my back
panel, for then the panels would match and make my product adhere to the generic
conventions of digipaks. I also developed the way they put information about the
band on the left inside panel for my digipak as I thought this allowed the audience to feel

more familiar with how the album was created and who was involved. I developed this by
only featuring it in the bottom right hand corner as this had the best clarity around the
bright image. The barcode, Terms and Conditions, the Record labels logo and the
band/albums name and catalogue number are all used on my digipak as theyre are
there for legal reasons and fit into the conventions of a digipak. I conveyed the
structures which mediate the indie genre through the song names of shut the
world and 1966 as I used the convention of numbers from The 1975 and shot the
night from The Killers, due to the fact they relate a sense of originality for they are
completely unsystematic.
Magazine advert:
Again following a minimal styling of having the main focus on the images of the singer,
my digipak matches the cd design aspect of my magazine advert, so that the products
are easily associated with each other, boosting sales with the familiarity. This is a
generic convention of all ancillary products for artists (for example Kasabians
Kasabian album where they use the same conventions) to allow them to show
synchronicity throughout and why I decided to do the same. By featuring our own record
label logo typical features of songs and items included with the album, this also followed
the conventions of magazine adverts and makes it fit within the product genre. I
developed the colour scheme of Kasabians album from monotonal to bright and eyecatching, to match my digipak and have the same unique styling. I challenged the
magazine adverts I looked at (Florence and the Machine, The Drums, The Vaccines and
The Pigeon Detectives) by featuring the duos social media information as a feature of
modern advertising and to promote the band further. I understand that this feature is not
original to my magazine advert, as many of the more recent adverts will feature this
promotional aspect to fit in with modern day lifestyles.
Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product
and ancillary texts?
When designing my digipak and magazine advert I tried to emulate a similar simplistic
and effective aesthetic to match that of the video. I did this by having one feature image
as my cover of my digipak and advert, with white, minimal typography to connote a
sense of minimal branding trough my products. This links to the music video as there is
an emphasis on a minimal styling in the locations and of the singer to put the soul
emphasis on the performance. As I had seen this similar style technique through artists
like Twin Shadow, I thought this would be a suitable styling crossover and adhere to the
identity that is being created for the band to emphasise this minimalism. We only
featured Lily in both the video and the ancillary products as we thought this would
provide a clear combination between the products and as Lily is the singer in the band
(Marina is the producer) this meant she is the icon in which the audience will relate to.
The use of white typography provides another form of branding, as Lily wears a white
shirt in the video, to transmit a vulnerable identity and adhere to simplistic visuals; by
feature the same colour in my ancillary products, it suggests that she is able to convey
this same femininity and purity, linking the products and Lilys iconography together. As I
didnt feature the gang in the digipak at any point, I felt this meant the video was able to
have a standout feature to set it apart from other videos that would be produced from
the album; however, as a sense of impact and force is connoted through the colours on
the digipak, I feel this shows some resemblance to the ideology of the gang within the
video.
Furthermore, I used a similar, thin font to mimic the typographical features in the

opening sequence of the music video, to once again connote the minimal and feminine
styling, combining both of the products together. Despite the fact I used this same font
for the smaller writing on my digipak and advert, I thought for the purposes of attracting
the audiences eye amongst the bright backgrounds, my ancillary products required the
font to be thicker for the album name Flare, contrasting to the video. However, as the
same font is used, the combination of products still occurs.
As there are many close ups of Lily in the music video that are centrally framed, I tried,
after feedback from my draft version, to follow this generic convention in order for
fluidity to form between all of my products and draw the audience into the images.
Throughout the storyboarding process, we decided that for the key displays of emotion
(mainly the screaming under water shots) we wanted close ups of Lily, therefore
adhering to the images featuring in my ancillary products. Through the use of Photoshop
and Final cut pro for these products, we were able to aline all of these shots perfectly so
that they were central within the frame, forming a clean aesthetic.
I believe that in order to have created a stronger link with the record label, that links all
the products together, would have been to feature the logo and record label name
Notion Productions during the end sequence of the video, so that audience can notice a
fluidity within the branding techniques of the products 9as both of my ancillary products
feature this). However, during making the video we thought this many give it too many
film end credits connotations, saying away from the music genre. Also as many other
indie videos do not feature this convention, like Twin Shadows video Patient video,
suggests that this isnt a necessity for combining products together, so I dont think it is
too much of an issue.
Despite this, my use of photography for the digipak and advert were both to create a
similar connection with the lead singer that is portrayed throughout the video. The
aggression and dynamic movement in the bathroom scenes of the video links perfectly
with the hair flick on the cover of my digipak, showing an effective combination of all the
products, creating familiarity for the audience through the emotion mediated. The sense
of verisimilitude communicated through this emotion is a clear branding tool for the
band and promotional products, trying to make the audience recognise the important
ministry of mediating the power of emotions, and therefore creating a stronger
bond in all the products. This effect of play on emotion is used widely in the indie genre
(like London Grammars If You Wait album showing daze/ confusion, suggesting why I
decided to correlate this within my products.
The use of colour in my digipak shows some link to that of the video, as in the flares
section and blue tinge throughout the video link to the impact of colour providing a
symbolic code for emotion, and linking the band name of Psychedelic, link the band and
all products together. The digipak and video are based towards a mainly female but male
audience, and by using a strong blue, but with a female and bright warm colours, this
does not limit my audience in any way links to the fact there is both female and male
actors in the video.