In what ways does your media product use, develop and/or challenge forms and conventions of real media

products?

Richard Morelli

A diversity of music videos in the alternative rock genre tend to express concepts of conflict, frustration, angst and pain especially in their narrative. This allows the artists to identify with their target audience and display current affairs.
Professional cut (Green Day: Wake Me Up When September Ends) Amateur Cut (Violet Vision: Holiday)

What my group chose to portray was not only the aspect of suffering, but the build up to it with an oxymoronic positive starting point. By addressing the degeneration of the protagonist and his spouse, the audience is left with a more empathetic tone, thus allowing them to dwell on their own conclusions about our message. This aim of poignancy is a common theme in the vast majority of alternative rock music videos.

Similarities found in sandy colour scheme and war torn location sets the scene as distant from home.
Professional cut (Green Day: Wake Me Up When September Ends)

Main protagonist featured most often, facial expressions and emotions captured in close ups. Establishes identity of character as opposed to just meat in uniform.
Amateur Cut (Violet Vision: Holiday)

Both are armed, conveying a sense off danger and ultimately fear, angst and a devastatingly ambiguous uncertainty as to what may happen.

A consistent trait found in a lot of alternative rock music videos is the introduction of the main protagonist first. Whether is be the protagonist in the narrative or the front man of the band, theyre always the characters the audience are intended to identify with initially.
Professional cut (Billy Talent: Rusted from the Rain) Amateur Cut (Violet Vision: Holiday)

We decided to conform to this convention, as it would also help to verify the genre, as this is what our target audience is used to experiencing when watching an alternative rock music video.

Both settings are a grey/white tone (in itself having connotations of blandness) and very urban once again reaching out to the target audience with identifiable comparatives.
Professional cut (Billy Talent: Rusted from the Rain)

Protagonists are framed in centre of shot, founding a focal point and ultimately a clarity of presentation throughout the pieces so as to avoid any un-linear confusion.
Amateur Cut (Violet Vision: Holiday)

Dull background allows more attention to be paid towards the focal point (protagonist).

Amateur Cut (Violet Vision: Holiday)

Professional cut (Steel Panther: Crossfire)

Wearing alternative clothes is a key part of establishing the genre, and displaying a precise lack of care in what youre wearing. Audiences quickly establish personalities behind what the performers wear, so we bore this in mind whilst arranging our wardrobe so as to cast the right image. Notice the diversity in poses/stances used in both professional and amateur videos, a convention used consistently in multiple genres to empower the performers.

Its commonly known that throughout the rock genre, most attention is always paid to the lead guitarist and/or lead singer thus music videos tend to always fit this convention by cutting the largest amount of shots featuring these two musicians into the video, over say the drummer.
Professional cut (System Of a Down: Chop Suey) Amateur Cut (Violet Vision: Holiday)

Combined shots of these two performers are becoming increasingly more popular, especially in the alternative rock genre. My group incorporated this whilst filming our video.

Its worth noticing that that guitarist is (when in two shots) in the background, whereas the singer is in the foreground. This correlates to the idea that the front man is generically more prone to the audience identifying with them.
Professional cut (System Of a Down: Chop Suey)

The fact that both are clearly visible (despite slight aperture blurring) conveys a sense of equality and musical untidiness whilst playing.
Amateur Cut (Violet Vision: Holiday)

Much like the Bass and Drums have to be in tune with one another for best rhythm results, the singer and guitarist have to be well fusioned for the strongest melody sections this has been portrayed in these videos frequently.

Most alternative rock music videos tend to show the lead singer first, however my group thought it best to crescendo up to the lead singers entrance to make it more impacting, whilst also establishing all other members.

However, although its an original take to have the shots build up to the singers entrance, the songs structure with the lyrics coming after the opening instrumental applies itself nicely to this idea.

Through having the band members themselves act as characters in the narrative not only relieves the need to acquire more actors, but also identifies that the protagonists in the narrative could literally be any young man.

This approach is highly unconventional, and creates a memorable and original trait that Alternative rock encourages.