Wednesday 13 November 2013

Evaluation 1

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




The first frame represents the setting used in my music video. Although throughout my video I used several different settings, the one shown in the first frame is consistently shown. I chose settings that represented the artist, chosen genre and narrative effectively. The first setting shown in the video is the field area with a pond, trees, bushes, etc. I decided to use this as the location because it represents my artist and her music successfully. For example the field is natural and symbolises a creation that is non-man made, this what my artist is she has a natural voice that easily flows and isn't overly produced. I chose this setting because it just focuses on the artist and nothing else, letting the audience know that she is the main focus and its her video. This is conventional to music videos of the Pop genre since Pop artists usually attract all of the audience's attention.The other settings I used was a restaurant, a bedroom and outside the cinema. The reason why I picked them is because they fit with the narrative of my video. As the narrative of the video is several girls being stood up by their boyfriend I selected stereotypical date places e.g. a going to the cinema. 

The second frame is for the costumes and props. In the frame the girl and her two friends are having dinner at a restaurant. To make this scene seem more realistic I used props which are conventional to dinners e.g. glasses, tables, chairs, napkins, cutlery etc. The costumes I chose for this scene are casual/dressy as this is usually how people dress when eating out. My artist wore a floral maxi dress in every shot she was in, thus coordinating with the nature theme.The other two girls who were also stood up wore outfits that were suitable to where they were. For instance the girl who waited for her boyfriend outside the cinema wore a large parka coat as it was cold outside. Whereas the girl who was getting ready for her date was firstly wearing an over sized jumper and leggings but then later changed into a dress. All the costumes used were conventional to the Pop genre as they fit with current fashion trends.

The third frame is performance. In the performance shots I wanted my artist to be the main focus, this is why I used a very simple yet beautiful setting. By using performance shots my video is conventional to the chosen genre Pop as other Pop videos also use performance shots with just their artist lip-syncing.This is why I think I successfully fitted the performance shots within the Pop genre. 

The fourth frame is for narrative. There are three narratives with a similar storyline used in the music video. The first narrative is a girl is out to dinner with her friends and is waiting for her boyfriend to arrive but her never does. Similarly in the second narrative the second girl is outside the cinema waiting for her boyfriend when she receives a text from his cancelling at the last minute. In the last narrative the third girl is getting ready for a date in her bedroom just as her boyfriend texts her saying he can't make it. All three narratives interlink at the end of the video when they later get a phone call from their boyfriends and decline the calls. I used these three narratives as they reflect well on the meaning of the song 'The moment I knew' that I chose for my video. They also have a theme of love and heartbreak which is conventional to the Pop genre. 

The fifth frame is genre and how the music video suggests it. I included both performance and narrative shots in my video as it is conventional to Pop music videos. The costumes were also conventional as they were all part of current fashion trends e.g. the maxi dress. Furthermore in Pop videos the artist is always the focal point as it is their song, for this reason I made sure to make my artist the main focus.

The sixth frame represents how the characters are introduced. My main artist is introduced in the first shot, although her back is to the camera the audience would still be able to recognise her as the artist as she is already an established artist. The second character and her friends are introduced after a performance shot with the artist lip-syncing. This is so that the audience are not confused with who the artist is. The first girl is introduced in a long shot where she opens the door to the restaurant with her friends waiting for her. I decided to introduced her like this directly after the performance shot during the line 'you burst through the door with that baby I'm right here smile' as it links in well with the lyric. I think that by doing this the music video seems more professional as the song and video actually interlink with each other. Her friends are then introduced in the same shot greeting the girl with hugs. The second girl is introduced in a medium shot walking up towards the cinema and the third girl is introduced in medium/close-up shot staring out the window. 

The seventh frame is the representation of the artist. In the majority of the Pop music videos the artist is represented through the use of the costume and the way she acts in the performance shots. Similarly I chose a floral maxi dress for my artist to wear as it is a current fashion trend, meaning that its also conventional. Furthermore it effectively represents who my artist is, as dresses are normally worn by the stereotypical female. The floral pattern denotes vulnerability and a gentleness that my artist possesses. I also represented my artist by using a variety of shots and making sure that she is consistently in centre composition, so that the audience understands that she is the focal point.    

I didn't use any special effects in my music video as it wouldn't have been appropriately worked with the song or narrative. Although some Pop music videos do use special effects not all of them do, therefore I am not challenging the Pop genre. 

The ninth frame represents camerawork and editing. Throughout my music video I used a variety of shots to capture the narrative and represent the artist effectively. By doing this I am fitting in with Pop music video conventions and making my video appear professional.