In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Music Video:
The type of music video we wanted to make was essentially one with a narrative, this was the original idea all along because we never wanted to have instruments anywhere involved with the mise en scene. Therefore, this is crucial to the way our video was perceived all throughout the research and planning; the real media products that we used for inspiration we either used, developed or challenged the conventional forms of what was perceived to be 'normal' within the music industry.
Through the evidence of the following pictures below, it is plain to see how our product has referenced and used, developed and challenged real media products. Slow Club's videos 'Two Cousins' and 'Complete Surrender', both directed by Lucy Needs (the director I contacted), have a lot of the elements that we used in our product. For example, pictures 1 and 2 show the same shot used from the 'Two Cousins' video and then how we replicated that into our video. It is important to use real media products as inspiration for your own purely because of the fact that they show exactly what the industry is doing, and also because we wanted our video to be as 'quirky' as possible it meant that taken inspiration from videos such as these were the most helpful because they referenced the type of audience that we wanted to target. The use of the hand shot was crucial to our video because of the fact that it is able to show emotion in the extremities and is able to get across to the audience exactly how this person is feeling. With this it is clear that we used this element in our work, however the video in general is something that we developed because there is no narrative within the 'Two Cousins' video; however within our's we made sure that because of the emotion in the song and what the lyrics mean that we respected that and made sure that there was something within our video that showed this development.
Also with picture 3 and 4, also from the 'Two Cousins' video, the range of dance is something that we replicated within our video. Also the black and white theme is used throughout our video with good effect, this is something that helps the look and emotion of the video because then you don't have colour distracting you from what the video is trying to get across. You only have the the people and lack of mise en scene to get across the story of what this couple is going through and how he does not love her anymore. The range of dancing in our video was something that was always going to be built up within our video to have more impact towards the crescendo of the song, something that the 'Two Cousins' video does as well and therefore clear that we took and used within our own. Again, we developed this video a lot because the original Slow Club one does not have a story line whereas our's does therefore showing a level of quirkiness to what this genre normally produced.
What we did to challenge our video was through the use of the mise en scene, the costumes mainly. Even though we had a set idea coming from our draft of what costumes to do, especially considering that after the draft I was put in charge of sorting the costumes because that is something that I want to do in my later career, so this seemed like the best idea for me to be put in control of. However, there were issues with this because of the fact that I had purchased a vintage dress that unfortunately did not fit Sophie and became an issue for us when filming. Therefore we had to take the next best alternative which was to wear one of Cam's larger t-shirts, which even though I was not sure of at the time turned out okay in the end. In saying that though, because of this we have challenged Ed Sheeran's video 'Thinking Out Loud' because the costumes in his video are more extravagant it is challenging our video because we have used costumes that give know real clue as to who these characters are and what kind of personalities they have. Even though this is not typically the most respectable thing to have done in our video because these characters are fully developed in their emotions, it is only their costumes that are not telling the audience who they are and what they stand for. However, I would say that this works in our video. Even though it challenges the normal conventions of what videos do, there is still a lot of the character's personalities and experiences shown and even though their costumes are minimal and plain it still works.
We also took major inspiration from Sia's 'Chandelier' video, this was for both the dancing and the look that was portrayed throughout our own video. We wanted contemporary dancing, and this video included the most contemporary dancing in recent times. Therefore it is clear to see that we used this element within our video, not to the same extent as Sia's video. However in saying that, even though our video has used her's as inspiration, other than the dancing there is not much more that can be referenced within our own. The Sia one doesn't have a clear storyline, which our's does, and the setting is also something that is not portrayed in the Parables' video. We have then developed these points further and brought them into the world of the Indie/Alternative genre, rather than the Pop/Dance genre. Although, we have also taken similar costume tips from the Sia video, the lack of personality shown through it is something that we unintentionally achieved within our's and surprisingly it is something that has been executed well.
Going onto pictures 9, 10, 11 and 12; these pictures show the clear similarities between Slow Club's 'Complete Surrender' video and also our's. The use of the mid shots and the close ups within this video is an element that we really wanted to portray, therefore using this element from real media products.
We have managed to use, develop and challenge many aspects of the music video industry within the production of our video. Using videos such as these as inspiration is what has inspired us all along to be producing a video that looks completely different to anything that has been seen before; and even though I can totally vouch for the fact that we have not been 'original' in any shape or form, I would then say that we have taken all of the appropriate elements out of our inspirational videos and formed something that can be seen equally as 'quirky' and with certain twists and turns that the audience wouldn't necessarily expect.
Through the evidence of the following pictures below, it is plain to see how our product has referenced and used, developed and challenged real media products. Slow Club's videos 'Two Cousins' and 'Complete Surrender', both directed by Lucy Needs (the director I contacted), have a lot of the elements that we used in our product. For example, pictures 1 and 2 show the same shot used from the 'Two Cousins' video and then how we replicated that into our video. It is important to use real media products as inspiration for your own purely because of the fact that they show exactly what the industry is doing, and also because we wanted our video to be as 'quirky' as possible it meant that taken inspiration from videos such as these were the most helpful because they referenced the type of audience that we wanted to target. The use of the hand shot was crucial to our video because of the fact that it is able to show emotion in the extremities and is able to get across to the audience exactly how this person is feeling. With this it is clear that we used this element in our work, however the video in general is something that we developed because there is no narrative within the 'Two Cousins' video; however within our's we made sure that because of the emotion in the song and what the lyrics mean that we respected that and made sure that there was something within our video that showed this development.
Also with picture 3 and 4, also from the 'Two Cousins' video, the range of dance is something that we replicated within our video. Also the black and white theme is used throughout our video with good effect, this is something that helps the look and emotion of the video because then you don't have colour distracting you from what the video is trying to get across. You only have the the people and lack of mise en scene to get across the story of what this couple is going through and how he does not love her anymore. The range of dancing in our video was something that was always going to be built up within our video to have more impact towards the crescendo of the song, something that the 'Two Cousins' video does as well and therefore clear that we took and used within our own. Again, we developed this video a lot because the original Slow Club one does not have a story line whereas our's does therefore showing a level of quirkiness to what this genre normally produced.
What we did to challenge our video was through the use of the mise en scene, the costumes mainly. Even though we had a set idea coming from our draft of what costumes to do, especially considering that after the draft I was put in charge of sorting the costumes because that is something that I want to do in my later career, so this seemed like the best idea for me to be put in control of. However, there were issues with this because of the fact that I had purchased a vintage dress that unfortunately did not fit Sophie and became an issue for us when filming. Therefore we had to take the next best alternative which was to wear one of Cam's larger t-shirts, which even though I was not sure of at the time turned out okay in the end. In saying that though, because of this we have challenged Ed Sheeran's video 'Thinking Out Loud' because the costumes in his video are more extravagant it is challenging our video because we have used costumes that give know real clue as to who these characters are and what kind of personalities they have. Even though this is not typically the most respectable thing to have done in our video because these characters are fully developed in their emotions, it is only their costumes that are not telling the audience who they are and what they stand for. However, I would say that this works in our video. Even though it challenges the normal conventions of what videos do, there is still a lot of the character's personalities and experiences shown and even though their costumes are minimal and plain it still works.
We also took major inspiration from Sia's 'Chandelier' video, this was for both the dancing and the look that was portrayed throughout our own video. We wanted contemporary dancing, and this video included the most contemporary dancing in recent times. Therefore it is clear to see that we used this element within our video, not to the same extent as Sia's video. However in saying that, even though our video has used her's as inspiration, other than the dancing there is not much more that can be referenced within our own. The Sia one doesn't have a clear storyline, which our's does, and the setting is also something that is not portrayed in the Parables' video. We have then developed these points further and brought them into the world of the Indie/Alternative genre, rather than the Pop/Dance genre. Although, we have also taken similar costume tips from the Sia video, the lack of personality shown through it is something that we unintentionally achieved within our's and surprisingly it is something that has been executed well.
Going onto pictures 9, 10, 11 and 12; these pictures show the clear similarities between Slow Club's 'Complete Surrender' video and also our's. The use of the mid shots and the close ups within this video is an element that we really wanted to portray, therefore using this element from real media products.
We have managed to use, develop and challenge many aspects of the music video industry within the production of our video. Using videos such as these as inspiration is what has inspired us all along to be producing a video that looks completely different to anything that has been seen before; and even though I can totally vouch for the fact that we have not been 'original' in any shape or form, I would then say that we have taken all of the appropriate elements out of our inspirational videos and formed something that can be seen equally as 'quirky' and with certain twists and turns that the audience wouldn't necessarily expect.
Digipak and Advert:
When researching the internet for the type of digipak and advert I wanted to create, I seemed to find a lot of inspiration in the form of The XX, Arctic Monkeys and Justice in terms of minimalism on their album covers. However whilst continuing this research, I realised that there was nothing in particular that I wanted to replicate. I didn't want to take anything from anybody else, however I would not say that I have been 'original' at all. The use of the shapes and the conceptual features behind what I have created was something very reminiscent of the Indie/Alternative genre, as most Indie bands do not follow the conventions of using band photography on their album covers and adverts. This then is obviously an element that I wanted to replicate with my own style and flair to create an album cover that could resonate with the Indie/Alternative target audience. I have used many elements from real media products, such as The XX's covers. They have inspired me the most purely for the fact that their simplicity and minimalism comes across very effortlessly and that is something that I want to come across withing my design. Whether I achieved that or not is something that I still must gain from audience feedback, and then I will be able to conduct a full test as to whether my design has been received well by my target audience.
try and establish what the conventions of music video are. The examiner will expect you to use key terminology in the response, you can do this by refering to illustrate, amplify and disjuncture. Identify which shots you've used which illustrate or amplify the lyrics/instruments in the song. If you can then connect any dance moves to the videos you have taken inspiration from where they too have amplified/illustrated or used disjuncture. Remember you are also assessed on how creatively you present this response, many students opt to do either a video commentary or a letter like the one I showed from Shinola. You could alternatively do an interview with someone attacking the video for plagiarising the others you mention.
ReplyDelete