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

To present our media product we decided to use Facebook and YouTube, as this was the most effective way for the audience to view it. Social networking is a pivotal part of modern day society, therefore we felt that we would be able to reach a lot of our target audience by uploading it onto these websites. Blogger has been a major part of our A2 portfolio, as it is how we document all of our research and planning. We decided that this would be the best place to present our ancillary texts, as its a great way for people to look easily, without the trouble of having to search for it. We also posted our final music video on Blogger, as it was another way of obtaining audience feedback through the comments section.

Conforming to some of the typical genre conventions of a 'pop' music video was vital in order to make sure that we appeal to our target audience, and create a product that flows well. One way in which we conform to the forms and conventions of our chosen genre is through the use of fashionable/mainstream outfits. In today's music industry (especially the pop genre) artists sometimes base their outfits on what is trendy at the time. We spent a lot of time researching different outfit ideas that would not only appeal to our target audience, but that would also fit in with the song. In some of the shots we decided to dress our main artist James Gomez in a smart black suit with a burgundy shirt, I got the inspiration for this outfit from pop sensation Sam Smith; who regularly wears smart outfits.                            

We had regular costume changes throughout the music video, another example of this was our artists James Gomez second costume. Compared to his first outfit which was very reformed and smart, we decided that for the second outfit he should wear more relaxed attire. In a few of the shots out artist wears a chequered shirt and baseball jacket, this is very modern clothing which would again appeal to our target audience; as they too are young and knowledge on the latest trends. We knew that the costumes we chose for our artist was important for the outcome of our final production, as this is what represents our artist and determines how they are perceived. Another way that we follow the typical forms and conventions of our genre through the use of outfits, is how we dress our main dancer. We decided that he would be a prominent feature of our music video, as his dancing would appeal to our target audience. Like before, we conducted some research on what kind of outfit we should be choosing, by looking at 'pop' songs that feature dance routines.



We gained inspiration from the well known artist Drake, who regularly wears casual t-shirts in his music videos. We decided to follow this trend by dressing our dancer in a casual t-shirt and black jeans, with a beanie. We followed this particular convention, as we understood that popular artists have built themselves an image, by the style of clothes they wear in their music videos.




Another way our music product follows the typical forms and conventions of the 'pop' genre is through our decision to create a performance based production. This is where the artist can be seen dancing/lip syncing throughout the music video, in order to engage the audience. After researching the different ways in which we could structure our music video, we felt that a performance based product would best suit the genre, as artists such Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran follow this method.
By creating a performance based music video, we were able to include a lot of lip syncing and movement, which adds to the up-beat and happy mood of the song. Apart from our artist performing, we do cut to different shots such as the powdered paint in the air, and our two dancers. This gives our music video a range of different aspects, which will appeal to a different parts of our target audience.

By choosing to create a performance based product, we were able to use one of the typical conventions of the 'pop' genre, which is close ups. These are very popular in 'pop' music videos as they clearly show the artists facial expression and they also enhance the lip syncing. We used close up camera shots mainly on our artist James Gomez, as we wanted him to be the focal part of our video. We also used a close up shot on our main dancer, as we felt that by having him clearly lip syncing, it would allow the video to flow well together. Without including camera shots like close ups, the audience would find the video boring, therefore we made sure that we made it appealing to view.

Another example were we followed the forms and conventions of our genre was through the use of our dancers. It was clear through our research that many 'pop' music videos include dancers as it is very modern and makes the video look different from the others in the genre. The typical dance moves are very fast paced and upbeat, and usually fall into the category of hip/hop dancing. We had a dancer who was available, who was also professionally trained, so that his moves were up to standard. We watched how long the dancing shots were in other videos, so that we knew how much should be included in our video. The dancers in the example videos we looked at are very confident and well dressed, so we made sure to project this in our music video as we wanted the same response. The 'pop' genre is known for being a modern style of music, therefore by having modern dance moves, we are able to reach our target audience successfully.

Another way in which we conform to the forms and conventions of our genre is through our decision to use a younger looking artist. Pop music in today's industry is dominated by young male and female artists such as; Katy Perry, Chris Brown and Justin Bieber. This is because the style of music appeals to them most, due to the song content, stereotypical features and popularity. By using a young artist we were able to make his movements look more suitable and fitting for the target audience of 16-25 year olds. The song we chose also effected how we wanted our artist to look, despite the original artist, Pharrell Williams, being slightly older, we still felt he was very modern and trendy, therefore we wanted to convey this by having a younger looking artist.

Many 'pop' music videos use a range of different editing techniques and filter in order to make the production stand out. We knew from the beginning of the planning process that we wanted to use different techniques, in order to conform to the typical conventions of our chosen genre. One adjustment we made was to the lighting of one of our shots. On Final Cut we made the shot lighter which gives the sky an almost cartoon look. We feel that this would stand out to the audience, as it breaks up the shots to prevent any repetition.

During the planning process we did decide to challenge some forms and conventions of our chosen genre, in order to make it more interesting for the audience to view. We also feel that by challenging some conventions, we would be able to demonstrate how our skills have developed around the knowledge of the genre. One convention we challenged was the use of the slow motion effect. Usually, 'pop' music videos are very up beat and do not usually contain many slow editing effects. We felt that by adding this effect to one of our dancers moves, we would be able to highlight the extremity of the move, and appeal to the audience. Although we did use other editing techniques, I feel that the slow motion effect had the biggest impact, as it was mentioned on the audience feedback that the moves was impressive. This shows that our decision was successful, as we were able to take a calculated risk by adding in the effect.

Another convention we challenged was the use of the green screen. As we did not use this in our AS production, we felt that it would be effective to use it in our A2 video in order to further develop our knowledge and skills. In many popular music videos, extravagant and highly propped locations are common due to them having a high budget to work with. Although we did not have the opportunity to film in typically unique locations, we were able to use the green screen to create backgrounds that would not only engage the audience, but also add bright colours and effects. We decided to use our green screen with our main dancer, we also decided to use a graffiti background as this would appeal to our target audience as its very cool and modern. The green screen was a great technique to learn, and it was also very simple to edit on I Movie which made the editing process run smoothly. We feel that the green screen shots we produced looked very professional and fitted in well with the rest of our video.

Ancillary Tasks

As a part of the ancillary task we had to create a album front/back cover for our digi pack. Before starting this process we undertook a lot of research to find out what the common features were. We come to the conclusion that the majority of album covers include the artists name and the the album title. We felt that this was vital information to include, as it is what the audience will first look for. In most of the covers we looked at, the font used was very clear and bold. We decided to follow this convention by using a bold white font, so that it stands out to the audience. Another common feature of the album covers we looked at are an image of the artist. After our first digi pack idea failed to meet our expectations, we decided to change it by including an image of the artist, We felt this was a good decision as it gives the audience an idea on the artists persona. However, one way we challenged the typical conventions of an album cover was by flipping the image over and using it on the back cover. We felt this was a unique choice to make, as not many modern day album covers do this. We felt that it looked very neat and professional, and also looks eye catching when laid out as a template. Another convention we followed was by having the song titles on the back. All albums have these on the back as it gives the audience and insight into the albums content, and what the songs may be about. We decided to structure ours in a list form, as this is the most conventional way to lay them out.

Promotional posters are typically always unique, as the artists want them to stand out and draw the audience in. One convention we conformed to was the information that we included on the poster. Most promotional posters have the artists name and the album title, as this is the whole purpose of the poster, Our text is central on the poster as this is what we want the audience to be focused on. We have also included an image of the artist, which fits the typically features of a promotional poster as they want the artist to be easily recognised.