Evaluation Question 1

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

Music videos are produced for both promotional and artistic purposes, representing the style of music and the portrayal of the artist in the industry. The music video and album cover released by an artist is the strongest way the public will view their persona, so the decisions made during these production processes are essential. The key conventions of music videos vary massively due to the wide range of styles they can be portrayed as. Music videos for pop music will usually feature the artist themselves, performing the song to camera, with a parallel narrative happening throughout the video, often literally depicting the lyrics being sung. I chose to challenge this particular feature of music videos by using a non-literal depiction of the lyrics, straying from the conventional way love songs are illustrated. I decided this in order to conform to the reception theory, allowing my audience endless boundaries, without restricting them to one particular portrayal of the song. Without dwelling on the lyrics themselves, I chose to focus on the tone and sound of the song itself; slightly moody yet enchanting. The song captures the daydreaming and fantasy of the theme, as the singer speaks of how she wishes things to be with the person she loves. I chose to use a combination of both green screen and live location footage in my video, portraying 'Alice' as directly addressing the audience through eye contact with camera in green screen footage, breaking the fourth wall and connecting with the viewer. I used a grainy, old-fashioned version of footage on the backdrop of the green screen, which is self-referential and indicates that the footage is not actually fantasy, but is forced, stopping the audience buying into the idea and believing it is real. 'Alice' invites the audience to join her in watching the simulated footage, yet 'Alice' is not actually real, despite attempting to connect with the audience, she is a simulated version of a fictional character - portrayed in a 'realistic' way (hyperreal simulation) supporting Baudrillard's theory of hyperreality.

Verses take  a linear narrative, watching the character discover new surroundings, we watch her slowly gain confidence before stamping her authority by painting roses and destroying the 'tea party'.  The choruses of the song break away from the linear narrative of the verses, taking the form of a flashback, the old-style effect creating a nostalgic feeling of yearning for the past. According to Barthes theory of narrative codes being like a ball of thread, my music video could be seen as a closed text, where there is only one obvious 'thread' to pull on, and the narrative can not be decoded in any other way. This can also be linked to Todorov's theory of equilibrium, disequilibrium, new equilibrium, where 'Alice' is placed in her surroundings (equilibrium), is lost and exploring in order to find her way (disequilibrium), before gaining confidence and settling in the environment (new equilibrium).

Although dated, Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze can be applied to the camera angles used, for example the first shot in the video which focuses on the artist's legs as she walks across, sexualising the character. The panning shots of table from 'Alice's POV and shots from other end of table from  the audiences perspective makes the viewer feel like they are sat with 'Alice', making connection with the character. The close ups on drinking tea see the shots becoming invasive, and the mid shots with branches in front of camera, give the impression of the audience spying on character. In terms of editing, I used slow, fade transitions to support the tempo of the song. I decided to use multiple exposure of 'Alice' representing simulation/duplication of her character, and my final shot of pouring tea in reverse – plays with the viewer's mind, reminding them that it is not a realistic representation, it is an edited reproduction.

In my digipack and magazine advert designs, I used the conventions I have become familiar with as a consumer. For example, my digipack features the artist’s face as the main image on the cover, making clear to their fans that it is theirs. I chose to merge an image of a rose on to the artist, making it look like a hat. I thought this conformed to the avant garde fashion and trends seen on pop stars such as Lady GaGa. I featured a barcode and a sticker indicating the hits on the album, which would be required for the CD to sell in shops. I added small print to the back of the digipak, with information about the record company, credits, and a website link to the record label and the artist herself. I labelled each side of the album ‘level 1’ and ‘level 2’, playing with the title of the album being ‘Video Games’ and therefore reinforcing that theme. My magazine advert included access to the twitter and facebook pages of the artist, as social networking has become a crucial way for artists gaining success virally.