Evaluation Questions 1

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

                                         

Greta – 0:00 - Promotional music videos conventionally begin with a shot of the star, creating a relationship with the audience from the first second. Initially we wanted to adhere to this convention, however we then decided to manipulate it slightly and make the establishing shot a two shot. This way not only does the first shot introduce the audience to the star, but also the female support/ a princess which links to Propp’s theory.

Regarding the mise-en-scene in the opening shot, it creates a desolate urban look with the bricks and the graffiti work on the walls. We used this location to create a strong indie/ indie rock look that would hint to the audience what genre the music video is.

(The strong use of yellow throughout the opening shot links the visuals with the video, as the song title is sprayed on the wall in yellow by the female actress who is in a yellow outfit. This synergy is further supported with special effects and the addition of the name of the star at the top of the shot to tell the audience about him more, and revealing his name in the music video. )

Rhea – 0:04 -The shot then cuts to another two shot, which shows the two characters close to each other, looking into the camera and creating a direct link with the audience. Goodwin’s notion of looking in music videos is a big convention which helps to create a relationship with the audience. We adhered to this convention because breaking it would make the music video obscene and uninteresting to the audience.

Ryan - 0:08 - This two shot then cuts to a similar two shot, in the same location with the exact same makeup, however, this time the actors are physically away from each other, and this adheres to Bordwell and Thompson’s theory which states that ‘a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship’ which is what we wanted to portray in this shot; that in this ‘internal world’ the story of the two characters is being told in a specific chain of events that cannot be changed, as the music video is not real life.

Greta – 0:14 - After the wide two shot, the video abruptly cuts to a very brief shot of the main star running towards the camera in distress, crying. This breaks the stereotypical conventions and disagrees with Perkin’s theory, which claims that ‘A stereotype is an idea that is adopted about specific types of individuals/group of people’, This applies to males, who are told by society to be tough, strong, never show emotions. We decided we did not want to use the stereotypical views on men or women in this video, as we think that our modern-day audience are more open about emotions and breaking down gender barriers. Upon reflection, we think that this shot was successful and the implied meaning was understood, however, we think that using more shots that are different and have the same meaning would’ve been more effective.

Rhea – 0:14.5 - This two shot of the actors with their heads touching symbolises conflict that will take place in the music video, which disagrees with Todorov’s narrative theory and the idea of equilibrium, as there is no equilibrium to begin with, and the story is moved back and forth in a non-linear way.

Ryan – 0:15 - This brief shot is at a low angle and shows the female actress on the floor with alcohol bottles, looking away from the camera. This shot breaks the stereotype of women and that they are expected to behave, drink moderately or not drink at all and act to a specific standard at all times.

This shot introduces a new side of the actress, and shows what will happen in the music video , therefore foreshadowing future events.

Greta – 0:15.5 - This is the shot which introduces the first lyrics of the song, and therefore we used a conventional medium close up shot of the star, looking into the camera whilst singing. This adheres to the convention of having close shots of stars while they’re looking into the camera , as this helps the audience learn more about the singer and helps them recognise them more in the future.

Rhea – 0:17 - This shot adheres to Goodwin’s convention which states that music videos should have a link between the lyrics and the visuals. Although it isn’t an obvious link, the black card represents risk taking and danger lurking in the sea of red cards which represent love and passion. Although this link is not direct, our niche audience tend to be active and responsive to these details, therefore we did not worry about this, and upon reflection, we think that this was a good decision as  after asking a group of people that fall into our target audience, the majority understood the meaning behind the cards.

Ryan - 0:19 - The shot cuts to a darker low angle shot which is much more dynamic: the male actor is mid action, which engages with the audience more than a stationary pose all of the time.

Greta – 0:22 - The shot cuts to a close up of the female actress rolling her eyes, which links to Goodwin’s ‘Visual and Lyrics’ theory, as the lyrics are about a person looking ‘miffed’.

Rhea – 0:24 - The following shot is also a direct link with the lyrics, as the female is in a medium close up shot, with closed eyes making a wish. This sets a happy mood and implies to the audience that the wishful thinking might be worth it. McQuail’s theory can be applied to this shot symbolises escapism and the hope to gain something better in life.

Ryan – 0:26 - The following shots are all long shots of the star, singing individual words into the camera from different locations, in different costumes. This is a dynamic and fast set of shots, which catches the interest of a ‘funatic’ audience.

Greta – 0:29 - After the quick montage of the male star singing, a two shot of the actors looking down is shown quickly, and they are covered in fairy lights. There are no lyrics to match the visuals, however the shot represents the lyrics that were before it; the wishing, hoping to find better places is represented with the flickering lights that cover the star.

Rhea – 0:30 - The shot cuts to a lighter medium close up shot of the female singing the male’s lyrics into the camera, which breaks conventions of a music video, as it is not the star singing his own song. However, the female is a support actress and is also important in the plot, and indie music videos tend to use support actors in similar ways (for example RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS- TELL ME BABY)

Ryan – 0:32 - The next shot is a high angle shot of a set of cards which have the lyrics that go with the shot written on them. This directly and literally links with Goodwin’s lyrics and visuals theory, as the visuals have lyrics on them. The cards are a sign which represents the feelings and the issues that are discussed in the music video, therefore they meet Barthes symbolic sign theory.

Greta – 0: 34 - The following shot is a conventional close up shot of the star singing into camera, however he is looking beyond the camera, as if he is talking to someone beyond our focal point.

Rhea – 0:36 - The shot abruptly cuts to a shot similar to the card shots before, however this time the male’s hands are holding them, and it is visible to the audience that the same ace of spades is in the middle of the cards, which can signify the danger and the conflict getting nearer and closer, intriguing the audience more.

Ryan – 0:37 - The shot cuts to an extreme close up of the female’s lips saying one word from the line. The use of extreme close ups in promo music videos is conventional, however they are usually of the star. We decided to manipulate this convention and to use the extreme close up on the female star instead.

Greta – 0:39 - The shot cuts to a similar, natural lighting shot of the male and the female singing the rest of the lyrics together. This shot again manipulates the convention, as although the line is meant to be sung by one person, the two of the are singing together, which can signify their bond.

Rhea – 0:42 - The shot cuts to a rising shot from a low angle to a high angle of the female in different costume with alcohol surrounding her, in an unpleasant area. This breaks the stereotype of females, which states that they never have any problems like substance abuse and so on… Although we are trying to appeal to a modern audience, this is not something that the active audience like, or enjoy to see, but we chose to expose the dark side of alcohol that many people turn a blind eye on, therefore we think that his shot was successful. This links with Dyer’s theory about star image, that it is a construct that we show to the audience, and it is not a real person. This shot tells that in a dark manner; that a normal looking person can be hiding a bigger problem.

Ryan – 0:44 - The shot cuts to a sepia shot that was recorded from a moving car, and it shows the road. This shot links with Goodwin’s theory of lyrics matching the visuals, as the lyrics speaks about a place that is ‘dead’ or ‘never wakes up’ and the shot that is filmed does not have any cars or people included in it. We think that this shot appeals to our young audience who seek to escape the small, claustrophobic areas as such, therefore we think this shot was really successful.

Greta – 0:48 - The shot cuts a similar coloured shot of the star in a medium close up shot, singing into camera. This shot follows typical conventions of a shot in a promo music video, until the female’s hands cover his eyes whilst he is singing. This relates to Goodwin’s theory as it links to the lyric ‘Blinded’ directly.

-  (the same as the first lyric shot, I don’t think I should comment on it?)

Rhea – 0:50 - The following shot is another conventional looking into camera whilst singing, however, we felt that medium close ups do not show enough of the small details of the male’s face, therefore we added a slow ken burns onto it, allowing the audience to get a better look at the star image. Although this could link to Green’s female gaze theory, we don’t think it necessarily does, as he is not trying to look attractive to the specific audience on purpose, but instead his facial expressions are showing anger.

Ryan – 0:55 - The shot switches to a dark, slight low angle shot of the female, swinging around a lamp post. This shot relates to the one that was previous, as the male’s anger is directed at the female’s actions and her constant drinking. This shot and representation links to the Bordwell and Thompson’s ‘Chain of events’ theory as the shots that follow each other are in chronological order or some sort.

Greta – 0:58 - The shot cuts to a paler close up of the female screaming in anger, with a shake effect. According to Goodwin, this shot directly links to the lyric, which mentions anger and rage that the female feels.

Rhea – 0:59 - The following shot also relates to the same lyrics and representation of anger, therefore in this shot the female is kicking down a door and standing over it. This shot completely shatters the gender stereotype, as the female is showing dominance and rage through destruction, whilst in comparison the male is running after her with tears in his eyes.

Ryan – 1:02 - The shot that follows shows the male singer behind a broken frame which looks like a cage, and this is exactly what it symbolises; that the male feels trapped in the destructive relationship which is harming them both. The camera movement creates more movement in the shot as it bounces closer and further away from the male, representing the progression of their relationship. We believe that this shot could be misunderstood if it wasn’t for the lyric that follows, which mentions traps and cages. Although we do have an active audience, this shot would not make sense to anyone if there was no relationship between it and the lyrics. 

Greta - 1:03 – The shot of Chase walking aggressively towards camera is a way of him expressing his anger towards the situation between him and Emily and the breakdown of their relationship. The small, confined corridor represents how compressed his head feels by being trapped in a relationship by being in love with a girl who treats him with a lack of respect and puts everything else before him. The medium long shot of him walking into camera is there to show his whole body so his aggressive actions can be seen clearly. Mood shots are also a convention for Indie music videos so we found it appropriate to adhere to this.

Rhea - 1:05 – The close up of Emily’s face with no expression is intended to be synonymous to the lyrics as they say “And the days she been dull”, obviously the words “She” and “Dull” are the keywords as they explain why Emily has no happiness on her face. Her dull facial expressions are also intended to be a response to the previous shot of Chase showing his emotions and this is a way of portraying the fact that she doesn’t care about how he feels, we felt a close up was the best shot to use as it portrays Emily’s facial expressions the most and her eye contact with the camera makes the shot more effective as it seems more direct and this also adheres to conventions of a music video.

Ryan - 1:09 – The conventional shot of Chase singing into camera is a way of showing that he is narrating the story of how his relationship is falling apart, he is on his own in the shot to enhance how lonely he feels as he is losing his girlfriend and he has no control over the situation.

Greta - 1:11 – The shot of Chase and Emily touching heads is a shot reminiscing how their love used to be strong, the reason this shot has a dull filter on it is to enhance the fact that it is actually a very negative shot in the heart of the narrative and their love is a thing of the past now that is clouded by anger, alcohol and gambling. We felt we could link this to Propp’s theory of heroes and villains, as the villain in the video is alcoholism and gambling. We used a close up for this shot as there closeness is very easy to identify and you can feel the love between them as it is in your face.

Rhea - 1:12 – The shot of Emily with all of the beer bottles is once again synonymous and making connotations to the lyrics as they mention beer bottles. We used a blurry filter to give the viewer an insight of the state of Emily’s head, her head is a mess and at first drinking was an enhancement of happiness, now it is a method of escape from being unhappy without alcohol. This concept meets Indie conventions however, it challenges the lower age range of the TA and reflects how society is changing.

Ryan - 1:13 – The medium close up of Emily singing to the camera is put in place as her persona links to the word fugitive in the lyrics, her facial expressions are dull and the colours are drained in order to enhance her unhappiness without alcohol, in this shot she is sober and is not happy due to this. Her actions are adhering to the conventions of a modern, independent Woman who has better things to do than worry about a man, however it could be argued that this is a fake personality and is a mask to cover up her alcohol abuse. This also challenges conventions as he focus is on Emily, who of course is not the star image.

Greta - 1:15 – The tracking shot of Chase running and crying is portraying his happiness to a large degree, this is why we drained the colour and used a long shot to show the emotions running through his whole body, this is also unconventional for a stereotypical man to be crying as a stereotypical traditional man is burly and has a heart of stone.

Rhea - 1:17 – The shot of Emily tearing up the joker card is synonymous to the lyrics as they say “you can’t kid us” the rip linking to “can’t” and the joker linking to “kid”, we have put this intertextuality in as we have done with different cards throughout the video, we did this to also try and link our intertextuality to Barthes by using symbolism in our video. This also appeals to a modern active audience.

Ryan - 1:18 – The shot of Chase looking casual, relaxed and singing the lyrics “you couldn’t trick anyone” is used to show his awareness of the addiction Emily has and he feels this gives him a small but existent aspect of power therefore he has a smug aroma about him.

Greta - 1:21 – The shot of Emily riding away into the distance adheres to Goodwin’s convention of lyrics and music matching as the shot links to the lyrics “you don’t know what you’re runnin’ away from”. Emily riding away from camera is obviously the key point in this shot, however we made the shot black and white to show the confusion in her head, she doesn’t know what she is scared off or trying to avoid confrontation over, but not a lot makes sense to her anymore. We also used the skateboards as we felt it was be relatable to young TA we are reaching out to.

Rhea - 1:27 – The panning shot of the town with no people to be seen links to the lyrics “who wants to sleep in a city that never wakes up” we felt a location shot would be useful here as it portrays exactly what the lyrics are putting across, we also used the sepia effect as it looks drained, similar to how many would imagine a city that never wakes up.

Ryan - 1:31 – The shot of Chase singing “blinded by nostalgia” whilst being blinded can be seen as very literal, which was one of our intentions, however the point we wanted our audience to also identify is that Emily is nostalgia, her former self before alcohol and gambling is what is keeping Chase in a haze of trying the keep a relationship whilst being unaware (blinded) that he is fighting a losing battle and the girl he fell in love with is fading away. We used a sepia effect on this shot as it is heavily linked to nostalgia and the slight draining of colours makes heavy representations to the past.

Greta - 1:34 – The shot of Chase singing “Who wants to sleep in a city that never wakes up” links to Goodwin as he is looking into camera and his hand gestures make the lyric more like a direct question to the audience, it also shows the passion and anger he is feeling due to the situation with his relationship and it also links to where the singing begins to shout.

Rhea - 1:38 – The shot of Chase smashing the glass symbolises his anger towards Emily’s alcoholism and the problems it causes in their relationship, the yellow paint also symbolises depression, this is caused from the problematic relationship and this shot connotes that he had bottled up his emotions. Yellow is also a symbolic sign with mixed connotations, joy or suicide, therefore this gives the TA something to think about behind the narrative.

Ryan - 1:39 – We used shots of drums and guitar being played to the beat as it adheres to Indie conventions of having a performance video as well as concept and narrative, it also serves the purpose of allowing the viewer to be taken away from the narrative for a few seconds to simply enjoy the music aspect of the video. Performance shots are a major convention of Indie Rock and we felt this was a necessary one to adhere to.

Greta - 1:43 – Another bottle smashing shot simply to show the aggression that Chase feels as well as the aggression of the instruments in the instrumental, this is why the bottle is smashed on the stabs of the guitar during the instrumental.

Rhea - 1:44 – We put a video of Chase bobbing his head up and down to the beat, this is intended to make the music seem diegetic although it is non-diegetic throughout the video, and it could be argued that this links to post modernism as being hyper conscious thus manipulating conventions.

Ryan - 1:45 - Another bottle smashing shot simply to show the aggression that Chase feels as well as the aggression of the instruments in the instrumental, this is why the bottle is smashed on the stabs of the guitar during the instrumental.

Greta - 1:46 – Shots of drums are used again played to the beat as it adheres to Indie conventions of having a performance video as well as concept and narrative.

Rhea - 1:47 – The shot of the cards in hand once again is our links to intertextuality and linking to Barthes with symbolism, an ace is shown between the hearts implying that there is danger (alcoholism and gambling) causing trouble in the relationship.

Ryan - 1:48 – The shot of Chase smashing the glass symbolises his anger towards Emily’s alcoholism and the problems it causes in their relationship, the yellow paint also symbolises depression, this is caused from the problematic relationship and this shot connotes that he had bottled up his emotions.

Greta - 1:49 – The two shot of Chase and Emily apart is showing how much they’re drifting apart throughout the narrative yet they’re still a couple. We also got the sign and tried to just have “Change Place” in the shot as it can be linked to escapism, which also links the lyric “Houdini” in the song.

Rhea - 1:50 – The shot of Chase vaulting over a wall is intended to suit the raw, aggressive energy of the instrumental being played yet is also once again linked to escapism as he is desperately trying to flee from a relationship that is mentally killing him but he cannot seem to let go.

Ryan - 1:51 - Shots of drums are used again played to the beat as it adheres to Indie conventions of having a performance video as well as concept and narrative.

Greta - 1:52 – The shot of the bottle being smashed is intended to be portrayed from Chase’s thoughts, this triggers a series of memories in his head that represent escapism, journey, love and the past, all of which he can’t seem to get hold of.

Rhea - 1:53 – The panning of the town is simply to show an aspect of journey and small aspect of escapism and it has the sepia filter to enhance the fact it is a memory and the colours are dull and drained to show that his happiness has been a recurring emotion for some time.

Ryan - 1:54 – The shot of Myles is linked more to realism, he is accepting the fact he is on his own and no filter on the shot makes it more raw and truthful. This links to Blumler and Katz as normal people often suffer the demise of relationships and this video may be able to relate to their situation.

Greta - 1:55 – The two shot of Myles and Emily is a distant memory as they are laughing and talking, making eye contact and are truly persuading the audience that love is existent and that they do not have a care in the world when they are with each other.

Rhea - 1:56 – The bottle shot is then reversed to resemble Myles being brought back to reality and that his thoughts are now just a thing of the past and have no effect on his situation whatsoever. This links to Bordwell and Thompson’s “Chain of events” theory as the alcoholism that was made clear at the start of the video has made the chain of events and this leads to Chase’s emotions becoming clear through his aggressive actions.  

Ryan - 1:58 – There is a shot of Emily with the bottles after Chase’s thoughts, simply to remind the audience of the narrative again yet also for it to seem like Chase has been brought back down to earth and has been reminded that his relationship is no more due to Emily’s alcoholism. The dull colours have also been used as it is seen as a very negative shot and the fact she looks away is almost as if she is washing her hands of the relationship and is surrendering to the clutches of addiction.

Greta - 2:00 – The dark two shot of Myles and Emily head to head after the shot of Emily with the bottles is portraying how dull and negative the relationship is now yet somewhere in the dark mist of addiction that looms through their relationship there is still some love there somewhere.

Greta - 2:02 - This is an extreme long shot of a town, which is also a tracking shot, we used this to target people who seek diversion (Barthes theory), as this is a form of escapism. The black and white effect applied made the shot feel very melancholy.

Rhea - 2:03 - We used a shot of Emily burning a heart card to show that she is angry at the relationship. A Ken Burns is used to focus the attention on black hearts to support the fact of her being angry. Within our video we adhered to Barthes, as we used a symbolic sign, this was the cards, as they resembled gambling. We altered the colour of the hearts to black, juxtaposing Strauss’s theory of ‘binary opposition’ as this resembles evil and mystery. Emily’s nails are red, which is a seductive colour, this links to Mulvey’s theory of the ‘male gaze’ as men are instantly drawn to this, therefore targeting out male audience.

Ryan - 2:05 - The two shot of the star and actor shows they are at conflict. The lyrics ‘you’re at a loss’ could suggest that she is losing him because of the alcohol abuse.

Greta - 2:07, 2:09 - There are three rapid shots edited to provide continuity and to reinforce the idea of conflict between the two characters.

Rhea - 2:13 - By using a prop of a skateboard this targets our younger audience and implies Emily is moving away from Chase.

Ryan - 2:18 - We adhered to Goodwin’s theory of close ups establish an artist, although the zoom out from Chase shows the both of them in a two shot. I was pleased with how we developed this convention: it highlights her effect on him.

Greta - 2:19 - Chase sings and looks directly at the camera, this connects with the audience. The location adheres to conventions, as this is a common location used in Indie music videos. We also listened to what the target audience wanted which was urban abandoned buildings. Goodwin’s theory of close ups establish an artist is also used her to engage with the audience.

Rhea - 2:24 - The lyric ‘nostalgia’ links to the desaturated colourisation and also meets Indie conventions.

Ryan - 2:26 - The natural lighting is coming from the right side and signifies that Chase is moving on from his past and wants to overcome his troublesome relationship. The male audience can relate to this on a personal level. This linking to McQuail and his theory of ‘personal identity’, as the audience can relate to Chases relationship problems.

Greta - 2:32 - Goodwins theory of intertextual references is shown through the use of props, as this refers to the ‘Wizard of Oz’ with Dorothy’s red shoes, thus requiring an active audience – this challenges conventions.

Rhea - 2:35 - Chase is leant against old yellow bricks which relates to the title name. This convention is not always adhered to, as Indie tends to comprise concepts, however this worked well for our music video.

Ryan - 2:36 – Emily looks from left to right, this could insinuate her looking forward and leaving the past behind her.

Greta - 2:38 - A series of shots of them together establish to the audience that their relationship is back on track due to the closeness of the stars. This repeated shot shows the audience of their happy moments and what they want to achieve again. Todorov’s equilibrium theory can be applied here as a new equilibrium is created due to all the forces being in balance.

Rhea - 2:40 – The previous shot is supported by this shot as they are now seen together, which shows that they are willing to forgo their problems.

Ryan - 2:43 - This shot has a disorientated effect on, to resemble the state in which she is in from the alcohol. This is a main problem today’s society have and we wanted to raise these issues in order for them to be recognised. Blumler and Katz’s theory of ‘diversion’ being used to escape from reality can be seen as Emily drinks alcohol for this reason. We used Barthes indexical sign for the disoriented effect as the effect and bottles signified a drunken state. Disequilibrium is then introduced because of Emily’s habits, this therefore sets off a chain of reactions.

Greta - 2:47 – The bottle smashing shot represents Chase’s anger towards Emily’s alcoholism and the problem it causes for the relationship.

Rhea - 2:48 - The camera then pans round the left, this suggests the next shots are flashbacks/memories of the unhappy times. This is supported by the black and white effect.

Ryan - 2:49 - This medium shot shows Emily walking away from her alcohol addiction, as we see her walking off the screen.

Greta - 2:51 - This repeated shot shows Emily looking away from camera, suggesting she is sad and thinking about their relationship. This can relate to the female audience, as they do not want to be seen upset. This links to McQuail and his theory of ‘personal identity’, as the audience can relate to Emily’s current emotions and relationship struggles.

Rhea - 2:52 - This high angle shot of the cards being thrown down, implies that Emily is finished with all of the problems and wants to move on and resolve her relationship.

Ryan - 2:57 – This shot suggests that she has dissatisfaction with how their relationship turned out.

Greta - 3:00 - Final shots in music videos tend to finish in a memorable way and that is what we wanted to achieve. Although we wanted to present our star as someone who can be fragile despite the social stereotypes of being a man (and going against Perkin’s theory), we still wanted to finish the video on the main star being aggressive and assertive, creating a strong look of a character. Upon reflection, we think that this was a very successful shot and the representation created was overall good, however, we also think that could have been an alternative ending to the music video, which could have shown Chase as someone less aggressive.

Conventions Of Ancillaries by rheanongreen8