Evaluation Question 1 response

Evaluation Question 1 response

• 1.
  Question1 Real media productsoften conform to the conventions theorized by Andrew Goodwin, with some,like the two door cinemaclubs musicvideo–are we ready, beinga perfectnarrative andperformance video to detail the relationshipbetweenthe lyrics and visuals,beingbuiltlike anadvertisingproductto entice the audience and allow them to guess what the next lyric will be, as well as following Stuart Hall’s dominantreadingas there is a strong connectionbetweenthe propsand lyrics that forcesthe audience to understandthe impliedtext. Similarly,we alsofollowedthe themesof lonelinessandisolationin‘Why Won’t TheyTalkTo Me? ‘s lyricsand theirconnotations,choosingtojointhe lyricand visual of ‘me’with shots of our protagonist on her own, following the record labels requirements of the artist’s face and conformingtoa real mediaproduct. AsseeninGomez’svideo,the openingincludesestablishingshotsof the Mise-en-scenetoallowthe audiencetoformaconnectionandsignificance betweentheartistandthe lyrics,usingpropsthatwill laterbecomeof importance aswell ascuttingonthe beattokeepthe audience entertained. Withinourownmusicvideo,we alsousedthe opening toshow the establishingshotsof our protagonist and explicitly show her being rejected by the headphones users, making her seem isolated and playing on an amplification of the title, Why won’t they talk to me? This allowed us to show the significanceof the headphonesrightfromthe start,creatingtheideaof herbeingblockedoutfromsociety and trying to fit into their world. The psychedelic genre can be shown in many ways in music videos. They tackle the themes of ‘tripping out’ or being on drugs, shown by the incorporation of animation within some of the sequences. For example,inBorns’video,animationisshownto detail the artistlosingcontrol of her love and becoming physicallyfuelledbythe electricithasgivenher.ItlinksexplicitlytoGoodwin’stheoryof lyricsandvisuals and the animation is used to explain the ideas more clearly for the audience to accept the Dominant reading and follow Hall’s theory of audience reception. This video in particular by Tame Impala follows Mulvey’stheoryof the Male Gaze, however,flipsthe ideaon itshead as it is shownthroughthe female artist’sgaze both onscreenand to appeal more soto that audience asitis inside herhead. Othervideos thattackle thisgenre alsoconformtoGoodwin’stheoryof looking,withthecamerausingslowanglesand framestobecome likeavoyeurandexamine thefemalebody. ThisvideoalsoconformstoMulvey’stheory of the Male Gaze, beingmore explicitasthe anglesbefore the animationare slow andfocusingmore on her bodyand thenshowthe female havingcontrol over the boyinthe animatedsequence. We followed conventionsof thisgenre bycreatingour own animateddreamsequence toshow ourprotagonistlosing control and finally figuring out what the map means to her, challenging this convention slightly by immersingthe audiencewithinthe sequence themselvesandshowingthemlookingatthe mapalongside Joss,aswell asbreakingthe forthwall toshow hercomingbacktorealityandestablishingtothe audience that she knows what it finally means. Conventional music videos in this genre also seem to include a dream-like sequence to show the protagonist losing themselves in some form or another, building up a narrative video to accompany the lyrics. Our music video does this in the same way, creating a story of the isolatedgirl whofindsamapthat leadshertoa chestthat appearsto have everythingshe needsinit. Music Videosintheirgeneralisationstendtohave someelementsof cuttingonthe beat,whetherthatbe to the lyrics or to the actual underlying drum beat in the song. This helpsmassively to create a pace for the music video as well as clearly establishing the genre that the video is in. Cutting to the beat of the musicisseeninperformance basedvideossuchasthisone byGreenDay. It allowsthe producertomake the whole setupappearalotmore visuallypleasingthanone straightcutall the waythroughthe video.It keeps the audience’s attention maintained on the visuals and the messages they are trying to convey,
• 2.
  helpingaidHall’stheoryof preferredreadingtobecome morewidelyaccepted.Withinourownvideo,I triedtoconformtothisconventionbyalternatingbetweenexplicitdrumbeatcuts,suchaswithinthe end sequence of Joss running, but also within the constraints of the lyrics, using the syllable to cut on ‘pre- tend’andto cuton ‘me’whenshe opensthe doortocreate anexplicitconnectionbetweenhercharacter and the map. Our animation sequence also conforms to this idea, having shapes and lines appear to fit the beatof the musicorthe base line,makingitsubtlymore pleasingforthe audiencewhoactuallynotice this little detail. We also did this right at the beginning of our music video using the shot of the chest. Throughusingan additive dissolve,we craftedthisshottobe affectedbythe light,cuttingoneachsound effectandaimingtoput the audience ina trance like state,hopingtoabsorbthemwithinthe ideaof the chest and remember it for the ending of the video. Most musicvideosalsohide some connotationsfor theaudiencetoworkoutforthemselves. Forexample, in Maroon 5’s music video, the use of the bright colour has connotations of being childish and playful, showing him as an outcast and lonely monster,finding a character he can relate with at the very endof the video. Similarly with The Fray’s music video, they tackle the issue of mental issues and a more depressingly real agenda, using the pale and faded colours to have connotations of the patient’s bleak view on the world as well as resembling that of a hospital room, with the crowd of people being used perhapsto representthose whoare visitorsorattendingthe funeral of the lifetheywere unable tosave. We presentthe ideaof colour havinga strongside meaningwithinourownvideo,usingthe brightlights emanating from both the chest and map to show an uplifting side as she has finally figured out the meaningof itall.We usedbrightercoloursandalighteratmosphere,suchasthe fogtocreate this feeling. Incontrast,we alsoshowamore depressingsideof the video,usingdull and darkcoloursthatfocusmore so on the reasonfor herbeingout-cast: the orange jumper,at the verybeginningof the video.Thiswas to showtotransitionof hercharacterandhow she learnstoacceptherself once she hasfoundthe means to do so, complying to the narrative style of the video. In terms of a marketingperspective,thisgenre isn’tas popularas the more conventional pop,indieand rock songs.However,due to its uniqueness,itisable to sell and draw in a massive targetaudience who can all relate to the lyrics and visuals in such music videos. This also allowsthe record label or band to produce ancillaryprojectsthat helpto re-enforce the themespresentedinthe videoand to be more on the ‘wacky’ side, almost hypnotising its audience intoa trance and getting them to buy the product. To market our own music video, I tried to use shots that focused more on the obvious themes of isolation, lonelinessandself-acceptance,usingthis bothas a way to explicitlyrelate withourtargetaudience,but also showing with a contrast between the extras and the protagonist at the very start of the video, and thenheavilyfocusingonour protagonist andherorange jumpertodetail herisolation.We alsofollowed the conventionsof animationwithinthe video,usingittoshow Levi-Strauss’theoryof binaryopposition and the twosidesof ourcharacter lateron.This unique featureallowsittostandout andappeal more to our target audience due to how unusual and unexpected it is, presenting unansweredquestionsfor the audience to want to work out and subtly manipulating them into buying the product to find out the answers. When making my Digipak, I considered how to show the psychedelic genre of the song within the packaging,as well ashowI could representthe bandmembersandcreate a sense of continuitybetween all of the images. I considered the use of drawing in my protagonist, finding that this was a little overwhelmingandmade the theme of isolationseemalittle tooconventional.Ioptedinsteadtodrawin my extras in the background as this created the separation of worlds between the protagonist and
• 3.
  everyone aroundher,allowingherto explicitlystandoutandjuxtapose the rolesof becominganimated within the video. This also allowedme to explore Levi-Strauss’theory of binaryopposition in an explicit manner, showing the two sides of the story. This drawing also enabled me to comply within the psychedelic genre, keeping the colours as realistic as possible in this frame to make the genre become more normalised and accepted,perhaps being completely undetected by some audience members and making the transition become a lot more shocking and interesting. I enhanced this further by also including tiny bright drawings of shapesand various lines that would grab the audience’s attention and convince them to purchase the product in order to find out why they were included. I showed this throughout the digipak, varying the design on each panel to show the uniqueness of the product and furtherdetail of the confusionof the map,aswell ascreate adirectlinktothe musicvideo.Iincludedthis to explicitly allow the audience tobecome part of the productthemselves,beingtakenintothe mindof the protagonistand alongside herjourney.This allowedme toconformto a real mediaproduct as many media institutions try to directly appeal and relate to their audiences so that they can market towards theirneedsandinterests.Ialsocoupledthisbykeepingthe colourschemeandstyleconsistentthroughout the product,usingthe same fontson the side,frontandback panelsto appearprofessionalandrealistic. Thisisan importantfactorwithinprojectsasitallowsthe audiencetocreate alinkbetweenproductsand cement the brands identity or motif clearly.Much like a real product, I displayedthe artists name,song and albumonthe packagingtofurtherenhance theiridentitytothe audience,allowingthemtoassociate the protagonistwe have constructedwiththe genre andstyle of the song or band.Withinthese panels,I wantedtorepeatthe motif of the map. AsI had more explicitlyshownthe isolationandthoughtof being cut off on the frontpanel,I wantedthismap to onlyfeature the protagonistas it was linkedexplicitlyto herand the solutiontoherproblems. Byincludingthe mapon3 of the panels,ithintsatthe ideaof being importantand necessaryto the story, keepingthe audience insuspense asto exactlywhatit meansand how it is relevant. I also kept this realistic by including the small print for the artist’s band, record label, locationandwebsite forthe audience tofindoutfurtherinformationif theywere soinclined. Thisallows me tocomplywithinthe marketingstandardsas itexplicitlytargetsanaudienceof psychedelicenthusiasts and includes references to the band and their links to promote them further. When making my magazine advert, I wanted to make it consistent withinthe product, using a similar colourscheme andfontthroughoutbothancillarytexts.Ialsodisplayedthepsychedelicgenre bydrawing the protagonist’s hands and part of her facial features to emphasise how she had been affected by the map in a more physical and visual way. I wantedto make this subtle, however,also conforming to Levi- Strauss’theoryof binaryopposition byshowingthe twosidesof myprotagonistasare representedinthe music video. I showed this more explicitly in my second advert, drawing a near half and half divide between the animated form and the real protagonist, allowing her to continue to stand out from the outsiders and be a complete individual. This also allowed me to link it to my music video by following Barthes theory of enigma codesand getting the audience to question what the chest is for in the video, but alsowhat the relevance tothe animatedcharactershows.Withinbothadverts,I includedthe artists name,albumtitle anda photoof the protagonistrepresentingthe bandtoconformto Goodwin’stheory of the demandsof the recordlabel,aswell asthe commonconventionsof amagazine advert. Imade sure to include the same small-printdetailsaspreviouslymentionedonthe digipakpanels,choosingthe white logofor the record label asit again bestsuitedmyproductand its theme.Ialternatedfromthe common conventions of an advert on my secondary ad by disregarding the more crucial information such as the reviews for a sense of authenticity and the release date of the digipak. I did this as I envisioned the secondaryadvertto be a replicate of the first,beingusedonlyto re-enforce the ideaof the band and to
• 4.
  furtherpersuade my audiencetogo out and purchase the product.I alsoagain chose to use the map as the main propfor my adverts,drawingthe audience inbygettingthemtoquestionwhatitwasthere for and its use to our protagonist, enticing them to again purchase the product and find out, boosting marketingsalesbyusing such subtle items.Itook mostof my inspirationforthe creationof the product from a variety of psychedelic adverts, noticing how they focused particularly on wavy drawings, bright colours and bold fonts to stand out from the packed advert. This allowed me to see how a real media productfocusedontheiraudienceand marketedspecificallybymakingaboldstatementaboutthe genre of the music. By having a similar technique on my own product, it appeals to my audience as they can guess exactly what the genre of the cd will be and its contrast to other more popular genres, making it unique and stand out, aiding sales and becoming a successful real media product.