Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I made this video in answer to question one of the evaluation. The following is the transcript of said video: The aim of our music video was to do both. It subverts and conforms to convention, theory and expectation, allowing it to be an exploration of millennial politics while at the same time revelling in the music of the Kinks.
Music videos for rock songs typically consist of lots of close-ups and wide-shots. This pushes Goodwin’s theory of ‘the star image’ as the focus is put heavily on the band to promote the brand, while breaking this up with shots that show off the locations of the video. We absolutely conformed to this because a lot of thought had been put into the chosen locations for the video and all contained symbolism that aided the story. We talk more about that in our directors’ commentary. I also tried to establish a brand through focus on a star image, but instead of the band, it was the character of Lola who helped me brand my work. This is shown through close-ups in the video, like when she removes her wig, and also in my digipak, where most of the panels consist of images of Lola that put emphasis on her face. The art style also gives my digipak a unique and personal look.
We also used slight camera movements in our music video. By slow-zooming in on Lola looking at herself in the mirror, not only do we show the significance of this moment as she realises self-acceptance, but it adds a bit of dynamism to the video that retains audience attention. A key component of any music video, especially one made up of largely still-shots. The mis-en-scene of a music video, in particular that of the rock genre, is primarily used to convey narrative. We used props like bottles and cigarettes to show the desperate state Lola is in, which in turn gave me a perfected grungy aesthetic that transcends all my media texts. To create convergence with the lyrics, shots like the 'Guys and Gals’ sign in Stokes Croft match up with the words of the song: “Girls will be boys and boys will be girls.” This is typical in a rock music video which tends to focus on performance. We subvert this idea for the most part, not focussing on the band but instead interweaving them into the narrative. Ultimately though, we conformed to the method many music videos use, which was to use location and props to coincide with the lyrics and tell a story; only our story was rooted in commentary on societal constructs, a way of us building on the tried-and-tested methods of video-making and attracting a niche but loyal fanbase, as seen in our final focus group.
The editing was key in our music video because of this lack of focus on the band. Lots of music videos for rock songs focus more on the movement of the band than quick editing to maintain a fast pace. But because we weren’t having performance throughout, we used editing as a vehicle to keep a lively speed. That’s why we cut to the distinctive first beats of the song at the beginning; it opens the video with momentum and draws the viewer into the world we created.
The aforementioned grunge helped denote the tone of a rock 'n’ roll music video through the low lighting and grimy colour scheme. In my digipak, I furthered this aesthetic by paying homage to bands like Arctic Monkeys through the black and white panel of our band. Not only does the heavy shadows and motion-blurred band members conform to the stereotypical image of a rock band album, but also fits with the themes of hidden identity and chaos in both the digipak, magazine advert and music video. This is similar to the method of designing the band to appeal to a mass audience, wherein they are dressed and made-up to look fashionable and 'hip’. We totally subverted this. The band were there to tell Lola’s story, and the fact they were interwoven into the narrative thematically meant that they had to blend in visually as well. We therefore organised for their costumes to be understated, with only subtitles like bandanas or band tees suggesting their musicianship.
Out of all my texts, the mag ad was probably my most conformist. That’s by no means a bad thing, but where the music video and digipak subvert convention, the advert does what an advert should: exploit the recognisability of 'The Kinks’ and emphasise the release date to promote sales of the digipak/album.
In the end, I believe my efforts to subvert the conventions of music videos and surrounding texts were justified and effective in both establishing a brand and delivering to the audience what they wanted to see. The instances in which we did conform, the themes and style of my music video required at least slight adjustments to reliable methods of telling a story through music.