1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our products were all based around the underground Rap artist ‘HB’, including a music video for his song ‘Never Let The Party Stop’, a CD cover for the single and a magazine advert for the release of the CD. The main genres I focused on were Rap and Hip Hop, studying various real media products in those genres in order to create the best possible products. They each used, developed and challenged various convention of the Rap genre.
Our main product was a music video for the single. By basing much of my early research and planning on Goodwin’s Theory of Analysis, I was able to utilize many conventions of not just the rap genre, but music videos in general. One major use of the genres conventions was the clothing. As Richard Dyer said, ‘how we treat others is based on how we see them”. With this in mind, we styled the artist according to conventions of the genre, wearing a varsity jacket, a flat peak cap, a white t-shirt and a chain necklace, much like various artists I studied in the research and planning stages of the coursework (including Jay-Z and The Game). By doing this, an audience unaware of the artist will be able to know his genre before hearing the music, which would then lead them into becoming interested in hearing the music. We used various medium and close up camera shots to emphasise the artists clothing, which are also common in other Rap videos as the demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist (Goodwin).
Another way we used conventions of real media products in our video was through different editing techniques and camera shots. Fading into the next shot is very common in Rap music as I discovered, and I wanted to incorporate this into the final video. Using Windows Movie Maker, I created fades between the chorus and verses, not only to fit the genre’s conventions, but to create a smooth transition in the video from extreme close ups to mid and long shots. As well as various close ups of the artist, various establishing shots are used which include the artist, but also show the environment, adding to the videos narrative.
Voyeurism is also used slightly in the video, which fits Rap conventions, with the extreme close up on lips in the chorus creating quite a sensual image, which fits in with Goodwin’s Theory. Our video also included a narrative throughout, with the artist heading to a music venue to perform traveling different areas. The narrative helps our video to fit various conventions as it partly follows Vladimir Propp’s Theory of Narrative by having specific characters in the narrative (a Hero and a Helper).
Our video also develops conventions of real media products through its mise-en-scene. Instead of continuously using one scheme of lighting (e.g. a bright, sunny day), it switches from light to dark for the climax of the video. Although this is not completely new to the Rap genre, it is far more common for the lighting to stay roughly the same throughout the video. Another way our video develops conventions is through its adaptation of the typical narrative. Instead of having the focus only on the artist throughout, interactions are made with other ‘characters’. This is a slight alteration to typical Rap video narratives as the focus is momentarily changed to other characters.
Camera shots allow our video to challenge conventions of real media products. In all the videos, none used a 180 degrees shot, so I sought to incorporate this into our video, creating a very unique sequence. By having the camera switch 180 degrees from focusing on the artist to another character, the point of view changes from the other character to the artist. This is very unique to the genre and music videos as perspective is changed without changing the camera shot or editing to a different angle, typically done through 2 shots. Long takes are also heavily used throughout the video which is very unlike most Rap videos, which rely heavily on quick edits or fades to incorporate their motives. By using long takes, momentum is sustained through lip syncing in the video without changing focus repeatedly.
The CD Digipak uses Rap conventions through perspective and point-of-view. The pictures show establishing shots of cities. This in itself is a metaphor as our artist ‘HB’ is looking down on his peers in the genre, showing dominance and power, something fought for in Rap. At the same time, these shots develop the genre. As well as metaphorically representing the artist’s status, they also represent his rise to that status, with the front image being of a city, and the back image being of a council estate, representing where he started and where he is now. The CD Digipak also challenges conventions by not including an image of the artist. Although this is not completely new to the genre, it does go against Richard Dyer’s Theory of Representation by having the artist represented by something other than himself.
Myself and Sam made several different advert designs, eventually combining our ideas to create the final product. We chose to use conventions of real media products by including images of the artist and the CD Digipak, meaning that readers of the magazine will know what they look like and recognize the CD cover in shops and recognize the artist in the music video. I developed the conventions using Photoshop the edit many different aspects of the image, such as turning the background image to black and white, and blurring the image of the star etc. Many Rap CD covers choose to leave the star unedited in order to create a more honest representation, yet I believe that the editing only helps the representation of the artist.
One aspect I would change next time would be to use better equipment. Although we filmed with the best camera we had access to and I edited using the best technology school had to offer, it did slightly limit our products. The music video, although I am very proud of it, does not have the same sheik and defined look that many contemporary rap videos have. Another improvement could've been made with the use of a camera stand. Although we did use a tripod, some tracking shots often appeared unsteady, taking away from the professional aspect of the video.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
Overall, I think that the combination of the main product (Music Video) and the 2 ancillary texts (CD Digipak and Magazine Advert) is very effective. One main theme that the 3 pieces have in common is the notion of looking. Whilst researching, I found many theories concerning the notion of looking. Daniel Chandler defined it as ‘The gaze in the mass media’, which became the backbone of much contemporary media theory. Jonathan Shroeder notes that ‘Media, especially film, has been called an instrument of the male gaze, producing representations of women, the good life, and sexual fantasy from a male point of view' (Schroeder 1998).
With this in mind, I wanted to incorporate the sense of gazing on ‘the good life’ throughout all pieces. In the video, over the shoulder, medium and close up shots of the artist help to create a sense of watching the artist, admiring his ‘good life’. In the magazine advert, Sam and myself intentionally included a shot of a club in the background that was taken looking down on the surrounding, as if ‘looking’ down at the club. In the CD Digipak, the establishing shots create the sense of gazing over the artist’s environment. I think that by having this ‘gaze in the mass media’ in each piece, it allowed them to combine very well as they already had a connection no matter on the content.
The music video’s narrative fit well with the CD Digipak. The CD Digipak’s images showed the transition from poor surroundings to affluent surroundings. This is parallel with the music video, as the narrative begins in a school before going from a poor neighbourhood to an affluent one. This could’ve been more effective if the shots used for the CD cover were shots from the music video as it would’ve created a direct link between the two.
Another element all 3 products share is the use of Rap conventions, which allows them not only to combine well together, they also fit the genre well individually. The CD cover and magazine advert work particularly well together as they both have a black and white colour scheme, allowing the audience to connect the 2 when they see them separately (In a CD store for example). I think that this concept could have been even more effective if the music video was also in black and white. I did consider this while making the video, but I thought that the video would feel more accessible in colour.
3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
As Andrew Hart said in 1991, ‘The meaning is not in the text, but in the reading’. This is a perfect example of how almost everything in the media is open to its audience’s interpretation. After reading theories and quotes from Hart, Abercrombie (1996) and O’Sullivan, Dutton & Rayner (1994), I decided to gain feedback in order to improve the final products.
By using the social networking website ‘Facebook’, I gained feedback on all 3 products. The main criticism of the music video was the lip-syncing, which was occasionally out of time. I learnt how important lip-syncing was to create a realistic and genuinely professional video, as to the un-trained eye incorrect lip-syncing is very noticeable. As a group we realized this problem, and went back to the editing stage to change it. The feedback on ‘Facebook’ also helped Sam and myself to develop our magazine adverts. In particular the feedback pointed out that the text was difficult to read on my advert drafts. I then changed the text to a more readable font and colour, which I think worked very well. The CD Cover received very good feedback, saying it looked ‘smart and professional’. Although it did not get any major criticism, that in itself was great feedback as it showed the group that it did not need to be changed.
As well as feedback through the Internet, we also gained feedback from our peers in our Media A2 class. As they are doing the same course, hence learning many ideal lessons in media studies, they gave us some constructive, detailed feedback in regards to our work. As we would receive this feedback in class, we could then sit down as a group and discuss the points raised by the peer feedback. A general lesson from the peer feedback was to allow myself plenty of time to work as the attention to detail needs to be very high.
4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Digital technologies have become a great asset in the modern world, especially in a media based environment. It gives people faster access to virtually anything they want, as well as the ability to create anything, challenge ideas and develop everything. All this means that ‘a media consumer can become a media producer’ (Uses and Gratification Model). A stronger view on the topic of advances in technology comes from Latour (1992), saying that 'technology is made by humans, substitutes the actions of humans and shapes human action'. This view is very much that media technology is 'inherently anthropomorphic'(Inherently taking on a human form in the way it works).
The blogging website ‘Blogger’ was incredibly important to each stage of the coursework. During the research and planning stage I used it to display various elements of my planning, allowing me to analyze my ideas in one location, making it easier to make quick decisions. In the construction stage I could post drafts of each piece and get feedback from peers and assess them myself. In the evaluation stage I was able to evaluate our groups production, by using such things as Goodwin’s theory of Analysis. Overall ‘Blogger’ has been very useful, with the only slight problem being the occasional technical faults, but I managed to work around them.
In the research and planning stage the video hosting website ‘Youtube’ allowed me to view videos in the same genre as my proposed idea in order to learn and analyze the conventions of the music videos in the Rap genre. I could also then take screen shots of camera shots used in those videos that I thought would be suitable for our final piece. One problem with ‘Youtube’ was that we could not access it in school meaning I could only view videos from home, which sometimes limited my work in school.
Also in the research and planning stage our group used digital cameras to take pictures of the proposed areas for the video’s mise-en-scene. This allowed me to compare and relate the images with the mise-en-scene of influential Rap videos. I could then display the images on ‘Blogger’ and explain my ideas. The video cameras allowed us to test our shots and be creative by varying certain elements, such as positioning and stability of the shot. We then used the same video cameras to film the final video, which was made easier by our past experience with the camera.
Computer software greatly helped my creativity when both planning and construction stages. Microsoft Word allowed me to create a mood board to present my influences to the rest of the group. It also allowed me to create mind maps, which were very useful in helping us decide on our target audience and mise-en-scene. The software Windows Movie Maker allowed me to edit the video, creating meaning amongst the shots and developing the narrative. It was very useful as all I had to do was upload the film and the music, and then I could begin to edit the video and express our creativity by using various shot orders and editing techniques.
Overall, new media technologies were very a key part of each stage of my coursework. They allowed me easy access to my influences, as well as the technology to develop my creativity and overall understanding of our products, hence making them as professional as possible.
