Evaluation Question 1

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

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Screenshot 1: The beginning of my video shows the title slide, which has the potential and intention of initially gaining the viewers attention and focus. The image used is fairly simple, of the female lead in my video, where she features an almost mixed expression on her face. The creation of this enigma at the beginning of the video is a very popular convention in real music videos, as it interests the audience and keeps them watching. The fact that I have included the title details is also fairly conventional of older music videos, however this is not as often seen in music videos as of late.

Screenshot 2: This image shows the cross faded 'montage' of the male part getting ready, this is commonly used in many music videos, due to the power it has to convey a prolonged amount of time in a matter of seconds, which is crucial due to the short length of music videos and songs. The lighting is fairly dark and the sinister and dangerous vibe that I hoped to create in my video comes across well through yet another enigma in the male character.

Screenshot 3: The party scene in my video follows the form of a lot of current music videos, especially in the pop and dance genre, in which a party is filmed or documented with the main characters sticking out or featured more at points, to create a sense of liveliness. I do however feel that the fact that I have used this convention in an alternative rock/ post punk revival music video is fairly unconventional.

Screenshot 4: The use of close ups is very common in any music video, and I have exercised this convention throughout the video by including a fair few of them, often acting as different perspectives or views on a certain event. This sequence in particular shows a varied amount of different shots and angles that have been used to break up the journey that is being portrayed.

Screenshot 5: The conventions of the rule of thirds in this frame are being used as they are in popular music videos as this is a popular directors rule when filming anything. The use of sexual connotations and imagery also mirrors conventions used in professional music videos, as this is a popular theme in all genre's of music video.

Screenshot 6: The use of a performer is extremely popular in music videos, with almost all professional music videos containing this element, the fact that I decided to use a singular performer and cut out half of the face to provide a more sinister look pushes the boundaries of this convention however, due to the fact that the performer is usually seen in full and in motion, whereas my performer is not. I also believe that this pushes the boundaries of rock/ punk videos also due to the fact that often in music videos belonging to this genre, an entire band would be seen and not just one single performer.

Screenshot 7: I used sexual connotations to mirror the heavy use of this element in the industry and in professional music videos again, with an intimate scene being portrayed, however added a more haunting element, not seen as often in music videos by having the male performer stare in direct mode of address to the camera. The overlayed tint of red in this shot also gives off connotations of love, lust, danger, and energy, similar to other music videos where colour is often used to portray emotion or symbolism.

Screenshot 8: The extreme close up of the phone is sticking to conventions of pop/ rap and dance music videos more than rock and punk music videos, due to the fact that the storylines in these kinds of music videos often feature the use of conversation through the phone and by texting. The fact that I have used this in a rock/ punk music video however, as well as the use of a storyline without a heavy performance is unconventional and pushes the boundaries of the genre once more. I also used the phone as a tool to symbolise and sum up the fact that the male was leaving the female in the video, which is atypical to other music videos that use this convention due to the fact that the phone is often used as a 'hook up' tool.

Screenshot 9: This medium close up of the male character in my video is a convention often used in many genre's of music videos, including rock videos, as it gives the viewer 'one last look' and triggers an image that sticks in the head of the audience. I feel that the use of the dark, shady image is also fairly conventional of rock music videos, especially ones that try to create a darker tone like I did.

Overall I believe I used a fair mix of conventional and unconventional aspects in my music video, and mainly put this down to the fact that if they are conventional they have likely been successful due to the high use of these frames.