Evaluation Question 1

In preparation for this evaluation question we had a group discussion and went back over all our research on blogger in order to establish where we had met, developed or challenged our genre conventions. We then wrote a transcript, outlining our answer and used this as a script which Ed read over a video in which we included clips of the different influences within the video. 

For the voiceover, Ed used MusicMemos, an Apple application for smartphones and tablets. We then used the app Garageband to eliminate background noise from the recording and cut out pauses or mistakes that Ed had made. After this, using iMovie we pieced together the voiceover with relevant footage from both our music video as well as clips from the music videos we used as research in the pre-production process:

• Elbow - Grounds For Divorce
• Maroon 5 - Harder to Breathe
• Ed Sheeran - The A Team
• Biffy Clyro - Biblical
• Dan Croll - Bad Boy
• Kasabian - Ill Ray (King for a Day)
• Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
• Green Day - American Idiot
• Alt-J - In Cold Blood
• Django Django - Default
• Foals - Mountain At My Gates
• The Rolling Stones - Ride 'Em On Down
• Pulp - Mis-Shapes
• Catfish and the Bottlemen - Twice

Transcript 

Media Evaluation Questions 

Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real products? 

Our media product is made up of a series of influences determined by extensive research and planning in our pre-production process. However, we were determined not to make a carbon copy of every other indie-rock music video in existence so we decided to develop some of these forms and conventions and combine them with some of our own ideas in order to create a video easily identifiable as in indie-rock genre, whilst also standing out as unique and interesting to different audiences. 

A key factor in our project was our decision to work with a real band in Leeds, therefore we strived to create a professional looking video to meet the expectations of a professional band. This also meant we had to pay extra attention to the forms and conventions included in our video as we were appealing to a real audience base who’s expectations needed to be satisfied. 

The first thing we did as part of this project was to research Andrew Goodwin’s music video conventions to discover and understand the forms and conventions of music videos as a whole before delving deeper into the specific signifiers of our chosen genre. We included several of Goodwin’s conventions in order to create a successful and effective music video. This included creating a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics which we achieved through creating a narrative about homelessness whilst this theme is being explored within the lyrics. We furthered this relationship between the lyrics and visuals through our digipak, having the focal point of our album cover as a magpie which links to the lyrics’ metaphorical description of the homeless person as a magpie to create synergy and cohesion throughout our products. 

We also created a clear relationship between the visuals and the music (another of Goodwin’s conventions) as the song distinctly describes ‘turning tides’, implying hope for the homeless person in the future. We reflected this through our decision to shift the colour in the video from black and white to colour, with this transition taking place at a clear turning point in the song. Therefore this reflects the changing mood and ensures the video’s tone always matches that of the song in order to create a clear, cohesive relationship between the song and the visuals which run alongside it. 

As we were working with a band, and consequently a record label, we needed to meet the needs  of these two factors (which Goodwin identifies as another convention of music videos). As this was our band’s first ever video, we decided they needed to be relatively heavily featured in order to ‘introduce’ them to their audience. This also tied in with our genre research which identifies rock music videos as containing a lot of ‘live’ performance, therefore allowing us to tick two boxes in one go. Therefore we decided that we should cut between the narrative and performance aspects to create a hybrid music video which covered both bases the band desired - telling the story of the lyrics (as identified by Goodwin as well as being specifically requested by the band) and introducing the band themselves through performance aspects (therefore meeting the needs of the record label, beginning to establish artist iconography, and meeting the indie-rock conventions to create an identifiable music video within this genre). 

Once we understood the general conventions of music videos themselves, we decided to focus our research more specifically on the genre we knew we were working in. It was important to establish a good understanding of our genre as it is a vital part of creating a successful media product as Jonathan Culler said “generic conventions exist to establish a contract between creator and reader so as to make certain expectations operative”. Therefore we needed to understand what our audience expected so as to meet these needs and guarantee their satisfaction with the final product. We did this by conducting extensive research on similar bands such as ‘Pulp’ ‘Kasabian’ and early videos by ‘Maroon 5’ such as their ‘Harder to Breathe’ music video which became a major influence for the performance aspect of our video, even influencing some of the shot types and angles we decided to use. When it came to our narrative we looked for inspiration from videos which explored similar issues such as Ed Sheeran’s ‘A Team’ which also depicts homelessness. This was where we got our initial idea to put the video in black and white to reflect the dire circumstances experienced by the homeless. We also researched a specific director, Samuel Bayer, who has done several videos in this genre, including ones by Green Day and The Rolling Stones to enable to us to understand further recurring themes and conventions. We found that there were a lot of performance based visuals, providing the feel of being at a gig or performance and these focussed on the main singer but also paid some attention to musicians due to the common instrumentals within this genre of music. Therefore, in our video, we made sure to collect footage of each band member individually to enable us to switch between them when their instrument featured in the music e.g. guitar riffs or particularly striking drumming sections. This also helped us introduce each of members respectively, therefore meeting the needs of the record label and further fulfilling Goodwin’s music video conventions.

Furthermore, the feeling of being at a ‘gig’ or ‘live performance’ adds a personal feel to indie-rock music videos, as if the band is performing directly to their fans as done at live events. We really liked the mood and tone this particular convention offered, and decided to further it through our addition of diegetic sound of the band at the beginning and end of the video. This adds a further personal touch, allowing fans to ‘get to know’ the band themselves rather than just their music, and brings them down to a more identifiable level which will help with establishing a firm fan-base, further fulfilling the needs of the record label. Therefore this is a clear demonstration of how we developed the conventions of this genre by combining them with new ideas to achieve or intensify our desired effect. 

We also found that our research showed fairly ‘rough and ready’ camerawork and editing to create a grungier, more edgy mood in the video. To achieve this in our own video we applied similar camerawork including handheld shots and footage where the camera is knocked or zooming in. This makes it look rougher and helps match the video to the tone of the music as well as that of the genre. We incorporated the ‘rough and ready’ theme into our editing through the use of jump cuts which frequented our video to demonstrate the passage of time but also to give the illusion that the video was ‘unpolished’ and stitched together in order to provide a more ‘down to earth’ and edgier tone. We further added to this through our mise on scene by having our protagonist, James, walk through ‘grungier’ locations, such as the scene on Shipley bridge where the mucky sides of the bridge frame the whole shot, encapsulating James in the grungy atmosphere so associated with the genre. 

We continued this theme in our digipak, choosing to make the background of our album a black and white ‘concrete’ effect which was a very close match to the black and white sides of the bridge in the aforementioned scene, creating a feeling of cohesion visually between the different elements of our project. We also used a slightly dishevelled font to further add to this mood and unite the tone of the album cover and video. 

During our artist research we found a video by Biffy Clyro for their song ‘Biblical’ which boasted a repeated narrative with small changes in each one which resulted in different outcomes. We really liked this idea and took it to a concept discussion with the band where they expressed their interest in this form of video. After thorough debates and consideration of our other ideas we decided that this would be the most effective and interesting form through which to communicate the messages of our music video. Therefore this became one of our main influences but we didn't just want to copy it, so we developed this idea, adding in elements such as the colour shift and the introduction of new characters in the second narrative to keep the video interesting and engaging. Therefore we did use this form as a major influence for our video but developed it to keep it unique and fresh for our audiences, developing our own set of conventions within this form. 

Despite all these elements of similarity, we wanted to be sure to add definite elements of difference to our project so as not to create a carbon copy of something already done. We wanted to enable our video to stand out amongst those of the same genre whilst also being identifiable within it. Steve Neale said “genres are instances of repetition and difference…difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre” and it was on these grounds that we decided to add unique elements to our video. 

After hearing the lyrics and message of the song, we thought it would be really suited to a narrative, even though this isn't a classic convention of indie-rock music videos. We spoke to the band and they also wanted a narrative in order to fully convey the messages they intended within the song. Therefore, we developed the form typical of the indie-rock genre by including a performance in the video whilst also supporting a narrative in order to convey the story described in the lyrics, ultimately creating a hybrid music video. 

Furthermore, our narrative has a happy ending, presenting a positive message and leaving the viewer with a sense of satisfaction and relief, a feeling unconventional in indie-rock videos which tend to promote angry and more negative attitudes towards social structures. This was a creative decision we settled on to promote the support of the homeless and demonstrate how one small act of kindness can set a whole trail of change into motion. Therefore we challenged the typical conventions in order to achieve a specific intention identified by the band and represented in the lyrics of the song. 

 One typical convention of indie-rock videos (and Goodwin’s conventions as a whole) is the iconography of the lead singer, most clearly displayed in our research through the presentation of ‘Maroon 5’s’ Adam Levine who clearly has star status within the band. We chose to develop this convention in our music video, still putting a lot of attention on the lead singer but trying to equally distribute the time amongst the other musicians and back-in vocalists in order to meet the needs of the record label by ‘introducing’ each member of the band through their consistent dedication of time throughout the video. 

We identified our genre conventions for indie-rock digipaks through extensive research into similar bands and analysis of their promotional packages to develop a deep understanding of the colour schemes, images, fonts and tones typical within this genre. We particularly analysed digipaks from Kasabian, Coldplay and Biffy Clyro to establish a set of themes and conventions which we could manipulate within our own work. 

We chose to challenge conventions through our digipak which has a dominant light colour scheme on the front cover as opposed to conventional indie-rock album covers which are overwhelmingly dark. We decided to do this to reflect the more uplifting tone of our video and the hopeful message it conveys, in contrast to the darker themes often explored within this genre. However, we didn't want to completely challenge this convention as we still wanted our product to be identifiable within the genre so we inverted the background on the back cover to create cohesion within the two aspects of the digipak whilst providing a darker colour scheme which is more in line with the typical genre conventions. We also used a grungy background to tie into the ‘rough and ready’ convention seen within this genre of music and surrounding imagery through our use of a concrete background and dishevelled font. Therefore our digipak develops the forms and conventions of the indie-rock genre to clearly place itself within this area of the music industry while retaining an identity of it’s own and standing out amongst the sea of conventions displayed by similar artists. 

Ultimately, our video and surrounding products varies between using and challenging genre conventions, overall falling somewhere in-between. Therefore we can say we developed typical indie-rock forms and conventions, taking on board ideas and influences we liked whilst changing and adapting other areas to create a video that will be unique and striking to our target audiences whilst still remaining identifiable within the genre. This makes it easier to target audiences and entice new fans to the band’s music as well as satisfying the expectations of those already familiar with the indie-rock genre.