Q1_

Q1:In what ways does your

media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Overall, I believe my media product uses but also challenges the set codes and conventions of pre-existent products in the same genre throughout the world. This is evident through my use of mise en scene, colours and camerawork/angles.

I used some pre-set aspects of mise en scene in the genre which included costumes and body language. When it comes to the Electronic Dance Music genre, costumes can often be seen as fairly casual due to the main target audience being teens who would often associate themselves wearing similar items. After researching many different artists and most importantly Avicii, I decided that I would also use a similar dress code to ensure I always linked into the genre. The main character in my music video can be seen to wear a variety of different costumes all connotating different things: Ski attire and Casual autumn attire (for teens) including hats where used as I believed they linked well to the genre as well as portrayed the wanted message of being adventurous. I wanted to keep similar costumes to the ones already used in the genre as I believed it would be near impossible to wear a costume which didn’t link to the genre which then had to be linked to the message I was wanting to share. This contradicts Steve Neale who states that “Mere repetitions wouldn’t attract an audience”. In order to make sure I still attracted Aviciis mainstreamer target audience, I made sure I would use costumes that people around the 1320 age range can relate to. I believed this to be very important as if I had worn costumes that weren’t relevant to the genre and had no link what so ever, then my target audience wouldn’t be able to relate on the same level and in some aspects wouldn’t feel motivated to participate in any activities that they already do or want to try. Due to me wanting to send across the idea of seeking discomfort, the costumes I chose were probably the most important aspect of mise-en scene I used.

The body language seen throughout my official final music video can be seen to be relaxed but also happy as the main character is participating in tasks and activities he enjoyed. The idea of having a relaxed yet happy body language came from my in-depth research into Avicii’s music videos which also illustrates such body language. To gain a wider understanding of the body language Avicii uses in his music videos, I took it upon myself to watch many of his concept-based music videos and to decode his body language. For example, in ‘Avicii – The Nights’ I decoded Tim Berglings body language to be rather happy, exciting, inspirational and in some way contagious mainly due to me feeling motivated to go out and do similar activities and hobbies he was in the videos I watched. As I was wanting to help inspire people through my music video, much like Avicii does, I believed having such a relaxed, yet happy body language was vital in an attempt to motivate people to get out, do the things they love but to also help them escape from the harsh realities of todays society. This links to Blumlers theory of ‘uses and gratifications’ in which she states that audiences want media products that gratify particular needs. For example, escapism. This was vital for me as I wanted to not only inspire and motivate my audience, but to also help them escape from any problems they have for a few minutes.

Evident through my Digipak design, magazine adverts and overall research, use of colour played a huge part in my overall outcomes. My research into many differing EDM artists showed me that colour was one of the most important features in the genre. This is because EDM music is predominantly played in clubs which links to the idea of strobe lighting. To make sure I used as much colour as possible, I made sure that in my final music video product, a variety of different landscapes and colours were used to help link to the genre. However, on my digipak design, I decided against the use of loads of different bright colours to add a hint of originality to the genre. I went for a black background with only a few brightly coloured objects like a compass and mountains to stand out against the dark background. I believe this added a sense of professionalism and originality to the genre. Steve Neale believes that “mere repetitions wouldn’t attract an audience” so to be successful, I would need to subvert some already existing codes and conventions. This is where my ideas of having an original digipak would help me attract my already existing audience but also a new niche target audience. On my music magazine advert, I also used a strike of lightning seen going across the centre of the page directly behind the ‘OUT NOW’ font. I used this as I believed it would help link in the idea of bright colours with in the genre. In many ways, lightning is similar to a strobe lighting effect so therefore helps tie in the genre. I created this lightning effect on Sony Vegas via the tools provided on the professional piece of software. I used the media generators tool which allowed me access to the noise textures tab. From this stage I selected the lightning effect and changed the colouring effects so a light blue similar to the colours seen on real life lightning strikes. I then proceeded to screenshot the effect when I was happy with it then removed the background on PowerPoint. This allowed me to copy and paste it onto my advert.

I also used a huge variety of camera shots to help me link to the genre as well as portray the message of adventure.

Examples of shots I used are longshots, close ups and pans which I all believe helped an overall successful music video.

These camera shots were vital as I knew many EDM artists used them, including Avicii, and would therefore help me stay connected to the genre. I used a pan within the first 10 seconds of my final music video as It was an easy way for me to include the official Avicii logo without having to edit one on. This pan showed a log that had a sprayed Avicii logo.

This pan not only reminded the audience of the artist, but also the genre as it is very well known in the Electronic Dance Music world. From the feedback I received from my peers on my music video, this one specific shot was mentioned a fair few times as people believed it was the most effective shot I used and also really catches the audiences eye whilst opening them up to a new genre that sometimes can be stereotypically seen as “Chave” music.

However, I also subverted conventions of the genre to add a hint of originality. This can also be seen through the use of my locations. To ensure I would attract the audience I was targeting, I went for locations that aren’t usually seen in the EDM genre. Unusual locations can be clubs and places with lots of graffiti whereas I went for locations that can be seen as inspiring and, in some ways, unusual. Examples of unusual places I used would be like a bridge that can be found in my music video. Many people would find the bridge to be just an ordinary and everyday object, but this specific bridge shows lots of history. Many locals would know this bridge to be part of the historic train line in my hometown which is now out of use and dissembled with the bridge being the only part left. Whilst abandoned places aren’t usually found in the genre, I wanted to include it as I believed it could help subvert the genre.

Also, the majority of EDM artists use the summer and therefore the beach and water type locations to help them portray the message so I went against this and included winter-based locations E.G. Prato Nevoso ski resort. This helped me add a hint of originality to the genre but also helped portray the message of being adventurous. Again, Steve Neale would be for this as he believes the changing of conventions is essential to attracting an audience.