Evaluation Question 1

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

MUSIC VIDEO

One of the main factors when creating our video was including the somewhat non-conventional message of drinking in moderation and the dangers of excess whilst still portraying a conventional video that is enjoyable to watch. 

A major element seen in our video that caters to both aspects of this is the motif of the golden flask which is also present throughout our other two products. This could be seen as conventional as it glorifies drinking and also excessive spending which is definitely something that is present in the genre of rap. However, our intended interpretation for the golden flask is the value that is placed in drinking by society and highlighting how this may be somewhat misplaced. I feel that we have successfully developed upon this convention in that our intended reading for the video as a whole was picked up upon by the audience, reflected by the fact that the vast majority of viewers said they saw this representation, as shown in the graph below. 

A technical element included in the video was the editing that we used. We made sure to make cuts on the beat of the song which is something that is common in all music videos and especially in rap. This helped to give an element of continuity between the song and the video that we have created. Another thing that we considered when editing was Altman's ideas about genre pleasures. Out of the visceral, emotional and intellectual response, we thought that rap videos are generally made to create a visceral response (an idea that I have investigated previously in my blog). We thought that this editing technique was a vital element in creating a visceral response to the video. 

Something that I have previously looked at is the gender representations in rap videos, particularly the negative representations of women. This representation of women in media products is something touched on by Laura Mulvey with her idea of the male gaze, in which she comments that women are placed in media products and objectified for the gratification of men. I feel that this is one convention of rap that we have subverted in our video. The girls shown in our video have a purpose for the narrative and whilst they are not the main characters they are not shown in a way which is demeaning which can often be seen in videos such as the Alright video by Kendrick Lamar that I have analysed previously. One way that we ensured that this was not an issue was through the use of costume, ensuring that the clothes the girls in our video wore weren't overly revealing. 

Screenshot from our video

Screenshot from the 'Alright' video

From a marketing perspective, another way that we met conventions of rap in our video is by uploading the video to YouTube. This is something that has become almost essential for any successful marketing campaign for a song or album and the vast majority of any music videos created across every genre are uploaded to YouTube. Part of the reason that this is so successful is due to the media convergence that it exercises. By combining the traditional methods with the modern methods it ensures that the campaign has a vast reach and enhances the effect for each method. Part of the reason that Youtube is so effective in particular is that it combines a video service with elements of social media such as liking and favouriting videos making it easier for content to go viral. By doing this ourselves we have ensured that the we are meeting an essential convention.

In terms of a response from the audience for this video, I feel that we have been somewhat unconventional with this video. Following Stuart Hall's ideas about responses to texts, I feel that our preferred response was a message of moderation when drinking which is something that is not usually conveyed in the genre of rap. However one issue with this is that if it came across as a video preaching then it wouldn't be as popular as possible. This problem is addressed by the song itself in the fact that it appears initially, from the hook of the song, that it is a pro drinking song, however this is not the case. I wanted our video to replicate this. In some ways this combines the ideas of a negotiated and preferred response in that there is meant to be some ambiguity of the response. One danger in this is that it could also lead to a oppositional response in that it's possible that an impressionable audience could perceive the video to be pro drinking. However, as seen by the graph shown above, it is clear that the preferred response is certainly illustrated in our video. 

MAGAZINE AD

(Modern example, our ad, and an ad from the 90s)

When creating our magazine ad, it was vital that some conventions were followed in order to create an effective ad. For example, the title of the album and the artist being clearly shown was thing that was present in every ad we found whilst researching - without it the audience wouldn't have the information needed to purchase the album. We also added the release date for the album, seen clearly on the 'Yeezus' ad on the left of the image above. 

Another detail we found on other adverts was the record label being present on the ad. Therefore we decided that this was something that should be added to our ad to give it a more professional feel. This wasn't present on the 'Yeezus' ad, however this is notable for being one of the most minimalistic advertising campaigns in recent times when it comes to use of traditional media, so we decided not to follow this so closely and include the label. 

One convention that I was a little surprised not to find so frequently in adverts I found online was the social media for the artist or the label. Convergence between traditional media and more modern techniques is something that is increasingly vital for a modern advertising campaign so we decided that this is something that we should include regardless of the fact that it didn't appear to be a convention.

One thing that appeared to be a convention that we chose not to follow was the inclusion of the artist in an advertising campaign. This has become less prominent in recent times, but as shown by the Dr Dre advert above it is clear that is something that is a part of the rap genre. However, as our video shows the story of a character and not an artist, we felt that in order to keep continuity it might be best to not show the artist and instead common motifs from the video. This lead to the inclusion of the flask, as opposed to the conventional image of the artist. 

DIGIPAK

(An example of a modern digipak (bottom), compared to ours)

For the creation of our digipak, there were certain elements that needed to be included. For example, on any conventional album there will be the artist name, the album name and the tracklist present somewhere on the artwork. This can be seen when looking at the 808s and Heartbreak digipak example shown above. 

The front cover of our digipak doesn't feature the artist, something that is frequently present in the genre of rap. However, this isn't something set in stone; the 808s and Heartbreak front cover doesn't feature the artist. This can also vary within an artist's discography, for example as seen below, the artwork for Drake's single '0 To 100' and album 'Nothing Was The Same' vary. 

The minimalism seen in the '0 To 100' cover was something that inspired the creation of our own front cover. I liked how the attention was immediately attracted to the centre of the artwork where the song and artist name are present and this was something that we looked to incorporate. I feel that this has been done successfully in our digipak in that the only features of the cover are found in the centre giving it a striking appearance. 

Another convention that we wanted to include in the digipak was credits for feature artists and producers. Feature artists are something that is frequently seen in album artwork, again this is present in the 808s and Heartbreak digipak, so we felt that this was an essential element to include for a professional feel. The production credits for the album is something less conventional to be seen on the main artwork for the album however we wanted to include this to give the audience more of a feel for the creation of the album.