Evaluation question 1

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

1. Actor choice and their relevance to the music video.

2. Locations and their similarity to other videos with the same genre. 

3.Props used, if any.

4. Costumes.

5. As many goodwin theories as possible.

6. Choice of lighting and mise-en-scene

1

2

3

4

5

6

7. 

8. 

1. Props: I only used one prop on one of the actors, in some scenes, the headphones. This was to induce the thought that it was filmed in a chilled out environment. It can also give out the idea that the actor or character cannot be without their music, and the actor is the actual artist of the song, improving the sense of believability. 

2. From my research, I found that music videos from this genre mainly focused on coastal and rural locations, so you can see from most of my screenshots that this is the case such as in 7, 1 and 2. 

3. Actors : I chose my actors due to their taste in music, choice of clothes and overall appearance. 

The actor in picture 1 was somewhat more passionate about the lyrics and a bit more animated. However, I believe the other actor in pictures 7, 3 and 5 suits the role more appropriately with his relaxed clothing, long hair and somewhat bearded appearance. This reflects many of the actors in videos of a similar genre and I believe that he works well with the aura of the song. This also ties in with Goodwin's theory of genre characteristics. 

4. Lighting: All the lighting that you see in the video is natural. However, I ensured that when I filmed, it was fairly bright and I found that even when it was overcast that It delivered sufficient light. This also gave a nice effect and acted as a studio light due to the forcefulness of the whiteness coming from the cloud. 

5. With regards to Goodwin theories, I have not used close up shots as I believe that this would interrupt the transitions and flow of my video. Instead I have increased the contrast slightly and used a Mojo filter to isolate my actor and place him on 'centre stage'. 

6.  On screengrab 7, there is briefly a flash at both sides of the screen. This intertwines with Goodwin's theory that there is a relationship with lyrics and visuals. This is due to the line, "Take a picture of it". I thought placing a flash either side would allow the audience to imagine someone taking a picture with a flash on a camera.

Actors

These are my two actors. They are both the same age, 18, and have fairly the taste in music.

I believe they suited my genre and type of music video as they both have a laid back appearance and were willing to be filmed.

More potential locations

This is a location that I intend to film at as it reflects on some conventions that have been apparent on a lot of acoustic music videos of the same genre. eg. Beach, simplistic items and structures.


This harbour based location reflects the chilled out vibe, often portrayed by acoustic genre music video.

This is a bright and colourful location which although could be quite suited to an upbeat song, again reflects key conventions identified in a music video connected with an acoustic genre.

Andrew Goodwin Theory

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics/conventions (e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band)

In this first screen-grab, large vehicles are used which is a commonly used convention of a rap video. This could be to portray wealth and money, which again is a common theme of this specific genre.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

Throughout the song, the main character (Yelawolf) talks about drinking ("If God was one of us, he’d probably drink Vodka") and smoking ("Smoke another cigarette unfiltered, let go of anything that I’m feeling") of which there are several examples of where the visuals show this.


3. There is a relationship between the music and visuals

Before 'Yelawolf' starts to rap, there is no beat and virtually no bass, however when Yelawolf starts to rap and the people in the club become more animated, there is a predominant bassline and beat.
This shows a relationship between the music and visuals as the music emphasises the events that happen on screen.

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artists and the artist may develop motifs which reoccur across their work (a visual style)


Throughout the video, there are several examples of close up shots of the main character or artist. There are also less frequent close ups of the guest artist, Lil Jon. The record label shows superiority by positioning Yelawolf in front of Lil Jon, thus placing the emphasis on Yelawolf.

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes etc and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body) 


In this video, there are several examples of Goodwin's 5th point which is supported by the massively voyeuristic treatment of females. In several shots they are the focus of attention and are somewhat exposed. 



6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc)
I have not found any intertextual references in this video and all or most scenes are relevant to the genre in hand.
An example of a intertextual reference would be in Chase and Status' single, 'Blind Faith'. This video contains several references to the 90s rave era.

Target audience

This is an example of an individual I would look to target my music video at.

Name: Johnny Smith
Job: Designer/publisher
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Nationality: British
Hometown: Bude, Cornwall

Likes:
Surfing, the beach/coast, protecting the environment, traveling, relaxed nights out, socialising, playing instruments (acoustic guitar), up and coming musicians.

Dislikes:
Mainstream commercial pop music, unnecessary use of energy, pollution, common trends and fashion, celeb gossip.

The 'Arctic Monkeys' use an array of dark and in some cases luminous colours which reflects the sense which their music emits. They also use a grainy filter which makes the image seem somewhat aged. This could be so that they are not associated with modern-day music which may have mainstream qualities. It also associates them with bands of the same genre which were somewhat prolific during the 80s punk era.

The text used is of a bold font and this is reflected in the album cover as it is simply a white background with a small logo in the top left.
The record label is subtly placed in the bottom right corner, away from the main conventions of the poster.

Equipment demonstration video

This is my video to demonstrate how I am able to use the equipment which I may use to make my music video.