In what ways does your short film use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Camera
One way we used conventions of real media products was via the consideration and use of Laura Mulvey's male gaze. We used the conventions of music videos to objectify women in a way that made them sexually desirable to viewers, and taking away their identity, by implying that all women are used just to 'look good.' For this part we considered stereotypical methods in order to do this. For example, close up of the lips remind viewers of a vagina, which makes them think about sex, and this therefore creates a use for our product, and could be related to the uses and gratification theory. Our main actress was portrayed not as an unrealistic, glamour girl, but instead as a genuine, normal girl increasing the sense of reality in the piece. In order for our product to appeal to both male and female audiences, we ensured that 'Annie' seemed to be like any other normal girl, who made mistakes and didn't go out of her way to look sexy for male approval. This ensures she mantains the idea of a role model for younger audiences of the same gender, and sends out the right messages to the generation of tomorrow. However, in order to appeal to male audiences, we had to use voyeuristic shots of the camera, to ensure interest from a wide demographic. For example;
Use of Phallus
This is when Annie is putting on mascara. We used the shape of the mascara pot to our advantage, and by repeatedly dipping into the mascara, a trait that some girls do if there is not a lot left, it looks perfectly normal for young viewers. Younger audiences still see Annie as an everyday, normal girl which mantains her role model status, but older audiences, particularly males, are immediately given the impression of a sexual nature. The mascara pot is used a phallus symbol, and the way it is being hold reinstates that idea. The brush being repeatedly pushed in could remind them of sex straight away, and therefore ensure they enjoy the product a lot more. This is important in terms of using the conventions of real media products because the idea of an innocent girl is mantained for younger viewers, whilst older viewers see the 'objectified version'. This is an example of how real media products extend their demographic to be accessible to all audiences, which then increases the overall popularity of the product.
Use of close up
This is another example of Annie being objectified and manipulated by the camera to seem normal and real to one audience, and yet objectified and sexual to another. The shot follows Annie on the scene where she is getting ready to go out. Stereotypically, girls of her age, 18, wear make up when going clubbing, and to ensure the audience knew what she was doing and the context of the scene, we mantained this trait. The fact that the shot is an extreme close up, conveys the idea of sex to the audience straight away, as Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory states that the lips can be related to as the 'vagina porthole'.
Other examples of Laura Mulvey in our prodction
So, the way we used camera angles, movement and position allowed us to convey the desired effects to the audience. We did this because we understand from our target research that our video appeals to more women than it does men, because of the genre; soul. In order to attract males aswell, we ensured objectification of Annie, to ensure a wider demographic, and extension in interest from viewers.
Setting/Location
Arguably, one way in which we challenged forms and conventions of real media products was in terms of the location of our production. This is first and foremostly because of the lack of financial budget we had in terms of paying for better locations and equipment.
The most expensive music videos in the world are:
Scream - Michael and Janet Jackson 1995 Directed by Mark Romanek - $7,000,000 to produce at the time, equivalent to $10,330,328.08 in 2012.
Die Another Day - Madonna 2002 - Directed by Traktor - $6,100,000 to produce at the time, equivalent to $7,626,051.14 in 2012.
Express Yourself - Madonna 1989 - Directed by David Fincher - $5,000,000 to produce at the time, equivalent to $9,068,790.32 in 2012.
All of those videos had a large financial budget, allowing them to hire out 'top of the market' locations, which inevitably leads to a more professional and effective outcome. Our product has challenged the need to have excessive amounts of money when producing your own music video, by using public areas of the place we live. This means that although everything is not as professional looking, our production carries a big sense of realism, because the locations are very much a part of everyday life. So, it is easier for viewers to not only relate to where the production is taking place, but also to the characters, who use these places and are therefore immediately branded by the audience as 'real' stars.
The idea of realism in popular artists and bands is sought after, and by using these 'real' places in our music video, the whole narrative is more relatable, and the characters more real, increasing the overal effects of our production.
The idea of realism in popular artists and bands is sought after, and by using these 'real' places in our music video, the whole narrative is more relatable, and the characters more real, increasing the overal effects of our production.
Costume
It was vitally important that we could continue the idea that characters were relatable and realistic and costume contributed to this effect. This is an example of following a typical code of music videos in that the clothes are tightly fitted, and subtle features such as holes in the tights and a tight fitting top contribute to the sexualisation of the female protagonist.
Once again we have gone against typical music video codes and conventions by dressing our characters in what is considered as 'normal' clothing. This is partly because of the financial budget of our production. However, we wanted to reinstate the idea of realism, and create a role model for younger audiences to look up to. I think we successfully conveyed Annie, the female protagonist, not as glamorous, but as accepting and confident of who she is. I think this is important to portray to viewers, particularly in the case of young viewers in society today, who are often manipulated by ideologies put forward by the mass media. Whilst we understood it was important to objectify Annie at some points during the video, we decided that objectification had very little to do with our music video narrative, a story about a couple who were already in love. This is another reason as to why Annie remained in slightly 'mainstream' high street fashion based outfits.
Additionally, we took a similar approach when deciding an outfit for Jamie to wear. We decided the standard hoody and dark coloured jeans would represent a fashion ideology males of his age, at that time. These items were bought from high street shops River Island and Topman, meaning our demographic could be extended as far as possible, as people can relate to the clothes and possibly even own the garments themselves. The boots we decided Jamie should wear are timberlands, a popular, stereotypically male brand of footwear. This is an example of following real media products, because the boots have connotations of strength, independence and superiority. This maintains the popular attitude that males are the dominant gender, meaning that although viewers will empathise with Jamie, he continues to have his 'highly regarded' male status.
Additionally, we took a similar approach when deciding an outfit for Jamie to wear. We decided the standard hoody and dark coloured jeans would represent a fashion ideology males of his age, at that time. These items were bought from high street shops River Island and Topman, meaning our demographic could be extended as far as possible, as people can relate to the clothes and possibly even own the garments themselves. The boots we decided Jamie should wear are timberlands, a popular, stereotypically male brand of footwear. This is an example of following real media products, because the boots have connotations of strength, independence and superiority. This maintains the popular attitude that males are the dominant gender, meaning that although viewers will empathise with Jamie, he continues to have his 'highly regarded' male status.
Narrative
Our music video develops the forms and conventions of real media products, in the way it is structured. Our storyline follows quite a stereotypical love story, that goes wrong. The audience can see how happy Annie and Jamie were before Annie was unfaithful, and therefore feel emotionally attached to both protagonists when it goes wrong. We wanted Annie to be relatable to the audience, some of whom may have been in similar positions, which is why we conveyed the idea of an alcohol problem at the end of the production.
We begin our production with the title of the song, hand written in the sand at Woolacombe beach. We think the beach is a symbolic place within our production, in that Annie has been happy and sad there, yet the beach remains the same. We tried to convey the idea that the beach is the only stable thing in Annie's life which is why we keep returning to the beach throughout the video. It is important that the beginning of any music video sets the scene, and gives the audience an idea of what is coming next. We think the beach does this, and creates a sense of mystery, as it is a closed shot, without introducing any characters.
We then continued with our black and white mask over the frame, to show that this is a flashback of happier times in Annie's head. This becomes clear later on in the video, when the present tense is filmed with a normal filter, as opposed to the black and white filters on the flashbacks. Annie and Jamie are walking up the beach holding hands, immediately fulfilling the role of a typical couple, going for a romantic walk along the beach. The sea is in the back ground, and the crashing waves could be a signifier of the hard times to come.
Jamie then fades out of the frame, and Annie is left looking sad and alone by herself. We highlighted the fact that she was no alone, by having her on a vast beach with no one else on it. This emphasizes are loneliness because it conveys the idea of Annie being just one person in a huge world, and encourages the idea of solitude after a break up, something many of the viewers will be able to relate with. At this part of the narrative, the audience will be curious about what broke the seemingly perfect couple up, and therefore committed to watching the remainder of the video.
The storyline then goes onto the flashbacks, with a black and white filter to make this clear. It shows Annie and Jamie doing various 'couple' things such as sitting on a bench looking out to see and looking through a telescope.
The purpose of these scenes are to highlight the difference a mistake can make, how Annie has turned her life around down to one night. It is important to include these scenes, because as said before, this is something the audience will be able to relate to.
The above screen shots show a key section of the music video. The first is Annie getting ready for her night out, we used this part of the narrative to objectify her, in order to use Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory. Arguably, this part of the storyline is an example of us using existing real media codes and conventions, as often in music videos, women are 'sexualised'. The second image is Annie pouring herself a shot of straight vodka. This is a typical part of getting ready for a night out, and often drinking alcohol, specifically vodka, is associated with something bad about to happen. The third and final image confirms the audiences feelings, as Annie starts downing the vodka from the bottle, getting noticeably more drunk. This indicates to the audience that something bad is about to happen, and ensure they continue to watch the video.
The above images follow Annie's 'big mistake' as she returns home with another guy, who blatantly isn't Jamie. Immediately the audience understand what is happening, as they relate Annie downing the vodka earlier, to now obviously about to be unfaithful to Jamie. The scene follows Annie waking up the next morning, and realising what she's done. The narrative then goes back to the beach, filmed as if in the present tense now, and Annie saying sorry to Jamie about the cheating. The scene follows her attempting to hug/kiss Jamie, followed by Jamie pushing her away. Arguably, this is developing an existing media product, as the situations is dramatised by being on the beach in the first place, and by Jamie lashing out at Annie. We ensured we maintained the idea of verisimilitude, as we wanted to ensure the audience still believed that the storyline was real, and could actually happen. This sequence is ended with Jamie walking away from Annie, who is in the foreground looking upset. This confirms Jamie's decision to not forgive Annie.
The ending of the narrative aspect of our music video follows Annie walking up to Jamie's house to apologise once more. She finds a broken frame, pictured above, which had a picture of Annie and Jamie in it. As she picks it up, and looks up towards the house, Jamie shakes his head and shuts the door on her. Not only is this Jamie implying he doesn't want to see Annie now, but the door acts as a symbolic feature of him shutting Annie out of his life. Again, this is relatable for the audience, as they have followed a perfectly happy couple break down due to a mistake, to the point where they can't even look at each other.
Videos involving a narrative based around cheating:
Sound
The sound of our music video production is all non-diajetic, the voice of our artist and the piano is all that is heard throughout. We considered including diajetic sounds, such as the door slamming at the end, but decided that because the video was quite long anyway, it was unneccessary and time consuming.
Arguably, this is an example of challenging forms and conventions of real media products, because quite a few music videos introduce the narrative with diajetic sound. This could be anything from a conversation, thought track or back ground noise. here are a few examples:
Arguably, this is an example of challenging forms and conventions of real media products, because quite a few music videos introduce the narrative with diajetic sound. This could be anything from a conversation, thought track or back ground noise. here are a few examples:
In terms of the recording of our chosen track, we used the recording studio at the music department in our college. This is an example of using existing media forms and conventions, as we were able to record the chosen artist and instrument professionally. We remained in the sound-proof office, controlling the volume of each element until we were satisfied with our product. Because we were on a timed schedule, we weren't able to repeatedly record the track, which differentiates our product from a professionally made video.
Editing
Our music video uses and develops existing media codes and conventions in terms of our editing choices. This is shown firstly with the introduction of the music video, the name of the single in the sand. We used the transition fade, in order to allow smooth transaction from each letter, resulting in an aesthetically pleasing finished product. This is shown at 0 - 10 seconds of our music video.
Secondly, we masked the flashbacks with black and white, to make it clear to the audience when the narrative was relating to the past. For example, when Annie is reminscing about happier times with Jamie, the picture is in black and white, to show these are past events which makes the narrative easier to follow for the audience. This is shown at 40 - 1.02 seconds of our music video.
Thirdly, to show the performance elements of our production, we masked the image of Bex singing with yellow. This was because the name of the song is Yellow, and the masking would therefore be appropriate. We also decided to make this a theme throughout our video, and as real media products usually have themes throughout, this is an example of us developing them. Furthermore, this is ironic, because yellow is stereotypically a colour that has positive connotations, which in relation to a sad narrative is an example of the irony.
Props
Like with real media products, our video had to contain props which helped us to portray meaning and explain what was going on. However, clearly because this video was non-profit, we had to compromise our use of props somewhat, in comparison with real media productions.
One vital prop in our music video is the photoframe used nearer the end of the narrative. This shot was difficult to organise, as we decided to do a tracking shot of the photo frame being thrown out of Jamie's house. The frame helps us convey ideas about the narrative, as it represents Jamie's anger at Annie, and his reluctance at taking her back. In order to ensure we got the tracking shot, as well as a close up of the break to highlight the state of their relationship, we bought two frames. This could be an example of using existing media conventions, as in professional, profitable videos, their could be any number of one prop, to make sure they capture the desired shot.
One prop we used was the microphone used in the peformance. In
most music videos, for the performance part in particular, a microphone is used
as if the artist is giving a live performance. We re-inacted this, which then in turn
increases the brand image of the singer.
We took advantage of the settings around us and used a telescope at our local harbour as a prop. This meant minimal effort was required on our part, and the shot remained realistic, maintaining versilimitude because it is a real situation. This is an example of a prop being used to develop a narrative, because although this has nothing to do with the lyrics, it is stereotypically romantic, therefore acting as another indication that Jamie and Annie used to be a happy couple.
We also used props such as make up, drink glasses and bottles, straighteners earrings and mobile phones to help us develop the narrative and make it more interesting. Some of these props allowed us to then develop our use of theories such as use of make up promoting Laura Mulvey's male gaze within the piece.
Characters
We decided to use Annie as the main character of our music video. This could be an example of challenging existing conventions of music videos because stereotypically, the singer also takes the main part in the narrative. However, more recent music videos such as ours, have different characters playing the roles in the narrative, in order to maintain the brand image of the artist. So, with this in consideration arguably our video also develops existing codes and conventions.
We decided to use myself and Jamie as the main actors, simply for ease of filming and doing things when and where we wanted. We did however, consider our target audience, and tried to get two 'normal' teenagers, to make them more relatable to the audience.
We asked our friend Bex to do the performance element of the video. We decided it would be easy to objectify her, and she 'fits in' with other artists also in her genre, such as Duffy and Kelly Clarkson, being blonde, thin and pretty.
For the scene where Annie cheats on Jamie, we asked our peer Alistair to help us out. We thought because he was tall and dark, stereotypically he fits into a category that could make him be seen as desirable by young teenage girls. It also makes the narrative believable, as he is appropriate for the idea of a 'stud' within the storyline.
We decided to use myself and Jamie as the main actors, simply for ease of filming and doing things when and where we wanted. We did however, consider our target audience, and tried to get two 'normal' teenagers, to make them more relatable to the audience.
We asked our friend Bex to do the performance element of the video. We decided it would be easy to objectify her, and she 'fits in' with other artists also in her genre, such as Duffy and Kelly Clarkson, being blonde, thin and pretty.
For the scene where Annie cheats on Jamie, we asked our peer Alistair to help us out. We thought because he was tall and dark, stereotypically he fits into a category that could make him be seen as desirable by young teenage girls. It also makes the narrative believable, as he is appropriate for the idea of a 'stud' within the storyline.