In What Way Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Media Products?
In What Way Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Media Products?
In What Way Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Media Products?
In order to start on the production of my music video using conventions which are associated with my chosen music genre of R&B and Soul music, I had to carry out research into various existing video productions and examples of real media products of the genres so I could fully understand the conventions that these use and explore within their videos. Firstly, the artists song Ive chose had produced a soul, mellow beat to the song which I then associated it with the Soul genre because of the upbeat, soulful tone and vibe of the song. Also the chorus had a predominately sound of smoothness and a soft vibe and the lyrics of the song almost sounded gospel and soft in speech. Therefore I had to also conduct research into the Soul music genre and try to merge R&B and Soul genre conventions together in order to achieve my final outcome of effectively produce a music video, using and developing forms and conventions of my genres. In majority of R&B music videos location is often located in clubs and in in suite luxurious rooms, showing a more materialism and powerful male dominance in possession and status. However, I challenged this convention in choosing to shoot my music video in a more urban and R&B street location which therefore did not portrayed the materialism possession and status but showed more of a fun, laid back and street mise en scene. In my music video production, I therefore followed throughout the video the urban mise en scene location of the video, which also challenged the stereotypical location. I have used this convention as it reflected the genre of my chosen song which was R&B/Soul, therefore not pursuing the stereotypical R&B style in music videos but embracing both genres, one being more about modern style and the other being more about coolness and vibe. My rationale behind my decision was to attract my chosen target audience which is teenagers and youth fans of R&B music. Through the use of mise en scene, the urban location would influence their involvement and relation with the video and their modern era and be seen as creative and fun through the use of graffiti on the walls and the underground feel of the tunnel. Also this convention was to show my artist as being contemporary, creative and fun and modern which again my target audience would aspire to be. Noticeably, I have shot my music video production in an inner urban community location which is often associated with British R&B and/or Grime music video styles which is shown in the examples below:
However, I have decided to embrace the incorporate the British music style in my video to make it more relatively related to my target audience and they can therefore associate with their everyday life, stating that R&B is almost the American Dream shown through music videos of living the luxurious and high, expensive life, however only the rich and famous can achieve it, whereas British R&B/Grime is more about Realism and the everyday life and struggles of the everyday people. Secure and still long and medium shots of the urban location in my video established the location, taking the viewer inside the under passage.
The shot above taken from my video is similarly similar to the Rap Meets Grime entrance of the peers and fans. Lighting is key important in the shot as it lights up the surroundings and emphasizing the entrance of almost superstars walking in. Hot Right Now
The example of the music video below has a similar iconography to the one I have used in my video: graffiti. The high lighting contrast and brightness on the graffiti gives a youthful vibe and style to the video suggesting they might be having fun, which I wanted to create when developing my video. Other connotation associated with graffiti within the R&B/Grime culture is shown as a form of expressim and raw talent, mainly in inner urban communities designed by ethnic minorities that use graffiti as a form of escapism and freedom to express their creativity and art.
I believe the mise en scene plays a huge significance in how I have applied genre conventions to my production because it relates to the present urban talent as seen by the graffiti and creativity of artists. Conveniently Ive carried out continuously the same mise en scene throughout the video to make my video identifiable with the right demographics of my target audience with the genre R&B/Soul music. Both these styles seem to be associated with the teenage and adult teens demographic, between the ages of 15-25 year olds (as according to my audience research, my ideal target
audience and questionnaire results). Therefore I have developed a way to identify my target audience by showing a group of friends being good friends and having fun. Linking it back with my research it matches with my female target audiences hobbies and interests therefore aiming also to a proportion of girls showing a more positive portrayal of women from stereotypical R&B videos. Another convention I have used in my video is ethnicity of all my cast. A huge proportion of R&B/Soul music videos feature black ethnicity artists and cast, which represents the origins and roots of the music. Therefore in my music video I have used stereotypical ethnic background cast, but also developed this convention by using other mixtures of ethnicities which supported my target audience research as well as the common listeners of R&B/Soul music genre. This being multicultural teenagers and youth listen to R&B because of its mainstream genre of music which appeals to everyone. One convention I challenged within my genre of music was costume. Firstly, I challenged what is most commonly seen females wearing in some R&B music videos; minimal clothing and secondly, how male protagonists tend to be shown; either topless or wearing lots of bling. Therefore through some research I have opted for a 90s fashion style within R&B/Soul music video where artists and protagonists of the video started wearing more casual clothing. The reason was because music videos had become slower and largely narrative based and more emotive therefore cinematography had more close up shots of the artists and these would be of artists clothing and face expressions. As seen in my music video production the boy is shown wearing a hooded gillet, jeans and trainers which meant to show a laid back look but at the same time trying to appeal to a younger male audience into fashion. Relating it to my target audience research, itd be seen as cool and as typical boys clothing, therefore male audience fans could relate the look with theirs. At the other hand, the girls are shown as wearing casual clothing and are covered up which challenges the common convention of R&B videos of minimal clothing used by the women in videos which these portrays them as being seen as objects of desire by male audiences. I chose to deliberately challenge the typical Male gaze theory traditionally associated with urban R&B, showing the camera as eyeing up the female through the camera promoting her imaged as being sexualised so these can have more views from males. Therefore I challenged this convention in using positive portrayals of women and girls, making them look more dignified and respectable. The reason behind this decision was because my video was aimed at teenagers from the age 15 therefore wanting to portray a positive view of girls and not influence them into thinking its how women should be portrayed. My genre was mainly created though the mise en scene of the video, as well as the cast in it in order to create a generic image. Print Advertisement Magazine Advert When creating my magazine advert I primarily looked at R&B similar adverts and therefore opted for an R&B advertisement style, however developing and/or challenging some common conventions of the genre.
By looking at this advert from magazine XXI, Jay-Zs stance shows power and dominance over the city of New York therefore suggesting that hes growing big and mainstream as an artist. Therefore by analysing this I knew I had to show power and dominance in my advert in order to follow genre conventions. However, despite the male figure R&B convention, I challenged this convention of power and status and opted for a laid back stance and attitude in my magazine advert which adapted more to both genres of my music R&B/Soul, suggesting a cooler and open attitude from the artist to the fans.
I also challenged the Male gaze theory of female figures R&B conventions in print advertisement as these tend to be portrayed as sexy and sex symbols in order to appeal to the majority of a male audience (especially of the R&B genre which is a mainstream genre predominantly in America).
However, some could say to a certain extent that I could still be using some male gaze elements and appealing and engaging a male audience readership by the use of red lipstick and the direct glance at the camera, which might attract out of proportion gender audiences. Digipak When researching for digipaks I came across Michael Jacksons albums and singles CDs which I knew itd match my music genre R&B/Soul and therefore I could look for similarities on his albums iconography and style.
By looking at this album cover above, I can find similarities in how hes posing and directly looking at the camera. His stance portrays a relaxing and laid back style of his personality. The colours used yellow and white despite simple, they coordinate and also suggest his mellow and soft vibe of the music he produces.
By looking at my digipak, I can the similarity which my stance portrays the same connotations as his; both our hands are in our pockets and were both directly staring at the camera. My digipak title is set on a yellow background which Ive used in order to make the digipak noticeable and stand out from the graffiti art, as well as coordinating with the colours within the graffiti.