Genre conventions are a key part of identifying what type of artist image is being portrayed with a particular media product. When designing and creating our music video we had to consider a variation of conventions within both music videos in general and most importantly conventions within music videos relating to our chosen genre of rock. Through the research and planning stages of the coursework it soon became clear that rock videos contained a variety of different conventions ranging from dark clothing to artists often seen doing what ever they please and a sense of freedom. As a group we wanted to create an authentic video that our audience could easily relate to the rock genre. I believe that we were able to do this effectively through a variety of conventions we used, developed and challenged when producing our music video.
USED
Instruments
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| Welcome To The Jungle - Slash playing lead guitar |
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| Secret Sin - James playing lead guitar |
One of the most important conventions within the rock genre is the focus on the use of instruments. During a discussion as a group we all decided that in order for our video to look authentic and for our audience to be able to easily relate it to the rock genre we had to provide a heavy focus on the use of instruments within our video. The use of instruments such as drums, guitar and bass clearly identified our artist as being a rock band and I believe that we were able to use these instruments to our advantage as the band were able to perform like any other rock band would in stereotypical rock music video or live performance, something which our audience would pick up on and quickly relate to which is what we wanted. The use of instruments such as the drums, guitar and bass we used during the video were extremely useful in capturing a variety of different camera shots that were both effective and authentic in relation to the rock genre, if we had our band all playing acoustic guitars our video may be perceived very differently and been regarded more as indie rather rock. I always knew that instruments were a key part of rock and rock videos as they are usually the main focus of any type of video, however it wasn't until I started to do some more in depth analysis during my research and planning that I realised just how important they were and how the use of different instruments within rock can portray a band or artists image and how both this image and the music created often compliment each other and express musical talent. Examples of this can be seen in the video Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N' Roses (screenshot provided) in which band member Slash is playing lead guitar and there is a heavy focus on him throughout the video as well as the drummer, bassist and other guitar player. In our video we have also done this where our band are seen performing in the studio and James who is also the lead singer of the band is seen playing the guitar and there is large focus of his instrument during the video through a variety of different camera shots such as close ups and long shots we also included a number of shots focusing on the drummer and bassist also. In conclusion to this the use of instruments throughout our video was an extremely important convention as it helped to identify our artist and video as being a part of the rock genre and helped our audience easily relate and identify with our artist and video as a result.
Lip Sync
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| The Pretender - Dave Grohl singing vocals |
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| Secret Sin - James sining vocals |
Another key convention that we used within our video was Lip Sync. Lip sync is an important convention with most music videos as audience members are used to seeing their favourite artists performing and in order for this to happen artists need to be seen singing their songs. Lip sync creates a sense of personal connection between audience and artist as the audience member can relate to the lyrics being sung and may feel as if the artist is performing directly to them through the use of sight lines. As performance is a key part of rock videos as previously mentioned lip syncing is key to the performance of the lyrics within the song and as a result is also an important aspect of any rock video and is nearly always sung by the lead singer. It is often common for the lead singer of any rock band to be the front man and the member within the band that is the most popular and most well known among fans and audiences.
Examples of this can be seen in The Pretender video by Foo Fighters (screenshot provided) in which the lead singer Dave Grohl can be seen using lip sync to perform the lyrics of the song. There are a variety of shots during the video where he can be seen performing numerous lyrics, this helps to create a personal connection with the audience and also help better the performance with the video, creating a more authentic and professional image. In our video we have done the same including a number of different shots of James singing different parts of the lyrics to Secret Sin which we then matched up with the audio. This convention was important in ensuring our video remained authentic and relatable to audiences.
Both these conventions were key parts of our video and we stuck with both throughout. It was clear from early research that they would be very important in the creation of our video.
DEVELOPED
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| Livin' On A Prayer |
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| Secret Sin |
One of the key conventions we developed within our video was that of performance. Performance is a rock convention that is used in nearly every video and is extremely popular. Rock bands are known for there passionate and talented performances both live and recorded. We knew as a group that as a result of our research into rock videos performance was definitely a convention we needed to develop. Throughout our video we included mostly a variety of performance shots in which the band can be seen performing Secret Sin in the studio. This can be seen via the use of some individual shots of each band member where we were able to reflect their particular instrumental talent, however, we also used a variety of 'behind the scenes' shots of the band performing and rehearsing as we felt this represented a more classic rock style. Examples of this can be found in the video for Bon Jovi's Livin' On A Prayer (screenshot provided) where there is both performance during the behind the scenes and concert sections of the video. In our video we used a range of different camera shots and angles to capture a variety of different performance aspects that helped enforce the image of the band being hard working, talented and passionate about what they do. Not only this but having the band performing in time with the song and in-front of the cameras (screenshot provided) gives the impression they are performing to an audience through the cameras themselves. We felt we wanted to best represent the convention which meant that our audience would be able to relate to the video through performance and also relate the video to the rock genre.
Colour Change
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| Pour Some Sugar On Me |
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| Pour Some Sugar On Me |
Another convention that we developed was the convention of colour change signifying cross cutting between performance and narrative. Originally our narrative did not contain such a convention, however, In our final video this convention was clearly used. We used a black and white effect within the video to separate our performance and our narrative which was extremely effective and received high praise from our target audience. After some audience research we soon discovered that a majority of rock bands had done this in their own videos separating either behind the scenes, back stage or rehearsals and is why we chose to pursue the particular route within our own video. Examples of this can be seen most notably in Def Leppards Pour Some Sugar One Me (screenshots provided) as well as Guns N' Roses Paradise City and Bon Jovi's Livin' On A Prayer. We were able to use the colour change within our own video to separate a variety of different shots of the band messing around together, back stage in make up as well as general behind the scenes footage and the performance aspects of the video in which they are actually seen using their instruments in the studio.
By developing this convention I believe we were able to create a video for our target audience that they would find entertaining and also easily relatable to the rock genre and videos such as the ones mentioned.
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| Secret Sin |
CHALLENGED
Band Image
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| Green Day |
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| Raided By Waves |
One convention we challenged within our video was band or artist image. Most rock bands have an identifiable image within their video, commonly associated as being a logo or some form of insignia so that audience members can easily identify and relate to them. A common example of this is can be found in the video for Green Days American Idiot (screenshot provided) whereby the bands logo is strategically placed on the drum kit, this can be seen a number of times throughout the video and audience members will be able to pick up on this and identify the image or the video as being Green Day. We challenged this convention as we had no form of band insignia either on the drum kit (screenshot provided) or any other moment within the video, we did this because we felt as our band are up and coming and are in the process of releasing their debut album, not many people would know who they are and by not revealing a distinctive band image we would create a sense of mystery surrounding the band and instead entice audience members to want to find out more about the band as a result. Not only this our band but want to attract a loyal fan base so by creating this mystery within our video we are encouraging audience members to find out more about them which in turn betters their chances of becoming successfully well know and having a loyal following, other ways in which audience members can find out more about the band is through our Advert and Digipack.
Studio Instead of Stage
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| Burn It To The Ground |
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| Secret Sin |
Another convention we challenged the use of a studio rather than a stage. The majority of rock videos are located on stage during a live performance. An example of this can be seen in Nicklebacks video (screenshot provided) Burn It To The Ground where the entire video is filmed when the band were on tour and performing at the O2 Arena in London. However, for our video we recorded it within a studio, this was useful as we felt it enabled us to capture both narrative and performance within the same location. Nevertheless by doing this we were challenging a huge rock convention in which the band is usually seen performing to an audience on stage or at a festival or concert. Despite challenging this convention I still believe we were able to create an effective and entertaining video for our target audience through the use of behind the scenes footage and performance we were able to produce a range of different shot types, portraying the band as 'friendly', 'funny' and having a 'good relationship with one another' which is something audience members will clearly identify when watching our video and instead of just having a video focusing on performance, we were also able to create a video that gives our audience something extra, a more personal connection with the band, seeing how they behave together and when they're not performing.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
In order to answer this question as group we put together a video discussing all three of our media products. We began by creating a series of notes that related to our music video, digipack and advert and then spoke about how marketable and effective they are all together as a combination. As well as this within the commentary created we also mentioned justifications behind certain design choices and creative decisions that we made during the coursework as well as how we portrayed our artist. We created a video in Final Cut Express so that we could add images and text to further enforce our discussion. Through all of our products we tried to keep the same theme and stick to genre conventions as best we could as we understood that this was the best way of creating a realistic and professional music video, digipack and advert combination that would appeal to our target audience.
3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
Based on some early audience feedback it was apparent that the video concept and mainly the narrative idea we had chosen was not working and as our our audience weren't impressed with what we had produced. I decided to add some annotations to the original video showing various issues which our audience identified as being "poor", "confusing" and "un-professional". It was after receiving this feedback that we decided to completely restructure our narrative and modify our video accordingly. We were able to completely change our narrative yet still relate the video to the rock genre. We used 'behind the scenes' footage which meant we were able to relate to Rock music videos such as Bon Jovi Livin' On A Prayer, Def Leppard Pour Some Sugar On Me and Guns N' Roses Paradise City.
Below is our completed audience feedback for our updated video;
In order to answer this question we created a small survey and displayed all of the audience feedback that we received relating to our music video on YouTube via the use of the annotations system on our video. We asked our audience, aged between 16 and 19 the following questions;
1. What is rock, how accurate is our video? Please explain your answer.
2. What impressions do you have of our artists?
3. What parts of the video are particularly effective?
4. Any criticisms?
This was particularly effective as it meant we were able to gain extremely useful audience feedback as we acquired a range of different answers, which were both positive and negative and gave us a large amount of constructive advice that we can analyse. Each question is colour coded on the video so that audience responses are easily identifiable and can be clearly seen, we also tried to apply certain comments to relevant parts of the video which they applied to so that our feedback was easier to understand.
Personally I have learnt a considerable amount from the audience feedback we received, for example if we were to re-do the video there are number of tweaks or changes we could potentially make to create an even greater product. However, on the whole nearly everyone enjoyed watching the video and thought it was an authentic and professional piece of work through the use of performance, narrative, location and costume. Firstly we asked our audience to explain how accurately our video represents the Rock genre in which we were given variety of answers such as "similar to other rock videos" "video very clearly shows a rock band" "classic rock style" "has the feel of a rock video" "very accurate it was like a rock video" and "it is rock, it's not to heavy so is enjoyable and approachable to anyone" as a result of these responses it became clear that through the use of a number of key conventions we had effectively created a video this was easily identifiable as being part of the Rock genre, however, we did receive one comment stating "a bit but not much, drums and guitar are accurate" and another stating we should have "less shots of the band" this shows that we could still include or potentially enforce more Rock conventions in order to make the video that bit more convincing. We also asked our audience what impressions they have of our artist, this was met with a number of responses for example "funny" "friendly", "fit the style of rock very well", "good relationship with each other", "lads on tour" this was pleasing as it meant that we had clearly been able to portray our artist successfully through our video as a typical rock band. We received a lot of comments expressing how effective the black and white filter on the narrative shots were and how the behind the scenes shots within the video were also effective as they separated the performance from the narrative itself and made for an entertaining watch. I agree as I believe these two features greatly helped to add more to our video through a dynamic use of camera shots and the way in which they were placed within the production, as a result of this, if we were to change anything within the video I think the black and white effects as well as the use of some behind the scenes shots would remain. On the whole It was evident that most people understood narrative within the video, however, I managed to gain some extra feedback from some people who felt the 'behind the scenes' shots lacked meaning, I have to agree that if we were to re-do the video we would make sure that our narrative had a distinct meaning and that our audience could relate to much easier. Overall our audience seemed to really enjoy our video. However we did ask if they had any criticism and there was one reoccurring theme that our audience identified as being a potential issue. The main criticism we received was the fact that our some of shots were "boring", "not very complex", "repetitive" and as a result some audience members recommended we "add more" and have less shots of "just the band playing". I do agree that we could have less shots of the band performing, but I also believe that we did include a wide range of different shots within the video and this was further back up by one comment stating that our "contrast of camera shots" were an effective part of the video. Based on the feedback received from the audience If we were to re-do the video I would also certainly consider including a wider range of more complex shots.
I also had the chance to show my parents as well as some other members of my family the video, this was interesting as it gave me an insight into how other people from a variety of different ages who weren't necessarily our direct target audience felt our about our work. I asked them if they understood the narrative within the video and the all were able to identify what they saw as a series of 'behind the scenes' shots that reflected the band 'messing around together' and 'enjoying themselves' and agreed they were 'effective' and 'exciting to watch'. Several members of my family agreed they the performance shots were also 'effective' as they helped reflect the band as talented musicians. My dad felt the video represented the band in a 'positive light' and also said that the video gives the impression the band have a 'strong relationship with one another' which is clearly seen through the behind the scenes footage. One member of my family believed that whilst the band were 'messing around behind the scenes, they were extremely focused when performing' what this shows is that not only through the use of the black and white filter, but also through the use of artist image we have managed separate our performance from our narrative. One member of my family mentioned the fact that the video looked "no different to a music video you would see on TV". This was extremely pleasing to hear as throughout the coursework we have been focused on creating professional and realistic products. Having said this members of my family made note of the fact that some of the shots are not framed as well as they could be and that a few of the shots are out of time but overall they didn't have to many criticisms other than the fact that some of the shots were a bit 'repetitive' which was slightly frustrating as we felt we had included a wide range of different shots were out of sync. What was particularly interesting is my Uncle stated that although the behind the scenes narrative shots are 'fun' to watch, they have 'no real relation to the lyrics of the song'. This is something I do agree with and If we re-did the video I would make sure that the narrative complimented the lyrics of the song as I believe this would greatly improve the meaning within the video. I also asked if they would be interested in seeing more from the band, whether it was buying an album or wanting to watch the video again and most of them replied 'yes', this was probably the most pleasing piece of feedback I received from my family as it meant that we had definitely gone some way to creating an artist or band image that was well liked, professional and authentic all of which we wanted to achieve. The main criticism of the video I also showed my parents the original video mentioned at the beginning and they both agreed that the improvements we have made, make for a much better video. All of the feedback I received from my family was very encouraging as the comments and points they made mention of were certainly very useful and very pleasing considering not many of them are fans of the Rock genre.
All of the audience feedback we have received has been extremely interesting to listen to and has been useful in identifying what people felt about video, what we've done well and what could be improved if we were to re-do it.
Personally I have learnt a considerable amount from the audience feedback we received, for example if we were to re-do the video there are number of tweaks or changes we could potentially make to create an even greater product. However, on the whole nearly everyone enjoyed watching the video and thought it was an authentic and professional piece of work through the use of performance, narrative, location and costume. Firstly we asked our audience to explain how accurately our video represents the Rock genre in which we were given variety of answers such as "similar to other rock videos" "video very clearly shows a rock band" "classic rock style" "has the feel of a rock video" "very accurate it was like a rock video" and "it is rock, it's not to heavy so is enjoyable and approachable to anyone" as a result of these responses it became clear that through the use of a number of key conventions we had effectively created a video this was easily identifiable as being part of the Rock genre, however, we did receive one comment stating "a bit but not much, drums and guitar are accurate" and another stating we should have "less shots of the band" this shows that we could still include or potentially enforce more Rock conventions in order to make the video that bit more convincing. We also asked our audience what impressions they have of our artist, this was met with a number of responses for example "funny" "friendly", "fit the style of rock very well", "good relationship with each other", "lads on tour" this was pleasing as it meant that we had clearly been able to portray our artist successfully through our video as a typical rock band. We received a lot of comments expressing how effective the black and white filter on the narrative shots were and how the behind the scenes shots within the video were also effective as they separated the performance from the narrative itself and made for an entertaining watch. I agree as I believe these two features greatly helped to add more to our video through a dynamic use of camera shots and the way in which they were placed within the production, as a result of this, if we were to change anything within the video I think the black and white effects as well as the use of some behind the scenes shots would remain. On the whole It was evident that most people understood narrative within the video, however, I managed to gain some extra feedback from some people who felt the 'behind the scenes' shots lacked meaning, I have to agree that if we were to re-do the video we would make sure that our narrative had a distinct meaning and that our audience could relate to much easier. Overall our audience seemed to really enjoy our video. However we did ask if they had any criticism and there was one reoccurring theme that our audience identified as being a potential issue. The main criticism we received was the fact that our some of shots were "boring", "not very complex", "repetitive" and as a result some audience members recommended we "add more" and have less shots of "just the band playing". I do agree that we could have less shots of the band performing, but I also believe that we did include a wide range of different shots within the video and this was further back up by one comment stating that our "contrast of camera shots" were an effective part of the video. Based on the feedback received from the audience If we were to re-do the video I would also certainly consider including a wider range of more complex shots.
I also had the chance to show my parents as well as some other members of my family the video, this was interesting as it gave me an insight into how other people from a variety of different ages who weren't necessarily our direct target audience felt our about our work. I asked them if they understood the narrative within the video and the all were able to identify what they saw as a series of 'behind the scenes' shots that reflected the band 'messing around together' and 'enjoying themselves' and agreed they were 'effective' and 'exciting to watch'. Several members of my family agreed they the performance shots were also 'effective' as they helped reflect the band as talented musicians. My dad felt the video represented the band in a 'positive light' and also said that the video gives the impression the band have a 'strong relationship with one another' which is clearly seen through the behind the scenes footage. One member of my family believed that whilst the band were 'messing around behind the scenes, they were extremely focused when performing' what this shows is that not only through the use of the black and white filter, but also through the use of artist image we have managed separate our performance from our narrative. One member of my family mentioned the fact that the video looked "no different to a music video you would see on TV". This was extremely pleasing to hear as throughout the coursework we have been focused on creating professional and realistic products. Having said this members of my family made note of the fact that some of the shots are not framed as well as they could be and that a few of the shots are out of time but overall they didn't have to many criticisms other than the fact that some of the shots were a bit 'repetitive' which was slightly frustrating as we felt we had included a wide range of different shots were out of sync. What was particularly interesting is my Uncle stated that although the behind the scenes narrative shots are 'fun' to watch, they have 'no real relation to the lyrics of the song'. This is something I do agree with and If we re-did the video I would make sure that the narrative complimented the lyrics of the song as I believe this would greatly improve the meaning within the video. I also asked if they would be interested in seeing more from the band, whether it was buying an album or wanting to watch the video again and most of them replied 'yes', this was probably the most pleasing piece of feedback I received from my family as it meant that we had definitely gone some way to creating an artist or band image that was well liked, professional and authentic all of which we wanted to achieve. The main criticism of the video I also showed my parents the original video mentioned at the beginning and they both agreed that the improvements we have made, make for a much better video. All of the feedback I received from my family was very encouraging as the comments and points they made mention of were certainly very useful and very pleasing considering not many of them are fans of the Rock genre.
All of the audience feedback we have received has been extremely interesting to listen to and has been useful in identifying what people felt about video, what we've done well and what could be improved if we were to re-do it.
In order to answer this question I created a video In which I explain the wide variety of media technologies I have used throughout my coursework during the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages. I relied heavily on technology in order to produce the work I have, doing research into media theorist ideologies, genre conventions, music videos and artist demographics through the use of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 was crucial in the success of my coursework as it offered access to online services including social networking sites such as Facebook which was important for communication throughout the coursework between our group as well as the band. Web 2.0 also offered services such as YouTube which was extremely helpful during the research and planning stages, it also enabled me to watch a range of tutorials which was useful when it came to the process of editing our music video and working with Final Cut Express an exclusive application mentioned in the video that we had access to through the use of the school iMacs which were key to us being able to create our products the way we have. Applications such as Photoshop were extremely helpful during the creation of our Advert and Digipack as it enabled to manipulate our work to look effective as well authentic and professional whilst sticking to key genre conventions. The HD professional cameras we used to record our footage were also extremely important in helping us to create a more professional looking video as we will able to capture a variety of different shot types that we we able to exploit. Technology was very important in the way in which I put my research into genre conventions into action through our music video, digipack and advert. All of the technology I used was extremely useful during my coursework and helped me greatly during all aspects of what we produced.
