In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions or real media products?

Question 1 -

Before planning and creating my video the research we did before shows that all music videos follow or use a mixture of 3 styles of video; Performance, Narrative and Abstract. After researching my genre and my inspired artist Beyoncé and from one of my audience feedback sheets I knew i had to do the Performance side as this is what is most popular for a pop song. Because my artist is inspired by Beyoncé and nearly all of her videos are about the performance in the up beat songs such as her legendary video ‘Single Ladies’ which the dance routine (visuals) had nothing to do with the lyrics whereas in the slower pase songs she is more likely to do a narrative such as ‘Best Thing I Never Had’. I knew exactly what performance elements I wanted to use and started too plan. Before this we studied Goodwin's Theory Of Six and most of the elements fit into what my music video is built up of:

Firstly in my video, i have used alot of Genre Characteristics. One example is the fact that i have 3 dancers (conventional in a Beyoncé video) and have done a dance routine scene which i have then involveld an element of performance which totally fits a typical Pop Genre Music Video. For example, Lady Gaga does dance routines in her videos such as ‘Telephone’ and ‘Bad Romance’ also using other dancers. My performance section for my Artist is as if she is enjoying herself and flirting with the camera which is being a typical pop artist.I have also presented my Artist as a stereotypical Pop Artist, as i have dressed her in costumes showing a lot of leg so she’s flirty and yet ihave made her still look classy to keep up her pop artist image and keep her as a role model for her younger audience. The fact that my Artist is constantly dancing and smiling also is typical of a pop artist when they are in an upbeat and happy song. Also the lighting in my video is quite bright so you can see the artists face and body clearly which is matching the happy and bright feel from the music, this is often used in Pop Video’s such as Jessie J’s ‘Price Tag’ which is all filmed on a white background and a bright light empathising that the vibe coming from the video is happy and enjoyable which makes the audience feel that way and want to dance and join in which is typical in a pop video.Also, in typiical Pop Videos the artists are aware that the camera is there and are singing into it towards the audience completely aware that it is there, which is a convention i have used within my video.

‘There Is a relationship between lyrics and visuals’ is another one of Goodwin's

Theory's i used, for example i believe my video is an Amplifying Video as i repeat some of the movements which have a meaning to do with the lyrics for example when the lyric’s say ‘kiss you at night’ my artist looks into the camera and blows a kiss. Therefore is not completely ignoring the song my Artist just does a little motif and is amplifying the lyrics. Another example is when the lyrics say ‘head to toe’ i move the camera shot from her head to her feet which is also amplifying the lyrics. Therefore only some of my video amplifies the lyrics but it is quite common in Pop Videos of today such as Jessie J’s song ‘Laser light’ when the chorus comes in saying ‘your like a laser light’ all the background is laser lights yet when that has finished it goes back to shots that don’t have much of a relationship between the lyrics and visuals.

‘There is a relationship between music and visuals’My video has a very strong relationship between the music and the visuals which is amplifying. I think the majority if Videos need this especially when the song is fast it will keep up the energy in what the audience is watching whereas is slow parts the shots calm down to empathise what is being shown on the screen and for it to fit in with the beats and mood of the music and amplify them.I found the relationship between the music and visuals very easy to work with and put together as nearly every shot of my artist and dancers went to the rhythm of the music to the correct timing and fast pase. One good example of this is the beginning when it cuts from the stamps on the leaves to a shot of her moving closer to the camera (on the drum beats) and then too dance moves very quickly when the trumpet comes in. This really echoes the beats in the music to what the audience is seeing and it keeping up with the song which is typical in a Pop Genre. During my video the music goes calms and says ‘boy come to me’ this is then when i do a shot of her shadow silhouette from behind a white screen in slow motion of her floating her arms. I slowed that section down for it to blend within the music and build up the climax in my Video for the beat to begin again and the quick and choppy cuts come back. Another example of the slow motion is when she is singing ‘ i just want to be with you’ and she is stood on a stage in a long white dress singing into a microphone, the shots are once again slowed right down and are mainly at a close up so the audience feel the relationship between the music and visuals by slowing it right down, which is what they expect as a Pop Audience as the tone in the music empathises how deep she is feeling about someone she cares about (visually). Its as if you are watching whatever is on the screen follow the music's lead; creates a relationship between the two.

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I have researched his theory of ‘The Demands of the Record label’ to a certain point for example i have used lots of close ups of her legs, her eyes blinking, her face and her body at the beginning of the film mainly in close-ups and long mid-shot frames. One example is when she is looking straight into the camera and blinking and smiling right into the camera from a high-angle and that’s all you can see therefore its creating a bond between the audience and the artist. Another example is showing her legs which becomes a bit of a motif (another demand of the record label) in the beginning and throughout, which is very flirty especially for the male audience and she’s not showing off too much which is keeping that professional connection and bond between the audience and herself again. All of the shots at the beginning really let the audience in on the Artist character as they feel like they know her already.

In almost all shots of the video she is looking directly into the camera and singing into it, almost as if she is singing too the audience making it feel much more personal to the audience at home watching.

Another example of a good bond between audience and the artist is when in the middle of the song the lyrics say ‘baby come and get up on it show me that you really want it’ i use quick shots of her dancing and laughing and being really bubbly, this makes the audience laugh and the enjoy it more as they feel like they know more of her personality, creating a strong bond.

‘There is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.’

I believe my video is very strong of this Theory, my Artist is constantly looking into and singing and laughing into the camera as if she knows the audience is watching them but in this case in the Pop Genre it is in a way that the bond between the audience and the artist is made as it makes them feel like they have welcomed her into there TV screen, in the home and make them feel as if they know her personality and it is personal for them. Another good reason to do a video like that is so it can literally be aimed at anyone of her audience its just how they take it, instead of having a narrative video, they can make up there own story line and the male audience may believe it could be aimed at them.My artist is a women and for the sexiness of a pop star i did dress her in costumes that are only revealing her legs to keep the class about her as that is the image i wanted ALL my audience to gain. Also, i have used dance moves that are quite ‘sexual’ in a way that she uses her body, this is purely to drag the attention to her and to make her image a sexy, classy pop artist which from my audience research that is there impression. Therefore, i used this theory very much within my video.

There is often intertextual referenceThroughout my video i make references to Beyoncé’s music videos, such as the 3 dancers i have got that inspired from her ‘Single Ladies’ video, as i found out that this is what the audience normally like from a typical Beyoncé video. I also took a bit of inspiration from the film Dream Girls of which Beyoncé starred in and used a stage with a vintage microphone and put my artist in a stunning dress and used a similar shot from behind her shoulder. This is because i believed it would suit that bit to the music as it as glamorous which is something i would like the audience to pick up on. Therefore i do use intersexuality references in my video, however this is VERY common in Pop Videos, for example Beyoncé's video ‘Count-Down’ has taken many different dance programmes and routines for example the scenery from Step Up. It captures the audiences attention and creates the bond more as they notice where its from and think that they know the artists likes even more.