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

I chose to produce a music promo package for a song that was already well established. The song I chose was "Ella Henderson- Glow".The reason I chose this was that I believe there are many different meanings that could apply to this song which gave me a lot of scope to play with in my filming process. I undertook planning and research stages to create my production and once I finished the final version of my video I uploaded it to YouTube. From the lyrics, I decided to produce a performance and abstract video. During my video, I decided to show my audience the artist/actress 'glow' throughout her career and how she has grown , for example towards the end of the music video, the artist is performing on stage and looks like she is enjoying herself. I then chose to create a six panel digipak for my fictional artist, and a magazine advertisement, to then help promote the products. Below I will evaluate my media texts on the effectiveness of use of conventions, how the products integrate and the use of digital media during all stages of production,  I will contrast this with audience feedback.

Within my music video, I used a wide range of conventions to make my work look as professional as possible. As I have stated in my genre conventions post earlier in the year, there is always a connection and a link between the lyrics of the song and the visuals. This also creates a link between the artist and the song selling not only the product to the audience but the artists too. Having the artist perform in the video is essential to sell the artist as an individual, the cinematography and editing used is usually related to the video and cut or shot in time with the beat. This allows the audience to connect with the personality of the video.

Below is the Official video for the song that I chose, this gave me a good understanding how the shots need to be in time with the beat of the song, and especially the lip sync has to be in time; otherwise the video would look unrealistic and very unprofessional. 

Below are some shots that I thought looked professional and appealing in existing music videos (left) which inspired me to use similar shot types in my music video (right). My Research for existing music videos have really helped me to use the correct conventions to enable my product look professional they are as follows:

• Different costumes (mise en scene)
• Different angles of shot types (cinematography)
• Lip sync (editing)
• Different shots, for example, close up, long shot and medium shot (cinematography)
• Abstract, narrative and performance. I decided to chose Abstract as it allows me to focus on the artist and include lip syncing throughout my music video
• Lighting
• Different locations (mise en scene)
• Editing on the beat, for example the beat of the song matches the shot changes

Shots that inspired me

Ella Henderson- Glow

These shots are from the original music video which really stood out and inspired me to have a similar effect. For example the filter on the on the shot to change colour. However I have changed my shot slightly by zooming into the actresses face which potentially makes the shot look more professional. These shots inspire me as the close up shot allows the audience to interact and feel the emotions of the artist.

Ella Henderson- Ghost

This music video inspired me as the filming  is very effective, with the use of different camera angles and lighting the shot looks very professional. My shots are slightly different again, as I used tracking around my actress. To enable me to create this shot, I borrowed a dolly from college, which allowed me to have a smooth movement shot. 

Cheryl Cole- Call My Name

This shot enabled me to use a different variety of editing, showing my understanding of working the equipment In my music video I have used the slow motion, fast forward and rewind tools to create this idea. "Call my name" music video inspired me, as I thought it looked very professional and unique as it was unusual using the music beat to maximise impact,this makes the video memorable.

In terms of my ancillary text, I made sure that both my poster and my digipak linked with my final music video; as it is very important that I show continuity throughout my coursework to allow the audience to recognise and relate to the products.



Textual Analysis



Lyrically, this song represents unity, it’s about bringing people together and has no narrative in the original music video. However, in my music video I have added a slight narrative, but it is not main focus. Personally I feel the lyrics represent how the artist has grown and developed throughout her career. For example 'Like a chest of hidden gold, shimmers in the depths below' and 'we will glow' portray how the artist started her career as an unknown and suggests that every one can become successful if they try hard and continue to pursue their dreams, for example 'we will glow'. The song was written by Steve Mac and Camille Purcell and was released on 5th October 2014.

Within the first couple of seconds, at the start of the music video, I have used a close up, medium shot and long shot. I used a close up shot to allow the audience to interact with the artist, and to connect with the feelings and emotions of the song. I have used a black fade out and dissolve, to allow the shots to run smoothly, and in time with the song/beat.The mise en scene in my music video, has allowed me to create a hidden meaning in my video, this describes how the artist has progressed over time, and displays shots of how the artist becomes professional, for example at the start of the video the artist is seen to be singing in the woods, and towards the end of a video, the artist is performing on stage with full professional lighting. The start of the video I have used a shot which shows the artist before she became successful in the woods, which is why I decided to use a hand held shot, to portray verisimilitude. The image below shows the progression that the artist made. For example, I decided to add a glimmer of what the artist was inspired to be in the middle of my video. The lighting used allows the silhouette of the artist to be shown. I feel this shot is very powerful and eye catching, as it shows futuristic progression of the artist. I have used a tilt shot, which again adds impact on the audience, as the smoke could suggest the artist looking into the future, or the artist dream, as it emphasises the artist`s body language. I have used different angles/ levels when shooting my music video to allow the audience to be more interested and for the shot to be more striking and fascinating as it adds a different variety to the video.

The image above shows a screen shot of the video, with the lyrics of; 'Soldiers of the Light'. I decided to link the images with the lyrics as it shows professionalism and allows the audience to connect with the song

The image above, again shows how I linked the shots to the lyrics. 'We will glow', this could potentially portray that this is when the artist starting to become successful and becoming recognised.

I have used close up shots to allow the audience to connect and emphasise the actresses emotional state and feelings. For example the shot below is a close-up shot and exaggerates the actresses facial expression which conveys emotion. The viewer is drawn into the subject's personal space and shares their feelings. In the shot below I used the zoom button on my camera into the actresses face, which becomes an extreme close up 

I also used a medium pan shot which shows part of the actress in more detail, whilst still showing enough for the audience to feel as if they were looking at the whole subject. For example the image below. I have used a panning shot which involves the shot to move horizontally from the left to the right. Panning shots are used often as it allows the music video to look professional, as it is a smooth and soft movement.

I have also used a zoom in, long shot, on the smokey blue stage to add dramatic tension; as long shots allow the audience to focus on the artist, however, the audience can still focus on plenty of the background detail.

Throughout my whole music video, I have used a variety of different angles and different camera techniques.Changing the angles of the shots, allows the video to look very professional and the audience will stay interested as there are a variety of different techniques used. Below is an example of a low angle shot in my music video.

Above are some of the screen shots that portray the hidden meaning of the music video. When I was producing my music video I didn't want to produce a narrative as I thought having a story line takes the audience away from the music and the artist.

My costumes were very important in my music video as it adds variety to keep the audience attracted. I developed my colour scheme from my costume ideas, as I feel the blue jumpsuit stands out and looks very professional. Therefore, I decided to used black, white and blue for my colour scheme on my ancillary texts. When I was filming at the theatre I asked the lighting technician to have a blue filter in the lighting, which allows the audience to link the whole video to the ancillary texts.

Towards the end of the song, the beat is very slow and the music goes quite quiet. Slow motion is used to add tension and to match the beat of the song. The editing also slows down to the beat of the song to allow the audience to connect with the video. In terms of editing the most common technique used in music videos is jump cutting from location to location, this makes the change in location, this makes the change in location stand out more to the audience. Similarly another key technique used in music videos is to adjust the speed of the shot, for example speeding the shot up or slowing the shot down, this is done so the editing fits with the beat of the song. For example in my music video, the close up shot of the artists shoes when the shot rewinds the shot speeds up to match the beat of the song

Applying theory to my music video

Bulmer and Kat'z -Uses and Gratifications Theory

Bulmer and Kat'z 'uses and gratifications theory' state products need to fulfill the audience's needs and expectations, including 'personal identity', which I have portrayed throughout my music video. I have created this through the age of my artist, gender and her individual style. For example, the blue costume/outfit contrasts and allows the artist to stand out.

Jason Mittell (2001)
Jason Mittell argues that genres are cultural categories that surpass the boundaries of media text and operate within industry, audience and cultural practices as well. Media producers use familiar codes and conventions that very often make cultural references to their audience knowledge of society. Genre also allows audiences to make choices about what products they want to consume through acceptance in order to fulfill a particular pleasure. Through the link in genre between my ancillary text, the audience will be able to look at my ancillary text and decide whether they will be interested/ like my album and the music video I produced. The theory also states that generic characteristics across all text share similar elements of the below depending on the medium for example, mise en scene, cinematography, editing and lighting