JB - Evaluation Part One:

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

Goodwin

• Using Goodwin’s theory of critical framework, the genre of our music video was apparent in the way we used the conventions and characteristics to match other boy band music videos, for example we made it a performance based video throughout, and the mise en scene we tried to convey, such as the city lights, all conform to characteristics of pop genre. We also used conventions like a series of establishing shots at the beginning of the video in order for the audience to understand our location choices. The notion of looking is used a number of times throughout the video where the artists look at the camera towards the audience.
  

Lyrics and Visuals

• There is a link between the visuals and the lyrics, and I feel as though we needed to do this a little bit, but not too much as then you may lose some authenticity to the video. An example of when we use this link is for small touches, such as in Jack's verse at the end he says 'get up and walk away'...
  
  

• Futhermore when we used the chorus there was a link between the visuals and the lyrics for example: 'Go put your hands up...'
  
  
  

Conforms

• The music video is conventional boy band music video because it is performance, however it is post modern because of the way it is commercial and a piece of art at the same time.

Challenges

• The form of our music video challenged conventions in the way we chose to fit a much more urban style, and the locations we chose for example, London, Blue Water car park, and Greenhithe Abbey.
  

• To enhance the urban, gritty feel, we chose to shoot at night in which would invite a lot more problems with lighting; however we managed to over come this issue with some Battery powered hand held lights.

Audience Research

• Furthermore, a way in which we challenged the typical conventions of Boy Band Pop genre music videos, after much deliberation we decided against involving a female and a ‘love’ narrative. This was a risky decision, and even when carrying out some audience research after the video, some people when asked 'What is missing in our video' suggested that there could have been a girl.
  
  

Visual Techniques

• We also tried to use a lot of visual techniques to enhance our conforming to the genre. For example in our car park performance shots we used a panning motion in which we actually circled the performers. We did this through me driving, and some one else holding the camera steady in the car. Luckily as it was late at night it was perfectly safe to do this in the empty car park.

• Another technique that we felt added to the authenticity of our music video was fading.



• This was something that we picked up on after studying numerous other boy band videos and we feel it adds to the emotion and links some of the visuals and the lyrics by creating a bond with the audience.
  
  
  
• A variety of shots means that the audience can know the location they are in. The quick paced editing anchors this camera work, by being in time with the music.
  


• The speed of our camera work has also enhance the somewhat euphoric feeling we are trying to convey for example in the car panning shots.
  
  
  

Semiotics

• Using Semiotics in our construction has allowed us to show the meaning through visuals for example the clothes that the boys are wearing. Shiny leather jacket that Mitch is seen to wear connotes an urban feeling and this is exactly what we wanted.



• We made sure that the boys didn't just wear what they wear in everyday life becuase we wanted to signify a street look, to add to the star image and the boys meta-narrative.



• Another way in which we have done this is through certain Star motifs. E.g. The Necklaces Mitch wears are in most of his shots:
  
  
  

• Also Dom's Dancing:

• Iconic Signs such as our Location in London act as signifiers to the british boy band feel, as well as the car park.

As well as this we used intertextual references to popular culture through the street dancing from Mitch and Dom, in which this will add to the Grand/Meta - narrative and this will appeal to their target audience.

Other conventions such as the performing and dance sequences which create a divide between the video and the performance.

By association with London and the clothes they wear, our boy band are therefore endowed with the 'myth' that typical british boys/lads, can become successful if they are talented enough. This is shown through the dancing and singing.

Furthermore, the ideological discourse of gender is shown through deciding not to involve a girl in the video and keeping it to just the boys doing it for themselves.