EmmanuelAdairYear13A2blog

In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop Or Challenge Forms And Conventions Of Real Media Products?

Narrative/Performance/Conceptual and other video modes

(performance)

For my Music video I Chose to adhere to the conventional style of music video that the UK Rap Genre typically uses. The performance for my music video consisted of the artist walking through a lonely pathway in a park, here is where the audience see the artist rapping the lyrics and showing his facial and body expressions. So here I clearly adhered to the typical conventions for the UK rap Genre as most of these songs typically have an artist who is the main selling point lip syncing in front of the camera. However in the performance it is clear that the artist takes the song very seriously and does so with clear passion and emphasis on emotion, this can be seen as challenging existing UK rap conventions as a lot of the time these songs discuss topics such as wealth, success, females, sex and accessories, however here it is clear that my artist is clearly exploring a much more deep topic. Also a lot of close up shots are used in the performance parts of the music video which can be viewed as unconventional especially as a lot of rap songs such as Fredo 100, use long shots to show the artists outfits and surroundings, where as in the performance parts for my music video the sole focus is the artist and his lyrics.

Narrative: The other music video style used was the narrative style, this is where a story is explained through the lyrics and visually shown through the acting of the artist. As mentioned before that this music video explores a more emotional and unconventional side to rap, it is clear that in parts of the narrative it goes against a lot of stereotypes, this is also known as counter stereotypes. An example of this is seen when the artist throws away the cigarette and stomps on it, this denotes that the artist does not encourage smoking whether it is weed or cigarette This prop was effectively used to challenge this stereotype that a lot of rappers encourage the use of weed, also in the lyrics it says 'So I tried to stop blazing and strengthen my mind' yet again signifying the artist condemns these substances. The Narrative also shows the artist being by himself a lot of the time, this can be perceived as unconventional especially as a lot of typical rap songs have a massive hype of having a lot of people included in their music video showing off their massive wealth and fancy sports cars, whereas in this rap music video the artist is down to earth and very simple.

Genre: The genre for my music video is that of a UK rap and Grime genre. This music video uses a heavy amount of subversion as I believe a lot of the time the typical Grime and UK rap genre is challenged through the use of lyrics and visual content. All throughout the music video it explores emotion and the more introverted side of the artist, going through his past and memories. Usually in this genre of music artists rap about many meaningless topics and boast a lot about their possessions. I was influenced by Drakes Album 'Take Care' Where in a lot of his songs he discusses relationships and a lot more emotion as opposed to his typical rap music where he raps about the fame and money. Another inspiration of work to take an unconventional approach was CasIsDead 'Drugs Don't Work' as this is also of the same genre however digs into the dark realm of drug abuse and drug addicts to make it more relatable to those in the same struggle. I strongly Believe I did this successfully as when viewing my own work there is a more somber mood in comparison to conventional rap music videos that use bright colour palettes and extensive amounts of props and actors.

Camera, Angle, Shot movement and position: In reference to camera shots used, there is a variety used to ensure that my music video wasn't repetitive and boring as I had to make sure it looked impressive. Connoted here is a close up shot showing the artists facial expression he looks neither happy or excited however denoted is the artists seriousness and passion, as he takes the song very important and meaningful. Towards the end of my music video I used a 360 shot to finish of my music video to leave an effective image of the artist in the audiences head.

Editing Techniques - Transitions, cuts and use of special effects: In reference to editing I chose to use a slow paced editing style to ensure everything visually looked smooth and continuous as I didn't want my music video to come across as fast paced and too up to beat. While editing I had to ensure when cutting the clips that the lyrics matched the lip sync so that the visuals look professional and up to good standard. Also when editing I included a colour correction code and used a blue and grey tone creating a gritty and urban colour palette. this helped my music video conform to

the Hypodermic Needle theory as the lyrics and imagery of the music video metaphorically inject this message of the artist's past life, therefore the passive audience perceive this and accept the media text given to them. Especially as my music video explores a more emotional side to the artist. This definitely encouraged synergy which was carried out across all three media products through the outstanding colour palette which uses this dark grey and blue colour correction. These colours are prominent throughout the three media products due to the message behind the colours and how the theme is synergised through the three products. This colour palette reinforces a dull and gloomy feeling across the three media products denoting that the artist's emotions usually revolve around depression and sad memories.

Continuity editing - Cutting shots to tell a story with narrative continuity This helps the artists audience make sense of the action by implying spatial relationships and ensuring smooth flow from shot to shot. this also Creates realism which is a convention of UK rap as most of the time the music is fictional and usually about the artists life as opposed to a pop song which may be fictitious.

The fade transitions used from particular shots, shows the artist reminiscing on his past,

Mise - En scene : The clothing of my artist is typical to that of the UK rap genre as my artist is wearing a puffer jacket, denim jeans and trainers, a lot of the time artists of this genre would wear a similar outfit suggesting that my music video conforms to the chosen genre, this also emphasized the brand that this artist is trying to represent.

The location for my music video can be viewed as unconventional for this genre as the performance takes place in a lonely park. This is because most music videos for this genre like to expose the flashy life style that they live so would usually have their music videos set in an expensive area such as a mansion however this ensures that this appeals to the intended audience as my artist is expressing his feelings as opposed to showing his wealth and fame, so this location allows the audience to understand and see the artist as humble.

What Brief Were You working To?

The brief I was working towards, was to create a music video, a Digipak and a magazine advert, each of these media products were to promote our chosen artist. For this task I worked as an individual as opposed to working with a partner or group.

Brief For Media Coursework

I was also told by my teachers that my music video either had to be completely copyright free, otherwise I would have to obtain first hand permission from the owner of the copyright song or at least have evidence that I attempted to gain this information. My song 'San Andreas Mentality' owned by the artist himself Bugzy malone was copyright, therefore I had to ask for permission to use the song in my music video. I did this by emailing Bugzy Malone directly and asking him whether I could use the song. To make things easier I attempted to find royalty free songs that I could work with however constantly trying to do this, I had no creative connection and therefore found myself choosing a copyright song from an Artist I am more familiar with.

The other part of this brief was to create two ancillary products which both were to exist to promote my artist and music video. This would include both Digipak and Magazine Advert for the ancillary products. I had to ensure that both of these media products included synergy; meaning that all products some how tie in together on each platform and show exact similarities. I was able to do this through Mise-en-Scene, typography, layout and colour pallets. It was very important that I included synergy as all three of the media products I created had to have a strong link to make it clear who my target audience was and for the audience to identify the artist instantly. I did this successfully, as in pre production I researched many existing media products that used synergy and showed similarities to identify their target audience. An example of this is seen below;

(Example of synergy across two media products.)

Who Was The Artist? How Did You Find Them? How Did You Seek Permission?

My artist was Bugzy Malone, a British grime MC from Manchester, England. He has been described as a key artist instigating the 'Grime Revival' moving the UK urban scene away from more commercially orientated music. I found Bugzy Malone years ago on YouTube, as this is typically the genre of music I would originally listen too and Bugzy Malone is an Artist I am very fond of and enjoy listening to his content. The song I used from this artist was 'San Andreas Mentality' one of his least well known songs, however shows the more personal introverted side of the artist. I aimed to use this song in particular as I had lots of ideas in terms of camera shots, mise en scene and more conventional features. In terms of permission, I personally emailed the artist directly, asking whether I could use the song for my A Level Media Coursework and that I would not use it for revenue purposes. Evidence of this is seen below:

Explain The Music Genre And What Attracted You To The Artist?

My song is a Grime and UK Rap genre song. I wanted to create a gritty but yet emotional music video and this song worked perfectly, as it explored the more emotional and introverted side of the artist, as oppose to typical rap, which conventionally discusses drugs, money and women. I felt that this type of song would make it easier to create a Narrative, as it would be of slow pace and would allow time to show the story as well as the performance. I instantly knew what kind of music video I would create when listening to the song and deciding that this was the song I was going to use. I regularly listen to this genre of music, as it is the kind of music I have grown up with from the influence of my older brother. I find myself leaning on the side of conscious rap as oppose to typical gangster type rap, this is because I find more meaning in these songs and also they explore real life issues that hold meaning not just meaningless gibberish. I like the idea of looking back into somebody's past and seeing how they have progressed into the individual that they are now and this was the case for the Artist Bugzy Malone, as I felt that this progression is to be admired and shown through a music video. Including the Flashback Narrative device, allows me to explore more into narrative devices and become better at Media Studies as a subject. I was inspired by music videos such as Eminem Not Afraid, where the artist describes his journey as human and the hardships that he has faced, that evolved him into the person he is now.