Evaluation, Question 1

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


In our media A2 coursework project this year we had the following options to choose from;

1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

o a website homepage for the band;
o a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)
o a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).

2. A promotion package for a new soap opera, to include a TV trailer, together with two of the following three options:
o a listings magazine front cover featuring the new soap
o two hyperlinked webpage’s (with video extract) for the soap’s website
o a poster for the soap
3. A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options:
o a poster for the film
o a radio trailer for the film
o a film magazine review page featuring the film
In our group of three we decided on question 2, a promotion package for a new soap opera. This included three ancillary tasks which was a magazine front cover, hyperlinked pages for the soaps website and a poster advertising the release or series. However after a month or two into our projects we found that the footage we had was starting to look more like a music video. Therefore we changed our brief to question 1.
After studying a number of different music videos specialising in the genre of ‘Hardcore’ we noticed that one of the key features each video had was minimum lyrics in the track. Therefore a starting point for us was choosing the correct music to link with the beat of the footage we already had. We then chose to produce a video for the new released track I HATE YOU - Supreme & MOB Ft. JJ from Clubland xtream 7 CD which my friend was featured on. We emailed her producers to ask for permission to use this.
The lyrics in this song are
I hate you
I hate everything about you, and all the shit you put me through. I got five words to say to you, am better off without you. Me and you were so though, what the fuck was I supposed to do Got fiver words to say to you, am getting rid of you
Am getting rid of you Am getting rid of you
Going down.
This whole verse is then repeated throughout the track. This uses the same forms of conventions of real media products. This is a typical piece of music in the genre. As well and defining the genres stereotype it also follows a relationship between a young couples breaking up. Using such lyrics “am better off without you”. We then developed our research into the same topic of what our was song was and came across videos such as
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ1eOJ1RWh8&feature=fvst Masters of the Hardcore – Statement of Disorder
This video gave us a rough outline to what type of settings, locations, lighting, editing and footage were in hardcore events and videos. We knew that fast clips and shots would be needed in capturing our new footage and in our editing. Editing shots to the main beat and rhythm was also a key feature for us to make the shots more intense as were drawing in your attention whilst getting into the beat. Most hardcore videos will include this feature. Fast forward and slow motion effects are added to build up the climax of the song. Bright colours and extremely bright flashing lights also help to show the suspension in this. To show this is our video we used effects such as flashing lights overlapping, fast forwarding, rewinds, pans, handheld camera shots to get the correct beat in editing our footage. We slowed the music down to count the amount of bars between each section for the flashing lights and shots to match in time.
Another video I analysed was
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2DeM1pCcwo&feature=relmfu Masters of the Hardcore – Symphony of Sins
This hardcore video has an extremely good climax to the song. The footage that is used to show the build up is very effective. The shots of the foot still then walking increases the camera shot larger and the pace faster also among the topic of the video arriving at an arena. Linking this into our music video we included shots such as running on the beach and still shorts to show our tension. We used the same forms and conventions of what real media uses in showing there tension.
Hardcore has a very strong stereotype on the dress code for men and women that attend hardcore raves or have a high interest in the genre. Mostly all the women that attend the events, raves are commonly dressed in bare minimum such as aluminous bikinis, body paint which is neon. Colours such as fluorescent, neon are the most common. This links to the type of lighting that the developed in hardcore raves that show fluorescent body paint and aluminates neon colours.
However we challenged this in our music video because our character, who was a female, was mostly fully dressed. This is very rare to see in a hardcore video. On the other hand to add a clip to showing a build up, there is one short clip of our actor getting unchanged to show that an event is taking place to get ready for. The stereotype of clothing that hardcore fans wear is mostly down to the lighting that they included in there music. The strobe lights, spot lights, flash lights that they have are designed to aluminates the body and only show them for a number of seconds, therefore wearing bare minimum to show this is an obvious fashion and painting your self with fluorescent colours to highlight yourself and make you glow in the dark is also another huge part of raves.
We also challenged this when having clips of the DJ on the decks, no lighting was involved and it was a normal house party, having typical hardcore rave dance moves, mosh pits. We did included the similar camera shots when capturing the DJ like all hardcore videos do, after researching it repetively shows clips every now and then of the DJ playing in entice the viewer in the music and make them feel like their there. We planned our costume as casual, everyday wear.