Media Coursework A2 Evaluation Question One ( Finished)

Talking About The WeatherThe Life of Riley

Talking About The WeatherThe Life of Riley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXagZHqA2zk

New RomanticLaura Marling

I have chosen this video as a comparison to my video project as the style, genre and conventions are especially similar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNxar07_9YA

In my video project, it was essential I used some similar techniques in order to appeal to the same target audience, whilst creating something new, interesting and unique at the same time. One aspect that was essentially similar was that of expected stereotypes. In New Romantic, Laura Marling fits into the indie stereotype previously mentioned within my research, she is what you expect of a female indie artist and therefore appeals to the indie audience, as they are familiar with her. Within my video, Conor (the artist) and Jess (the featured girl) are both typical of the indie stereotype too, therefore appealing to the same audience. They themselves fit into the same social hierarchy model as the audience do, that itself is a huge attraction of ‘indie’, that the audience can identify with the artists much more realistically as everyone is independent and trying to get somewhere.

The mise en scene used is also particularly similar to that of New Romantic. The presence of an acoustic guitar is essential to identifying the genre and therefore one is shown at several times throughout the video. Conor (the artist) is seen sitting on a bench, on a stool and in a studio, very similar to Laura Marling, a simple yet effective way of conveying performance within the video project.

Click on the photos to be taken to the flickr link where they have been annotated.

Aspects of cinematography are also kept the same. It is essential in any music video to focus with close ups not only the instruments but on the artists features, particularly whilst singing. In New Romantic, there are close ups and extreme close ups of Laura’s face and mouth, synchronised well to the lyrics and music. Therefore in my video project, there are also a variety of these shots portraying Conor’s bright green eyes and his mouth, also synchronised well to the music.

Linking on from this, the music for each video is particularly similar and is automatically identifiable as ‘acoustic indie’, therefore suiting our target audience exactly. The group went on to develop some of these similar techniques such as cinematography and mise en scene, which I believe added something unique and different. These could have widened our target audience and made our video appeal to a wider ranger of music listeners.

I’ve chosen Laura Marling and her video because of it’s typical conventions of the acoustic indie genre. It is simple, yet effective and is similar in many ways to how I have produced mine. However, there are some codes and conventions, that when planning and producing, I adapted and developed. For my AS level coursework, I did not do the video task and so this was an entirely new start for me, it gave me a change to explore and experiment with different filming techniques. Therefore whatever I saw in real media products, I tried to work on and adapt to become my own work whilst still sticking to the codes and conventions of the genre.

Starting with the narrative, most music videos today (that are of the indie/acoustic genre) are focused upon performance, as seen in New Romantic. New Romantic however lacks a narrative to accompany the lyrics, which is where my video project differs. Although the percentage of performance is most likely higher than that of narrative, my group and I did add in a suitable narrative to accompany the lyrics. Our song is based on a romance, and therefore we included a variety of shots representing this.

Click on the photos to be taken to the flickr link where they have been annotated.

Cinematography wise, New Romantic used a series of medium close ups, close ups and long shots to portray Laura. In my video project, not only were these shots used but I also experimented with a series of high, low and canted angles to produce a more adventurous music video.

Linking from the difference in shots shown, the mise en scene and lighting used is developed further than that in Laura Marling’s. She focuses on dim colours, greys and blacks and uses shadows throughout projected onto the wall. She is sat on a stool with her guitar throughout the entire video, the set does not change. The lighting used is low key, with occasional back lighting to bring out her shadow. In my video project, Conor (the artist) is sat with his guitar too, although the props are similar, the lighting is changed. Each shot of Conor with the guitar differs, he may be on a stool, outside or in a studio, so in some cases we have used low key lighting but we have also experimented with high key and natural lighting.

Throughout my video project, I kept to the main codes and conventions of the genre of ‘acoustic indie’ (I.e. Performance, presence of guitar, simplicity) and also developed some further within my own style. However as a group, we also wanted to challenge ourselves and try completely new things, not fitting with the norms of a music video. Probably the most obvious example of this is the slow motion hair flick at 1:48. Looking a Laura Marling’s video, it is all in chronological order and the speed of time remains the same throughout the whole three minutes. The group decided to experiment with speed as it was a tool we had never previously used before. It is not a normal convention found in most acoustic videos which are kept simple, however this was an opportunity for us to work and develop our own skills by using different tools. The end product is quite effective, the time is slowed down to match the music and it synchronises well. However, looking at the video as a whole and looking at it from an evaluative point of view, I now realise it is not exactly right for our kind of video project.

Another norm of music video we have challenged, is the variety of seasons and weather used. Most acoustic music videos are simple and on a low budget because of their independent label and therefore stick to the similar settings. Over our filming period, we had a range of weathers including wind, sun and snow. We used this as a opportunity to film in different weathers, as the song is essentially, ‘talking about the weather’. Most music videos do not use such a contrast as going from filming in a sunny park to walking across a snowy field and this is therefore an element I am quite proud of.

Although it was key to challenge the norms and experiment with different parts of my video project, it was also essential to not stay too far from the normal codes and conventions. I chose to alter some elements and keep some the same in order to create something unique, whilst still appealing to the same target audience. The essentials, i.e. the props, the stereotypes and the mise en scene remain the same still attractive the same audience. The conventions we have experimented with such as cinematography and lighting develop these essentials further, making them more interesting but still appealing to the same audience.

Here is an example of a real media product;A six fold album cover.Lungs by Florence & The Machine:

& Here is my six fold album cover for ‘Talking About The Weather’, by The Life of Riley, these are the three folds I worked on.If you click on the image below it will take you to the flickr page where it has been annotated.

Here is an example of a real media product; an album advertisement. This is for the Stone Roses 20th Anniversary album.It is also a HMV special our inspiration advert.

& Here is the album poster for ‘Talking About The Weather’ that I worked on. If you click on the image below it will take you to the flickr page where it has been annotated.

Overall, my media product uses, develops and challenges many forms and conventions of real media products. My aim was to create a unique and innovative product, whilst still appealing to the right target audience, and by looking at my audience feedback and this evaluation, I believe I was successful in doing so.