Question 1: In what was does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Throughout the production of my media products for Blighters, I have used, developed and challenged conventions of the genre using techniques from real media products. I have taken ideas and learnt from these music productions and put that into practice in my own production.

When producing the video for Blighters, I used fast cuts (1.55-1.58 of music video) and lots of close ups of the band (0.55, 1.04, 1.11, 2.04 of music video) to help the audience to identify with the band easily. This style of music video production is part of Goodwin’s theory music analysis theory, with explains why music video’s use numerous close ups of the band at the record labels request, to make the band recognisable to the audience. Furthermore, I used the skateboarding convention to develop the sub-genre of the band. I have used other bands music videos and ancillary texts to help me follow and develop conventions. Three videos were large influences when deciding on the style for the Blighters. I wanted to use the representation of the skate image as this was a market that appealed to the target audience. I found out through research that the target audience would be between the ages of 16 and 25, which is also the age group linked to skateboarding. The youthful and exciting extreme sport also links well with the style of the Blighters, which is also exuberant and fun.

I wanted to use skate footage as the title of the song ‘Boys in Motion’ connotes the sense of movement and freedom and it appeals to the target audience. This use of the song is one part of Goodwin’s music analysis theory, with states that there is a link between the lyrics and the visuals (in this case, the skateboarding). This theory is widely regarded as correct and can be linked to most music videos that are produced in the 21st century. Furthermore, the skateboarding aspects of the production can be used as identification or aspiration, with the audience identifying/wanting to have the freedom that the band and skateboarders have in the production. I found two music videos by Lostprophets (Shinobi Vs. Dragon Ninja) and Sum 41 (Fat Lip) that helped me in filming the skateboarding sectors of the video. These videos used low angle shots of the skaters and the shots were always to the beat, normally when the music was fast. I used these techniques when producing my video, helping to create pace and excitement to the video. For example, at 14 seconds on the music video, I used a low angle shot as a BMX rider goes over the ramp. This shot shows how I have used the skating conventions to appeal to the audience. Furthermore, I have cut to the beat, especially the skateboarding/BMX shots. I looked at music videos of a similar genre for inspiration about cutting to the beat, with the Lostprophets video Shinobi Vs. Dragon Ninja helpful again. The first 20 seconds of the video cuts to the beat of the snare drum, creating great speed and energy to the song. I wanted to create this vibe with my video and used cutting to the beat when the BMX rider cleared the fun box at 1.08 and the skateboarder flipping at 1.33. I cut them to the beat by making sure they landed on a drum beat. The quick cutting during the music video is a standard convention of the Indie-pop scene, as the fast paced music goes well with fast action shots in the video.

The last video that influenced my video for Blighters was by Oren Lavie. In her video for ‘Her Morning Elegance’, she uses a technique called stop motion. I liked this idea as the technique is visually pleasing and helped to make the video recognisable, something that I was keen to achieve at the start of the course. I decided to use this technique at the start of the video, when I introduce the name of the band. I liked the style of the band title so much that I used this for the CD digipack and Advert. I thought this would be a good idea as it would introduce coherence into the production.

Familiarity, or intertextuality, is a key part in the music industry as both music producers and audiences find it helpful. Music producers use familiarity as it offers a house brand and it is a safe way to creating success with a band. Audiences also like familiarity as makes the band easily identifiable and eye catching. Intertextuality is one section of Goodwin’s theory about music analysis and music videos, which I have incorparated in my production. I have used this in two ways in my production, firstly through the newspaper style title on the music video, CD digipack and advert and through close ups of the band during the live performance shots. These two styles of familiarity work well as the title of the band is seen on all products and the audience can easily recognise who the band is.

As well as using live performance in the music video, I wanted to make the video seem familiar and ordinary to make the band easily identifiable with the target audience. To create the effect, I styled the band in a way which would seem regular in any part of the country, going against most conventions of the skate genre. As you can see in the video, the skate park is in a rural location, which could be typically seen in any village or town across the country. Normally in a skate film, tricks and runs are performed in urban locations or at large skate parks as these generally give the best opportunity for skaters to show off their ability. Furthermore, the tricks performed are ones that a skateboarder of average ability could perform, making the video seem quite ordinary.

Owen, the lead singer, was styled differently to the other actors in the video as I wanted him to be a role model and stand out. To create this effect, I went for a look that was linked to the casuals and yuppies in the 1980’s (See Evaluation of Actors, Costumes and Locations). This style is very in fashion at the moment and this helps to make the video identifiable. The bassist and drummer dress sense are aimed towards the skater image due to the surrounding of the band and the skateboarding link to the genre. They like to wear jeans and polo shirts, as shown in the production, as they are in-fashion with the target audience of the band at the moment and will inspire the audience to be like those members of the band.

Another way in which I helped the target audience to make the video familiar was in the skateboarding tricks and location. Finally, I wanted to make the video feel fun and fresh, like the style of the band. To do this, I introduced a sense of humour through the location and the surroundings. The location used, in the middle of nowhere, breaks away from the norm of urban locations with huge skate parks and impressive tricks. The humble little skate park in the countryside shows that the band is not routine and are prepared to follow the stereotypical image. Furthermore, the last shot of the band, along with the long distance view of the sheep, shows the fun side to the band and laid back approach.

The laid back approach of the band that I have mentioned above shows the freedom that the band posses. I wanted to focus on this when developing the genre of the band, which is in the Indie-pop sector. The freedom that I have created through their dress sense, live performance/skating shots and humour help to develop the band and make their own identity and not just becoming another Indie-pop band of the 21st century.

During the production of the ancillary and film tasks, I wanted to use the conventions of the Indie-Pop genre, which Blighters taps into. Bands such as Mystery Jets and MGMT are similar to the band in terms of their image and style of music. This genre of music is popular at the moment, with MGMT 2008 album ‘Oracular Spectacular’ selling over 1 million copies worldwide and was nominated for best international album in the 2009 BRIT Awards. Moreover, the band’s image and style of music is aimed towards the 1980’s jerky pop that became popular through artists just as Joy Division and New Order, which I also wanted to divulge into. The genre convention of the Blighters has already been mentioned in terms of their dress style (Yuppies/Casuals) and the ‘shoes gazing’ convention. The style was a big hit in the late 80’s and early 90’s for British Indie-pop artists, where they stood on stage and stared at the floor while they played. The bands that pioneered the ‘shoegaze’ were not about visuals and more to do with the pure sound of the band. I use this convention in my music video, with the lead singer Owen Taylor starring aimlessly and motionless. However, Owen’s dress sense is different to that of the shoegazer’s, as he is much smarter than the scruffy indie-pop bands of the 1980’s. One band that is very similar to that of Owen is Duran Duran, who dresses very smartly, usually in suits or shirts and jackets. During their there heyday, they were seen as the pretty boys of the music industry, just like Owen can be classed as in my music production.