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

My music video- 'The Gospel' uses the basic narrative style conventions of a real music video. The main performer tells the audience an inner battle that she has - with conflicting thoughts about her boyfriend but also about who she believes her self to be. The main performer is on her own personal journey to find the truth. This is a narrative that can be simply followed and understood by audience members which makes my music video very similar to the conventions of real media products. My music video also stars and features very attractive performers and so the appeal to both male and female viewers help increase the popularity of the video as well as making the storyline believable. The wardrobe is appropriately designed to create realistic scenes, adding to the verisimilitude for example, the house scenes between the main performer and her boyfriend. The main performer is wearing casual indoor clothes, not over exaggerating her beauty or sexuality thus creating a living environment when seen on screen as relatable to the average viewer.

This is similar to music videos such as Leona Lewis- Trouble, where we see the dynamics of a relationship breakdown and can target an audience that have experienced such things.

Basic narrative

Boy and girl

Relationship

House scenes

Close contact

Domestic lifestyle

Casual clothing

Indoor makeup

Relationship

Dancing

Eating ice cream in bed

Talking to each other

Laughing

Medium shots

Feeding each other

Intimate

Not looking at the camera

Personal

My music video- ' The Gospel' develops the conventions of real media products through the locations of the performance shots. My music video has similarities to videos such as Paloma Faith and Lana Del Ray, whereby the outdoor sceneries are very open and distant from reality. It plays upon the visuals that you may see in Alice in Wonderland; i managed to find a small outdoor space that when filmed in a certain way looks like a courtyard. there is definitely a development of atmosphere with my music video which is created by the location. This helps the separation of the main performer with the outside world thus developing the meaning of the song and intentions of the narrative which portrays her to be lost. The main performer acts confidently, rounding off the overall image and realistic visual dimensions of the video. As well as this, my music video also develops the conventions of real media products by the way in which it is edited. The gradual fades between the shots of the main performer and the male lead and then the main performer running fearfully of the unknown when in the forest develops the typical love story battle between girl and boy to something more psychological as the transitions make it seem as if she is running away from her own thoughts.

My music video is definitely developed with the consideration of the ancillary work – Cd cover/ inlays. The continuity of all pieces and also the duplicated image on the front cover creates a disturbed image for the audience to see which infers the content of the artists music. This is similar to Lana Del Ray’s album born to die, where she is standing perfectly straight with a top buttoned to the neck as she look quite restrained.

Mirror imagery

Close up of eye- intense

Singing to herself

Ability to view her self-self reflection

As she sings to herself... She is questioning herself

My music video- 'The Gospel' challenges the conventions of real media products through it's use of meaning and messages. The music video ' the gospel' is an individuals search for the truth within their own lives; be it relationships, religion or psychological indifferences, the song opens the narrative up, to end the video with an unanswered question. This allowed for the creativity that may be challenging for the average video. The basic male/ female relationship role seems to be obvious within our video, however as in music videos such as Beyoncé's – If I were a Boy, there is a greater sense that the male is responsible for the relationship break down. This is not clear within our video, we have left room for inquiries as to whether she is in fact responsible. Why the main performer is running away and feels lost is rather ambiguous as i do not make it clear through narrative. As a viewer, you simply see a girl torn between her thoughts, memory and conscious. This is also then increased by the sharp cuts to black screen as the embodiment of something stopping her thoughts, creating blanks for the viewers to fill. Unlike other conventional videos, the double reference the gospel- religion/ nature, creates a deeper meaning for the viewers to questions. This adheres to me challenging real media products as i challenge conventions associated with key genres such as Pop, R&B etc. For example the pop genre uses simples narrative concepts and usually have dominant performance sequences that is open to a wider audience.