Evaluation - Question One

Question One

For this brief my task was to produce a music video, a magazine advert and a digipak of the genre of my choice. In a group of four we had to construct all elements of the product on multiple software in order to make our product look conventional and professional. The chosen genre for my music video and ancillary texts was the indie genre. I chose this genre because it was relatable for the target audience and could easily narrate a real life situation which makes it easier for us to produce a realistic and professional approach to our video which will have an impact on the target audience.
In my product I mainly followed the mise-en-scene conventions of the indie genre such as lighting, costume, location and cinematography although I also challenged the conventions with my chosen narrative.

The first convention that I followed was the use of filters from the micro-element of editing and incorporated this in the editing process of Final Cut Pro X where I edited my music video. The use of filters is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists usually use these to portray a certain emotion or event to symbolise some type of meaning to the audience and to make the certain scene with the filter stand out from other scenes. One of the filters that I used for the happy memories in my music video was a light filter called "Dreamy". This filter was used for the happy memories in the artists relationship to represent the positive light the filter have the audience a immediate insight into what the memories were and how happy the artist was. This helped to build a relationship with the audience as they understood how happy the artist was and therefore feel sympathetic for her when this all started to breakdown. It was also conventional as the audience may have also experienced a similar situation which would make the artists situation much more relatable.

One convention that I followed was the use of location which is included within the micro-element of mise-en-scene. Throughout all of my products my main location is an open field. This is conventional to the indie genre as they usually film in low budget locations in order to portray themselves as more relatable to the target audience. This is because the audience could imagine themselves in these easily accessible locations which would therefore portray them as an ordinary girl. This is also how I portrayed my artist within my music video through the use of cinematography and editing to show her as isolated and vulnerable which anyone would feel like in certain situations. The target audience are mainly females from the age bracket of 15-25 year olds. We found out this information from my research which included of questionnaires with multiple open and closed questions referring back to the narrative, style of video and locations.

Sharna Rae in the field location

Another indie convention that I followed in my music video was the use of a performance style music video. This is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists usually produce low maintenance materials in order to maintain the focus on the artists talent and performance rather than the use of high maintenance special effects and locations to also portray them as ordinary yet also an approachable artist. This is evident in my music video when we include the scenes of the artist singing towards the camera whilst she is alone in the field, this is focusing mainly on the talent as the location and other elements such as costume, hair and makeup allow no distractions for the audience maintaining a level of attention on the artist and their talent and performance. My inspiration for a performance style music video came from Lana Del Ray's music video "High By The Beach" where she is in a obscure beach house on her own singing and roaming around whilst a hand held camera technique follows her around the house. The location was very bland which kept my attention on the artist and what she was doing. It made me look deeper into the artist and her feelings which helped me to see what she sees in her own perspective and this helped me to relate to her, which is conventional to the indie genre.

Sharna Rae singing towards the camera in a performance style music video

A third convention that I followed from the indie genre was the use of costume from the micro-element of mise-en-scene. I followed the mainstream indie fashion style of grunge to make my artist look like a conventional artist of this genre. For example, I dressed my artist in layered jean jackets with a dress and tights to create an overall layered look, which was conventional to an indie artist. This look was used in the scene where the artist is standing in the field whilst she is singing and reminiscing on the memories of her broken relationship with her girlfriend. I got this inspiration from Birdy's music video "Light Me Up" where she is seen wearing tights, shorts, a jumper and jacket. She looks unique and an artist with her own sense of style.

The jean jacket layered look we used on our artist Sharna Rae

The final convention was my music video narrative which challenged the conventions of the indie genre. This was a challenge against the genre conventions as my group and I decided to have our music feature on a lesbian relationship and how their relationship broke down. This was unconventional as most of the relationships that are showcased in music videos are between a male and female. However, we decided to use a lesbian relationship as in modern day society these types of relationships are much more acceptable and relatable for many more people in the indie genre and the target audience. On the other hand, this was also conventional as most indie artists who are females sing and write material on how their relationships with their boyfriends failed and how they dealt with their heartbreak. I decided to follow the style of narrative of a failed relationship, however I made it a lesbian relationship to challenge the conventions and make our artist seem very honest and relatable to the target audience of 15-25 year olds, as this is a narrative they wouldn't be completely used to.

The final convention that i followed from the indie genre was the theme of isolation. This is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists usually write material on their own personal experiences which they have had to deal with. The theme of isolation is also a common issue for my target audience of 15-25 year olds as they are still dealing with relationships and friendships which can result in breakdown like the situation in my own music video. I portrayed the theme of isolation through the use of long shots of my artist alone, open locations such as a forest and field and also jump cuts to show the artist partner walking out of the door to the artist then crying against the door. This helped for the target audience to build a relationship with the artist as understanding that she is alone will help for the audience to empathise with the artist as they could probably imagine themselves in this situation and therefore will be inspired to be more like the artist as they understand that they can get over this sitaution much like the artist can.

A long shot of my artist in the forest location alone to represent the theme of isolation 

The conventions that I followed and challenged overall gave my music video a successful outcome. This is due to having conventional elements of the indie genre which was easily recognisable to the target audience, yet it also had a diverse narrative which the audience could enjoy as they aren't used to seeing this in a conventional indie music video.