1. Evaluation Question 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

2. Illustrating a unique and
innovative idea is often difficult
with an unremarkable, overplayed
song. Therefore, to appeal to the
niche market of the trendy, lo-fi
loving youth of today, we chose to
create a music video for the song
„Billie Holiday‟ by the harmonious
art-rock group, Warpaint.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

3. The inventive, melodic track by
the all-girl band is popular within
our group, as is the lo-fi,
dream-pop genre. We chose to
develop the video as a means of
promoting our tastes and
encouraging interest in the band.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

4. When beginning to develop our
video, we took the philosophies -
those concerning music videos - of
many theorists into account, most
notably those of Andrew Goodwin.
His theory applies the idea that
there are five basic properties
which a music video should have
in order to focus an audience;
narrative and performance, thought
beats, star image, the relation of
the song to the visuals and, of
course, the technical aspects of a
music video.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

5. Although we agree that narrative
and performance are key features
that aid the production and
reception of a video, we also
challenged this theory by adding a
stimulatingly ambiguous
storyline, which actively inclines
the audience to interpret the
themes and ideas personally.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

6. The song, and therefore the lyrics of
„Billie Holiday‟ exemplify themes of
love, lust and heartbreak. We have used
these ideas to develop our video, with
the narrative implying that the couple
have a turbulent relationship. We have
not included both of the characters in the
same shot, but used graphic matches to
represent how they have similar feelings
even though they are not together. We
have not only challenged Goodwin‟s
theory, but we have also developed it
for, in our opinion, a more effective and
thought-provoking music video, rather
than a tedious, trite one.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

7. The basis of the video is to show
that the female character has been
unfaithful to the male character. At
the end of the video he, in
anger, tears off his neck-tie and
throws it into the lapping waves.
This also shows irony as the lyrics
breakdown of the song shows
“nothing you can do can make me
untrue to my guy.” This satirical
view is also used in real media
products, such as the music videos
for „Dirty Cash‟ by Dizzee Rascal
and „Learn to Fly‟ by Foo Fighters.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

8. We also included a series of
lip-syncs to emphasize the facial
expressions of the
characters, which in turn reflect
the mood and themes within the
video. We have edited cuts to the
beat of the video, such as the
turning off of a light on the beat
when the mood of the song
changes, and a perpetual slow pace
when the mood and beat is
constant. This technique is similar
to those used in real media
products of the same genre and
supports Goodwin‟s theory of
thought beats enhancing a music
video.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

9. However, we have also challenged
this by adding cuts when the beat
does not change. The song, by its
very nature is slow and séance-like
with a soft, unchanging tone. We
therefore added cuts when the beat
does not change, but when the end
of a line of lyrics finishes.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

10. However, as the song comes to a
climax, there is a sudden fast pace
within the song; we intercut shots
of the characters at fast speed, with
exaggerated facial expressions to
emphasize the dramatic ending of
the relationship. This technique is
also used in the videos for „Stars‟
by Warpaint and „Spitting Blood‟
by WU LYF.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

11. We have tried to steer clear of
illustrating a specific star
image, and have used simple shots
of a female singer dressed in
vintage clothing and modest make-
up, similar to the original music
video, as well as many other music
videos from artists of the same
genre, such as Best Coast, Dum
Dum Girls and Sleigh Bells.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

12. The male character wears a
timeless outfit of a plain white
shirt, black tie and trousers. This
also nods to the French new-
wave, as the outfit is similar to
those worn by Jean-Paul
Belmondo in „À bout de souffle‟
and Sami Frey in „Bande à part‟.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

13. We developed these costumes not only because
they are uniquely fashionable, but also to show
our influences throughout the video. This
challenges and develops Goodwin‟s theory of
star image, and although our video does not
focus on a particular „star‟, it shows how the
ambiguous narrative and innovative
performance work in harmony to illustrate our
ideas, without the need for meet shots of
scantily-clad women or a tween boy-band to
attract the audience. This develops Goodwin‟s
theory of star image, making the music video
more ambiguous and haunting - the main
themes within the song. This also relates the
song and lyrics to the visuals.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

14. When filming the visuals for the
song, we took Goodwin‟s theory of
relation into account. We adhered
to the conventions and developed
the ideas of amplification and
illustration, but also challenged
Goodwin‟s theory by disregarding
disjuncture. We thought that to
disregard the song
completely, such as in Daft Punk‟s
„Da Funk‟, would be less effective
than building narrative and visuals
around the lyrics, tone and pace.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

15. We chose amplification as our
main method of correlation, as
well as some illustration. The
video, in that sense, is similar to
the music videos for Best Coast‟s
„When I‟m With You (I Have Fun)‟
and M83‟s „We Own The Sky‟. We
used a simple narrative of love and
heartbreak to develop themes
within the video, as well as only a
few characters to focus audience
attention.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

16. We also used illustration; for
example, when the lyrics are „like
birds of a feather, we stick
together‟ our video shows a flock
of birds. Our media product both
adheres to and challenges the
conventions of real media
products, as well as developing
Goodwin‟s theory of relation of
visuals to lyrics and song.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?