1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
When thinking about our product in reference to conventions, we must first look at the
theories such as Goodwin's. He said that;
●Music videos show characteristics in relation to genre (conventions)
●There is a relationship between the music and the visuals
●There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals
●The record label's demands will include the need for close-ups of the artist and the artist
may develop an image motif recurring across their work.
●There is frequent references to the notion of looking (screens, telescopes, watching) and a
particular voyeuristic treatment of the female body
●There are intertextual references
We looked at many conventions of existing media surrounding the band's genre. This also
helped with constructing the Digipak and magazine advert. We chose not to have a strong
representation of the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals in the video (for
example the line which goes “And I'm still wearing the same old shoes, tracing my steps
pacing the same old rooms” would involve shots of feet running and doors closing) but this
would distract attention from the artists themselves which we did not want due to it being
the band's first video.
We did however want to create a relationship between the music and the visuals, so we
decided to have the shot change on the beat. An example of this is at the beginning where
one of the band jumps through the opening in the barn and as he hits the ground, the shot
changes from black and white to full colour.
Having the relationship between the music and visuals also makes the video lively and
energetic to give the feel of seeing the band live in concert which is keeping with the
performance based video aspect and conventions of the Alternative Rock genre.
When looking at similar artists, I found Floors And Walls' video for The Stand
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=BavhnKjndds) to be useful as it is of a similar genre and
performance based. Their video also features the band playing in a derelict and abandoned
style place – an empty multi-storey car park.

2. We decided to use an abandoned barn in our music video as we felt that it is in keeping with
the feel of the music and genre – it is not like pop where everything is glowing and covered
in sparkles, it has a more grimy feel, but not in a bad way...
Another video I looked at was Muse – Time Is Running Out,
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhAmug6Ts6o)
It is a cross between a performance and concept based music video. We decided to have our
music video performance based as opposed to concept/narrative based as we felt that it
would help put across the band's genre to the audience and also show that they are a 'real'
band and not just a boy band. Unlike the Muse video, we have no aspects of a concept based
narrative in our video. We did this as we felt that given how ATWI are an up and coming
and not very well known band, it was more important to show the skill of the band rather
than tell a story...

3. In summary, we tried to follow most conventions of music videos and of the band's genre in
order to ensure that the audience can recognise the band's genre and, to an extent, know
what to expect from them. We have tried to develop existing conventions of music videos
and of the genre of alternative rock with our selection of location, props in the video,
camera shots and editing. We did conform to the convention of close-ups of the lead singer,
so as to start to create a motif for the artist, and we developed this convention by also
having close ups of the other band members as they are an up and coming band.
Digipak:
Back Front
My digipak design was created
on photoshop. I decided to use
a doodle-like design with a
notepad background as the
band themselves are college-
aged and so is the main taget
audience for the band so the
link with school/college will
hopefully speak to the audience. Inside
Also, the doodles are indie like and have connotations to that genre.
I decided to follow the convention of having the lyrics included with the digipak but
developed this convention by having them printed under where the CD is held instead of
having a pull out booklet. This was done because as it is only a single, a separate booklet
was not really necessary, so to save material and due to the fact that many people like to try
and be as carbon-neutral as possible these days, I decided to just have them behind the CD,
thus encouraging the environmentally friendly audience to purchase the digipak.
Digipak Advert:
When researching digipaks and their adverts, I found that usually they both revolve around
the same themes. This is done for intertexuality and to create a brand image that is easily
recognisable , this can be seen by looking at Jack Johnson – In Between Dreams digipak
(below left) and the poster for his tour (below right) where the same image is used for both.

4. So to keep with this convention of digipak adverts, and to
create some sort of product identity, I included a picture of the
digipak on the advert. I have kept with the conventions of
having the release date, band and album name and where to
buy the album on the advert as I felt these things are all
essential on an advert for a digipak.
I decided to have the advert in black and white as I felt that it
was more in keeping with the genre conventions for the band
as the grungey look of the advert hints at the rock genre.
I decided to include comments from people/companies well
known in the music industry, which is a common convention of
album adverts, in order to persuade people to purchase the
digipak.
The image used on the advert is of a bear with headphones eating records. To me, this is a
reflection of the importance of the music for fans of this genre of music, as opposed to
genres such as pop, where sex appeal and the male gaze (recognised by Laura Mulvey) are
used to sell albums. So I have challenged this convention of advertising by just focusing on
the music to appeal to the target audience.