ev question 1 A2 media

1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR
MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP
OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA
PRODUCTS?

2. Music Video for All Star by Smash Mouth

3. Andrew Goodwin’s dancing in distraction factory
In this book, Goodwin suggests 5 codes/conventions of music videos- some things they all
have in common.
These key elements are as follows;
• Demonstrate certain genre characteristics
• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
• The demands of the record label will include the needs for close up’s of the artist. This
may also include motifs and iconography which reoccur across their works, building a
style or an image for the artist
• Frequent reference to the notion of looking, and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the
female body.
• Intertextuality/reference to other media products.

4. Demonstrating certain genre characteristics
The meta genre of our music video is interpretive, but you could argue it’s also a narrative since the
whole video follows a journey which the audience can engage with. Smash Mouth’s genre of music
is pop/punk or pop/rock, which typically results in either interpretive or live performance visuals.
Often, music videos will combine both, cross cutting between the two. We chose to use the
narrative/interpretive convention, but leave the simulated performance, as this allowed us to
concentrate on bringing a humorous tone to the footage that reflected the lyrics and beat of the
song.
In terms of camera work, we used a mixture of POV and long shots in order to tell the story. This is
more interesting than simply watching the story from an external point of view, as the POV shots
place you in the video and give you a first person perspective, allowing the audience to connect to
the main character more.
The use of edits and special effects is also characteristic of this 90’s pop music phrase, where the
effects are less advanced than today and give a retro, slightly amateur feel to the video.

5. Relationship between lyrics and visuals
As the style of our music video is interpretive, we felt it necessary to build on this idea of lyric to visual
relationship in order to meet audience expectations and provide a successful music video that appeals to
existing fans and entices new ones. I feel our use of visuals is quite literal, but at the same time it’s a little more
abstract, building off the feel of the song rather than the lyrics. This also relates to rhythmic cutting.
For example, at a few points in the song, the visuals match the lyrics in a very literal way.
Here, the lyrics of the song are ‘Somebody once asked could I spare some change
for gas I need to get myself away from this place.’ So, this is a very illustrative use
of visuals in the you can see money swapping hands, referring to the ‘spare
change’ lyrics. However, he’s not lending the money to anybody for petrol, and
instead is using it to buy flowers for this girl. So, it becomes a less literal
relationship but still builds off of the concepts within the song about being
proactive and changing what you’re unhappy with in life, since he’s proactively
chasing after the girl he wants. I think this link between lyrics and visuals is
enough to give the video a clear narrative that doesn’t feel odd or contradicting
with the song, but allows the audience to have some influence over how they
interpret it. This links with Livingstone’s theory that ‘different genres specify
different ‘contracts’ to be negotiated between the text and reader’.

6. Close ups of artists
This is the convention which we probably challenged most, as by not including any live performance footage, close ups of
the ‘artist’ aren’t possible. However, we did use a variety of shot types, including close ups, of the main character in the
narrative.
This range of shots includes over the shoulder, extreme long shot and medium close up. The over the shoulder shot, looking
at his reflection in the mirror, is particularly important as it really focuses the viewers attention on how he’s dressing
himself. The extreme long shot then shows him in relation to the rest of the public, demonstrating the contrast between
the formal clothing he’s wearing and the more acceptable, casual attire of others. As the audience we can use our
knowledge of stereotypes to associate the 3 piece suit, glasses, and the flowers with a ‘geek’ like persona, where the boy
has gone down an old fashioned route of dressing up to impress a girl. Given the context of the video- broad daylight, and a
girl who doesn’t really notice him- as a viewer this use of stereotype becomes humorous as it’s not the norm, making you
feel sorry for him but laugh at the same time. The range of camera shots reinforces this throughout the video. Again this

7. The notion of looking and voyeurism
A typical convention of music videos is the inclusion of screens, and this notion of looking. This is something we
included heavily, as shown in the examples below.
As well as the notion of looking, the polaroid picture of the girl also links back to the genre of music and the band, as it’s
much more dated and retro than say the use of Instagram or Facebook to view this girls photos. It also adds a personal
touch, strengthening the narrative as it shows his feelings towards the girl.
It could ague be argued that there is a voyeuristic element to the video, in that the boy is seen to be looking at the girl in a
romantic way, both through point of view shots like in two of the examples above, and from a third party point of view. This
isn’t typical of voyeurism as often the woman will be portrayed in a sexualised manner, but here she’s just being fancied or
lust after. The fact the girl is blonde may be suggestive of an attractive stereotype, though, (which can be seen in other
media texts such as adverts and films) and this then holds connotations of voyeurism and appealing to male audiences.

8. Intertextuality
This is a convention that we incorporated into our own music video, in order to enhance the narrative.
A couple of references are made to the
Shrek films throughout the video, such
as turning off the film on TV and the
DVD’s in HMV. This is a link which the
audience will recognise, since the song
is highly associated with the Shrek, and
help to enhance the light hearted
humour of the music video.
We also used product placement in the form of berocca, the slogan for
which is ‘You, but on a really good day’, which sums up the narrative to
the music video well. By using such product placement the audience
will hopefully relate the slogan to the music video, again adding a
slightly comical element but also enhancing the ‘boy likes girl’ narrative
and reflecting the upbeat tempo of the song.

9. Other typical conventions of music videos
Match cutting and rhythmic cutting are also typical conventions of music videos, both of which we
used. Using rhythmic cutting was important for us as it helped to consolidate the slightly interpretive
lyric to visual relationship, as the narrative mainly plays off the general messages within the song, as
well as the fast, upbeat tempo. Cutting to the beat also ensures that the video feels like it belongs to
the song, engaging the audience. We used match cutting to break up the narrative, making it less linear
and more engaging. See the examples below;
Split screen
Split screens are often seen in music videos across a
number of genres, particularly in narrative and
simulated performance. We used shots of a similar
composition and paired them together, emphasising
the point that he’s on a long journey to get to this
girl he loves. This works as in both he’s walking away
from the camera, and since the shots are taken from
a slightly lowered angle the pathways both lead
down to a sort of vanishing point.

10. Digipak

11. Including the artist name and album title isn’t always a typical
convention of digipaks, especially in newer albums, as often this
information is just found on the spine. However, we were keen to
maintain a continuous theme with previous Smash Mouth albums,
and including text on the cover is definitely a convention for this
band. Therefore, we used the same text found on the magazine
advert to present the artist name (again ensuring continuity to
establish a strong promotional branding), and a simpler font for the
album title. We skewed this so that it lay flat to the ground, adding
an element of fun which is so typical of Smash Mouth albums.
As mentioned above, we made sure to note the
band’s name and album title on the spines of the
album, so that if the album is stacked like a book in
a shop, you can easily pick it out by name. We kept
this simple with dark text on a white background
as this flowed well into the white back panel.

12. Another convention we used is having a track list on the back
of the digipak. We challenged the convention of numbering
tracks as we believed it looked cleaner, and as a consumer
you’d understand that the tracks are listed in the order they
appear on the CD.
Something that I found through research is that often a
digipak will have an image or pattern spanning across the
open album, going underneath the CD trays. This helps to
make the digipak feel complete, and adds extra interest on
the inside of the album. We used a panoramic of York city
centre, as this links to the music video for All Star- one of
the tracks on the album. This adds subtle continuity that
fans will recognise.

13. The overall digipak also links to conventions of Smash Mouth’s branding as a whole, as it makes use of
a bright pop art style that appears a little retro and unconventional compared to other, more modern
artists. This can be seen from the flat plan. The collage of images is a key feature in achieving this
colourful exterior, as well as adding a more personal touch which fans will appreciate and feel they’re
engaging with the band in a more intimate way.

14. Magazine advert

15. I found from researching existing
magazine adverts that the majority
had a large proportion of empty
space, almost like a border. This
allowed the limited, important
information to stand out to readers,
making it very clear what the advert
is advertising. So, we used this
convention when designing our own
advert, as shown here;
Another convention which we stuck with
was the inclusion of a release date, clearly
presented in bold text.
By using so many of the codes and
conventions shown in current music
magazine adverts, our advert looks as though
it belongs to NME, or Kerrang, or any other
big name magazine, as it looks professional.
This reflects positively on the album and the
band, suggesting they too must be of a high
standard.
Use of the album artwork is very typical
of album adverts, as it creates continuity
within the branding and makes each
entry point more recognisable. The
album cover also includes the artist
name and album title, meaning wording
in the advert can be kept to an absolute
minimum
The final two conventions used are the
inclusion of an official retail logo and a
web link. This not only helps to make
the album more official, but also
enhances the synergy within the brand
as it references other entry points that
may interest those who prefer using
technology, using the website to find
more information on the band and the
album.