Evaluation Question 1A

How do your products use or challenge conventions?


Common Conventions of music Videos

• Intertextuality: Intertextuality is the process of creating references to any kind of media text via another media text. There are many examples of this, however a music video in which the intertextuality is very clear is in the music video for Gwen Stefani's song 'What you waiting for'. She references Disney's film 'Alice in Wonderland' throughout the video.
  
• Narrative/Performance/Concept: These are the 3 main different styles of music video. Narrative is when there is a storyline featured. This can be in chronological order, or it could be fragmented.
  
• Dance Routines: Dance routines are a very important aspect of music video, particularly when engaging with an audience/target audience. Simple dance routines are extremely important as they are very easy for fans to copy and recreate. This is something very common in girl and boy bands as their audiences include young female fans, who are more likely to recreate the moves. This links into the uses and gratification theory, which describes the main reasons people consume a media text.  
  
• Stereotypes: There are often stereotypes in music videos, many of which are negative and inaccurate representations. For example, women in music video are often represented as over-sexualized. They are often shown dancing provocatively or wearing tight or little clothing. This links into Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze. There is also the argument of feminism and post-feminism

• Lipsynching: Very important when achieving verisimilitude, there also needs to be convincing playing of instruments/dancing. This is particularly important for rock/metal bands as they want to prove their authenticity: that they do play all the instruments and the vocals are theirs and un-edited.

• Voyerism: Male/Female Gaze

• Special Effects: special effects are very important in music videos, as unlike a film or tv show episode, you watch a music video many times, therefore it has to be interesting. The special effects that are commonly found in music videos are: Layering, Slow-motion, Green Screen, Cutting to the beat and Emphasizing the drop. Long takes must also be avoiding in music videos, again to keep the audience engaged.
  

• Costume Change: This is when the characters/performers in the video change costume. This is to keep the video more diverse and interesting. Although it is very common among female artists, male artists also have costume changes in their music videos. This is also something that fans can re-create.
  
• Todorov's Theory of Equilibrium: This can be applied to the narratives in music videos, particularly linear narratives, as they often start out, for example, as a couple together, happy. There are then a few scenes of them fighting and finally a break up.
  

How did we use or challenge conventions?

(Vodcast)

This is the script I created for the vodcast: 

INTERTEXTUALITY IN OUR VIDEO

In our music video, there are a few cases of intertextual references.

Firstly, the underwater/swimming pool scene references and was inspired by 'This is Gospel' By Panic! At The Disco. 

The lying position from this video is something that we have replicated in our own. It is also quite similar as there is a source of light shining into the water.   

We also were inspired by 'Up in The Air' by 30 Seconds to Mars in terms of the colour powder. However, when we used the colour powder, we focused it on the drums and the end singer rather than a large group of people. 

COMMON CONVENTIONS OF WEBSITES 

Through my research i found the follow common conventions for metal core band websites 

• Black and white/neutral colour scheme 
• Branding is updated to promote new releases (e.g. new single or album) 
• Photos of band/performance
• Simplistic design and fonts (e.g.) not too many photos or links, no over decorative fonts. 

Other Metalcore websites:

 

Our Website:

As you can see, we have used these conventions in order to create a website that really fits well withing the genre and personally i find that it is instantly recognizable as a metal or rock band website.

Mvid EG 7: Lady Gaga: Bad Romance

Bad Romance is a song by American singer, which was officially released ad showcased in October 2009, at Alexander McQueen's show at Paris fashion week. 

The song, along with the video received positive reviews, and was included in the 'best-of' lists in several media outlets such as Rolling Stone and Pitchfork Media and acquired two Grammy Awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Short Form Music Video. 

The video was directed by Francis Lawrence, who worked along side many singers and bands, creating music videos for them, but is best known for directing three of the four Hunger Games films. 

"The accompanying music video of "Bad Romance" features Gaga inside a surreal white bathhouse. There, she gets kidnapped by a group of supermodels who drug her and sell her to the Russian Mafia for sexual slavery. The music video ends with Gaga killing the man who bought her. The song's video garnered acclaim from critics, who not only applauded the risqué and symbolic nature of the plot, but its artistic direction and vivid imagery"  -Wikipedia 




Male Gaze
This theory was created by Laura Mulvey, a British Feminist Film Theorist who believes that media is often created with a male audience in mind. Presenting women for the pleasure of a male gaze. 
As a Post Feminist, Gaga would most likely disagree with the theory, as she believes that what she creates and the way she dresses is to empower her and actually gives her a sense of freedom. 
The costumes in this music video are very revealing which, from a traditional feminist point of view, this would arguably be to attract a male audience. The men in the video are watching her and the rest of the women, which further accentuates this point and the arguable aspects of the male gaze within the video. 

Feminist/ Post-Feminist 
Gaga uses long standing and traditional feminist arguments to call out and comment on the double standard that is placed on female performers (they are expected to be sexual, but only up to a certain point) Whereas male performers/rock stars are given free license.
However, she insist that she is not a feminist, and opens up the image of an empowered and liberated woman. 

Normativity  
There are some cases in this video which provides us with some things that have become normative to us. (stereotypes that have been repeated over and over, until we see them as normative). 
russians - vodka
men watching women- arguably objectifying them, representation of the audience? strip club set up. There are multiple ways to read this, again going back to the contrast between feminism and post feminism. 


Product Placement
Product placement has become much more common, due to the fact that there is much less money being brought in from album/record sales. There is product placement in this video through the bottle of vodka.

Intertextuality
Her underwear is an intertextual reference to Madonna's iconic bra. 
look of decay- could be interpreted as "the queen is dead" and gaga is new queen.

Mise en scene
makeup and hair, skin tone is like a doll, dolls are seen as an object. she is exaggerating the stereotype that women are seen as objects.