1. In what ways do your media
products use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real
media products?
Zainab Oyenuga

2. As a group we felt that it was vital for us to stick with media conventions as they are often the
reasons why most music videos makes sense, have clear meanings and are able to appeal and
connect to audiences; making them look a lot more professional.
Lyrics and storyline
Including a protagonist was a convention that we used in our music video, this way the audience
would have someone to almost follow through the story with. Also, having a main character
would ensure that the audience knows who the story/ song relates to. Following this, another
form and convention that we enforced involved linking the storyline with the lyrics- allowing
the lyrics shape the story and events. Below I have analysed the lyrics to show the parts of the
lyrics we considered when producing the storyline:
The ways our music video used forms and
conventions of real media products

3. White lips, pale
face
Light's gone, day's end
Struggling to pay rent
Long nights, strange
men
But lately her face
seems
Slowly sinking,
wasting
Crumbling like
pastries
And go mad for a
couple grams
And she don't want to
go outside tonight
Or sells love to another
man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
Ripped gloves,
raincoat
Tried to swim and stay
afloat
Loose change, bank
notes
Weary-eyed, dry
throat
Call girl, no phone
For angels to fly
An angel will die
Closed eye
And hoping for a
better life
We made our protagonist
homeless
We made our protagonist a
prostitute
We made our protagonist pale
with dark circles and eye bags,
messy and greasy hair
We made our protagonist buy
drugs
We made our protagonist drown
herself& wear a raincoat and
ripped tights
We made our protagonist have
loose change and find a £20 note
on the floor
We showed our protagonist making
a phone call in the phone booth
We showed our protagonist kill
herself/drown. We captured birds
flying
We captured our protagonist
closing her eyes in hope, just
before she kills herself

4. Furthermore, all music video use the lyrics as the main influence of the storyline, often performing the lyrics
and bring it to life , which is what we did. Challenging such a convention is likely to confuse the audience
and make the music video hard to understand. At the same time, we often had to, like all music video’s,
interpret the lyrics to create the storyline; the lyrics didn’t provide a exact story.
Editing- cutting the music to the beat
We used and enhanced forms and conventions of real media products (being music video) -
by ensuring that the combinations of clips, were cut to link with the beat and rhythm of
the song. This is a convention that is upheld by most music videos as it demonstrates a
strong correlation between both media- the music and the clip (video itself). Also, by
upholding this convention we could effectively capture the audience’s interest, as our
video would appear more touching. In addition, we ensured that when the tempo of the
speed was slow, the cut and transitioning to the next clip was also slow and subtle.

5. Camera shots
Another convention we used, following our detailed and wide ranging research of
music videos, was our use close-up shots to capture the protagonists deep and
depressing emotions, for example, her anxiety after sleeping with the man.
Through this, the audience, as shown through my audience feedback, were really able to feel
the protagonist pain and sadness, creating sympathy from the audience. Most music
video do this through close-up shots, in order to engage with the audience and almost
play with their emotions. The image above also demonstrates the fact that we used media
conventions as it links to our research- a real media product, Rhianna’s ‘stay’ music
video, where a close-up shot is used to show her deep emotions. Following this, I feel
capturing the video in black and white enhanced this bleak mood as these are colours
that are used in the media to represent and capture gloomy atmospheres. Moreover,
like most music videos, we used long-shots to establish the different settings, and the
movement of the protagonist.

6. Costume and setting
A convention that was prominent for us to follow, especially as protagonist was homeless and a
prostitute, involved ensuring that the protagonist looked unpleasant, dirty, greasy- like a
homeless person. We made our protagonist wear ripped tights with a tight and short dress, as a
typical media representation of a prostitute. The way in which our model chewed her gum and
did her make-up was also unpleasant looking – again, we aimed to reinforce typical media
representations of homeless people and prostitutes. This notion was further emphasised
through settings, specifically as we captured the protagonist waking up outside in an alley
outside a pub, which is the sort of setting, as shown in the media, where a homeless person
would wake-up.
Editing
Through editing, we incorporated typical forms and conventions of real music videos, by using
dissolve transitions in order to create a clear link between clips ensuring that they blend in
smoothly. Like real products, we used this to speed up the transition and to create a correlation
between the beat of the music and the video itself, also, using transitions such as the one below,
allowed us to present this event (the protagonist drowning herself) in a more simplistic and
clearer form.
.

7. The high-angled shot we incorporated, in our drowning
scene, is used purely to emphasis our protagonist
vulnerability and inferiority at this point as she is unable
to control her actions due to the trauma and extreme
sadness she has experienced. This type of shot, is used in
real media products to present that same emotion.
Camera Angles

8. Iconography
We used real music video forms and conventions by including iconography which is mostly common in
other forms of media such as magazines or films etc. Our icon was the necklace. We used this to create
mystery in video. The fact that the pendant was a heart enhanced its purpose, as heart is a symbol of
many things relating to love. I feel this would have made the audience more engaged, almost giving
them a role to guess what the heart may mean or symbolise, and why it is an important object to the
protagonist. The icons importance, is however, developed through the use of media conventions such as
close-up shots which are used to capture emotions or things of importance, as shown in the picture on
the left. In addition, the way we used conventions is made effective, through our use and combination
of real forms and conventions of real music video.

9. The ways my music video developed forms and
conventions of real media products
Character in our music video
Our product developed forms and conventions, through the fact that, although we
followed through with music video norms such as, the story being carried out by a
new character, rather than the actual artist, we have avoided placing the actual artist
into the video or the protagonist singing along with the song. For example, if you look
at Ed-Sheeran’s ‘A team’ music video, or Pinks ‘Perfect’video, the artists feature in
the video in a distant way. We could have chose to do this, however, this would have
complicated, or even risky. Overall, we developed forms and conventions of music
video’s by including a protagonist, without the artists existence, and without the
protagonist singing along with the lyrics- avoiding lip syncing. Using this structure,
helped add to the audiences emotion by making it more distant- adding a sense of
mystery. Following this, it can be argue that, we not only developed forms and
conventions of media products, but we also challenged them, by taking a new
approach. Also, even though, Ed Sheeran and Pink appear in their music video’s, the
protagonist who features in their storyline, also avoid lip syncing as it prevents the
video from being emotional and deeply depressing, this was our reason for avoiding it.
Therefore, lip syncing, I feel is more suitable for different genres of music/ storylines,
perhaps ones that have a more angry tone, compared to upsetting and depressing.

10. Camera angles and movement
• We product further developed forms and conventions as, usually, music videos that follow the life of a
main character/ protagonist, either equally combine point of view shots and distant shots (including
long shot or mid-shot of the characters actions), or use one or the other. However, we decided to
slightly change this by randomly placing in a point of view shot in the middle of our video. I feel that
this gave the audience a new perspective of our protagonist, developing a sense of hope which is only
indicated through the point of view shot. I think this shot also, gave the audience an opportunity to
relate and connect with the protagonist, for the first and only time, and the fact that it is so
uncommon in our video makes it more extraordinary and effective. We intentionally incorporated it
when our protagonist is in a natural and rural setting because this type setting represents freedom- a
feeling which is presented through the point of view shot.
• Similar to real media products, we incorporated a variety of different angles and camera movements
like a 360 degree pan, which we felt contrasted to the rest of our camera angles and movements,
stimulating the audience.

11. Real media products, especially ones that focus on a protagonist, tend to briefly include, other
characters to make the story less ambiguous for audiences and more fluent. However, we
developed forms and conventions of real media products as we decided, not to identify and
capture the full identity of other characters, in order to create and enhance mystery, and
develop a sense of foreboding. We also concluded this due to the fact that alternative
characters can be unreliable, whereas Niamh was a member of our group making her, as the
protagonist, more reliable . In addition to this, to ensure that the story made sense we
incorporated snippets of other characters, and rather than showing them fully and explicitly,
we used body parts, such as the hands and body, to represent their existence. I feel this added
to the mystery of our product.
Characters

12. We avoided challenging media products due to the fact that they shape
music videos and make them clear to audiences, allowing them to
distinguish the aspects of a music video- mainly its genre and theme.
Editing- Opacity
Despite this, following my specific research into indie music videos, as well as videos that portrayed social
realism, it was made clear to me that we challenged real media products, considering our video was
based on social realism with the genre, indie, through the fact that we decreased the opacity of one
clip and placed it on top of another, making both clips appear together. This challenged real media
products, that portray social realism and indie, due to its advanced and technical effect, whereas indie
and social realism use more natural resources and effects in terms of editing, like simple cuts.
Torodovbelieves that stories begin with equilibrium- a basis and calm structure, which is then
dislocated by an event, creating a dilemma, that is eventually resolve, but is explored throughout the
narrative (video). However, our media product completely conflicts with this form and convention of
real media products as our narrative commences with what appears to be the dilemma, and rather
than the narrative capturing the process of dilemma being resolve and the eventual resolution, it
captures the process towards the dilemma. Our video demonstrates no eventual peace and escape.
Therefore, our music video challenges the claims of Torodov.
The ways my music video challenging forms
and conventions of real media products