Evaluation Activity 1

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

1. Setting/Location
This setting/location is really effective in our music video as it links well to our R&B music genre. Also because the London Eye is a famous and well recognised landmark viewers can easily identify with it. This is also an urban location which links closely to our music genre. This shot is taken from a low angle to emphasis how large the London Eye is and to show its scale. The artist singing also looks authoritive in this shot as she is looking down at the camera.
2. Lighting
Lighting was really important in our night time shots as the artists face needed to be seen clearly. In this shot both artists were effectively positioned so that overhead lighting shone down on their faces lighting them up so their singing could be easily seen. The night time shots are gradually introduced at the end of the first rap showing a change in day and a change from the first rap to the second chorus sung by a different artist.
3. Relationship of lyrics to visuals
This shot is on the line 'Now im heading to the top now...' .This is a key lyric as it relates to the artists rise to fame and recognition. This can be seen through the artists movement and the authority he has over the shot. As our music video is perfomance based it was important that the artists movement on screen linked to the lyrics and their meanings.The split screen editing also aids this.
4.Mise-en-scene
Costume was very important in shots with other actors/extras in as the clothing needed to fit the R&B genre but not dominate the shot, as we still wanted the artist to be the main focus. The main artist wore a baseball cap and large sunglasses which showed his self-confidence and determination to become more recognised in his music and style. When casting we had to consider costume, appearance and make-up that fitted the style of our music genre.
5.Camerawork and Editing
In this shot we have the main artist  dipping down towards the camera in a dance move and then quickly backing away from the camera. The camera was set at a very low angle (the shot was taken lying flat on the ground) so it made the artist look like he was in control and powerful. When we edited this shot we used the original and then copied it and reversed it. We edited the colour on this shot turning the artist into a silhouette against the bright blue sky. We also edited the overall speed of the shot to make it match the time of the music and lyrics on screen. The inspiration from this shot came from Tinie Tempah 'Written in the stars'(below, click to enlarge).

6.Intertextuality or influence of other music video
This shot is on the line of ' Cause im just a silly asian' we emphasized this by doing a series of shots quickly zooming out from the artists face, where he is taking his sunglasses on and off, showing his eyes. The sunglasses were a key prop as they suggested the artists wealth and status. This suggests the artists background/culture which relates to the music genre and other R&B/Rap music videos.
7.Genre of music and how it is defined
Our music genre was R&B/Rap so we had to consider setting/location, mise-en-scene, props,etc so that it would be relevant to our chosen genre. We used a variety of different shot types, angles, heights, camera positions and movement to fit the genre of our music as R&B typically include a variety of shot distances at a fast pace to involve the viewer and keep them interested and focused on the main artist.
8.Relationship of music to visuals
This shot is on the line' And I gotta jump to the next step'.The music and visuals link well together as the movement of jumping on screen (on beat) relates clearly to the line and although this is a quick shot it links closely to the music.
9.Representation of artist with reference to record label's expectations
We had a variety different close-ups on our artist as all R&B music videos include them. The artist was the main focus of our music video and his style was important. This links to Goodwin's rule 'The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style)'. As a group we had to carefully think about costume and style as R&B/Rap is a modern and contemporary music genre which is constantly changing, so fashion and trends needed to be considered.