Evaluation Question 1: In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Media Products?

This is the link to my music video which has been uploaded to YouTube.



A location we used within our music video is a rather run-down and industrial area of Norwich named Anglia Square. This location uses the convention of 'location' found within music videos of metal/rock genre bands.
By using these conventions within our music video we are able to let the audience relate to the artist, in this case The Upgrade. The convention of using run-down and rough areas within metal is because the metal genre originates from the northern region of England which was an incredibly industrias area. The crunching guitar, aggressive vocals and heavy bass lines are originally inspired from the noises which the factory machines used to make. When thousands of people were put out of jobs they were furious when they became dis-enfranchised. These angry young men turned to music to have a voice of the people and to get their points across. The 'metal' genre is about rebellious and anarchistic youth. An artist within the same genre of metal who uses the same conventions of location within their music video is 'Bullet for my Valentine'. Especially their newly released single 'Riot'. This music video is embedded below:

There are several instances of the convention of location used within Bullet for my Valentine's music video. They are using the conventions of location in the genre to be able to relate with their audience yet it also matches the style of music they are playing. It is a genre convention which they are utilising effectively.

 My music video has used the convention of location in the same way. Some screen shots are taken from the production to display the use of convention within our production.

Here is a screenshot from my music video. It shows the band running through an underpass with multiple pieces of graffiti on the wall. On top of this shot is a shot of a large industrial building through thick steel bars. These vertical lines/bars which are super-imposed over this image could represent jail or prison bars. This fits well with the genre since the 'metal' genre is about anarchy and causing trouble, i.e. rebelling against the status quo of society and its boundaries.

A film which also inspired this thought of using the vertical bars as a way of fore-shadowing events is Terry Windsor's 'Essexs Boys'. The clip where the vertical bars are used is in the opening seen when a young man named Billy Reynolds is driving through the Dartford Tunnel. The lights on the roof of the tunnel reflect on the windscreen as vertical lines slowly moving across the screen. A screen shot of this moment is seen below.

  The costumes of the performers was a very important aspect that required an abundance of research into the genre and fan base of the 'metal' genre. We have used the convention of costume and clothes within our music video. The 'dress code' within metal is incredibly precise. Research showed that leather is a popular item of clothing within the metal genre. Wearing leather is a sign of rebelling against the norms of society and started as a trend in the era of punk (roughly 1975) yet continued its popularity through the eras of hair and glam metal. Some bands similar to The Upgrade who utilise the same dress sense are 'Mötley Crüe' and 
'Skid Row' (pictured below). 



Skid Row

 Solay Elibol (guitarist and lead singer of The Upgrade) is pictured here wearing a leather jacket which uses the convention of costume within the genre. He is also wearing leather trousers which aren't a particular feature of said genre however it could be argued that the colour red reflects the anger within metal thus still fitting the genre conventions.

Sam Sleight (the bassist of The Upgrade) is a big fan of the metal genre with some of his favourite bands being 'Iron Maiden', 'Slipknot', 'Rancid', and 'System Of A Down'. Sam has multiple badges of these bands on the back of the leather jacket which he is wearing in this picture. Again we have used the genre convention by Sam wearing a leather jacket but also accompanying them with black skinny jeans. Skinny jeans originate and became the most popular (within the genre of rock and metal) in the 1990's in glam metal bands such as 'Poison', 'Mötley Crüe', 'Kiss' and Bon Jovi'.

Nick Upton (drummer of The Upgrade) is pictured wearing a black coat with a checkered red and white shirt underneath. This style of shirt is popular in the country and western genre and not necessarily metal however this could influence the bands style of music and the diversity they display in their particular sound.

In terms of narrative structure my music video does not have an example of a flashback or a flashforward. Instead it uses the aspect of performance as a side narrative to the other parts ofeo. Andrew Goodwin's theory suggests that music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. This means that in a music video for a track in the 'pop' genre, a convention which is likely to be used is a dance routine etc. However because a genre characteristic of metal/rock music videos is an element of performance we have included it so it fills the genre characteristics. Below are some shots from my music video demonstrating the performance aspect which has been utilised.

In terms of print production, I have also used the normal conventions by having a standard 4 panel CD case. This is a common feature in the music industry but is also a popular one because this format is what the public (the audience) is familiar and comfortable with. 

This uses the normal conventions of CD production instead of challenging it by having a 6 panel, fold out CD package. Other conventions I have used is by having the bands name on the front of the CD case and also having the track list on the back. Again this is standard practice.