Q1.

How do your products use or challenge conventions and how do they

represent social groups or issues?

My Advanced Portfolio consisted of a Music Video for the artist’s

promotion, along with a Digipack and a Website for the artist for the
same purpose. Our products, especially the music video, used
conventions of Genre. As stated by Andrew Goodwin in his book Dancing
In The Distraction Factory, we used conventions of Genre and in our case
it was the Indie Pop Genre. The Indie Pop Genre is a mixture of
Independent, lower budget production, but commercial themes
influenced by and for Pop culture. Our whole platform to go about our
Music Video was the genre itself as it created a general identity for the
viewers as they would be able to relate certain characteristics with their
already precepts of the Indie Pop Genre. We aimed for the audience
knowing what to expect. Therefore, camera shots of the artist
performing, a storyline that anyone can understand, and your everyday
male singer with a guitar. A case mostly seen by Country artists, however
similar artists to our artist are Shawn Mendes and Troye Sivan. The colors
in the video varied from dull and vivid, depending on the feeling that was
to be portrayed. However, there was no monotone and the colors were
very diverse, much like in Pop music videos. The dull colors used were for
representing comparatively sadder scenes, such as the flashbacks to the
friends in their childhood. This is utilized in Indie music videos as well.

The music video was also on a topic highly prominent in Pop Culture,
which is Friendship. Other common topics in the Pop Genre are parties,
love, drugs, School etc. However, we did not present any of those or even
Friendship in a very Hyperreal manner as many music videos present
them such as in the music video for “T.G.I.F.” by Katy Perry. We
incorporated a non linear narrative, but for most of the song the
progression of the flashback one of the friends in the video has is
understandable which makes the narrative very clear.

The song we selected was the Unplugged Cover of the song “Yeh Dosti”
by Rahul Jain. The original song was from the 1975 Bollywood movie
“Sholay.” The Genre Of this song was Pop as well, but soft core with a
slow pace. Therefore, the Editing in the music video was also in a pace
that could go well with the song. Goodwin’s theory was followed for
music videos; there was relationship between the visuals and the music.
Such as the lyrics: “Khaana peena saath hai” (Eating and drinking is
together) in our music video corresponding with the camera shot of two
friends drinking and eating literally together. Our artist was also
highlighted a lot in the music video, a recurring aspect of many other
music videos which has become a convention such as in Miley Cyrus’s
“Wrecking Ball” Music Video. This was done using Close Ups of the artist.
Although, the conventions of showing our artist for the sake of Voyeurism
was challenged as we did not aim to portray our artist as a commodity or
simply eye candy. We aimed for presenting his Star Image as someone
neutral towards the viewer rather than suggestive.

Our music video was a Hybrid Music Video; it was a Performance based
and Narrative based music video which included the artist, Qasim,
illustrating the story of two best friends who’s storyline the viewer
follows. We showed the artist singing and playing the guitar, while being
present in different locations and casual clothes which included both
western and eastern wear (the jacket and the shalwaar kameez which is
Pakistani cultural clothing). The two girls who played the best friends in
the video were presented with the same elements as the artist, besides
the performance. Therefore, it followed many conventions of the
Performance and Narrative based music videos.

There are no social issues represented in our music video and nothing
such is being highlighted in the promotion of our artist. However what we
are representing is a lifestyle, specifically of two middle class Pakistani
girls. We aimed for something most generalizable, and nothing too
complex or controversial as to maintain and attract a vast audience.
Rather than communicating through dialogue alone, we did our best to
portray the lives of Pakistani teenage girls from which one of them is
getting married. The topic of marriage is very popular in the
subcontinent, with evidences such as in Pakistani Soaps and Dramas. The
gist is completely the casual lives of two friends from when they’re
children to when they grow up slowly, representing youth culture as well.
Using casual clothing, showing the girls in a realistic setting (western and
eastern) and showing them in locations such as a café, their home, the
street etc, we portray an image of these women as mundane and realistic
rather than stylized, glamorous and having complexes.