Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product

use, develop or challenge forms of real
media products?

By Lucy Collings

Conventions of the song

This song falls under the genre of
indie-pop, however there isnt a
music video so I will be taking
comparisons from other music
videos.
Lorde is known for her unique lyrics
and her way of addressing the
general life of teenagers in this
current generation.

Narrative alongside
performance
Narrative usually follows a theme and tells a story behind the lyrics. An
example of this is Iggy Azalea feat. Charlie XCX-Fancy. This music video
links to the famous chick flick Clueless the lyrics describe the lifestyle
of the characters, the music video also represents the scenes in the
movie.
In our music video we conformed to a convention of using a narrative to
explain the lyrics. We used the pageant as a real life situation to create
and explain the ugly truth behind the beauty. We explained the term
glory doesnt come without consequence. We purely used narrative and
no performance because we felt the message we wanted to send was
clearest through a narrative approach.

Special effects-filters
Many indie-pop music videos use a filter, it creates
a different view and atmosphere for the viewer. For
example using a negative light, black and white or
an aging filter. Beyonce for example used a black
and white filter on her music video If I were a boy
For our opening shot we used a dream effect
filter, this gave the illusion of the shot being a
flashback which we were aiming for. We made all
the shots darker, creating a more mysterious
effect, this also represented the narrative of the
video. We created the effect on our shots by
altering the saturation, exposure and colour.

Camera
After viewing music videos, it has become popular for indiepop videos to use extreme close ups as it focus on the
character and their emotions. Long shots are also popular
as the give the audience a wider view of what is going on in
the shot, tilting and panning is also common as it can be
used to help tell a story.
We used extreme close ups and showed the contestants
from various shots to show ugly truth behind beauty
pageants. We also showed the contestants applying their
makeup, this was part of the narrative as it shows the girls
trying to cover who they are. We used common camera
techniques to apply to the code and conventions of indiepop.

Camera shots from our music video

1-3

4-6

7-9

Comments about our

camera shots
Shots 1,2&3- These are all panning shots. 1&2, are both panning shots
of a singular object, one being a tiara and the other a trophy. These
were both shot in close-up, we felt this was important as it shows the
main goal of all contestants (winning). Shot 3 is a panning shot of the
judges table, again the trophy is set in the centre, continuing with the
theme of winning and showing that it falls under the judges decision .

Shots 4,5,6&7- These are all extreme close ups . These are important

as 4&6 show the contestants preparing, shot 5 is a mannequin head

wearing the tiara, showing the fakest wins. This also shows the lack of
emotion and feeling of the contestants, they are all focused on winning.
Shot 9 is a pool of red nail varnish, this is also fore-shadowing whats
happening later in the music video.
Shots 8&9- These are both long shots of all the contestants, the only
time where you will see them all stood one beside the other. We also
wanted to create a pageant scene and atmosphere, I feel both these
shots present that.

Camera shots of other (real) music

videos.

1) In this shot we see the artist rubbing vaseline onto her teeth, alongside this shot Beyonce
sings fix your teeth, here we can clearly see the link between the video and the lyrics.
2) In my opinion the record label want to present Miley Cyrus as a fun, outgoing teenager. In
this specific shot the personality and character of the artist is presented by what she is wearing
and her facial expression. We can clearly see the stereotype of a teenager being happy,
different and not caring.
3)This shot displays the genre of pop/love songs, the woman and man arguing on the phone in
different locations, also hinting that the song is about a break up.
4)In this shot we see Taylor swift re-enacting the famous love story of Romeo and Juliet in her
song Love Story. Both the characters are also mentioned in the chorus and some of the
scenes re-created. We did used a lot of links throughout our video, matching the lyrics and the
video in specific places being one of them.
5) Here the camera is set at long-shot in the centre of the curtains. We see the curtains
separate and unveil the contestants. The lighting is also set over centre-stage to draw
attention and focus to the women. The camera does not move as the curtains come a part, all
the contestants are wearing the same thing and standing the same way, proving these contests
are purely judged upon the faces and figures of the contestants.
6) In this close-up shot the lighting is focused on the artist of the face, the lighting is possibly
coming from above or the left hand side, as we can see shadows on her cheekbone and
beneath her jawl ine on the right. the camera also blurs out her surroundings, drawing attention
to her face as her eyes stare directly into the lens of the camera.
7) The use of mise-en-scene is created by the black, laid black clothing the characters are
wearing, again introducing the stereotypical teenager. We can also see the group of characters
are sitting on a large rock, watching the sun rise. This links to the rebelliousness of teenagers,
in my opinion that they want to see new things they haven't before. This is also shows the
audience that their party is over, coming to the end of the music video.
8) Beyonce-Pretty hurts was the biggest inspiration as i is purely based on the ugliness behind
beauty and the lengths women go to in order to win. We used some similar methods in our
music video.
9)Taylor Swift-Shake it off, this inspired me due to the outfit changes and dancing, however I

Our use of lighting

To create the lighting in these shots we used flood spot

lightings, this created an arch on the stage, covering a
majority of it. This lighting also highlighted the contestants
when on stage. We wanted the focus to purely be on the
contestants, this lighting did not focus on one individually but
each character and brought some forward and others
backwards, showing where they stood in winning the
competition.

Use of mis-en-scene
Mis-en-scene was very
important and clothing
played a large role in this.
We created two rounds, one
being black dresses and the
other full length dresses.
This also shows the diversity
between outfits.
For the full length dress
round, we made sure each
persons dress matched the
colour of their assigned sin,
we incorporated the sashes
into also representing one of
the 7 deadly sings. This was
to show the gore side of
the music video, we wanted
each sin to be very clear, not
only by colour and sash but
by attitude.
We planned well to make
sure the representation of
each sin was clear and the

Inspiration

We took inspiration from Beyonce-Pretty Hurts music video,

which shows the ugly lengths contestants go to in order to look
perfect, exploring the negative side of beauty pageants. We
took some ideas from the music video and represented some
similar shots, the girls set on stage and preparing themselves.

Links between the visual

But Victorys
and lyrics
contagious are the lyrics
during this shot.
This shot draws focus to
the trophy, this is also
showing the eyes of one of
the contestants, winning
that trophy is their goal.
We purposely made sure
there was no background
for this shot as all the
attention had to be on the
trophy.
The trophy is the one thing
each contestant wants.
The term contagious is
known to be a disease
spreading from one person
to another. Each
contestant wants to win,

Representation of Lorde
The video represents Lorde as she involves teenagers
in her music videos, we wanted to stick with that same
age range as she promotes opportunities for young
people.
This music video also shows the ugly decisions that can
be made to appear perfect in the eyes of society and
others, it is a social message regarding the competition
for female beauty, Lorde creates a different look in
comparison to other artists and is known for being
unique.
The music video represents Lorde as an artist due to
her music videos being very cinematic, we attempted
to create a similar effect.