1. In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media
products?
Music videos are produced for both promotional and commercially this is because
it is going to the new direction of Bollywood. I have challenged the code and conventions
of most Bollywood films through mainly the music video and the CD cover. I did
this as I felt that the western culture of music videos could be merged together
to create music video to promote an artist and an album. The music video and
album cover is the strongest way the public will view their persona, so the
decisions made during these production processes are essential therefore I had
to make these the most effective so people the public and my target audience would
accept the music video and album and encourage this type of music come in to
the industry of Bollywood. Music videos
for Bollywood will usually feature a main actress or actor along with dancers
and other music videos have the actors/actresses singing to the camera. However
I chose to challenge this particular feature of music videos by using a small
narrative surrounding my dancing and music.
My music video begins with the showing the main
character and her journey going somewhere. As an audience we follows the girl
and making her way to an unknown place independently, at the end of the music
video the audience see’s a text that comes up on her phone asking her where she
is because she’s late for dance class.
My music video has a unique structure especially
when comparing them to Bollywood music video, my music video starts with a girl
looking up at a building in which she walks into and started to make her way to
a place that remains unknown till the end. While she is walking cuts of dancers
and performs are shown, the audience at this point are quite confused on what’s
happening however because of all the effects and cross cuts it keeps the audience
turned into watching the whole music video. in most Bollywood music video it is very clear what’s happening from
start to finish, therefore I have challenged this aspect of common Bollywood music
videos.
I have tried to challenge the codes and conventions
of the typical Bollywood music video by have an extended metaphor running
through the music video. As the girl is walking literally she is in actual fact
just walking however on a deeper note, she is making a journey to reach her
goal which we as an audience find out at the end when the she receives a text
form her fellow peer telling her she is late for dance class. The colour
contrast makes this extended metaphor have more meaning, the black and white
clips of the dancer’s shows what she wants to do and that are where she’s going
and the reality is that she is making her way to achieve her goal, therefore the
colour sequences of the girl is in colour as she in reality is making her way
there and making her way to her goal which is to go to dance and become a
dancer just like those who are shown in the black and white sequences.
I have also interpreted the song with the extended metaphor;
the lyrics are in Hindi however the translation is basically ‘I’m falling in
love with you, even though its rough and hard work I’m still in love with you. This
can be seen as falling in love with dance and the girl may have a rough time to
achieving her goals however because she’s doing something she really loves she
will achieve her goal in the end. Therefore when accompanied with the video,
her making her journey is a way for her to do what she loves and for her to
start achieving her goal which is to dance.
The song creates a theme of inspiration and determination however is
seen in between the lines, from the moment the girl looks up at the building it
shows that she aims high and aim to achieve what she wants in this case where
she wants to go. The girl walks towards the camera which makes the audience
feel involved as they feel as if they are looking at the girl. There is also
anticipation shows as the audience is only able to see her walking and making
her way to the unknown which is revealed at the end of the video. To really
enhance this by having slow paced cuts between her and the dancing until the
end of the song where she’s gets a text form a peer saying ‘she’s late for
dance’ this shows the audience that she making her way to achieve her goal by
going to dance where she can practice and can become a professional dancer one
day. Therefore the audience understands the concept of the video and understands
she was walking towards her goal which is dancing at the end of the video which
challenges other Bollywood music videos, as this concept isn’t common.
Through the way I have I edited the music video it shows that the girl
is going somewhere but we as an audience don’t know till the end which keeps the
audience to keep watching to find out where she’s going? This created a cliff
hanging approach; also it will engage the audience and challenges the norms of Bollywood
In Bollywood most songs are in a film therefore the song has some
importance to the film, through the music video the album is promoted as well
as the film. Another way I challenged this idea and made a music video which
isn’t a part of a film and made an album in which is just music without film.
This is different and a risky however, as it isn’t done much this could open
doors for the futures of the music industry in the east and therefore more
businesses will want to do this, and it will also engage more people which mean
there is more ways for the industry to gain profits. So the music video and CD
album works together to promote each other. Therefore I have done my best keep
a sense of continuity between the products. Such as the colour scheme is Black
and white on the album which is the colour I used in my video to show the girl
achieving her goal of performing/ dancing where in black and white is her dream
and the colour is reality.
In my digipack and magazine advert designs, I used the conventions I
have become both western and eastern products in the market. For example, I
have used a simple but effect image of a stereo and by using lighting effect I
have been able to make the stereo stand out and make it look more appealing.
For the inside I have used the same technique however I used one image of a
girl made her complete black as if it were a silwet and shadowed, to make it
creative I used different coloured stocks on her to make it stand out. On the
side I have the main song title with the lyrics by having a simple by
professional look. to make it seen more performance based and dance style I
used different coloured stocks and text which match a professional but dance
style feel. The back of the CD cover is simple and with the main focus being
the track list. By having a small image in the corner and the track list covering
up to 2/3 of the space it’s the main attraction. With the recoding information
at the bottom it looked professional and a high quality work. For my magazine advertisement
I kept it very simple and effect therefore keeping a continued theme. I has the
title of the album exactly how it was on the CD cover next to it I featured which
will involve the buyer and the audience as they can scan the barcode with their
mobile phone which is a link on the website of the film where they can find
wallpapers, downloads, a link to follow them on twitter and Facebook. Under
that was the same image I used in the inside of my CD album. I thought it was
affect to keep the same images, colour scheme and theme the same as it is a
professional yet cool look therefore more people would buy it and be more
attracted to it.
