A2 media coursework

1. Q1. in what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products?
Evaluation

2. My chosen music video
Beyonce – why don’t you love me

3. The original video
In the original video Beyonce creates a narrative
which is unlike her usual content that she
produces. Beyonce dresses up like a naughty
1950’s housewife. Throughout the video the artist
Cries whilst engages in domestic labour. In
juxtaposition to the lyrics is seems as if the artist
is revealing subliminal messages as it could be
interpreted that these components are the ideal to
being a good woman. The artist participates in
drinking alcoholic beverages as she sips on
cocktails and French – inhaling cigarettes.

4. The Genre
The genre of my music video is regarded as ‘POP’.
When creating my music video there was several
codes and conventions that needed to be adhered to
in order to be classified as that genre. However, when
creating my music video although I did adapt many of
the existing ideologies surrounding ‘POP’ music
videos I also developed and challenged a myriad of
the different codes and conventions.
By using a mixture of common codes and conventions
and doing the complete contrary of them I found that
my music video was still identifiable by others as the
genre of pop but also had a unique spin as it
challenged certain aspects. By challenging particular
ideologies the audience automatically become
consumed as it is something different. Artist and
produces aim to create interesting, out of the ordinary
videos to captivate an audience and become the main
focal point of other media products as a result.

5. Codes and conventions of POP
music genre
• Lyrics based around love and relationships
• Lyrics and visuals
• Narrative
• Bright bold colours
• Set structure and consistent beat (verse – chorus –
verse)
• Tend to last approximately 3-5 minutes long
• Use of hook lines
• Dressed provocatively
• Hair and make up are extreme
• Use of amination
• Dance sequel

6. Lyrics based around love and
relationships
 The title of the song alone ‘Why don’t
you love me’ immediately informs the
audience that the song is going to be
based around some form of
heartbreak or lust. You are able to
predict this as the question why don't
you love me generates vivid
emotions. We currently live in a
society where media perpetrates love
as the ideal. Having a song directly
linked to love and relationships was
one of the many ways my media
product adapted the codes and
conventions of its specific genre. By
having such a distinctive link i felt
the audience could automatically
identify the genre of the song.

7. Lyrics and visuals
Generally in music videos there tends to be
specific visuals in relations to the lyrics. For
example in music videos such as Marron5 –
moves like jagger the artist is dancing on
stager with a his name printed on the back of
the stage. Such correlations enable the
audience to sustain a vivid image along side
the lyrics of the music. This is a common
feature of POP genre music videos as many
argue that POP music is predominately the
same and therefore there needs to be
associative links. However, in m music video
I challenged this code and convention by not
displaying direct visuals associated with
love. The reasoning for this is because I felt
my narrative highlighted a strong message
plus I felt the interaction of the artist and the
camera revealed a more significant message
than if i included visuals related to “love”

8. Dressing provocatively
 There has been a progressive way in how artist
are dressed in POP genre music videos. Women
have now become idolised and the phrase ‘sex
sells’ is what drives a vast majority of POP genre
production in the present day. There were several
reason why I challenged this particular code and
convention. From my music video you will see that
my artist is fully clothed at all times. This is
because I felt the lyrics of the song did not portray
a message which needed a female to be idolised
due to her body image. Rejecting the regular dress
sense showcased in POP genre music videos
would therefore create a social buzz. This is
because the expectations of the audience are not
met which in turn also lures the attention of the
audience as it is not the perceived ‘normal’. Music
videos from the POP genre that were produced
approximately 10-15 years ago adapted the same
approach as mine. However, with the perception of
society changing the craze for half naked women
has become the usual. By adopting old values I
felt I did not loose the genres ideal but simply put a
creative spin on the cotemporary perception of
beauty by dressing my artist modestly.