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EVALUATION
1) In what ways does your media product use, challenge or develop forms and conventions of real media products?
Our music video 'Not At Home' by Peter Broderick shows a day in a life of a young teenage mother and three year old daughter. The music video follows a documentary styled genre and meets this through the use of typical documentary conventions. We met these forms and conventions by producing amateur looking footage, as well as the use of natural lighting and hand held cameras. I feel we have also challenged the documentary style as usually these films use actual footage of filmed events, that would of taken place even if the cameras weren't there. They don't typically use actors to convey the actual situation as we have had to use clever ways to manufacture the style of film, as we are students and not able to provide a real slice of a homeless persons life. However, we used real life locations to provide the feeling of depravation and poverty where these homeless people live. Obviously this was a music video and so the emphasis was purely on the visuals to make an impact. We were unable to have the extra power of the spoken word to enforce out message. |
As we follow the observational mode of documentary and not a reflexive, we follow the characters, without them realising. So there is no engagement with the camera, unless we use the camera to represent someone observing the characters. Aswell as our music video falling under the genre of documentary, we have also focused on a social issue which would make it come across as a British Social Realist style of film. We have also represented many ideologies within our video and we did this by using unknown actors, who could be anyone, reinforcing the main convention of the social realist genre. Which gives our film authenticity. Usually a social realism film deals with issues like drugs, sex, poverty, prostitution, homosexuality, alcoholism and crime. Several of these are issues which are present in our music video.
2) How does your Media product represent particular social groups?
Our music video follows the story of a young girl and her daughter, who are currently in a vulnerable position. Unlike many social realist films/music videos, we challanged the dominant ideology of homelessness and did this by representing the characters in clothes which were not stereotypical to this ideology. The characters came across as clean and well kept, and gave the impression of children from a middle class background, and so the audience would not expect that they were part of a group that would suffer homelessness.
3) Why would your media institution distribute your media product?
Bella Union is an independent record label that was started up by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie in 1997 and helped produce Peter Brodericks album 'Home'.
Like many music videos, social media sites like Youtube and MySpace act like a platform for uknown musicians/artists . Some of these videos have also been publicly shown on music channels such as MTV and StarzMusic. It will definitely be beneficial for our music video to Peter Broderick 'Not at Home', to be posted on these social media sites because we feel our main theme throughout our music video would emphasize the importance of the great responsibility thrust upon someone of such a young age.
Bella Union is well known for producing artists within the genre of indie rock, and on reflection and researching into the style and genres of their existing music videos, I feel there is a strong connection and the use of similar conventions.
4) Who would be the audience for your media product and how did you attract/address your audience?
Our music video attracts many different audiences.
1) Teenagers: This is because many teens find themeselves alone without a strong mentor in their life and can relate to the loneliness portrayed in our video. We attracted this audience by using young actors, which would make it much easier for the audience to relate to what is happening in the music video.
2) Teenage mums: The main character in our video is a teenage mum and it highlights the problems faced by many young mums who may have originally seen the idea of having a child at a young age as a romantic and exiting future. Many young girls make a concious disicion to have a baby as they feel it would stop them from being lonely, but our video proves it can escalate this loneliness.
By using a teenage mum in our music video and also filming in locations such as the childrens playgrounds which are familiar environments for a young mum to go to was a way to attract this audience.
3. The policy makers in Government: We targeted To make them re think their polices with regard to young people, and to increase investment in education and a support network for young vulnerable people, as social and economic factors can intervene in a persons life and cause a rapid change in their living situation.
We attracted this audience through its subject matter, as the uk has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Western Europe which is associated with poor educational achievment, both poor physical and mental health as well as poverty and social isolation. These are social economic disadvantages which the government should be tackling. We also attracted this audience by showing the young characters in an abandoned building, with rundown and lack of electricity and warmth.
4) Parents: To inform parents of the importance of communication with their children to help them avoid the pit falls of unprotected sex. We attracted this audience by making a documentary that would effect the teenage children of many parents. This is a common unspoken worry that many parents have. Also for the educational value and the social interaction with the child they may be concerned about.
5) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
6) Looking back at your test shoot what do you think you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Since filming our test shoot, we feel we have progressed dramatically. The reason we had decided to shoot again was because we felt the scenes which we had shot, lacked in realism. Also due to the lack of equipment, our shots were too shaky to use. I do feel that re filming was the best idea, as it would also give us an opportunity to make sure that when shooting our final product we would have the right equipment, actors and also have a good idea of what and where we were planning to film.
2) How does your Media product represent particular social groups?
Our music video follows the story of a young girl and her daughter, who are currently in a vulnerable position. Unlike many social realist films/music videos, we challanged the dominant ideology of homelessness and did this by representing the characters in clothes which were not stereotypical to this ideology. The characters came across as clean and well kept, and gave the impression of children from a middle class background, and so the audience would not expect that they were part of a group that would suffer homelessness.
3) Why would your media institution distribute your media product?
Bella Union is an independent record label that was started up by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie in 1997 and helped produce Peter Brodericks album 'Home'.
Like many music videos, social media sites like Youtube and MySpace act like a platform for uknown musicians/artists . Some of these videos have also been publicly shown on music channels such as MTV and StarzMusic. It will definitely be beneficial for our music video to Peter Broderick 'Not at Home', to be posted on these social media sites because we feel our main theme throughout our music video would emphasize the importance of the great responsibility thrust upon someone of such a young age.
Bella Union is well known for producing artists within the genre of indie rock, and on reflection and researching into the style and genres of their existing music videos, I feel there is a strong connection and the use of similar conventions.
4) Who would be the audience for your media product and how did you attract/address your audience?
Our music video attracts many different audiences.
1) Teenagers: This is because many teens find themeselves alone without a strong mentor in their life and can relate to the loneliness portrayed in our video. We attracted this audience by using young actors, which would make it much easier for the audience to relate to what is happening in the music video.
2) Teenage mums: The main character in our video is a teenage mum and it highlights the problems faced by many young mums who may have originally seen the idea of having a child at a young age as a romantic and exiting future. Many young girls make a concious disicion to have a baby as they feel it would stop them from being lonely, but our video proves it can escalate this loneliness.
By using a teenage mum in our music video and also filming in locations such as the childrens playgrounds which are familiar environments for a young mum to go to was a way to attract this audience.
3. The policy makers in Government: We targeted To make them re think their polices with regard to young people, and to increase investment in education and a support network for young vulnerable people, as social and economic factors can intervene in a persons life and cause a rapid change in their living situation.
We attracted this audience through its subject matter, as the uk has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Western Europe which is associated with poor educational achievment, both poor physical and mental health as well as poverty and social isolation. These are social economic disadvantages which the government should be tackling. We also attracted this audience by showing the young characters in an abandoned building, with rundown and lack of electricity and warmth.
4) Parents: To inform parents of the importance of communication with their children to help them avoid the pit falls of unprotected sex. We attracted this audience by making a documentary that would effect the teenage children of many parents. This is a common unspoken worry that many parents have. Also for the educational value and the social interaction with the child they may be concerned about.
5) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
6) Looking back at your test shoot what do you think you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Since filming our test shoot, we feel we have progressed dramatically. The reason we had decided to shoot again was because we felt the scenes which we had shot, lacked in realism. Also due to the lack of equipment, our shots were too shaky to use. I do feel that re filming was the best idea, as it would also give us an opportunity to make sure that when shooting our final product we would have the right equipment, actors and also have a good idea of what and where we were planning to film.