Task 1-In what ways do your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My music video to the song, ‘DVNO’ by Justice follows the conventions of real music video products, however through the use of other technical devices we attempt to challenge the contemporary music video.

Similarly to real media products we created a performance element in our music video, which we then also reflected in our CD cover and poster. We created the world of ‘DVNO’ in which audience are invited into and suspend their disbeliefs into this ‘club-like’ mise-en-scene. In our video, we focus upon the performance element of the lead singer and DJ playing together in which a group of six attractive female dancers dance around the lead singer. Through this ‘club like’ environment, we play upon the attractiveness of our lead singer, DJ and the dancers. This uses conventions of real music videos of a similar genre, presenting an attractive male, surrounded by a group of females.

This convention predominantly appeals to male viewers, conveying the female dancers to just be ‘bodies’, emphasising the sexual attractiveness of him, in which supports male viewers aspire to be him and female viewers desire to be with him. This performance element, such as the screen shot below shows, presents the key image of the ‘DVNO’ sign, which again actuates the ‘nightclub’ diegsus and also the pink or silver stripe across the dancers, lead singer and DJ’s face. This markets the individuality of the band and supports the idea of their ‘trademark’.

The idea of ‘rhythmic montage’ in a fragmented style was effective for our music video in order to fit to the fast pace of the song. However, because we had so many different clips of the girls dancing, we experimented and were able to reverse different clips. I believe that this was successful and did challenge the forms of real media products because it changed the visual element style, making it different from a contemporary music video. However, on a first look of this video, audiences may not recognise the reversing clips but subliminally recognise it. With such dense and rich material audiences may return to the video to watch it again and recognise different clips that on a first viewing they didn’t see.
Throughout the music video we reversed several clips, especially in the use of the wire, in which we used as a form of travel between the dance element and the performance element of our lead singer and DJ. Throughout our media product we repeat this pattern of travelling to and from the different elements, in which the audience begin to recognise it. I believe that this differs and challenges the conventions of media products through the use of the wires because it creates a connection to the other elements.

Some music videos play upon the use of a narrative concept. However our music video, originally we wanted to use this convention, however after filming it, we believed that our performance element was strong enough and therefore our initial idea of listeners of the song to become ‘infected’ and have the silver or pink paint spread across their face was abandoned.
By using the silver paint on just the lead singer and the DJ this emphasises their importance and differentiates them from the majority of the dancers. Again, by the use of this silver and pink makeup paint it furthermore creates the mysterious ‘world of DVNO’, creating a sense of freedom and individuality. I believe that this in a sense uses the conventions of music videos because the dancers appear to be just apart of the lead singer and just appear to be their ‘bodies’, clones of each other.

I believe that one of the most effective parts of ‘DVNO’ is that it provides the audience with a polysemic experience and the ability to have a number of different interpretations. Whereas other music videos, such as a video with a narrative concept, it does not allow the music to take a different perception on it. This video furthermore does not just apply to female or male perceptive and preference, but different groups of audiences on what they like or dislike.

Our front CD cover promoting the single, ‘DVNO’, follows real media conventions in emphasising and making the main focus on the letters, ‘DVNO’. We layered underneath the lettering, still digital photographs that we took on the day of the shoot, therefore presenting a connection between the music video and the CD covers. Prominent in the photographs is the performance and dance element, again, providing a link to the music video and presenting the club-like diegsus. This is also emphasised through the LED lights of ‘DVNO’, furthermore creating a club environment.

Our CD cover is kept quite simplistic, reflecting similar colours as the music video. Across the centre we incorporated the pink stripe of the dancer face. I believe that this simplistic style of the CD cover follows similar CD covers, such as ‘Pnau’, which alike them we have used a similar style. However, I believe the main focus of the pink eye strip across the front, challenges forms because through this we present their individuality and difference as a ‘trademark’.

On our side covers, we again made the main focus the image of ‘DVNO’. In Photoshop we edited the led lights from the music video and included this in our inside covers. Again, through the simplicity of our covers, I believe this follows similar conventions of other media products and electronic music. By using the images of just our lead singer and a dancer in half light, this presents an emphasis on the ‘DVNO’ to be the only source of light, therefore presenting the importance of ‘DVNO’ and also creates a mysterious and magical element.

On our poster, we intergrated similar elements to our CD cover and our poster. We played upon the use of the lead singer’s sexual magnetism and individuality which follows on real media conventions, of bands such as ‘Empire of the Sun’. In the background of the poster, we used the image of a lightening bolt, which connects to our music video through the use of the wires and also connected to the name of our duo, “Electric Deserts”. Again, in our poster we followed upon the simplicity of our poster as our CD cover and music video.