Zena's Blog: Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My A2 Media product is a music video. A music video is a motion picture produced to accompany a song, frequently for promotional purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. I think originality “thinking outside the box” makes a good music video. In terms of promotional purposes, the video must firstly capture and engage the audience then convey their message be it direct or indirect. The audience is the most important aspect of a music video as it is being direct to them. This can be achieved by adopting and challenging forms and conventions of real music videos.

The Title
The title of my music video is Tribal Man Skank. The title’s font is Impact, coloured in red and outlined in white on a black background. I used the Stretch in and Cross Zoom transitions of Adobe Premier Pro to display the title forty eight seconds in to music video, just before the dancing begins. I didn't place the title of my music video at the beginning because I want the audience to feel as if they're in DETENTION with the students.

Music Video Title 'Tribal Man Skank'

Setting and Location
The setting and location of my music video is within a school compound: classroom, locker hall and playground. I’ve chosen to shoot my music video in this location to defy the typical raving scene that ‘Tribal Man Skank’ is usually played in. I could have created the typical raving scene at a club or house party, with disco lights. However I want to bring to fun side of school to life, to show my audience that school isn’t only for learning but socialising and exploring talents. Films such as ‘High School Musical’ and ‘St. Trinian’s’ are both filmed in a school compound as it suitable for the story line. Also in the music video ‘Lip Gloss’ is filmed in a hall way and lunch hall of a school.

Costumes and Props
Within the first frame of the first scene the main characters are in a class room amongst: a book, folder, tables, chairs and wall notes. The uses of these props create an educational environment and setting. However the costumes (uniform) which should comprise of a white shirt, tie, kilt, black socks and shoes are purposely altered and incomplete. A red hat, hooded jumper and stripy socks are added to challenge the entire cliche. Two of the characters also have in full view a mobile phone and headset which are prohibited in classrooms. Similarly in the film ‘St. Trinian’s the character’s uniforms are all altered to project their individual personalities by wearing short skirts, make up, high lights and just the school tie to demonstrate that they belong to the same school.

Tribal Man Skank Dancers

St. Trinian's Girls

Camera Work and Editing
Camera work and Editing is very important and effective in every film/music video. I’ve used a combination of medium shots, close-up shots, shot-reverse-shots and panning shots to create tension in the opening of my music video. An example of how I created is created is captured in the fifth frame in which the teacher is pointing to her students.

As I’ve executed a non-narrative approach in the second part of my music video with the choreography, I had to cut the footage and arrange it in a suitable order so that that the soundtrack is in sync with the dancing and acting. I did this to emphasize the lyrics because the dancer's don't sing.

Close-up (shot-revers-shot) Tribal Man Skank

Storyboarding/Preparation
In creating a motion picture with any degree of fidelity to a script, a storyboard provides a visual layout of events as they are to be seen through the camera lens. When I had been granted permission to use Tribal Magz’s track ‘Tribal Man Skank’ I brainstormed thousands of ideas and chose a story line which defies the typical raving scene and that demonstrates the fun side of school. Film directors Joel and Ethan Coen use and create storyboards widely before filming and as a result their films are very successful. They have received numerous awards and nominations.

The Genre
My music video hasn't got a fixed genre. However it's a combination of genres. It's a musical even though the characters aren't singing but their energetic dance moves speak for the lyrics of my media product. The sound track is used to advance the development of the characters and so is the choreography. The dance moves in my music video are very precise and exclusive to 'Tribal Man Skank' as they illustrate the lyrics. Similarly to Beyonce's music video 'Single Ladies' the dance moves represent some of the lyrics of the sound track.

Still from 'Tribal Man Skank' Still from

Still of 'Single Ladies' Beyonce

Introduction of Character

Three of the main characters, which are students after the still title ‘DETENTION’; the font is black, All Caps and on a white background which peels off the screen. This was done to create a clear sense of the setting (school/classroom) so that the audience will have an idea of what to expect. This is a good way to introduce the character because I want the music video to be about school. Similarly in the music video ‘Lip Gloss’ the main character who is also a student is introduced after the name of the rapper ‘Lil Mama’ and the title of the video crawls on to screen, the main character’s mum then hands her a charmed bracelet containing lip gloss. This is an apparent link to the title of the film. I adopted the use of the hall way from 'Lip Gloss' because I think it really creates a strong sense of setting as I used lockers and posters as props.