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

CONVENTION	USE/DEVELOP/CHALLENGE	HOW/WHY
Playing an instrument	Use	Playing an instrument is a key convention when describing country/folk music videos as it represents their ability to be versatile as well as highlighting the idea of them being an organic artist and focusing in on a performance based video. My music video uses this convention as throughout my music video, my artist is seen in various shots playing the guitar.
Non-glamorous/sexy	Use	In a country/folk genre, it uses the opposite convention of RnB in terms of image. Country/folk is revealed through a simple, non-glamorous way, this means no provocative clothing or use of makeup and fake tan to excess. My music video definitely uses this convention in the sense that the clothing my artist wear are not only very simple colours but also do not follow the mainstream clothing range from topshop/river island/primark etc.
Slow cuts & smooth transitions	Use	This particular convention is used in country/folk music videos to compliment the tempo and lyrics of the music. Country/folk songs tend to be of a slow, soft tone so smooth transitions and slow cuts help to create the same ideas that the song puts across. In my music video I used this convention, the transitions I used flowed from one another smoothly, this also helped build the storyline.
Theme of relationships	Develop	Another convention of a country/folk music video would be the theme of relationships and the portrayal of young sweet innocent love, put across through the narrative. My music video draws in on this particular convention in these ways, for example in the video we see the couple holding hands, kissing, smiling etc. but I have also developed this convention through a sexual perspective. The male is sitting on the bed messaging the female ‘I love you’ this could be interpreted in the way that the male is not only missing the female in an emotional way, but also in an intimate, physical sense.
Set in open space	Use	This convention draws on the idea of where country/folk music originates. It focuses on its southern roots and how most of this music was created in the open outdoors in states such as Texas. I used this convention by locating my artist in a field-like setting accompanied by trees which represent the idea of being in the open space and therefore mentally free, enabling the artist to draw on personal emotions and past memories.

Through research I established the main conventions of a Digipak were:

Front Cover; artist image, album title, artist name

Inside Cover; lyric book

CD Tray; simple image

Back Cover; album tracks, barcode

I used all of these conventions on my Digipak and was able to follow through on the theme of an organic, free-spirited character. This reflects a real media product as there were similarities between my product and a real one, for example the colour theme, (blue, green, brown) the background images and the font all adhere to real country/folk artists products, I am able to understand this through the research on similar artists I carried out. The artists name is in bold to emphasise it especially as it is a debut album, I also used a flowy font to draw attention to the idea of a reflective emotion and a character who has no boundaries in terms of drawing on her emotions through music. On the back cover I used a glow around the image of Jessica to put emphasis on her being somehow ‘special’, through my Digipak I was also able to portray her, like most of the world’s leading artists, as being a character who works better alone, and her reflective personality and ability to draw on her emotional past only supports and strengthens this idea further. To further reinforce the concept of Jessica being on a journey as well as reflecting on a past journey, I was able to contribute to this thought through my inside cover. This is the lyric book and the image I used was of Jessica walking with her guitar along a path off into the sunset, this to me created the notion of leaving something behind with a lesson learnt but also willing to go forward with the belief that a new journey is about to begin. The music note was also a theme running through my Digipak and once again this reinforced the home grown musical ability of the artist and importance of music to her as an individual.

I was able to establish the conventions of a magazine advert are:

-          Image of Digipak

-          Star rating

-          Artist image

-          Extras; exclusives

-          Record label

-          Artist name

-          Album name

My poster adheres nearly all of these conventions. The main image is of the artist whilst the background image followed my continuing theme which I gradually developed through each media product. I used the idea of seasons, this represents not only nature and an eco-friendly, free character but also a changing and growing personality. As each season differs and changes also so do people. I wanted an image that would not only continue my theme but also have the subliminal idea of growth and the ability to grow through each experience through your life, each season represents the possibility of a new chapter to a new journey. In this instance I am referring to her ability to draw on her emotional past, and ironically as the album name says ‘Reminisce’ on past events, whilst also allow the opportunity to reflect on her present and future. The autumnal theme is present throughout, I used green to represent the fields and open space which was the convention of a country/folk music video. The font was of a flowy nature and bold so it was easily visible, although I used a different font for the ‘extras’ part as I really wanted to set emphasis on the album name and title. The record label and star rating were placed at the bottom, which is where they are conventionally found, along with the Digipak image in the top left corner, which slightly challenges this particular convention as it is usually found in the bottom left corner.

There are several different typical conventions of a folk/country advert and digipak, in order to be able to use/challenege or develop any of these I researched them in more detail. The artist is usualy represented in a non-glamourously way with a stronger focus on a 'natural' look. This includes minimal make-up and although focus is on clothes, the artist would not be styled in the same way as a typcial american teen pop artist; fake tan, lots of make-up, big hair, bright clothes. This is because the brand image being created is of a natural, organic, free-spirited character and therefore big and bold would not suit the intended brand image. I used this convention on my digipak and avert. On my digipak Jessica was styled in simple but effective way. She was wearing a dark coloured jumper with her hair up on the front cover whilst on the back she was wearinga simple blue jeans jacket with her hair down. On my advert I use this convention as the close up image shows minimal make-up used. Another convention of a country/folk artist is an instrument being in the shot, I used this convention by including a guitar, which she also uses in the music video. This appeared on both the front cover of my digipak and the inside, Although on my advert, I challenge this particular convention as I do not use an instrument. A further typcial convention I discovered would be the rural location and natural settings used, this would be locations such as fields, trees, leaves and sky. Soft colours and themes such as blues, greens, browns are eco-friendly natural locations which are typically related to folk/country digipaks and adverts. On my digipak I used natural settings such as the artist sitting on a tree log in a field, surrounded by trees and the sky. I also used the artist walking off into the sunset on one section of my digpak whilst the backcover consisted of the artist standing in a field location which had trees in the background. My advert developed this convention as I usedb seasons in my background to recreate the idea of a natural, organic setting in a different way in which I had previously done.