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

1.     Q1:  In what ways does your media project use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products

The target audience for my A2 media project is predominantly males aged 14-21. This is because young

teenagers and adult will understand the content behind the music’s lyrics. Some will be able to relate to the incidents the male protagonists are talking about. Therefore, this genre (Hip Hop/Rap) would instantly attract a male fan-base aged 14-21 because people within this age group have either experienced similar problems in their lives and other are currently trapped in a similar predicament. Alternatively, I wanted this music video to be seen by an elder public audience. The reason why is because a lot of the elder people do not understand the troubles younger people have or complain of.  Targeting the video to an elder audience allows more people to understand the downsides of UK’s society. However, my ideal target audience would be for the younger generation as I want this music video to let them understand that this lifestyle is not the best for them. This type of music is educational as well as entertaining.

 As well as this it focuses on the black ethnic group as that is the group which has mostly been stereotyped and affected by the media. This way the lyrics presented within my song ‘Lost Since Birth’ would interact with that group of people more. Having a thorough understanding of whom my target audience would be allowed me to write the lyrics and record the video in a style which would appeal to the codes and conventions of the genre. To begin with, the songs genre is Hip Hop therefore the lyrics had to relate to problems which are happening around British civilians (mainly those of a younger age) so that the song could immediately interact with the public.

 Furthermore, in the editing stages of my production, I ensured that mis-en-scene was captivated to show the darkness within the music video. This is due to the fact that the lyrics are mostly of a dark and violent nature and this contrast to the mis-en-scene of the video. The snapshots below show the impacts the mis-en-scene, costumes and props have with the codes and conventions of hip hop. The variety of camera shots such as the mid-close up or the tracking shot emphasizes on the different ways my music video developed and challenges the forms and conventions of real media products:

1st shot :

 Immediately, as soon as the music video starts the image above is shown. The image shows how the picture slowly develops from complete darkness to a slow sunrise type of picture, slowly building the atmosphere. We edited it this way because it will create a certain mood towards the audience, different types of thoughts and emotions will run through your head depending on the type of way you want to interpret it. As well the opening scene being interpreted in this way, this slow, dark, colour contrast change works extremely well with the way the instrumental is played. During this moment of the song all you hear is a humming noise before the song starts to kicks in and becomes upbeat and the use of the sunrise effect causes a soothing emotion towards the audience.

2nd shot:

 As soon as the instrumental changes into an upbeat rhythm, the colour changes to a brighter contrast and stays at that colour throughout the music video. By putting the colour at a brighter level this resembles the start of a song. This could also be metaphorically compared to the awakening of a person, by this meaning the persons eyesight becoming clearer. This metaphor explains the changes between the first and the second scene. In this shot, the camera shows everyone who is included within the video standing around the two main characters within the music video "Eazy" and "Y-Ko" the rappers who are the first verse and in the second verse.  This shot creates a more intimidating look towards the rappers as the camera pans upwards making the rappers dominant and powerful. By including the panning camera effect, it also allows the audience to see the mis-en-scene showing them the different faces portrayed. Additionally, this effect if very crucial as it shows the audience the stereotypical fashion of black youth, hence the choice of clothing worn by the participants, also implying that this video is of an urban genre

On the bottom left of the snapshot, you can see an American Bulldog and Stafforshire Bullterrier on screen. By including dogs in the picture, this emphasizes on the danger given by the characters within the video. Some people would compare many men to dogs such people say, that they are violent and cruel animals whom are similar to the description of a stereotypical black teenager.

3rd Shot:

The third shot shows a mid-close up of the first artist right before he starts rapping. This shot emphasizes the emotions running through the rappers head. From the image portrayed, you can tell that the rapper is disgusted or upset about something and this can be seen by the lyrics.

 Also, on the top right corner of the snapshot there is a leafless tree located in the background. The leafless tree implies winter and the type of year which the video is shot at. Setting the atmosphere for the audience.

 4th shot:

The 4th image captivates the first artist rapping whilst a gang of people are standing behind him. This shot which has been captured is somewhat provocative as this group of people look very intimidating.

5th shot:

the 5th shot captivated perfectly the transition between two scenes and this scene captures the one thing which is usually seen in a hip-hop music video, the sight of smoking. The sight of smoke is seen by the likes of 2pac, Biggie Smalls and many more
Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G smoking in their videos(iconic artists).


Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa also smoking in their music videos. Smoking in videos has become a trend to all hip-hop artist now, however it has caused a bad influence towards younger viewers.

6th Shot:

This shot shows two characters within the video dragging two dogs as they have a play fight. Again playing with the stereotype theory of danger and in this aspect the dogs look extremely dangerous within the clip.

7th Shot:

This shot is very appealing towards the audience as it engages their eyes towards the background as well as concentrating on the figure standing in the middle. Reason behind having this shot is that captures the definition of the lyrics so this image suits the way the video was recorded in similarity with the song.

8th Shot:

The eighth shot is very appealing towards the hip-hop fans as it has all aspects of a hip-hop music video. From the baggy clothing to the graffiti on the wall behind the rapper.