GENERIC RESEARCH: Summation

In my research, I have identified many codes and conventions of music videos, including:

·        A range of shot types

·        Many different locations

·        Intertextual references

·        A distinctive colour palette and aesthetic

·        A focus on narrative with performance aspects

·        Close ups of the artist/band (Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory)

·        Features the artist as the star of the video (Richard Dyer’s star theory)

·        The use of stereotypes, which are then later undermined (this is more common in protest videos)

·        Makes a statement (again, this is more common in protest videos)

·        Makes references to social/cultural/historical context

·        Visuals that illustrate the lyrics (Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory)

I have also identified the following codes and conventions in my research into artist’s websites:

·        A clear house style

·        The use of similar fonts throughout the website (often similar to the font on the artists most recent album cover)

·        A distinctive colour palette (often reflecting the colour palette/style of the artists recent music videos/album cover – showing digital convergence)

·        The artists logo (usually in the top left corner) acting as a home button

·        A navigation bar, usually featuring pages such as ‘About’, ‘Tour’, ‘Music’, ‘Video’, and ‘Store’

·        A simple layout making the website easy to navigate

·        Images of the star

·        The artists most recent music video(s)

·        Links to stream/download the artists most recent album/single

·        A page dedicated to all the artists music, featuring song lyrics and links to stream/download

·        A merchandise store

·        A page showing the artists upcoming concerts/tour, including links to purchase tickets

·        Easter eggs

·        The option to sign up for email updates

·        Links to social media

I will use these codes and conventions in my music video and website, such as:

·        Featuring the artist as the main focus of my video, and using close up shots of the artist (relating to Andrew Goodwin’s theory).

·        My music video will focus on narrative, and should include a few shots of the artist performing throughout the video.

·        I will use intertextual references that my target demographic should understand (but even if they don’t understand these references the video will still make sense).

·        My video will feature several different locations, including a garden, a science classroom, school halls, a bedroom, and a few others (depending on what I have access to).

·        A lot of the visuals in my music video will illustrate the lyrics (relating to Andrew Goodwin’s theory).

·        The website will have a clear house style that reflects the music video, using a similar colour palette and similar fonts to those used in the video.

·        The website will feature the music video on the homepage (digital convergence).

·        The homepage will also feature a navigation bar, featuring links to pages such as ‘About’, ‘Tour’, ‘Music’, ‘Video’, and ‘Store’ (making the website easy to navigate).

·        I will feature images of the artist on the website, as well as a short behind the scenes video from the making of my music video.

·        I will also create social media accounts for my artist, which will be featured on the homepage of the website, encouraging fans to interact with the artist.