Written By Mashail Aamir

1. How do your products use or challenge conventions and how do

they represent social group or issues?

Ans. For our Advance Media Portfolio we made Music Promotion Package for our
selected genre R&B/Soul music for our band. We created a music video, a Digipak
and a Website for our band.

We selected our genre based on our survey results for an indie band and many
selected R&B music. Within this genre of music there are derivative forms of it such
as funk, reggae, hip-hop but we selected Soul music. Soul music is a combination of
Blues and Jazz, Gospel and R&B music. It is a genre that originated in the African
American community in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Soul
music is associated with performers such as Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin and
now with the more current artists like Sam Smith, Adele and John Legend.

After conducting an extensive research and understanding the generic conventions I

understood that soul music is a genre where artists combine an impactful narrative
followed by a performance that highlights acoustics of the song. Soul music is
characterized by the feeling of intensity and earthiness and emphasizes on vocals
and an impassioned improvisatory delivery. Songs of this genre usually contain a
strong and emotional message, which is therefore represented in the music video.
The codes and conventions present in Soul music videos are a narrative and a
performance, which is accompanied by camerawork, editing and the mise en scène.
The way the narrative and performance work with this genre is to try to either
promote the artist or promote the genre that they specialize in.

The camerawork when it comes to Soul music tends to be consisting of medium

shots and long shots as well as a few close up shots. This is done to emphasize on
the mise en scene and the expressions of the actors and artists. Editing of Soul music
videos is typically fast cutting and fits and is conventionally fixating on the artists as
they tend to rely a lot on performance and portraying emotions in the lyrics as they
want to show that they're passionate about the music and lyrics they've written. The
lighting is generally high key with a black and white/grey scale or sepia tone filter on
top to create a soft tone to video and therefore creating sensual emotions but this
sense of sensuality can change if the brightness turns to a more low key grey to
increase and create a more dreamy feel to it and then if the grey falls more into the
dark side, this could then create a sense of darkness in the narrative of the music
video. The videos are commonly set either in an environment that is indoors and has
a home like feel. Costumes and props depend on the concept and narrative of the
music video or what message the artist is trying to depict and they can have an
implicit or explicit meaning or both. This changes between gender and genre but at
the same time has the same meaning.

The fundamental code and convention of a soul music video is that it is a hybrid
based music video between narrative and performance and that it contains a
compelling and impactful message. Our music video is performance and narrative
based where the synopsis is of young boy who identifies himself as a transgender
Written By Mashail Aamir

consequently through the narrative he is struggling with the concept of gender

identity and is trying to accept who he is with the help of his mother and having an
abusive father. The plot ends with the mother and son escaping the restraints
implemented by the malevolent father. Conventionally; Soul music videos represent
an outcast, someone who doesn’t necessarily feel like they belong, finding it difficult
to be accept who they are as well as a loss of sense of freedom and are always
struggling. But towards the end find their place. Our music video displays the same
concept and thus has followed this convention.

With our research on codes on conventions of our genre, we were able to obtain a
variety of shots such as medium, long and close up shots. This was needed for our
narrative, as close up shots would highlight the actors and artist’s expression and
through long shots and medium shots their body language and costumes are seen as
well as the setting. Costumes are essential for our music video as they signify the
Pakistani culture and illustrate the concept of gender identity. Shalwar Kameez is the
traditional clothing and represents the appearance of a typical Pakistani housewife
and with this clothing item; a Dupatta that is a scarf goes along with it. There is an
implicit meaning behind the use of the dupatta; it conveys the concept of gender
identity as the young boy is dressed as a female. Another costume worn by the lead
male protagonist was a pink shirt and this connotes femininity and tenderness. Our
music video follows the code and convention of our genre by focusing on the band
and showcasing the performance, thus promoting the band and creating an image.

Same conventions
Real Representation applied.
Written ByReal
Mashail Aamir Same conventions followed in
Representation our music video.

Mother’s costume in
our music video/ same
conventions applied

The Location and setting of the music video was crucial in order to depict the genre
of our music video as well as the narrative. Soul music videos are typically shot
indoors and in an informal or a home like setting. We shot our narrative indoors
while the performance was shot outdoors.

Real Convention. The image above is taken from Sam Smith’s I’m Not The Only One music video.

Same conventions applied in our music video.

Written By Mashail Aamir

Conventional Representation of the Band

Conventionally Indie Bands are represented as casually dressed in typical everyday

clothing that everyone including the audience wears. This creates a relatable aspect.
These conventions have been adapted and used in our video. Music videos created
by indie bands commonly have a laid back and intimate quality; therefore we
demonstrated this through portraying the band as two friends having a mellow jam
session.

Real Convention. Indie Band above is the Arctic Monkeys.

Same conventions reinforced for our band.

In our music video we broke the typical convention of lighting of soul music videos.
The lighting present in our video is high key lighting with no filters, as conventional
soul music videos would have a grey scale or sepia filter. The brightness changes
Written By Mashail Aamir

throughout the video for soul music videos, which adds an element of fantasy. We
decided to maintain a balanced brightness that would uniform throughout the music
video. This also helps in eliminating any shadows and gives an illuminated look. For
this no adjustments were required for shooting every scene, making it easier for us
to film.

Without music video we wanted to feature a specific social issue in Pakistan and
therefore targeting a specific social group. LGBTQ+ communities in Pakistan do not
have many rights and it can lead to abuse. This convention is exhibited in our music
video, by depicting the lead male protagonist struggling with a gender identity
disorder and is a victim of child abuse. The relationship with that he and his mother
is highlighted as he tries to find his identity and is attracted towards more of the
feminine objects and routines. This is behavior is seen as shameful in our society,
that is why the father will be shown as a disapproving figure and handles his sons
confusion and struggle by abusing him. The music video underlines the lives of
families in our society and how an unorthodox being is treated. Our society
currently lacks acceptance. It was very important to highlight to social problems
faced in our society and for the LGBTQ+ communities especially. Therefore we
decided to choose two core issues, Gender Identity Disorder and Child Abuse.

After doing an extensive research on our concept, we realized it was vital to bring
about these issues to the audience. Due to the controversial Nature and typical
mindset of people, most people do not consider them as a part of their community.
According to recent research studies conducted on transgenderism, approximately
one out 50 children are identified with a transgender tendency/potential. In other
words, Transgenderism affects about 2 percent of the population of Pakistan.
In Pakistan for people who struggle with their gender identity or identify themselves
as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender find it extremely difficult to live as they
are discriminated against constantly, some are even thrown out of their own homes
by family members and it can lead to abuse. Reported cases of child abuse in
Pakistan have risen by at 10% this year. Child Abuse in society leads up to 54 percent
of current depression, and 67 percent of suicide attempts as well as substance abuse
by 73 percent. Child Abuse happens in many homes in Pakistan and nothing has
been said, because of the lack of awareness.