Statement of Intent

Statement of Intent

 

How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief ?

 

 

Product 1:

 

For my music video, I intend to create a video that portrays the love of a homosexual couple as upon my research into Universal Music Group, I have found that  there is a lack of representation of non heterosexual couples in music videos. I will be doing this by using models within the ages of the target audience of 16-25 as I believe it would allow the audience to emotionally engage with the music video. For this, I will be using the song Someone to You by the Banners as the fast and upbeat song would would allow me to use a range of different shot types in which some would reflect the lyrics of the song as suggested by Andrew Goodwin, allowing me to make a video that is also interesting. As the current trends in todays society for the younger demographic, is for example wearing fashion trends from the 1990s, I have decided to include this into my music video through basing the costumes and context of the video that of the 1990s. I will be doing this through the intertextuality of 90s bands and music artist such as Micheal Jackson and Fall Out Boy through vinyls in the shots, and also including a vintage like filter in the video. 

 

Product 2:

 

As well as this, I will produce a website to work alongside the music video, creating digital convergence. This would include information about the artist, merchandise selling, tour information, behind the scenes videos and photos as well as much more. With the current generation being heavily involved in technology because of the evolution of the media, I intend to make the website easy to function and engaging for the target audience as well as aesthetically pleasing to make sure the audience is interested in the website. The website will include links to other social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, the music video and also to streaming platforms as it is the most popular way in which the target audience listen to music. I will also make sure that the website allows for the audience to actively engage with the artist by creating a feature which allows the audience to sign up for newsletters and exclusive information on the artist.  

 

 

Costume Moodboard for Females

 

Costume Moodboard for Males

 

Casting

       Anastasia Harris 

Ana would be playing one of the main characters in the music video, that being the girlfriend.

Not only is Ana a media student but her confidence in performing and having an outgoing personality would help engage the audience in the music video and would be easier to help the audience to feel the emotions that I intend to portray in the video. 

Dylan Winter 

Dylan would be playing the other main character in the music video of the boyfriend.

I chose Dylan to be the other main character because of her chemistry with Ana as it would help portray the emotions that I am trying to portray from the music video. As well as his natural ability to be a great actor. 

Mitchell Rogers 

My friend Mitchell will be playing the artist himself Michael Nelson also known as BANNERS (his stage name). He would also be playing the guitar in the video 

I chose Mitchell to play the other main character because of his distinctive style as well as his confidence when being in front of the camera. 

Location Report

 

When deciding on the locations that are being featured in my music video, I wanted to include places that have a 90s aesthetic. This mostly included locations in London such as Camden Market and include shots of the underground tube stations such as Oxford Street. In the 90s teenagers commonly attended the arcades which is why I have decided to include this location into my music video; making sure the theme of the 90s is represented throughout the video. Not only would Alexandria Palace Park be the destination to include a picnic scene in the video but it would be a great location to take cut away shots. Overall, the main concept behind these locations was to make sure they would be places teenagers would typically go to such as the skate park. 

Logo Designs

 

Taking into considsation the characteristics of logo designs from the 90s, I wanted to incorporate the bright colours that typically seen in logos. For this reason, I decided for the brand identity of the artist to be based around the pastel colours of yellow, pink and blue with accents of black and white. However, further analysing the logo, I saw that it was rather too plain and would not appeal to the public eye, which is why I decided to adapt and apply my research of the characteristics of 90s logo and include geometric patters to the logo to make it more appealing to the eye. The cassette tape which is included is to represent the 90s as cassette tapes were highly popular during this era. Also it includes a direct link to the music video as a cassette tape and player would be featured in it. 

90s Aesthetic for Logo Designs

Many 90s graphics has been influenced by pop culture and underground music scene. 90s aesthetics developed from grunge style, skateboarding, graffiti and punk cultures, it was so influenced maintain by sans serif and casual handwritten style fonts. 

Some characteristics which are seen through the 90s art style designs are:

- Vibrant colours = Bright yellow, pink, purple, fluorescent green, cerulean blue, neon lasers. These were applied to create bold and eye catching effects in 90s graphics 

- Abstract shapes = Bold, abstract, geometric shapes were standard in the 90s aesthetic, patterns like polka dots were applied 

- Fun patterns = Trippy backgrounds, grids, geometric shapes

- Gradients = Vibrant gradients 

- Font choices = Comic Sans Style, handwritten fonts, condensed sans serif 

Storyboard: Music Video

 

Top Paid Advertising Platforms for Music Videos

 1. Instagram Ads 

Instagram is a free platform for everybody. Artists and all types of users can create as many accounts as they want, all for free. This is done by seeing little clips of an artist in a paid story or by seeing sponsored posts on Instagram feeds. Instagram advertising is run through Facebook’s As Manager. These ads are cheap and the platform is fairly easy to use. As Instagram uses targeted advertising, advertising your music video on this platform would allow the artist to reach their target market fairly quickly and it would be more likely for the audience to find out more information on the artist. 

2. Facebook Ads 

As Facebook runs Instagram, their ads run off of the same platform. Facebook gives the artist control over where their ads are being shown, how they are show and when they are shown. However, as Facebook is generally more for the older generation, the promotion of music videos aimed at the younger generation is less likely. 

3. SubmitHub 

SubmitHub is an advertising platform that lets the artist submit their music, for free, to a variety of blogs and playlists. However, the problem with this platforms is that nobody is required to respond and the music video may end up getting overlooked.

4. YouTube Advertising 

YouTube is the most popular video streaming service in the world. There are two forms of advertising you can do on YouTube. The first is advertising the music video within the YouTube platform or you can advertise the music video on other platforms through the embedded links. 

Website Flatplan First Ideas

On my website I want to make sure that I include aspects of cross media convergence, which is why at the bottom of each page I would include social media links to platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. 

Fitting the conventions of a website, I also decided to include the menu bar in the top left corner for audiences to access the different categories on the website easily.

I wanted to keep my website simple but also add moving images to keep the audience interested in viewing the different features of the website.

As well as this, when looking at different website, I found that adding a pop up Easter egg when audiences first click on the site and offer promotional discounts would encourage them to view the merchandise section; which is why I have also decided to include this onto my website. 

Music Video Moodboard

 

When analysing the different types of music video, I have decided to base my own music video in the 90s. This moodboard represents some of the aesthetics that I may include into my own music video. I believe that by adhering to the time period of the 90s, I would have to take under consideration that the concept of including a same sex couple is frowned upon. Therefore, the storyline of my own music video would have to be based on the concept of a forbidden love. 

Merchandise First Ideas

 

                 

               

Textual Analysis 3: Skin

https://youtu.be/CA9E4HHHbRk

The third video that has influenced some of my ideas is Skin by Sabrina Carpenter. What I really enjoyed about this music video is how the theme of the 1980s is consistent through out the whole video. This was illustrated through costumes as well as the locations used in the video. Having a theme which is not represented in majority of music videos is something that I hope to incorporate into my own music video. I believe this would make the video more influential if there was a sense of intertextuality of the previous years such as including old posters or band t shirts from former bands. 

Sabrina Carpenter is an American singer and actress. This song was the lead single from her upcoming fifth studio album with Island Records who are part of Universal Music Group. Skin is a synth pop ballad, and several publication suggest that the lyrics are centred around the highly publicised love triangle between Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett. The week of its release it debuted on the Billboard Hot 100. Just like Heartbreak Anniversary the popularity of this song not only came from the marketing and advertising of the song but because of the constant streaming on new social media platform TikTok. 

Skin Textual Analysis from AyaahBachri

Textual Analysis 2: Heartbreak Anniversary

https://youtu.be/uWRlisQu4fo

Another music video that has influenced some of my ideas of my music video is Heartbreak Anniversary by Giveon. The idea of having flashbacks incorporated into the music video is something that I have enjoyed when watching this music video and hope to include in my own. 

Giveon is an up and coming new artist R&B singer and songwriter. His single  Heartbreak Anniversary, reached the Top 40 in 9 countries due to not only the song being popular amongst the streaming platform such as Spotify or Apple Music but because the song had became a popular dance trend on social media platform TikTok. 

Heartbreak Anniversary Textual Analysis from AyaahBachri

Textual Analysis 1: Girls Like Girls

https://youtu.be/I0MT8SwNa_U

As the music video brief is about love, I wanted to stop away from the generic ideas about love and it being associated with just heterosexual couples. For this reason, within my music video I wanted to include depictions of homosexual couples falling in love. Girls like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko is one music video that has heavily influenced this decision as it is known to be a coming of age music video, as well as the song being iconic in the LGBTQ+ community.

Hayley Kiyoko herself is part of the LGBTQ+ community, and she believed that the media shows little representation of same sex relationships especially within music video and songs. Which is why in her music videos she presents positive representations of the queer community. 

Whilst analysing this music video, I was inspired to base my own music around a same sex couple to increase positive representations of the community and that you can love who you want regardless of gender. I also enjoyed how impactful scenes, which may be disheartening to some audiences, states what reality may be like for others and allowing for more emotion to be emitted through the scenes to the audience. What I also find interesting is how this music video does not fit the typical conventions of the artist being included within the music video. 

Girls Like Girls Analysis from AyaahBachri

Generic Research: Websites

Website generic research from AyaahBachri

Music Videos using Intertextuality

 Ariana Grande - Thank U Next 

Within this Music Video Ariana Grande pays homage to a series of films which includes:

- Mean Girls 

- Leagally Blonde

- Bring it On 

- 13 Going on 30 

She does this by incorporating iconic outfits, dance moves and settings which audiences with a high cultural competency can easily identify.  

Childish Gambino - This is America 

Within this music video, intertextuality is evident from the references of gun violence and the lifestyle of African American citizens. It also makes direct references to Jim Crow poses, Minstrel show faces and the gunned down choir massacre in 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina. There is also a direct link with the 2017 film Get Out, the sunken place is portrayed when Gambino is desperately running while being chased down by a mob of strangers during the video’s final scene. 

Demi Lovato - I Love Me 

During this music video, Demi Lovato drew inspiration from her Disney Channel roots, her family, her relationships and her overdoses. One of the main intertextual references os the use of the Fabletics logo that appears in the video. This is to reference Lovato’s collection the came out in 2017 and a reminder of that she starred in several commercials. Another scene shows a women with shorty, dark hair dressed in all black attire and accompanied by bodyguards, this is a reference to Demi’s confident era and album that she released in 2015. The outfit is to resemblance to an ensemble worn by Lovato during her tour. As well as this, she walks by a girl and three boys who are playing instruments on the street, this is to mirror her starring role in Disney Channel movie ‘Camp Rock’ in 2009 with the Jonas Brothers. During the video she also makes references to her near fatal accidental overdose in 2018, this is demonstrated by a girl being but on a stretcher into an ambulance. 

Universal Music Group Industrial Context

 UMG is a global music corporation. It is the biggest music company in the world and is known to be one of the three big record labels, along side with Sony Music and Warner Brother Music Group. As of 2019, UMG is known to be one of the most innovative music companies in the world due have over 400 platforms worldwide and including artists of all different music genres, styles and abilities. Universal Music Group co-developed Vevo, a YouTube channel designed for music videos, which allows free as supported streaming of videos and other music contents. They engage with a broad array of businesses in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries.  

 

History:

-        Formerly known as Decca Records (1934-1971)

-        Turned into MCA Records (1971-1989) as MCA inc merged with American Decca 

-        December 1996 the company was renamed as Universal Studios and its music division was renamed the Universal Music Group, MCA continued as a label within the Universal Music Group 

-        2004 UMG was cast under a separate management from Universal Studios as it merged with MBC Universal 

-        2007, UMG created hie entertainment merchandising and brand management division

-        The company started to represent artists such as Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Kanye West 

-        2008, UMG agreed to make its catalog available to Spotify for use outside the US

 

Social Responsibility:

Universal Music Group believe that it is their responsibility to nurture music and to foster artistry and self-expression. In a world that desperately needs to find more common ground, they believe that music is the best way to provide this. They also stated that using the power of their passion ant community of music lovers, which ranges from employees to artists to fans, they support and partner with organisations around the globe that are working towards meaningful positive change and social responsibility. 

 

Universal Music Group identifies and develops recording artists and songwriters. They also produce, distribute and promote the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music to delight and entertain their fans around the world. Their vast catalog of recordings and songs stretches back over a century and comprises the largest, most diverse and culturally rich collection of music assembled. As digital technology refashions the world, UMG are committed to lead in developing new services, platforms and business models for the delivery of music and relayed content empowers innovators and allows new commercial and artistic opportunities to flourish. 

 

Example of artists under UMG music label:

-        Ariana Grande 

-        Taylor Swift 

-        5 Seconds of Summer

-        Shawn Mendes

-        Seventeen 

-        Alex Aiono 

-        Billie Eilish 

-        Bob Marley 

-        The 1975

-        Queen

And many more 

5 Things I’ve learnt from the Photoshoot

 1. You have to constantly adapt your pictures to the lighting and environment of where you are taking the photos 

2. Models have to be confident in their looks and feel comfortable in order to produce high quality pictures

3. To take pictures from a variety of angles and take multiple shots 

4. Backgrounds must compliment the model and to make sure it doesn’t draw attention away from the model 

5. A direct mode of address is helpful to create a forceful impact from the photos 

Photoshoot images