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admirateur de musique
My Creative Critical Reflection
How do your products represent social groups or issues?
How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?
How do your products engage with the audience?
How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?
As I near the end of a year of work on music videos, it's time to look back and reflect on everything I've done (I can't believe this is my final post for media studies; I'm getting separation anxiety).
My team and I agreed on the genre of alternative indie (by now I’ve said this at least 1 million times). Artists typically have the creative freedom to defy certain codes and conventions. The main reason artists in independent music have the freedom to break a lot of conventions is because they are open to experimentation. There is no set pattern for indie artists to follow, giving them the liberty to go in any direction with their music and the videos that accompany them. Even though alternative indie albums and music videos are becoming more popular in Pakistan (but for some reason, Pakistani music videos rarely have a good and relatable narrative), our unintentional but wise decision to choose alternative indie as the preferred genre gave us enough creative freedom to instill social issues in our amateur attempt to produce a music video.
My music video was inspired by One Ok Rock in general, as well as the relatability that they portray in their music videos. In this case, we applied Sven E Carlson's theory of black and white boxes. We demonstrated the contrast by having our main character change from a very beat up, demotivated, depressed, and anxious state to quite literally the opposite, joyful, and motivated when she is with her sister. Such distinct variations are uncommon in the alternative indie genre. Furthermore, as a result of this change, the entire music video has a more relatable and realistic feel to it. Our music video contained numerous symbolic codes that could have multiple meanings within the context of the video. As we attempted to demonstrate homesickness and the mental disorders that it causes (unipolar depression and anxiety), the main character faces numerous psychological issues, and as a result, the audience gets to experience and gain a better understanding of the feelings because the video is based on the main character's narrative. I thought that because such a use of realistic narration is uncommon in indie music, using it in our music video would add a little sparkle to it while also challenging the traditional codes and conventions. In keeping with current trends, we made the artist the performer, to give the audience the best chance of seeing the artist, especially since this is the artist's debut. We achieved maximum exposure by using a variety of close-ups (Andrew Goodwin). Our initial plan was to capture as many long shots as possible, but not being able to do so actually worked in our favour, as having a mix of close ups, mid close ups, mid shots, and mid long shots created a sense of intimacy that treated the video as a diary of the artist's life. This corresponds to our genre's codes and standards.
Fortunately (because we’re financially broke students), the aesthetic surrounding alternative indie is a more "low budget film- hand held camera" type of feel to give the audience a more intimate experience (Joji's Glimpse of Us). We, as amateur producers and directors, took full advantage of the aesthetic by including a few hand held shots. Aspect ratios have become more popular in music videos in recent years, either for aesthetic reasons or to aid meaning (Glimpse of Us by Joji). The majority of the video was shot in a 16:9 aspect ratio (to avoid our music video looking distorted or disproportionate on YouTube). We also used a blue tint in our music video to give it a more cold and depressed feel (probably overkill hehe). The music had the most influence on the editing speed.
Throughout the music video as social groups, we are looking at middle-class and high-school students. By depicting a female lead who is studying abroad (me when?), the social group "high school" is represented. We used stereotypes about the actors because they are also Filipino. Asians are stereotyped as family-oriented and illiterate. We demonstrate one stereotype by demonstrating the closeness of the siblings, thereby demonstrating the family oriented stereoptype. However, we contradict the uneducated stereotype by depicting a girl studying abroad. We portray the relationship/connection/attachment of two sisters, one of whom is away at university. This was simply accomplished by linking the visuals to the lyrics (Andrew Goodwin).
The sister is depicted as a penguin (they’re cute) in several shots. In many parts of the world, penguins represent hope and resilience. They are also frequently associated with fortune and good fortune. As the older sister tells the one in depression at the end of the music video not to give up (everyone deserves a sibling like that), it is safe to assume that the sister is the hope and motivation for the lead actress to continue her studies. We used a lot of black and white (binary opposition) in our music video to show how someone with bipolar disorder or depression feels. They experience happiness (white) at times and sadness (black) at other times. We used mostly black and grey tones in our digipack to add to the album's overall depressing and sad vibe. A blurred image of a girl with her face painted is another feature of our digipack, which could indicate that she is concealing her true identity or pretending to be someone else, which could indicate a personality disorder. We posted on our social media page in very dark and black/grey tones to complement the digipack and the concept of the music video.
Certain elements contribute to the cohesiveness of our musical promotion package and the growth of star image. Inspired by One Ok Rock, we decided to continue the theme of returning to your roots while feeling isolated in a foreign land, but with a more sentimental twist. The entire album will aid in the band's popularity by portraying the band's star image through nostalgic relatable songs. To maintain the dark, isolated theme, the Digipak uses black, grey, and white on the text and background. The CD itself depicts two girls (one older and one younger) sitting, looking all sad , as well as a worn out image of a person, which is also an animated scene in the music video and helps represent the long distance sister relationship that we're attempting to depict throughout the album.
I wanted to circle my artist’s promotion package with a string of political and sociological ideologies. After conducting extensive research into music videos that reflected some troublesome aspect of society that showed in their work, I knew it was something close to my heart. That being said, I chose to stick with the Indie Genre, which has an unconventional rebellious streak thanks to artists like Joji and Internations artists like A-ha who weren't afraid to talk about uncomfortable topics.
When we take a closer look at my media product and promotional package, we can see my deep-seated attempt and desire to bring forth the subject of homesickness and the problems faced by someone of a minority race studying abroad without their family. Young adults in Pakistan, who make up my key demographic, find the concept extremely relatable because Pakistan is a country where culture and close family ties are deep rooted, and while it has its shining moments (in parties we literally have a habit of adhering to a dress code of gaudy and sparkly as if our life depended on it- and YES, we love it and flaunt it ever so proudly!), it also includes the contradiction of young adults not wanting to live here as they want to explore greener pastures. Pakistan being a third world country cannot afford to fulfil their wish of a lavish lifestyle; hence the urge to go abroad and build a bright future is very strong. To depict all of the emotions a person goes through while in this contradictory phase of life where they go to fulfil their dreams but get into mental disorders like Unipolar depression and Anxiety related disorders due to unavailability of their culturally infused reliance and closeness with family that they’ve been raised with and have to give up now. This topped with the pressure of studies and not having any friend’s physical support. In my video, I have used symbolic references throughout the visuals by using different objects to portray my idea rather than taking an ordinary approach (because I don’t like being ordinary).
When considering audience engagement and distribution, it is critical to remember who our target audience is, because catering to their wants and needs is the only way to achieve success. We used Google Docs to create a survey specifically targeting our potential audience during the research phase of our project in order to learn about their preferences and effectively engage them. The outcome influenced our decisions. We started by picking an issue that our audience could relate to: living away from family for academic reasons. Secondly, we kept the costume and makeup to a minimum in order to help our audience relate to the video more because we didn't want the music video to follow any trends or stereotypes because no two people are alike. So, in order to maintain a large target audience, we decided not to follow any specific fashion or makeup trends.
We added subtitles to our music video because it included some Tagalog dialogue that our primary and secondary audiences could understand (since even I did not understand Tagalog). Secondly, our entire promotional package is written in English, a language that our primary target audience speaks and understands. We're promoting our music video on social media, so they can stay up to date with Madeline Joice (the artist), communicate with her, and form a connection with her. To make the music video more accessible to the audience, we would post it on YouTube and Instagram, as these are the apps that our target audience is most likely to use. Furthermore, these apps are the most widely used and will make the album more accessible, each track from the album will be made available on several streaming services, including Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud, Saed Hamdan, and Patari.
We were inspired by the use of real-life events and lyrics on screen by one OK rock band. We use symbolism (to gain attention and keep the viewer on edge) because we don't have a performance video with only a few lip syncs. Using animation and reality to increase the concept's meaning and impact. The music video included dialogue, which is unusual for indie music videos. Our music video stands out in some ways because of the animations, effects, and dialogues. We do have a narrative music video that is more engaging for the audience.
We used a variety of software throughout our project (diversity is the key to success). Because it was the most convenient, I created the digipak using Canva web on my Macbook. I used my phone to save and airdrop all of the photos Myiesha sent me throughout the process, which I also had to edit on my phone at times. The record label logo was also created with Procreate. For the research portion of the project, I used presentation tools such as Prezi, Microsoft PowerPoint, Canva, Pinterest, and eMaze. I also used Google Drive to upload all of our final work, including the music video and digipack.
I edited myiesha and my podcast using Filmora and iMovies. We tried using tiktok to add subtitles. We used Google Docs to create our survey and collect results for project promotion. I used Wix for my blog after seeing some of my seniors doing the same, and it provided me with valuable practice while also teaching me several new features. I switched from WordPress because I realised that it lacked many of the features that Wix provides. Using WordPress hampered my creative ability in my AS blog and I didn't want the same to happen in A2. Wix will occasionally shut down and log me out in the middle of a 1000-word post. Google was used for research, and Myiesha communicated using apps like WhatsApp and Gmail (yes our 2 hour long voice calls were also on WhatsApp since we love incorporating technology in our life). Artist profiles were created using social media platforms such as Instagram (everyone is addicted to instagram, right?) and YouTube. Cameras such as the Eos Markn50, the Samsung a73, and the iPhone 13 and iPhone14 were used. Davinci resolve, Capcut, and Ibspaint were used for animation and editing. To share files with each other, we used Google Drive (since we love good quality material with the best pixels). Notes was used on the phone to distribute items among the members (and also to rant about the stress that media studies caused).
That brings my A2 blog to a close. I enjoyed having you witness my development and journey. I enjoyed taking this subject because it broadened my knowledge and experience with various tools and helped me become more comfortable with them. (I can't even say until next time, can I? because I don't want to fail.)
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