Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

The key purpose of a music video is to represent a chosen artist within the music industry, evoking emotions and gaining a response from a wide audience. This audience appeal makes the music video overall more successful, and allows the record company to produce more sales both through the video itself being played on various media platforms as well as  television and subsidiary products such as CDS being sold to a targeted audience which makes the artist more of a success. Myself and my group members, Georgia Crandon, Jenna Van Bergen and Rhianna Macleay were given the brief to recreate this through the creation of a music video and a variety of subsidiary products including a promotional poster for my fictional artist, and also a Digi pak. The products and video all had to link together and appeal to our chosen audience within the genre my group chose. We had to be consistent at appealing to this genre and follow the majority conventions in order to make our artist more of a success.

An additional and key purpose of a music video is to demonstrate a short narrative that represents the artist in order to promote them and their song. A music video is a market tool and can also advertise and sell artist products and allow the audience to remember the song that the video is portraying. Each music video conventions according to the artist and songs genre, for example a rock music video features the instruments being played, where as a RNB artist usually features expensive cars and sexualised images of women who are wearing minimal clothes. There are 3 different categories to look at when analysing a music video. These are performance, the artist performing the song; narrative, the story behind the song; and the concept, selling the idea behind the video. These all help to sell the music video and the song it’s depicting which ultimately makes it more successful. This is evident in Christina Aguilera ‘Beautiful’ video where she is pictured singing in a dirty flat, which fits in with the concept of the video and the narrative that everyone should be accepted, and it is ok to be different and to not fit in with conventions of society. Music videos promote these conventions of their music genre in order to appeal to an audience who enjoy the genre different styles and concepts of particular videos may challenge these conventions however to do this is considered risky and can either be initiative and unique which boosts the artists credibility and success or be too risqué and damage the artists fan base as the video is seen to be too strange and therefore unsuccessful.

For my media product my group chose to appeal to an indie/pop audience, which after research into our target demographic our group decided that the target audience for our music video and ancillary products would focus on 12 to 22 year olds. I chose this target audience as they one of the biggest and most susceptible groups of people who will easily be able to engage with the narrative of the music video, and be easily influenced by the style of our artist which will make her more of a success and give her maximum impact. With our representation of a female indie artist who is alternative in many respects but still follows enough pop conventions in order to appeal to the mainstream market. My group chose this style as we believed to have influences from two genres of music gives us more creative freedom, and appeal to two types of audience which strengthens our artist and makes her more of a success. We selected the artist Nina Nesbitt, and her hit UK single ‘Apple Tree’. The song itself is relatively unheard off with a low budget simplistic video. We chose this as we thought Nina’s style could be elaborated and altered to suit our own artist ‘Georgia Ray’ and the style of music she sings is both indie but also current and has a place in the mainstream world. This would make our artist more of a success, as the target demographic wouldn’t have a clear image of both artist and the songs video therefore we could really have free reign at creating a completely new image for our artist and  video without the majority of people having preconceptions of the song and much idea about Nina herself. The conventions of an indie artist we had to follow were designed to appeal to an audience interested in this genre of music.
 Dynamic iconography is often featured in many indie music videos, with Florence and the machine using oversized iconography in her video 'kiss with a fist'. In our music video we had our artist 'Georgia Ray' playing the guitar; this is evident throughout the performance scenes within our video as Georgia stands beside the forest. This strongly follows the indie conventions as nearly every indie artist features instruments being played.  The setting follows conventions as well, as the forest is both naturalistic and simplistic. Something that is frequently used within indie music videos. After research into popular bands found in NME magazine, a reliable source for current trends in music within the indie genre, I saw that many bands videos featured the use of instruments in a performance dominated video. This is evident in indie bands videos such as the Arctic Monkeys and Peace.

Clothing is conventional to indie genre in narrative and performance

 

 

 

 

 

Clothing within our music video appears conventional to the indie music genre as the use of tartan, denim and Dr martens are all examples of edgy and unique styles of clothing which I put together in order to portray both my artist and the boyfriend character as diverse and iconic whilst following indie fashions which include the conventional clothing we used. The locations themselves were also conventional, as places within London such as Camden and Brick lane being a big part of alternative sub genres and the indie music scene. These places were chosen as I could shoot colorful locations making our footage more dynamic and also meaning the narrative of our characters visiting these places conveyed with the indie music genre. For the performance part within my video I decided to once again follow the indie conventions as it would allow my video to appeal more to an audience and by using iconography such as the guitar again convey to the typical indie artist as talent and live music is seen as prestigious and a typical feature of an indie artist. This made the performance more raw and passionate which allows the audience to see the artist as young and talented making her more of a success. The Indie music genre constantly aspires to be inspirational and inspire an audience via fashion, style, behavior and love of music. This convention was followed within my music video as both the narrative and performance follows these conventions and the style created for our artist along with her rebellious behavior and talent showcased via the guitar is what I want my target audience to aspire too. I chose to include some unconventional elements to the indie music genre within my own video, in order to make a more diverse and realistic narrative which would be fitting with my blend of the pop and music genre. The conventional format of a music video is to inspire an audience with a surreal, artistic and at times confusing performance and narrative. Indie music videos are often abstract, however for my own indie music video I decided to showcase a rebellious relationship which is more conventional to the pop genre. This unconventional narrative was followed as it would have more appeal with the target audience as the behavior of the artist would be shown as rebellious and the audience would aspire to follow her iconic actions. By breaking with indie conventions I feel I had more impact on the audience who were able to understand and enjoy the rebellious relationship which is being portrayed, over all making our video diverse and successful as we included enough indie conventions to appeal to that type of audience however with an unconventional narrative the rebellious behavior and style was showcased more efficiently combining a typically indie performance which married both the indie and pop music genre successfully with a greater impact on the target audience.

My research influenced the decision to break conventions of a pop video and use instruments therefore incorporating both music genres which would appeal to a wider audience. The reason behind this is when an indie artist shows that they can play live music, the audience can follow the band or artist by seeing them play live, something which the indie audience do frequently. The style of our artist followed the conventions of indie also, as the bandana and vintage clothing is typical of the indie style, and Dyers theory states that a star will have to appear iconic to attract an audience. By following these conventions I believe our artist will appear more iconic and the younger females within the target audience will want to have a similar style to Georgia, thus making her more of a success. I included this convention to appeal to the indie genre, but also portrayed a rebellious teenage relationship which is conventional of mainstream popular artists such as Rihanna, and it also fits in with Dyer’s theory as rebellious teenagers inspire an audience and make the artist more of a success. We chose to follow conventions of indie music as it appears exciting and in keeping with our narrative, we however did challenge conventions of the indie genre by a portrayal of a troubled relationship. This isn’t featured so much in alternative music and our editing style although edgy and grimy also doesn’t fit totally within the music genre that tend to sick to more naturalistic and raw performance based videos. This was successful as the conventions we did follow for a pop video, a young couple rebelling against society tied in well with our grimy image. This allowed us to be creative and make a successful icon come music star which would ultimately influence and hit our target audience successfully. The music video and ancillary task is complete keeping with our chosen music video. The music video, digipak and promotional poster all link in with each other and appeal to both the indie style of music as well as mainstream pop culture.

Group Digipak and Magazine Advert

Final Music Video

Target Audience Feedback

Audience feedback is vitally important to a production as it allows the media producers to analyze their own work and see where or not the media product has successfully reached the target audience and been a success. This is seen via the feedback an audience give the video or film and can influence future productions as the producers are able to see what has worked well and what can be improved. My own audience feedback was  was seen through the screening of production via the rough cut, focus groups which looked at the target demographic and insured we had included elements that would appeal to a certain audience and also the questionnaires which allowed us to see first hand reactions about our own ideas and possible narrative ideas we could include that would be a success.

This feedback would benefit my production as well as the industry as it would allow myself and my group to have a clear idea regarding who we are aiming our product at whether or not the audience would find our product eye catching. This would determine whether or not our overall product would be a successful as positive feedback means our product was, and constructive criticisms giving myself some scope for improvement .

3 positive comments.

Ami Mathews 19 said, Drew, this is really flippin good!!! I love the narrative, so clever.

This comment appears complimentary to our media product, and is reassuring to me as it proves that our video is being positively received by our target audience. The comment on the narrative again shows that our research into what people wanted to see has been a success, as the narrative has been made successful and easy to understand by the target audience.

Rowan Jones 23, Georgia's hair looks amazing, so hip cx I love her style as well! wish i had a jacket like that.

A humerous comment from Rowan again is positive as it compliments the use of style throughout the video, the fact she used the word ' hip ' also indicates that the style of our artist was successful as she is appearing iconic and conventional to the indie genre.

Daniel Shoesmith 16, Nice one mate, love the colors proper professional! the colours are so vibrant and really adds to the effect of the video

This comment is positive feedback on the cinematography and the element of lighting within our video. It is good to see that this person enjoys the diverse lighting and effect choices and that our lighting structure has been successful and diverse.

3 Constructive comments,

Amy Palmer 19,  I love it, what happens next!! I want to see more of the arist, didnt really get why she was in the forst tbh.

Although this comment to me appears unjust, we could have had a greater explanation of the narrative towards the end of the video, and some form of clarification as to why Georgia was in the forest. This would have been possible if the video was longer however knowing that we only had 3 minutes to fill, I think our final product could not be anymore explanatory.

David Watson 40, Why does there have to be smoking? bit of a bad influence on kids that might be watching this.

David poses an interesting comment, however the use of smoking although maybe controversial just highlights the reckless nature of the teenagers that we were trying to accurately portray. The research conducted shows that many people within our target audience wanted to see a reckless style, and the fact we chose smoking was a further convention to indie music. I would also argue that although David comment is valid and we will take his opinion on board, his age falls outside the target audience age group therefore out video isn't aimed towards him meaning he may not understand or want to view our video making our targeting of a younger audience still successful.

Paul Marks 28, This is great, seems professional yet if im being picky at times the camera appears a bit shakey? dont know if you wanna sort that out or not.

Paul's comment is a valid one, and we did substantially limit the amount of hand held camera work in order to appear more professional. I think we could have maybe spent more time filming in order to obtain a higher quality of footage. This would make our video more successful and on a more professional level.

Overall I have followed the aims of my brief which was to 'create a music video that appeals to a chosen music genre and target audience' The use of narrative and performance combines the genres of pop and indie well and the result is an on trend teenage relationship with a young girl appearing iconic and talented during the performance of the indie song. The song itself built strong lyrical and visual links within our video, and our two ancillary products also followed the conventions of indie music and had strong themes that meant our overall product was sold to our target audience successfully.

The cinematography and locations were diverse and typical of the indie genre as we focused on naturalistic settings that contrasted with urban locations. We also used conventional iconography such as the guitar which conformed with the indie genre and also drinking and smoking which portrayed the rebellious nature of the teens which was wanted by our target audience after we put together our vox pops and research. The style of our video was also successful as we wore on trend clothing that made the artist appear iconic and in keeping with the indie genre. All in all we kept closely to the brief and made a series of successful products that promote the artist and bring the genre of indie to a mainstream audience in a successful and diverse way.

Comparison of a Music Video

I believe I have created a diverse and all round successful music video that has appealed to a wide audience in particular my target age demographic of 13 - 22 year olds. After finalizing our video, I received a variety of positive feedback which praised both the narrative and performance elements within the video. This therefore proves that my video has successfully conformed to the indie pop genre and has been received well by my target demographic.

The music video we created is successful for a number of reasons as it was conventional of the indie pop genre and also portrayed 'Georgia Ray' as an iconic and diverse artist who successfully appealed to the target audience by having a edgy and unique style aswell as being a raw and talented musician. We successfully included a whole host of micro elements, however I believe the The micro element of cinematography was the most successful as we invested alot of time and planning in order to gather a variety of unique shots that would appeal to the indie genre and make the video more edgy and visually stimulating. This was successful as the numerous amounts of locations used means that we could shoot locations at different times of the day in order to layer our narrative and make it as interesting as possible. The locations showcased via the cinematography were conventional of the indie genre and therefore made our video fast paced, eye catching and overall a success.


Comparison.

 
The video I shall be comparing my own too is We found Love by Rihanna. Although Rihanna can be considered a purly pop muscial, the video of We found love strongly correlates with our own video creation and the video itself follows strong conventions of indie music and also portrays a teenage couple in a turbulent relationship.

The video itself is set in England with council estates showing a grimy and under privaliged neighborhood in which the couple are living in. My own video also has the same setting, therefore adding an edgy and desolute feel to the relationship as both couples feel alone therefore highlighting the theme of escapism which features within my own video. The video of we found love also features the same elements. Both videos feature the need to escape and the female within he relationship stressed about her partners actions. This is successful as it portrays the lust and anguish within a teenage relationship. The use of iconography and style of  rebellious attitudes again appears attractive to an audience.

My video is conventional to the indie music genre as the performance element features the use of an acoustic guitar which is a strong convention of the indie genre as it promotes the talent which musicians are expected to have. This also is successful as it sells the artist as a raw talent and portrays her as mysterious. In we found love the video conforms to a more dance based genre, this is highlighted with the use of dance music and dancing in a mosh pit. The use of dancing and playing instruments really sells the genre to the audience and by doing this they are able to see the successful portrayal of teenagers having fun and being reckless. This will inspire our target audience and the artist appears iconic and is idolized.

The editing within both videos is also similar as the grainy and sepia effects conform to the indie genre within my video, and also sell the style in the 'we found love' video which is similar to my own. The use of vintage clothing makes the artist appear more edgy and unique with frequent outfit changes occurring in both videos. The style within both videos appears similar as the reckless nature of the teenagers shows love and emotion which evoke a sense of passion in the audience. This makes both videos a success, as a complex narrative allows the audience to be immersed in the song and in turn make the song more of a success. This is shown particularly during the argument scene where Rihanna storms
out of the car. When myself and Georgia argue within our video the same effect is created as the audience feel closer to the artist on screen therefore feel emotional when the couple are fighting and there future seems uncertain.

Both videos are fast paced and show a whole of host of cinematography which ultimately conforms to the genre and also makes for an interesting narrative which the audience view as eye catching. The style of the videos display a volatile relationship and showcase the reckless behavior of teenagers. This helps to sell the video to a wide audience and ultimately make it appeal to the target audience of 13- 22 year olds.

Group Digipak

Myself and my group were presented the task of creating a digi pak. This would be one of our additional ancillary products and if successful would enhance our artists image and work with our music video to advertise the artist we created. Each Group member individually created a paper version of our idea, we later combined our ideas and incorporated a variety of conventions in order to make our digi pak successful. We developed our skills by using Photoshop on Apple Macs; editing them and enhancing the design in order to make the CD visually interesting. We then came together and discussed our finished products.

Alongside the magazine, the group and myself felt that my own digi pak fitted the conventions of the indie genre the most, and would give Georgia's image continuity as it matched well with both the video and magazine advert. The level of skills on photoshop used were high within my digi pak, probably because I had more experience with the software and a clear image of what I wanted to create from the photo shoot images. The other digi paks did follow conventions, however my group and I felt that mine would have the most impact on the audience. All conventions were followed in terms of using simplistic images, yet edited in a dynamic way, remotely to become eye-catching for our target audience. Coventional indie digi paks take on a range of forms, usually a simplistic and natural image is enhanced with diverce iconography or surreal effects which bring new and exciting art elements to the album. This gives the album more visual impact and is typical for the indie genre. I wanted Georgia to stand out yet still appeal cool and edgey I feel i have achieved this through my editing style, which left the image of Georgia relatively untouched yet diverse and dynamic colurs were used in the background to make the digi pak stand out. Playing with the opacity levels and filtering the saturation levels gave the images a mysterious and all round indie feel. This showed the artist to be talented and edgey as well as attractive and iconic. Each slide brings a new element to the digi pak yet all of my slides work perfectly together therefore My own designs was chose for our final ancilary product design. In relation to the magazine advert, we wanted to create a product that could be sold alongside the CD and music video, this would build a greater relationship with artist and audience, therefore we included more conventional elements such as Georgia during performance with live music being a typical convention of the indie genre. This showed how much of a talented musician Georgia was, and pictures of her alone with her guitar show her to be deep in thought and mysterious which sells her as a talented and deep individual. An audience will be sold this idea and think that Georgia cares deeply about the music she writes, for an indie artist this makes her successful as conventionally indie artists write their own music and care about the music before anything else.

The images and varying views on the aesthetics of the digi pak varied within our group. First I will be looking at Georgia's digipak;

Georgia has followed a variety of indie conventions including using a guitar as dynamic iconography in order to promote the image of a raw talent which will attract an indie artist. She has used simplistic editing styles which again follow the indie genre, and also has an edgy motif in the form of a brick wall design which is used throughout the digi pak for continuity. There is a strong link between the media product and the artist is displayed in a grimy and iconic light which will of course appeal to both an indie and mainstream artist. The ripped paper effect is very interesting and eye catching, which with editing of the pictures to a more darker and low key lighting style completely follows the conventions of a typical indie artist whose audience will be expecting a product which is hip and diverse. Georgia's style comes across well within the digi pak therefore the audience are able to see her as both iconic and talented which again is typical of the indie genre. To improve the digi pak I would suggest a greater variety of images, as the brick wall appears slightly boring and pointless on every single slide. Text or a eye catching effect would make the digi pak more diverse and interesting. The scruffy brick wall image however is convention of grime and therefore engaging to our target audience.

Rhianna's digipak:

Rhianna's use of images within her digi pak are conventional for the indie genre, the forest setting and use of guitar all convey with the indie genre. However their is no distinct theme for each slide, with the letter 'G' not really matching with the rest of the images. The use of typography again is conventional for our target audience and the front cover works well to promote our artist, however the last two images have next to no relevance and just appear to be there rather that working together to create a final product. This digi pak requires a lot more additional work in order for it to appear more profession and have more relevance to our artist, the ideas are good with the message from Georgia standing out and creating a personal feel to the record in order obtain a wider image however the wording of it appears childish and breaks the conventions of an indie record.

Jennas's digipak:

When looking at Jennas digi pak it is clear to see that editing and light airy effects give the design imapact and continuity. The use of forest images follow conventions of the indie genre, with the guitar being played also being of the indie genre as it promotes the idea of raw talent and helps to sell the image of our artist. The lyrics and message give the Digi pak a personal touch, and this helps to engage the audience further as the conventions followed allow the artist to be iconic and attractive. The typography appears professional and also in keeping with the genre. To improve the digi pak i would suggest editing some kind of effect on the first and last image as they appear different from the rest of the images, which damages the flow of the product. Overall Georgia is represented as an indie artist, yet at times the font used to advertise her name doesn't follow conventions of indie and appears lost in the background meaning the title doesn't stand out. the 3rd and forth image that was used are edited to a high level and appear in many ways conventional as Georgia looks like a typical teenage girl which is the aim of our product to create an ordinary star and is keeping with the indie genre.

After reviewing all digi paks we decided to submit mine as we believed it too be the most professional and followed the most conventions of an indie artist. The images used were edited to a higher standard, and appeared more diverse and interesting which is a key convention of the indie genre. The typography stood out well and promoted the artist, with the ripped paper effect being found within the magazine advert we simply thought that my CD and magazine advert would work best alongside each other.  The images of Georgia with the guitar again are conventional to the indie genre, and the CD features a girl holding a sparkler alongside lyrics to the song. This builds a lyric and visual link with the sparkler symbolizing 'playing with fire' which is what Georgia does in her troubled relationship. The strong motif of the ripped paper over a natural background are typical of an indie artist as grime meets the natural world giving a raw and edgy result. Georgia is also edited to look mysterious and intriguing which again follows further conventions of the indie genre as a mysterious nature who is seen with her guitar makes her appear talented and will make our artist more successful.