Monday, January 24, 2022
course work essay
We created a campaign for an indie pop band with a music video, digipak, and social media platform (Instagram). We targeted a younger audience and the ‘Gen z’ demographic with our genre and also the themes of youth and inclusivity and being carefree.
In the music video teenagers are represented in a fun-loving, vivacious, and youthful way. In the music video lots of the camera work is handheld and follows a winding motion like a rollercoaster around the performance space. This free use of the camera creates a carefree environment that feels quite tiring to watch and emphasises the easy-going nature of the band. Luke wears pink dungarees and a white jumper with gold glitter underneath his eyes and pink blusher. I decided to give him this youthful and colourful
look because it reflects the music of the band and shows audiences in an uncomplicated way that they are playful. The rest of the band wear pastel colours and have variations of the glittery makeup so that they are cohesive whilst maintaining their individuality and variations of ‘femininity’ and ‘masculinity.’ One of the key shots in the music video that I think demonstrates these attributes is when we see a low angle shot of the entire band and Luke jumps back towards his band mates in a buoyant manner with his arms around and they are all smiling at each other. This shot is very energetic and illustrates the close and fun relationships between the band members. This representation of the band adheres to the stereotype of teenagers being carefree and lively however it subverts the stereotype of boybands being presented for the teenage girl demographic.
Our band is compiled of different sexualities and gender identities which is shown in our video. the Instagram has a good balance between more candid and staged shots including a shot of molly where their
clothing is dark and looks more mature however they are laughing, and the picture natural and unplanned. Another picture that highlights this energetic and colourful side is a shot of Luke that I took through the lens of a pair of kaleidoscope glasses with a fisheye lens over my camera. He is looking directly at the camera in an approachable manner which gives the audience the impression that even in a staged shot he is easy going. The warm pinks and vibrant colours also match the hues seen throughout the video in the fridge and in the performance space. The representation is definitely a positive one and is one that would give the audience the impression, they are likeable people, in touch with modern views on inclusivity.
Dyers star theory that a star is an image and not a real person is entirely true for us. We created a cohesive sense of branding through the use of colours, fonts and style on our Instagram and digipak. We wanted these to represent the same youthful and vibrant personality that we highlighted in the music video. The digipak has 4 primary colours: blue, orange, pink and yellow. We chose these because they are warm and reflect the open-minded teenage audience we are targeting. We wanted to touch on his ideas of being simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary. Presenting them as down to earth was key for this. When it came to editing pictures for the Instagram and digipak, I decided on a specific style so that all the images would match. I went for a grainy, warm, disposable film look to coincide with the idea that they have
A lot of how our product engages with our audience is through our social media and the down to earth, casual tone it carries. This direct address and colloquialism makes the audience feel as if they are friends with the band and have built a relationship with them. For many people, this is a relationship they may be lacking and therefore find comfort and escapism within the fanbase. This intimacy can be found in the captions of each of our posts, through the use of emojis or informal, unpunctuated text. This language invites audiences to engage and talk to the band. We give the audience an insight to the friendships within the band through posts such as Luke and Molly laughing about something together. This helps the audience feel as if they have been let in on an inside joke and creates intimacy between the two.
Within the music video this interaction with the audience is maintained through camera angles and the performers relationships with the camera. During the second verse of the song, he sings ‘I am a weirdo’ when this happens the shot cuts to a close up of Luke and Molly, they sing to each other and then face the camera and look directly down the lens which again creates the direct address with the audience. When we first were creating ideas of what our videos was going to be, I came up with the concept that the camera was a person and so Luke is singing to the camera as if he wrote the song about them. The close proximity between Luke and Molly is also one that feels very intimate and that, combined with the close up, feels as if one is being let in on a secret. I think the LGBTQIA representation in the video, although subtle, is there and if you looked further into the band and on their Instagram's, you could easily find out about their gender identities and sexualities. Having this kind of representation of a certain community within a teenage indie band lets audiences know they are welcome and creates a sense of identity. We also posted a short clip to announce a new single the band were releasing. We used the same font from our digipak in the clip to keep it coherent. We thought it was a direct way to put out facts to the audience but still in a casual way that did not feel like a business. This casual and friendly language reaches audiences effectively and is a positive representation of certain communities.
To create our digipak and our Instagram I did a lot of research into comparable products. I looked at the Instagram accounts of The Wallows, Flyte and Easylife. They all followed the conventions of an indie pop band; easy going, funny and candid. On Instagram they used an informal language, and it did not feel like a promotional effort but one to relate and connect with fans. They had no hashtags and showed off their playful side as well as their music and professional shoots. There is a shot I posted of Luke in a Santa outfit with the caption ‘Merry Christmas’ and a Christmas tree emoji to add to the casual tone of the post. The sky is bright blue, and the picture is very bright, not dark, and moody. The bright colours are typical of the Indie Pop genre especially with pastel tones. In our music video I incorporated this in the costumes. In the performance section of for video all of the band members wear pastel colours and we set up colour changing titans around the room that faded into colours. I had a look at the music video for ‘Brazil’ by Declan Mckenna, in this video there is a wide variety of colours which we liked. There are also lots of props which we tried to channel in our fridge scene.
Overall, I think we successfully created a campaign that presents the themes and our band in a positive light. The Indie-Pop genre can be seen throughout the campaign.
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
release forms from our cast
We had each member of our group sign a release form for our music video so that we could share any content we make with them in.
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