CCR
- 1. How do your products use or challenge conventions and how do they represent social groups or issues?
- 2. How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?
- 3. How do your products engage with the audience and how would they be distributed as real media products
- How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?
Question 1:
script:
My products for this project included a music video using a song in the electronic dance music and popular genres called Feels like home by The Him, as well as digipack which was used to present my the brand and artist to potential buyers and a website which was used as a promotional platform to provide information about my products to my target audience. Considering my target audience being listeners of the EDM music genre which are represented by men and women aged 17-25 years old, i decided to conform to the common codes and conventions of this genre in order to appeal to the target audience and influence a preferred, positive reading as suggested by the audience reception theory.
Conventionally, EDM music videos include both performance and narrative with the majority of the focus being on the narrative as most of these songs do not contain many lyrics. I decided to conform to this convention and include both a narrative and a performance where the actor from my opening skit also becomes the singer lip syncing the track, thus integrating the narrative and the performance so that they complement one another.
EDM music includes interesting sound manipulations and layers, i took advantage of these aspects while filming and editing my music video by using the changes in beats for example to change the location of the scene in my music video. An example would be the conventional beat drops that are included in every EDM song which involves a gradual build up leading to peak excitement in the song, during the beat drop in my chosen song, i paired a thrilling scene of my actor jumping from a great height in order to complement the sound manipulations and have an effect on my audience.
The codes and conventions of EDM music videos stem mainly from the aspect of cinematography as narrative and themes are mostly dependent on the individual song whereas the cinematography for EDM music videos are repeated throughout most music videos. For this reason, i made sure to include these conventional aspects of cinematography such as close-ups and mid-shots with the actor being positioned in the center of the frame as well as long shots and panoramic shots to showcase the scenery and location of a scene. I also focused on the rule of thirds for the layout of my framing in many shots within my music video as this rule is typically used to draw the audience's attention to the actor and highlight their significance. This was also used in parallel with close up shots of my actors in order to highlight the significance of certain facial expressions which signify certain emotions and create a sense of intimacy between the audience and the performer where they can feel asthough they understand the performer on a personal level. In many shots, my actors are directed to use direct mode of address where the direct eye contact creates this personal connection with the audience. The element of cinematography also creates a basis for which my video will cater to audience members that are watching my music video for different purposes. For example, individuals that are watching the music video with the purpose of personal identification will be affected by the close up shots in the opening skit where my actor’s facial expression can be clearly identified and related to. Individuals watching the music video for the purpose of entertainment will be affected by the exhilerating scenes involving my actor cliff jumping. This aspect also links to the uses and gratification theory whereby this individual aspires the thrilling lifestyle presented in my mnusic video and so uses my product as a form of escapism. This is also achieved through the editing of my music video by editing the clips of the cliff jump to seamlessly join to the underwater clips, allowing the viewer to experience the point of view of the diver underwater.
My music video involves multiple panoramic shots in different natural locations that embrace the culture and beauty of the country that they were taken, this factor would enable my product to represent the social groups that desire to travel and escape their everyday lives. Considering that my product promotes travel and exploration, the theme of leisure is apparent therefore targeting individuals ABC1 socio economic groups with high disposable incomes and spending power who are able to travel, highlighting the social issue which represents those individuals who are actually able to fulfill their desires compared to those who will use products such as my own to feel as though they are experiencing and fulfilling their desires.
The EDM genre highlights multiple social issues as it began as a form of entertainment for minority groups and grew through a form of minority influence which promoted the acceptance of different cultures, ethnicities, social classes and personal preferences.
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I created my digi pack in a way that conforms to the EDM genre by emphasizing the artist and overarching theme of my music video. For this aspect, i used images directly source from my footage so that my house style and brand would be easily identifiable by my audience. I also did this as the song for my music video is of the same name as the album and so is clearly the highlight, therefore it would make sense to directly link the digipack to the music video. I used multiple images of eyes on my digipack to signify different people and so highlight the importance of individual differences, this is relevant in todays society as discrimination is a huge issue. I believe that my product contributes to the acceptance of individual differences and acceptance.
I also created my website in a way that uses stereotypical codes and conventions of EDM music websites. I did this as the purpose of the webpage is to promote the product to the audience whilst also informing them of any other details. ---- For this reason, i followed the common codes and conventions in order to ensure that my audience will easily access the essential extras that only fans of my artist will be interested in such as tour dates, social media links and the music video itself.
My products for this project included a music video using a song in the electronic dance music and popular genres called Feels like home by The Him, as well as digipack which was used to present my the brand and artist to potential buyers and a website which was used as a promotional platform to provide information about my products to my target audience. Considering my target audience being listeners of the EDM music genre which are represented by men and women aged 17-25 years old, i decided to conform to the common codes and conventions of this genre in order to appeal to the target audience and influence a preferred, positive reading as suggested by the audience reception theory.
Conventionally, EDM music videos include both performance and narrative with the majority of the focus being on the narrative as most of these songs do not contain many lyrics. I decided to conform to this convention and include both a narrative and a performance where the actor from my opening skit also becomes the singer lip syncing the track, thus integrating the narrative and the performance so that they complement one another.
EDM music includes interesting sound manipulations and layers, i took advantage of these aspects while filming and editing my music video by using the changes in beats for example to change the location of the scene in my music video. An example would be the conventional beat drops that are included in every EDM song which involves a gradual build up leading to peak excitement in the song, during the beat drop in my chosen song, i paired a thrilling scene of my actor jumping from a great height in order to complement the sound manipulations and have an effect on my audience.
The codes and conventions of EDM music videos stem mainly from the aspect of cinematography as narrative and themes are mostly dependent on the individual song whereas the cinematography for EDM music videos are repeated throughout most music videos. For this reason, i made sure to include these conventional aspects of cinematography such as close-ups and mid-shots with the actor being positioned in the center of the frame as well as long shots and panoramic shots to showcase the scenery and location of a scene. I also focused on the rule of thirds for the layout of my framing in many shots within my music video as this rule is typically used to draw the audience's attention to the actor and highlight their significance. This was also used in parallel with close up shots of my actors in order to highlight the significance of certain facial expressions which signify certain emotions and create a sense of intimacy between the audience and the performer where they can feel asthough they understand the performer on a personal level. In many shots, my actors are directed to use direct mode of address where the direct eye contact creates this personal connection with the audience. The element of cinematography also creates a basis for which my video will cater to audience members that are watching my music video for different purposes. For example, individuals that are watching the music video with the purpose of personal identification will be affected by the close up shots in the opening skit where my actor’s facial expression can be clearly identified and related to. Individuals watching the music video for the purpose of entertainment will be affected by the exhilerating scenes involving my actor cliff jumping. This aspect also links to the uses and gratification theory whereby this individual aspires the thrilling lifestyle presented in my mnusic video and so uses my product as a form of escapism. This is also achieved through the editing of my music video by editing the clips of the cliff jump to seamlessly join to the underwater clips, allowing the viewer to experience the point of view of the diver underwater.
My music video involves multiple panoramic shots in different natural locations that embrace the culture and beauty of the country that they were taken, this factor would enable my product to represent the social groups that desire to travel and escape their everyday lives. Considering that my product promotes travel and exploration, the theme of leisure is apparent therefore targeting individuals ABC1 socio economic groups with high disposable incomes and spending power who are able to travel, highlighting the social issue which represents those individuals who are actually able to fulfill their desires compared to those who will use products such as my own to feel as though they are experiencing and fulfilling their desires.
The EDM genre highlights multiple social issues as it began as a form of entertainment for minority groups and grew through a form of minority influence which promoted the acceptance of different cultures, ethnicities, social classes and personal preferences.
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I created my digi pack in a way that conforms to the EDM genre by emphasizing the artist and overarching theme of my music video. For this aspect, i used images directly source from my footage so that my house style and brand would be easily identifiable by my audience. I also did this as the song for my music video is of the same name as the album and so is clearly the highlight, therefore it would make sense to directly link the digipack to the music video. I used multiple images of eyes on my digipack to signify different people and so highlight the importance of individual differences, this is relevant in todays society as discrimination is a huge issue. I believe that my product contributes to the acceptance of individual differences and acceptance.
I also created my website in a way that uses stereotypical codes and conventions of EDM music websites. I did this as the purpose of the webpage is to promote the product to the audience whilst also informing them of any other details. ---- For this reason, i followed the common codes and conventions in order to ensure that my audience will easily access the essential extras that only fans of my artist will be interested in such as tour dates, social media links and the music video itself.
Question 2:
How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?
Branding is the process of giving a meaning to a specific company, product or service by creating a target audience. It is a strategy to allow people to identify the product by a in a competitive market. The main aim of branding a product is to attract customers and maintain loyalty.
For promoting my artist ‘calixo’ and his music album 'Feels like home', I have created a music album promotional package which contains a digipak, a music video and website.
Cross Media Convergence is the aspect of integrating elements of my Music video, digipak and the website in a way that enable them work together to help promote each other and the overall brand. Moreover, these media products follow the codes and conventions of the EDM genre and so use the same color palette, images, house style and themes. Also, the mood and tone, images and different fonts are also homogeneously used to create a sense of branding, thus giving it an overall identification. The impact of branding on a product such as my own is paramount as not only does branding enable brand recognition, but also works towards brand loyalty so that the buyers of this album will be guaranteed buyers of the next as well as the revenues generated from merchandise and ticket sales, both of which depend on the strength of a brand.
For my digipack and website, i used images directly sourced from my footage so that my house style and brand would be easily identifiable by my audience, even if the products were viewed separately.
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For exploring the overarching brand of my product, i researched the 3 stage theory to branding and how a consumer perceives this brand. Before the effects of branding take plce, logos are used a a creation of a heuristic which acts as a shortcut to allow consumers to distinguish different companies, products or services as the EDM genre is very competitive and has multiple new artists releasing music daily. This stage has no value if consumers do not accept it and so solely acts as a differentiation strategy where consumers will understand that this particular company is not the same as the next one but in theory, this is not branding. The stages of branding can be simplified into 3 that occur during the consumer buying process and in this case, the process of a customer buying my artists’ album. The fist stage occurs during the information search, where the consumer will formulate first impressions of my album from my website and music video, already forming a basis for their perception of my brand, the second stage occurs during the evaluation of alternatives, where the potential buyer will evaluate the personal identity of my product and consider whether or not the product reflects their self concept or ideal self in comparison to other available EDM music alternatives that don’t focus on aspects such as fulfillment, exploration and travel and the third and final stage occurs during the post purchase evaluation where the consumer will evaluate my digipack, music video and website as a purchased product and identify if they are satisfied or not and consequently reflects the reputation of the brand.
Branding is the process of giving a meaning to a specific company, product or service by creating a target audience. It is a strategy to allow people to identify the product by a in a competitive market. The main aim of branding a product is to attract customers and maintain loyalty.
For promoting my artist ‘calixo’ and his music album 'Feels like home', I have created a music album promotional package which contains a digipak, a music video and website.
Cross Media Convergence is the aspect of integrating elements of my Music video, digipak and the website in a way that enable them work together to help promote each other and the overall brand. Moreover, these media products follow the codes and conventions of the EDM genre and so use the same color palette, images, house style and themes. Also, the mood and tone, images and different fonts are also homogeneously used to create a sense of branding, thus giving it an overall identification. The impact of branding on a product such as my own is paramount as not only does branding enable brand recognition, but also works towards brand loyalty so that the buyers of this album will be guaranteed buyers of the next as well as the revenues generated from merchandise and ticket sales, both of which depend on the strength of a brand.
For my digipack and website, i used images directly sourced from my footage so that my house style and brand would be easily identifiable by my audience, even if the products were viewed separately.
---
For exploring the overarching brand of my product, i researched the 3 stage theory to branding and how a consumer perceives this brand. Before the effects of branding take plce, logos are used a a creation of a heuristic which acts as a shortcut to allow consumers to distinguish different companies, products or services as the EDM genre is very competitive and has multiple new artists releasing music daily. This stage has no value if consumers do not accept it and so solely acts as a differentiation strategy where consumers will understand that this particular company is not the same as the next one but in theory, this is not branding. The stages of branding can be simplified into 3 that occur during the consumer buying process and in this case, the process of a customer buying my artists’ album. The fist stage occurs during the information search, where the consumer will formulate first impressions of my album from my website and music video, already forming a basis for their perception of my brand, the second stage occurs during the evaluation of alternatives, where the potential buyer will evaluate the personal identity of my product and consider whether or not the product reflects their self concept or ideal self in comparison to other available EDM music alternatives that don’t focus on aspects such as fulfillment, exploration and travel and the third and final stage occurs during the post purchase evaluation where the consumer will evaluate my digipack, music video and website as a purchased product and identify if they are satisfied or not and consequently reflects the reputation of the brand.
question 3:
My target audience are mostly listeners of the EDM music genre which are represented by men and women aged 17-25 years old. The socio demographic groupings of my target audience are dependent upon the particular purpose that an individual is using my product for. For example, Within my research, i explored the representations of social groups categorized by social economic classes. For individuals in the ABC1 socio economic groups with high disposable incomes and spending power will relate to my product as a promotion of travel and leisure as they have the means to fulfill these desires. However, even though my product targets this audience, my market segment is not necessarily limited to those with a lot of money as according to the uses and gratification theory, individuals in the C1 demographic will likely be those who aspire the thrilling lifestyle portrayed in my music video , with the desire to satisfy specific needs which may be Information and Education where the viewer wants to acquire information and understanding of these lifestyles or instead, engage in a form of escapism where readers may escape their real lives and imagine themselves in those situations.
This can also be linked to the reception theory proposed by Stuart hall who suggested that different audience members will decode media in different ways and possibly not in the way the producer originally intended. My product could be decoded in 3 ways, the first would be Dominant, or Preferred Reading which suggests that readers accept the intentions of my product such as a c1/d demographic individual using the music video to escape their own lives and momentarily revel in the explorations presented through my cinematography of various multicultural sceneries.
The second way would be Oppositional Reading which suggests that the reader would reject the intentions of my product and create their own meanings.. For example an AB socio demographic grouped individual who is not of my target age group of younger individuals may not relate or be interested in the lifestyles presented and hence would not understand the intentions of the product. Thirdly, a negotiated reading may occur where the reader accepts parts of the intentions of my product, but has their own views on parts as well.
My music video would be distributed as a real media text through youtube which is a huge online media sharing platform that is dominated by those between ages 17-30, which directly compliments the age group of my target audience. Furthermore, Youtube enables the benefit of viral marketing whereby my music video could be distributed through shares from satisfied viewers, promoting my product at no added cost.
My web page would also contribute to the distribution of my product as it directly links potential buyers to the music video which will then act as an incentive to purchase the album. The digipack album will be sold in multiple music stores as well as online as 68% of EDM genre music sales were generated through online means such as by purchasing the song on itunes or through spotify or apple music memberships.
This can also be linked to the reception theory proposed by Stuart hall who suggested that different audience members will decode media in different ways and possibly not in the way the producer originally intended. My product could be decoded in 3 ways, the first would be Dominant, or Preferred Reading which suggests that readers accept the intentions of my product such as a c1/d demographic individual using the music video to escape their own lives and momentarily revel in the explorations presented through my cinematography of various multicultural sceneries.
The second way would be Oppositional Reading which suggests that the reader would reject the intentions of my product and create their own meanings.. For example an AB socio demographic grouped individual who is not of my target age group of younger individuals may not relate or be interested in the lifestyles presented and hence would not understand the intentions of the product. Thirdly, a negotiated reading may occur where the reader accepts parts of the intentions of my product, but has their own views on parts as well.
My music video would be distributed as a real media text through youtube which is a huge online media sharing platform that is dominated by those between ages 17-30, which directly compliments the age group of my target audience. Furthermore, Youtube enables the benefit of viral marketing whereby my music video could be distributed through shares from satisfied viewers, promoting my product at no added cost.
My web page would also contribute to the distribution of my product as it directly links potential buyers to the music video which will then act as an incentive to purchase the album. The digipack album will be sold in multiple music stores as well as online as 68% of EDM genre music sales were generated through online means such as by purchasing the song on itunes or through spotify or apple music memberships.
QUESTION 4:
The integration of technology in media is paramount in creating successful media products and played a significant role in the creation of my coursework. In order to enable my product to truly reflect real products of the EDM genre, I focused on the integration of software, hardware and online technologies as producers do in the music industry. In order to achieve the same professional and realistic outcome that targets my audience, i researched and applied the most common technology techniques in creating a music video, digipack and website as a music promotional package.
The online software that i have been using throughout my project is an online blogging website called Weebly that has enabled me to record my entire process from my initial research to my final product. This software has been a simple and creative way to document my journey.
At the beginning of my creative process, I had a limited knowledge of what production skills were necessary for making a magazine in elements such as photography and editing. By extensively researching these techniques online and with the use of text book developed the necessary media language terms. For example, using the correct and explanations about camera angles enabled me to effectively make decisions while directing my actors.
The software that I used throughout the post production editing process is adobe premiere pro , a video editing software that enabled efficient editing as well as the additions of many effects. My vide editing skills have developed considerably through the use of this software and I have implemented this into the creation of my product.
For example, I developed the skill of layering videos by rearranging the sequences and reducing the opacity of the secondary clip so that both could be shown simultaneously. I used this technique for the underwater clips in order to create effective and original visuals to compliment the sound manipulations features in the song.
The second skill I used multiple times whilst editing the performance element of my music video was the technique to accurately synchronize my footage and the music. For example, there is a gap between the performance in this section due to an innacurate timing that the lyrics were sung therefore to correct this I included a slowed down section in between the 2 clips to create a seamless flow. The next more advanced skill that I have developed on this software is to create a split screen effect, I watched a youtube tutorial for this aspect and then applied the techniques shown. An additional technique that I used on premiere pro was the warp stabilizer effect which made my footage look more professional as the camera movement appeared more stable.
Another software that I used throughout my project was adobe photoshop in the creation of my digi pack. The process began with the selection of the following images sourced from my music video, which I then combined by using the clone stamp tool to remove the lines between images, making them look as if they were occurring at the same time. I then created a design for my digipack using the line tools on photoshop before adding the unique font that I downloaded from an online website called dafonts.com. my next step involved resizing the image and placing it in my design. I then used the layer copy tool in order to copy a selection of the image to the white space above. I then used to clone stamp tool to remove the line in between the 2 sections and repeated this process for the white space above. I used the healing brush tool in order to copy the colour of the image into the O of home in order to emphasise the design of my products. I then used the fill tool to change the colour of the white space.
My next step involved editing the images of eyes also sourced from my music video to create the back of my digipack. I use dmy previously downloaded font to create multiple song titiles which I then removed the white backgrounds of by using the magic wand tool I then placed them on the right side of the image.
I then used the layer copy tool to separate all of the images of the eyes before changing the colours of the images respectively using the blending options tool.
My next step involved combining all of the elements of my digipack into a template that I created on photoshop before hand.
I integrated multiple forms of hardware throughout my project. I used a canon xa35 for filming multiple scenes for my music video as it is ideal for filming videos such as my own. I also used a tripod whilst filming with this camera in order to create steady and professional looking footage. I also used a Gopro hero 5 camera for filming my scenes that involved extreme movements such as cliff jumping as well as the underwater clips.
Aside from weebly, I integrated other online technologies while creating this project such as soundcloud for the sharing of one CCR question and youtube which is a huge online media sharing platform were my music video will be distributed and shared.
The online software that i have been using throughout my project is an online blogging website called Weebly that has enabled me to record my entire process from my initial research to my final product. This software has been a simple and creative way to document my journey.
At the beginning of my creative process, I had a limited knowledge of what production skills were necessary for making a magazine in elements such as photography and editing. By extensively researching these techniques online and with the use of text book developed the necessary media language terms. For example, using the correct and explanations about camera angles enabled me to effectively make decisions while directing my actors.
The software that I used throughout the post production editing process is adobe premiere pro , a video editing software that enabled efficient editing as well as the additions of many effects. My vide editing skills have developed considerably through the use of this software and I have implemented this into the creation of my product.
For example, I developed the skill of layering videos by rearranging the sequences and reducing the opacity of the secondary clip so that both could be shown simultaneously. I used this technique for the underwater clips in order to create effective and original visuals to compliment the sound manipulations features in the song.
The second skill I used multiple times whilst editing the performance element of my music video was the technique to accurately synchronize my footage and the music. For example, there is a gap between the performance in this section due to an innacurate timing that the lyrics were sung therefore to correct this I included a slowed down section in between the 2 clips to create a seamless flow. The next more advanced skill that I have developed on this software is to create a split screen effect, I watched a youtube tutorial for this aspect and then applied the techniques shown. An additional technique that I used on premiere pro was the warp stabilizer effect which made my footage look more professional as the camera movement appeared more stable.
Another software that I used throughout my project was adobe photoshop in the creation of my digi pack. The process began with the selection of the following images sourced from my music video, which I then combined by using the clone stamp tool to remove the lines between images, making them look as if they were occurring at the same time. I then created a design for my digipack using the line tools on photoshop before adding the unique font that I downloaded from an online website called dafonts.com. my next step involved resizing the image and placing it in my design. I then used the layer copy tool in order to copy a selection of the image to the white space above. I then used to clone stamp tool to remove the line in between the 2 sections and repeated this process for the white space above. I used the healing brush tool in order to copy the colour of the image into the O of home in order to emphasise the design of my products. I then used the fill tool to change the colour of the white space.
My next step involved editing the images of eyes also sourced from my music video to create the back of my digipack. I use dmy previously downloaded font to create multiple song titiles which I then removed the white backgrounds of by using the magic wand tool I then placed them on the right side of the image.
I then used the layer copy tool to separate all of the images of the eyes before changing the colours of the images respectively using the blending options tool.
My next step involved combining all of the elements of my digipack into a template that I created on photoshop before hand.
I integrated multiple forms of hardware throughout my project. I used a canon xa35 for filming multiple scenes for my music video as it is ideal for filming videos such as my own. I also used a tripod whilst filming with this camera in order to create steady and professional looking footage. I also used a Gopro hero 5 camera for filming my scenes that involved extreme movements such as cliff jumping as well as the underwater clips.
Aside from weebly, I integrated other online technologies while creating this project such as soundcloud for the sharing of one CCR question and youtube which is a huge online media sharing platform were my music video will be distributed and shared.