07 Production

Music Video:

https://17pullenm.wixsite.com/my-site-1

(My music video has to be displayed on a site seperate to my artist website due to storage limitations. However, there is a facade of how the video would be displayed on my original site.)

08 WEBSITE

Artist Website Product

Home Page: https://17pullenm.wixsite.com/website

Hyperlinked Page: https://17pullenm.wixsite.com/website/music

-To navigate from the 'Home' page to the hyperlinked page, use the header bar and click on the link named 'Gallery'.

-My audiovisual task is a blooper reel that can be located by scrolling down to the bottom of the hyperlinked 'Gallery' page under the subheading 'Bloopers and BTS: Runaway Music Video'.

-My website produced can be viewed from the link above. On some monitors, it is best viewed at down to 70% - 90% magnification.

04 Codes and Conventions of Artist Websites

 

02 Statement of Intent

How do you intent to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief? (approx. 400 words)

Brief 4: Music Video and Online

Statement of Intent: Music Video

My brief is to produce a three-minute music video for a narrative song aimed at a primarily 16-25 year old middle and upmarket literate audience. 'Ballad of a homeschooled girl' will be targeted mainly at a female demographic as my research has suggested that girls and women tend to be the driving force in consuming 'fan' media, and music videos are becoming increasingly classed as such, due to the music video form facing a decline of popularity. Therefore, the lead actor in the music video will also be a young female, as the 'avatar' identity is a typical genre convention. However, to represent wider social groups, and not create an exclusionary tone, I will also include an adult woman in the video. The video will primarily feature direct address, mimicking the styles of 'Fleabag' and 'The Office', in which the protagonist breaks the fourth wall to create candour, and a bond between audience and character. Its colour scheme will be a mixture jewel and darker coloured tones, rather than bold neons favoured in early 2000s videos, to appeal to the younger target audience who tend to prefer a moodier, more subdued palette. From my research, I deduced that narrative music videos tend to specialise in 'immersion', meaning visual aesthetics are essential. Accordingly, I will create aesthetic cohesion between all aspects of mise en scene to reflect the setting (a house party) e.g. a mixture of grungy and colourful costuming, party props, sporadic and shadowy lighting to reflect the emotional turbulence of the main character. 

Statement of Intent: Website

To create a sustained style throughout both video and website, the same masthead I have used for my music video title card will be used in my website's 'menu bar'- which I found to be a common convention in my research. This creates a sense of brand identity, a common promotional tool. There will also be a side bar which has visual links to the artist's social media and streaming platforms, as it provides a quick, simple redirection, encouraging the audience to continue interacting with the artist. I also found that artists targeted at middle/upmarket audiences tend to have black/white, bold, sans-serif mastheads, whilst those targeted at a predominately female audience tend to be in colourful pastels, with serif fonts. As my 'brand' is targeted at both, I will negotiate this convention, incorporating both in using a bold, white font, accompanied with a small pastel illustration of some stars. My website will also have a singular pop-up, as my research concluded that it can be an effective promotional tool in reminding the audience of significant releases, but multiple can deter the audience from continuing browsing. The audio-visual element of my website will be bloopers/behind the scenes footage from my music video, containing playful and humorous conversation between actors. The low-budget appearance of the set-up, combined with the young age and close relationship between actors will construct a candid-feeling piece, creating a warmness between audience and artist.

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digital convergent nature of your media production?

To create digital convergence between my media production pieces, my music video will have a poster in the background of the interior shots. Therefore, lighting can be controlled and I know it will be visible in the shot as an 'easter egg' for a keen fan, and also a subliminal sign to encourage the audience to engage further with the artist's content. From my research of other artists' videos, I know that artists often use 'end cards' to promote other music or content. Therefore, I will use this to promote the blooper real/behind the scenes video with an additional link to the artist's website. I will also have a page on my website containing all videos from the artist including the BTS footage and music videos, and will promote the video for the new single on the homepage with relevant subheadings.

06 Planning Website

Website Mockup- Version 1

05 Planning Production

 1st Concept: Music Video Vision Board

 1st Concept: Music Video symbolism and sub-text 

The protagonist (Actor #1) has been traumatised/emotionally scarred in the past. It can be interpreted that she has lost a friend (death/broken up friendship/separated) but she is still haunted by the memory of that person. She imagines seeing her friend in different situations, like at the beach, painting a picture etc (‘And for a moment I thought you were here. But then again, it wasn't true’). It is evident that she has been trying to repress her emotions and ignoring it (Oh, lyin' in secret to myself, I've been putting sorrow on the farthest place on my shelf’), but it has overwhelmed her (‘I can't take it anymore’) 

 The chorus in the music video is used to portray how many versions of that past friend are haunting her mind, running alongside her, as she is ‘running far away’ from her problems. In the symbolic moment when the “spirits” hold her back to the lyric ‘nobody knows, nobody knows’, they are used as a variation of an obtrusive narrator who otherwise have no genuine interaction with the protagonist, and only performs this aside during the chorus. They are trying to convey to the audience how isolated and alone the main character feels (since of course the spirit representations of her friend are not real), and how she has struggled to communicate her issues with others so ‘nobody knows’.  

The line ‘And I was dancing in the rain, I felt alive and I can't complain’ is the character attempting to convince herself that she is fine, while seemingly physically becoming more unravelled and emotional. The chorus finishes with, what will be the protagonists parting statement in the final refrain, ‘but no, take me home, take me home where I belong, I can't take it anymore’. The protagonist has become completely overcome by emotion at this point.

1st Concept: Shooting Script- (scanned document)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Small Cut of 1st potential music video

2nd Concept: Music Video Moodboard

 

 

 

 

 

2nd Concept: Music Video Meaning and Sub-Text

'Ballad of a Homeschooled girl' tells the story of an insecure teenage girl, struggling to fit in as she navigates a new social life. Everything she tries seems to make her stand out more among her peers as she is unable to determine social protocols. Each situation becomes more and more awkward, and the tricky situations become more and more embarrassing.

Codes and Conventions of Music Videos

Coursework Brief

Coursework Brief

You work for an independent media production company. You have been given the task of producing a three-minute music video for a narrative song* by a fictional band/artist signed to Beggars Group, and two pages for the working website for the band/artist. You may use an existing song for your music video (this does not need to be copyright free). The music video must feature a narrative appropriate to a music video (e.g. a performance montage, a narrative illustrating or commenting on the song, or a mix of performance montage and other narrative elements). The web pages must promote the band/artist to its target audience and enable fans to interact with them. 

Summary of brief requirements:

 • Statement of Intent (approx. 500 words)

• Music Video: One, three minute music video. 

• Distribution channel: Content must be age-appropriate for young adults from the age of 16. 

• Number of web pages: One homepage and one linked page. 

• Cross-media production target audience: A primarily 16–25-year-old middle and upmarket media literate audience. 

There must be a clear sense of branding across the two elements of the cross-media production. Production detail that must be included 

The production of the music video must include (as a minimum): 

• Range of camera shots, including shot distances, angles and movement as appropriate to a music video. 

• Editing of footage appropriate to a music video.

 • At least two different uses of mise-en-scène. 

• At least two characters representing at least two different social groups (e.g. as defined by age, gender, race and ethnicity, sexuality). 

• Graphics/titles to include the name of the track and the name of the band/artist. The production of the web pages must include (as a minimum):

 • Original audio or audio-visual content which may include material from the music video but must include at least one element produced specifically for the website.

 • A minimum of two original images (with at least one different original image on each of the two pages). These images must be different from those produced for the music video. 

• Appropriate conventions of website design, including an original title and logo for the band/ artist’s webpage and a menu bar. 

•Text introducing the band/artist. 

• Working links from the home page to the other page. 

• A range of appropriate media language techniques (typography, images, fonts, backgrounds, logos etc.) as appropriate to the purpose of the website.

Newspaper Website

Newspaper Website

Link to My Newspaper Site: https://17pullenm.wixsite.com/my-site

How to Access the Audio-Visual Piece: 

• Click the link above and enter the website.
• Scroll down to the section with the heading 'About Our Website'
• Click play on the video, and turn up the volume using the speaker button in the bottom left hand corner of the video.

Evaluation of Websites

 Media Coursework Newspaper Website Evaluation

Our company (specification)- independent (recently purchased by a conglomerate), 16-25y/o audience, diverse interests.

·         Masthead, Ideology and Narrative:

Websites- Each of the websites we studied seemed to use their masthead as a signifier of the paper’s ideologies, for example the Daily Mail used half traditional typography to reflect their alignment with conservative values, and half as a newer simplistic font to symbolise their belief that they will change if the majority encourages them too.

Our website- It has been proven that young people in the UK have become increasingly left-wing (around 56% of surveyed young people 18-24 voted for Labour in the 2019 general election) and socially conscious, with the turnout of voters aged 18-24 rising significantly. Therefore, if any political commentary is shown on our website, it would make sense for it to be left leaning. However, a largely more effective strategy would be to keep the newspaper as unbiased as possible, therefore catering to a larger audience, and attracting more readers.

·         Layout:

Websites- Depending on the type of website, some use compact layouts, others prioritise organisation over quantity. The more articles on the front page can sometimes mean more attention to articles, however often times this can discourage readers from using the source due to becoming overwhelmed.

Our website- We will divide the page into neat columns and make sure not to overuse images where they aren’t needed.

·         Tabs/Opinion Section:

Websites- Uses tabs so readers can navigate topics quickly. Some newspapers don’t utilise opinion sections meaning some readers can often confuse opinion with fact.

Our Website- Use an opinion section so those who hold certain political beliefs can avoid/navigate to any content they do/do not want to view. Also use tabs for the same reasons (interests- arts/sports/politics etc).

·         Image:

Websites- Some use images to glorify/vilify ‘elite’ personage, some use it for context (person in action/certain event), some also use relevant diagrams and infographics (graphs, charts, maps etc) to help their reader gain a full picture of the story they are reading about. However, sometimes data is skewed (wording misleading) to sensationalise a certain statistic.

Our Website- Use images that are relevant, don’t vilify/sensationalise any events/people.

·         Audio-visual element:

Websites- Some of the websites use flashing elements to promote live stories or advertisement. However, often this is viewed as more invasive or irritating to the reader than appealing.

Our website- Use audio-visual element to promote company. possibly in an ‘About Us’ section.

·         Brand Identity:

Like some of the brands we have studied, we should state our brand values, so no consumer feels mislead about what they are reading and can understand that some human bias is inevitable.

The Investigation into Codes and Conventions of Websites