MUSIC VIDEO

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqEOTeXZlVY&feature=youtu.be

Statement of intent

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

The concept for my music video is to show the beauty standards and body image shown by the media, and the reality of how young girls are affected by them. This concept fits into the genre of ‘protest songs’, as it is protesting the control the media has on how young women see themselves. My video concept will attract the audience of 16-25 socially aware and conscious people, it will also reflect the core values of Warner Music Group, as it includes integrity, shown through the main character narrative, and will also reflect the core value of creativity and innovation, as it’s a conceptually creative video, with many creative features. I will use performers in my video to personify the psychological effects of body image issues, as well as to give the audience a character to relate to in the video, which will captivate the audience more. In terms of mise-en-scene, I will use physical representations of cultural and social events from when my video was filmed, such as Black Lives Matter posters and covid-19 signs, as well as paying homage to others who have struggled with body image publicly, such as Karen Carpenter. This mise-en-scene will reflect the audience’s values, as well as making the video current to 2020 and making the video interesting for the viewers. The representations will represent the politically correct youth of today, who are much more involved in activism, as well as representing the constant struggle with body image that women have. These will attract my audience as it provides them with personal representation and political representations they are interested in. The editing will be unique and creative, reflecting WMG’s core values, as well as using jump cuts and long shots to reflect the genre of protest, as well as keeping the video changeable and interesting for the audience. I will use a combination of dark and light lighting to represent the light and dark sides of life, the expectations and reality. 

The message for my video will be that the media shouldn’t define how you perceive yourself, which targets my audience as they are aged 16-25 and could be susceptible to media messages. This also reflects WMG’s core values.

In my website, I will use elements of the music video such as still images to tie the website and video together, as well as a similar aesthetic and colour palette in both, as it aims to target the same audience and have synergy. I will promote my music video on my social media, which will be linked on my website, allowing the video to reach a wider audience. There will be public comments on my video on the website, allowing audience interaction. The website will be monetised for advertisements, and will therefore be able to be used financially. The design of the website will integrate with the blog and music video, meaning that people will be more drawn into the website.

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production? (approx. 100 words)

Synergy and branding are vital to media industries, as branding creates a stand out product that is unique and promotes individuality. Synergy allows a product to be created that is completely original and connected to other elements, such as a blog or video, which is more appealing to audiences as they have more to react to and invest in. My logo for the band will appear on the website, as well as during the video and on the blog, as well as certain images, which are vital to the video. Those will show the synergy between the blog, website and video. I will link my music video in the website so it is easily accessible, and will link the website in the description of my music video when it’s published. Some still photographs of the star of the video will be used uniquely to the website, as it will encourage the audience to go onto the website to see the unique photographs. Social media will be used to promote the video, and create even more synergy throughout the products, and encourage audience interaction.

Casting shots

 

Pedro - guitarist/love interest

Chose him as he is good looking and a typical love interest of my ideal audience member

Sophi - lead singer/lead star

Chose her as she is pretty, a reflection of the ideal audience member as well as a reflection of who I want to be perceived in the video

Freddie - drummer

Chose him as he is similar to the interest of the ideal audience members, as well as the similar looks in eyes and hair shows similarities with the band and strengthens the band.

trailer for music video

 https://youtu.be/jN-nU2CY5vw

Storyboard

 

Website

 Here is the link to my website:

https://chicagopanic.weebly.com/

research into websites

 Website one: https://www.clairo.com/

The website has a minimalist theme, with it merely being the name of the new album - 'Immunity'. However, even the typeface of the album name is important, as the typeface on the website is the same as on all the album merchandises and has even been tattooed on the star's arm. This creates a synergy between all platforms, as well as creating a unique image and typeface for her fans, that is instantly recognisable. 

The website has links to all of the star's social media, encouraging audience interaction and reaching a wider range of audiences. The visual side of the website matches the colour palette and aesthetic of the album, with still shots as backgrounds for the different pages on the websites, and these stills feature in music videos and promotional videos.

Website two: https://worldinred.com/

The website creates a 'world' for people to enter through the website. As the artist is called 'girl in red', 'world in red' is a play on words, encouraging humour and interaction. When you enter 'world in red', you are in a VR style alternate universe, with different objects representing songs on the album such as a moon for the song 'Midnight Love'. 

Again, there are links to social media, tour dates, merchandise. These all encourage audience interaction while maximising profit. The 'world in red' is unique, and creates an interactive thing for fans to do, as well as making something unique and recognisable

Website three: https://www.cave.town/home

Cavetown's website is similar to Clairo's, as it has a big central image, with a colour that is similar to the album art colour in the background. Unlike Clairo's, the merchandise is on the main website page, instead of on a separate one. 

Like all the other websites, there are links to social media and tours, as well as other music streaming.

All of the websites have main images of the artist, all have links to social media and other streaming websites such as Spotify or Apple Music. However all of the websites are still completely unique and individual website, that is easily recognisable.

moodboard/inspiration for shots

 

running action shots - cameraman running with star

slow-motion running montage

stop motion of food disappearing off plate

black and white studio - proper lighting

more running shots 

shot of band in studio

Shot list for music video

 LOCATION ONE: BEDROOM SET

• close up/mid shot 
• 360° shot spinning around star's head
• mid shot of side profile looking at pictures
• long shot/landscape shot of star sitting at desk
• close up shot of star with tears in eyes
• long shot of girl sitting at laptop
• mid shot with focal point on wardrobe
• slow motion montage shot of clothes being thrown
• pan on destroyed room
• shot of star looking in mirror
• long shot of girl walking into destroyed room
• long action shot of girl sitting in room

LOCATION TWO: STUDIO (black and white)

• zooming in mid shot
• mid shot of hands putting on makeup
• close up of star's mouth
• camera zooming out from closeup to mid shot
• mid shot of crown being lowered
• stop motion, birds eye shot of food disappearing of plate
• mid shot of girl smiling with smudged makeup
• mid shot of girl in studio crying

LOCATION THREE: BAND 

• long shot of band playing, star lip syncing in the middle
• long shot of band playing, lyrics on screen
• long shot of band playing with star sitting in the middle

LOCATION FOUR: FIELD/OUTSIDE

• long shot, gradually zooming out of star in field in a prom dress
• camera 360° panning around star and boy
• slow motion moving shot of star running home
• 
  

Key things to include in my video

 In order to conform to the genre of 'protest songs', I have to heavily consider the key features and elements of my videos, as well as pleasing and interesting my audience that I previously identified. 

Things to include in my video:

• Political or cultural easter eggs, such as black lives matter posters, to target the libertarian, open minded audience.
• References to artists and people who have publicly struggled with body image issues such as Karen Carpenter. 
• Black and white and colour elements of the video, to represent the divide between expectation and reality. 
• Cuts between different scenes to keep it dynamic.
• Fashion that reflects the audience.

The ideal audience member

 My ideal audience member would be a young, socially conscious person age 16-25. In terms of politics, the ideal audience member would be a liberal, left leaning, open minded individual. Gender is not important, as my music video aims to protest and represent the female beauty standards, however the audience member does not need to be female to be able to understand the representations in the video and the lyrical representation of the song. As Beach Bunny is an alternative, indie band, my perfect audience member would be someone who listens to bands similar to Beach Bunny, or alternative music in general. Named artists and bands that are similar to Beach Bunny would be Beabadoobee, Her's, Boy Pablo and Pale Waves. Regarding their clothing, they would either wear y2k/early 2000s style clothing, as this was one of my inspirations for the video, as well as wearing clothes they feel comfortable and empowered in, with an alternative style. I have included images below of ideal clothing for my perfect audience member. 

My video is going to attract my perfect audience member, as it will be filled with political and cultural representations, as well as tackling the issue of self-esteem and female beauty standards represented by the media. Therefore, my video will attract liberal, open minded, young people either looking for representation and relatability shown through a music video, or looking for understanding and information through a video. My video will have realistic visual representations of self-esteem issues and female beauty and body standards, while also having non-realistic visual elements that represent the emotional toll that body standardisation has on one's self-image.

music video moodboard

 

Things to consider: music video

 https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1b5KlUD41BlHUbhFXgYlezK7v7Iom98wtCS5NApADDsg/edit?usp=sharing

Seeking copyright permission

 

In order to use the song for my music video, I needed to seek permission to use this song from the record label 'Mom + Pop music' in order to avoid copyright. 

Beach Bunny - past music videos

Beach Bunny has an incredibly indie and homemade feel to all their music videos. They are made with a low budget, and use key music video features such as performance, lip-syncing as well as costumes and makeup to represent the messages in their videos. Every music video features the frontman of Beach Bunny, Lili Trifilio.

Promises (2020)

Beach Bunny's latest video, 'Promises' has a storyline of a girl, Lili Trifilio, getting over an old love, through escapism, and eventually overcoming it. There are many close up shots of Lili, as well as landscape shots in different settings, such as the woods. One prop that is omnipresent is her bed, which she hides in and under throughout the video, taking off the duvet to reveal a new setting. The bed also relates to the lyric 'part of me wants you, part of me wants to fall asleep', and the lyrical reference in the props makes the video a reflection of the lyrics, which is a style I really enjoy. The constant reference to bed and sleep through the lexical choice in the lyrics of 'dream', 'bedroom', 'recurring dream' is also present in the video, however the video isn't a literal reflection of the lyrics, as there are elements of performance.
The video is 4 minutes long, and has so far received 285,000 views since being released 5 months ago. It is their latest video, and has received a lot of positive reviews, and 14,000 likes on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFQDssE693M

Prom Queen (2018)

Prom Queen is both Beach Bunny's most popular song as well as music video, so far racking up 10 million views on Youtube since its release on December 31st, 2018. The song itself protests beauty standards and explains the effect they have on young women. The lyrics are a personal account written by Lili Trifilio, and she also performs them throughout the video, making the music video seem more personal, and therefore more interesting. Throughout the video, the use of makeup and costume shows the character's insecurity with herself, as well as showing the fact that she's changing herself to fit the 'prom queen' stereotype, and is still very unhappy. The first shot of the video is a landscape shot, outside a laundrette, showing three boys (other band members) dancing around to music, without being judged or looked at, while Lili enters the laundrette with her head down, trying to avoid attention. This is a representation of the difference between how men and women are treated by society. While the men are dancing embarrassingly in public, they aren't being judged, while a woman entering the laundrette keeps her head down to avoid judgement. Once inside the laundrette, a closeup shot of the singer is used while she's loading the washer. The closeup shot shows her neutral facial expression. The camera then cuts to a wide shot of her seeing a dress in her laundry pile. The use of props in this video are very symbolic, as Lili then picks up a fashion magazine, in which the opening lyrics to the song 'shut up, count your calories' are shown. The use of the magazine as well as the lyrics represent the media's way of making women feel bad about themselves, as well as glamorising weight loss.
Throughout the video, the struggle between wanting to be yourself and changing oneself to appeal to the masses is shown through costume (contacts making her eyes blue instead of brown), props (an exercise bike that she then runs away from once she realises she's on it) and general use of mise-en-scene, such as pens turning into lipstick and her room being decorated with female icons who are adored by the media for being skinny and blonde.
To me, the performance and lipsyncing in the video is the best representation of the internal body struggles, as halfway through the video, you see the singer's costume and look change, portrayed by a panning shot, but her facial expression is pure misery, as she plays her guitar, which represents that changing yourself externally won't necessarily make you any happier on the inside. However, at the end, Lili's small smile shows that she has accepted her body.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc6SSu5pnHw

Overall, both music videos use a variety of camera shots, performance and mise-en-scene, Beach Bunny successfully creates entertaining videos to watch, as well as represents the songs' lyrical meanings, which is incredibly appealing to me and other viewers. While not being hugely commercially successful, their videos and songs have a lot of meaning, and are hugely appealing to an adolescent audience.

Song Choice for my Music Video

The song I have chosen to make my music video on is 'Prom Queen' by Beach Bunny. I chose to do a Beach Bunny song as their songs are socially critical, as well as being of a very high standard, with provocative lyrics and simple production, and a style of music I enjoy. 

The song 'Prom Queen' explores Beach Bunny's personal struggles with identity and the pressure placed on young females by society, as well as beauty standards. With provocative and emotional lyrics exploring eating disorders, self harm and insecurities masked by an angsty, upbeat guitar riff, its musical production represents the internal struggle the lead singer faced, while externally acting 'fine'. The song gained popularity with in the indie industry quickly, but reached mainstream attention through social media, and has been spread as the anthem for protesting female beauty standards and the effect they have on young girls.

Genre research - protest songs

DEFINITIONS:
protest song - a song that is associated with a movement for social change, part of the broader category (topical songs), but can be fluid in genre

genre - a style or category of art, music or literature

Over the years, protest songs have tackled many social, political and cultural issues such as abortion laws, gay rights, sexual revolution, gun control and any modern issue.
According to Phil Ochs "a protest song is a song so specific it can't be mistaken for bs". Most protest songs are context bound, linking to specific political climates in specific countries, for example 'Love it if We Made It' by The 1975 is specifically about 2016-2018 America, with lyrics such as 'rest in peace Lil Peep' and 'Kneeling on a pitch', both referencing two events that took place in America during the time period.

Protest songs have been part of the music scene for many years, with protest songs in America dating back to the Civil War, and in Britain, there are protest songs dating back to before the suffragette movement of the early 20th century. African-American artists used to protest via Soul music, in order to try and get more rights, through soul music, that originated from Gospel, which has roots in the church. Throughout significant world events such as the Cold War, protest songs have gained popularity, especially through the rise of Folk music, as during the Vietnam war artists such as Phil Ochs, Barry McGuire and others raised awareness and relatability for the general public during the heat of the Vietnam War.

Moving into the 21st century, the need for protest songs had sort of died down, as the world was entering a new century, and society was hopeful for the future. Until, on September 11th, 2001, as we all know, two passenger planes were hijacked by terrorists and flown into the World Trade Centre in New York (the twin towers), killing thousands of people and started a world uproar. And just like that, the music world erupted into political madness, with the release of the platinum record, 'Where is the Love?' by the Black Eyed Peas, talking very openly about 9/11 and the war on terrorism. This song impacted the public greatly, as well as inspired other artists to express their political opinions. As the century progressed, the release of songs such as 'Paper Planes' by M.I.A (protest song about stereotypes), 'Born This Way' by Lady Gaga (queer liberation). Another note-worthy moment in the history of protest songs is music's response to President Trump, who was elected in 2016, which caused controversy both in America and worldwide. Thousands of protestors protested outside the White House after his election, inspiring artists such as Busta Rhymes, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and A Tribe Called Quest to speak up, at awards show and in performances, both subtly and openly.

Famous protest song artists include:

• Bob Dylan
• John Lennon (and The Beatles)
• Radiohead
• Green Day
• Twenty One Pilots
• Coldplay
• The 1975
• M.I.A
• Sex Pistols
• Rage Against the Machine
• The Smiths
• Kendrick Lamar

Warner Music Group research

WMG presentation

Star Image - The 1975

the 1975 - star image powerpoint

The 1975 are a British pop-rock band from Wilmslow, founded in 2003. They have reached global success during the past decade, selling out arenas such as the O2 and Madison Square Gardens, and recently headlining Reading & Leeds festival in 2019. During this period of success, the band's aesthetic and image has changed drastically with the release of each of their albums. These album themed aesthetic changes have called 'eras' by the The 1975 fandom.

(slide two)
The 1975 was their first album the band released, in 2013. Featuring largely successful songs such as Girls and Chocolate, this album broke The 1975 onto the music scene. This era was all about black clothing, long curly hair (styled by the lead singer Matty Healy), cigarettes and young love. The 'self titled' era initialised their devoted fan base as punk, tumblr-esc teenage girls, and in interviews the band was seen to be quirky and entertaining, with the lead singer Matty, an androgynous, opinionated, scrawny man immediately becoming the centre of attention.

(slide three)
The 2016 release of 'I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it' skyrocketed The 1975 to global fame, as their 2016/17 worldwide tour completely sold out. the soft, pastel aesthetic conflicting against the hard, political songs such as 'Loving Someone', 'If I Believe You' and 'The Sound' this album is considered a masterpiece. During the tour and publicity of the album, Healy was facing drug issues, which he mentioned in his song 'UGH!', and during the tour he was wasted on stage, taking drugs and drinking mid performance, as well as being seen as out of touch and exhausted during interviews. The combination of large success and an opioid and cocaine addiction led to Healy being sent to rehab in 2018, causing the band to go on hiatus. The star image for the band changed to a much more sexualised, feminine and androgynous band, with Matty Healy embracing makeup and his feminine side, which led the media to question his sexuality. This led the band's star image to grow, and appeal more to the LGBTQ+ community, iconising the band and their political stance.

(slide four)
After Healy's stint in rehab, he was a lot more conscious of the world. He mentioned in interviews that the internet didn't help his addiction issues, and damaged him even more. The 2018 release of 'A brief inquiry into online relationships' changed their star image once again, as releases of songs such as 'Love it if We Made it', 'It's not Living (if its' not with you) and others brought awareness to the global political climate. During the band's progression, the band has become more and more angry at the world, with their songs becoming more critical, has led the band to achieve more respect, and gain an image as more of a political and 'woke' band.

introduction post

Hi, I'm Alice- welcome to my media blog!