NEA Statement of Intent

Statement of intent:

Music Video:

For my music video I will use media language to create a pop music video which will have a clear concept that is mainstream, fun loving and about cultural acceptance. This will be used to appeal to the target demographic of a fun loving 16 -25 class D demographic in the psychographics: mainstreamer, aspirer and explorer in order to reflect the industry context desired by Sony Music – that is a music video that appeals to both a ‘local’ and ‘international’ audience. In order to do this, I will use mise en scene of an urban and rural setting, this contrast will reflect the sense of escapism and finding your own identity – which is an example of verisimilitude. By using both types of settings this particular theme will be seen as diverse and suggests that it’s not tied to one particular socio-economic group. The focus of my Mise en scene will be based on the joys of being young with friends and finding your identity – this will be done through a casual style of clothing that changes at the end to suit the character’s found identity (Because of this, the protagonist will be represented as an anti-stereotype of the LGBTQ+ community). While the performance clothing will be more colourful and stylish to mimic the idealistic setting. Furthermore, I will use intertextual links to other songs such as ‘you need to calm down’ by Taylor Swift (which has references to themes of pride and identity) and with both males and females represented, that are the same age of the demographic, I hope to promote the idea of fun, escapism and cultural acceptance. This to me is a relatable theme and mirrors the cultural diaspora of LGBTQ+ rights that is part of modern media coverage – this will switch young people’s concerns away from negative criticism and will deliver an upbeat theme of fun and enjoyment. In addition, I plan to use appropriate codes and conventions of the music video to reflect this idea. I will edit to the beat of the song, and the lyrics will be interpreted through both performance and narrative – which is an example of pop iconography. High key lighting will be used with the use of camera pans and close ups to highlight the performance aesthetic of the music video. By using music video conventions with a hybrid of both narrative and performance and the representation of both genders my music video will show repeatability. Again, this will allow me to convey the message to be fun and diverse – focusing the target audience to think positively of different identities which I think is a factor that a fun loving mainstream audience would appreciate.

Website:

For my working website, I first plan to make sure I follow the required media language codes and conventions stated in the brief; these include a homepage and one linked page, original images and brand identity. I will ensure that the artist and company logo is one of the main features of the page, as well as the menu bar which will lead my mainstream fun loving audience to links to click on – such as tour dates, photo gallery, biography and merchandise. The menu bar will also feature social media accounts (especially Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter). The use of a social media presence gives the website interactivity allowing the audience to communicate and feel closer to the artist. This is an expected feature of many musician websites as it gives a mass audience easy access and is a feature that a 16-25-year-old would expect from a modern website. My other main hope for the planned website is keeping the target audience updated with news on the band, this will be featured on the home page. To do this I aim to have audio/visual content of behind the scenes and interviews with the artist as well as tour information and up to date photos. If this were a real band’s website then these features would be changed constantly because of the constant need to update their progress, which is common in a digital postmodern world. I will also consider that the visual elements on the website are designed to seize and sustain the reader’s attention – which I will do through representational use of photos of the artist, the planned integrated link to the music video itself (used as a promotional tool to mass market the song), as well as the colour palette. The company logo will also be a main showcase of this – the classic style of the logo appeals to massive conglomerates such as Sony who try to appeal to ‘local’ and ‘international’ audiences and therefore don’t take high risks on new and independent brands. Because of this they would be interested in this company as the logo makes them appear experienced with a large back catalogue and reliable audience. I think this would be suited to a mainstream 16-25-year-old audience.

Links:

A media product must have a highly appropriate and consistent brand image across different media forms, a branding which demonstrates and highlights that the music video and the webpages are for the same band/artist and the same intended audience. Some of the ways I plan to do this is through consistent use of the same artist and artist logo on both the music video and homepage. I also plan to use highly appropriate techniques to clearly link both my products, for example the target audience will be drawn towards the music video on the website itself. I will also emphasise this with additional content which will be found on the website, I plan that this will be in the form of and interview with the artist and behind the scenes of the music video – this will be an example of synergy and brand loyalty between both the artist and the website. The planned use of the merchandise page will be my only working page (other than the home page) and will interlink with my music video through themes and outfits that the protagonist wears – the themes of the music video will also be highlighted on the website through a link on the home page for LGBTQ+ rights along with access to a social media account. The use of social media on the website will demonstrate my knowledge of digital convergence because the target audience will be able to comment on both the website and music video. A clear example on how digital technology has changed the relationship between the audience and producers of text because it provides the opportunity for much more linkage between media forms – which I believe is especially true with a mainstream fun loving 16-25-year-old audience.