EVALUATION QUESTION ONE

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MUSIC PROMOTIONAL PACKAGE USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF EXISTING

MUSIC PROMOTIONAL PACKAGES?

BEFORE WE EVEN GOT STARTED…Before moving on to create our own music video and promotional packaging, we thoroughly researched existing girl groups and what was conventional for the pop genre. We then became up to date with what was modern, popular, iconic in our chosen genre. We looked at music our target audience would generally watch such as Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Megan Trainor ect. We then decided that groups were incredibly popular so therefore explored the promotional packages of groups such as fifth harmony, little mix, destiny’s child and girls aloud.

MUSIC VIDEO THEORY• Our music video clearly follows several theory’s such as Simon Frith’s and Richard Dyer’s. Simon

Frith’s theory is generally followed in our video as we have composed a performance music video. The reason behind this was that after research into existing girl groups, we found that this was the most generic type of video for the genre and therefore we would be complying with the conventions of existing videos.

• Our performance video effectively allows there to be a ‘star presence’ and lets the audience watch the real artists sing their songs. This then means that the stars gain a wider fan base and become more popular as they are admired and people want to keep up to date with their latest appearances, fashions and obviously, the music.

• Richard Dyer’s star theory also stated that icons and celebrities are manufactured by institutions and constructed to represent ‘real people.’ Considering our target audience I believe that we have complied with this theory in creating three ‘characters’ that are dressed similar to others their age and the song is correct for the age and gender of the audience we are trying to attract. Basically this means that as our ‘characters’ are not too dissimilar and ‘out there’ they become more relatable to the target audience, making them more likeable and inspiring as role models.

• We also considered Andrew Goodwin’s theory and in areas incorporated a hint of narrative to our video. An example of this is when the rap says ‘ on the phone like where are you now’ flicks to a shot of Amelia on her phone which could suggest some kind of relationship to the audience.

LOCATION AND SETTING• The locations we chose were accessible as well as contributed to our ‘grunge’ style of music video. We chose

to film at the back of some shops under fire escape doors, against a brick wall and railings, and at an underpass. These locations together combined to create a successful, effective video that showed continuity and linked our shots together. Here I have taken 16 screen grabs to exemplify how fitting the locations were, so they didn’t look out of place or weird to our audience.

• As you can see all 16 frames have a ‘theme’ which ensured our video looked professional and was right for our target audience. For this video we were inspired by some of the other locations MO had filmed different songs in, as well as locations that little mix and fifth Harmony had used.

• we did not begin with these locations as we filmed our first draft we realised that the locations and different in lighting looked uneven and random. We changed from filming in the amphitheatre as we felt it looked too similar to our preliminary task and also collected a lot of wind! This meant that the hair In our face made for some embarrassing shots which were funny to watch however weren’t conventional in any of the existing videos we had seen!

• The blue fire escape doors look great with our blue denim outfits. This was conventional in a LOT of existing videos by girl groups as it always seems to look effective composition wise when the outfit matches the setting. It did again ‘ match our ‘grunge’ look we were going for too and created the right mise en scene for the genre and the lyrics.

• Inspired by Chicago the musical with all the girls dancing at the railings of prison cells we decided that the black railings would be iconic in terms of uniting a female audience who would more than likely be aware of the film and song that went with the original. Again this also matched our black and white outfits creating an effective composition.

• Finally, the underpass linked to the rap genre mostly as this was where we filmed the rap bridge of the song, we felt that after researching existing videos it was always conventional to change the setting of the video into something that was directly relatable to the rappers style. The underpass featured graffiti that we agreed was iconic for rap videos and also created the correct mise en scene for our video.

UNDERPASS

BACK OF TESCO

PICTURE WE TOOK INFRONT OF FIRE ESCAPE DOORS

COSTUME AND PROPS• Again, from the screen grabs you can see the three different costumes we chose to wear in our music video.

We chose to have the ‘Yeezy’ style khaki outfits as after researching videos we found that more recent videos were featuring the artist in this style of clothing, an example of this is Beyoncé in the trailer we saw for her new album ‘lemonade.’ As this is a current fashion directly linked to Kanye West (a famous rapper) we agreed this would be the best outfit to wear in the rap location as it was conventional for this specific genre and would therefore attract a wider audience who were interested In that fashion.

• We also chose to film one location in an outfit that incorporated denim. We decided that after watching existing MO videos and using this outfit in our preliminary video it united us as a group as it was the easiest to match with one another.

• The black and white outfits we chose to include as every single girl group we looked into had a music video where at some point they were wearing a black and/or white outfit. Therefore this immediately meant that we were conforming to the conventions of existing promotional packages specific to our genre.

• We didn’t really use props in our video except from when Amelia and Aisha are seen on their phones. This was to give subtle hints of narrative as the audience wonders who is on the other end of the line and it is later revealed as the rapper as the lyrics he sings also hint this.

CAMERA WORK • The camera work throughout our video consists majorly of close ups, medium shots that are level or at high and low

angles. The close ups are important in the pop genre especially with female artists as it emphasises their whole appearance and gives them a bigger identity. In groups it also makes it easier for the audience to follow who is singing the song. We wanted a fun and flirty feel without the video being inappropriate for our audience. The shots taking selfies and the natural shots of us laughing and winking convey a ‘fun’ feel and also emphasise how relatable we are to our target audience as these are all obvious things that girls would be doing at that age. Incorporating close ups helped us achieve that relationship with the audience and artist that we were initially going for.

• Another aspect of the camera work I think is important to mention Is the part where Amelia covers the camera with her hand. The hand then comes away from the lens only to reveal Aischa as she begins to sing her verse. We were always set on trying to incorporate unique cuts and changes so that the video had repeatability and it was enjoyable to watch for the viewers.

• We also made the camera track the majority of Ashley’s rap. This encourages the audiences involvement as he looks directly at the camera, seeming like he is rapping to the audience. As he is also attractive this helps to target our audience of teenage girls as they would probably talk to their friends about the feature which would create more talk about the group, promoting them and the song. This links back to star appeal and how people enjoy watching certain artists on screen.

EDITING• FLASH CUTS –(short cuts) As we had around 100 shots in our music video I feel its safe to say we definitely incorporated a lot of these!• JUMP CUTS- having different close ups in the same setting meant the focus figure was changing although the setting remained the same. • MIRROR FX- We used the mirror effect to emphasise the fun of dancing and that is why they are specifically on these shots so our

audience looks forward to them. • COOKIE CUTTER- we used this effect on some of our shots to ensure the focus was kept directly on the group. It also encourages the

audience to feel more involved and important in the video. • BLACK AND WHITE FILTER-the black and white effect we weren’t sure about however after receiving positive feedback we concluded we

would keep them in the video. I believe this challenges the pop genre as the videos are always really bright and colourful, this doesn’t conform to that however I do believe its made the video more effective and exciting.

• BRIGHTNESS AND CONTRAST-we had to use this tool to ensure continuity and a professional look throughout our video. We used this tool when the brightness was obviously different in some of the locations as we didn’t want them to look random and out of place.

• THOUGHT BEATS- the thought beats were the most important thing in our video as it meant that we edited the visuals to go alongside the music. This is a common convention in most pop genre videos. Some of our split repeated shots are an example of this as as the music stutters, so does the video.

• REVERSE EDITING- to add another aspect of repeatability to our video we reversed some of the shots, for example when Ashley walks into shot it then looks as if he walks back out and in again. This simply makes the video more interesting and captures the audiences attention.

DIGIPAK• The digipak effectively creates synergy across media products along with

the original video and poster. Ours successfully follows the codes and conventions of a typical digipak in this genre to ensure it reaches its target audience.

PYT

DANCE ON MY OWN

On the front of the digipak there is a picture of all three of us lined up against a brick wall. This shows continuity as we filmed against a brick wall in the original music video. Aischa and Amelia look directly at the camera creating an intimate relationship between the audience and artist, drawing them in.

I decided to use a bold white font for the cover. The fonts I used were ‘BASIC TITLE’ and ‘AR BONNIE.’ I believe these fonts make the cover girly and exciting whilst also being eye catching for the audience. The fonts a fairly plain and simple as I wanted to main attention to be on the image of the group and I didn’t want a cluttered cover as most of the existing ones were simple which was more effective.

On the back of the digipak it is conventional for the track list to be featured. This means that before the audience buys it they can see and decide if they want to purchase it.

Conventional traits on all digipaks are the copyright information and barcode.

For the back of the digipak I chose to use an image I had previously shot when deciding on locations. The metal steps help give that ‘grunge’ feel and as I applied a filter over it as well as changed the contrast, it goes with the front cover creating a theme.

The backing of the CD is a grey/brown brick wall. This compliments the back and cover of the digipak as it’s a similar tone. It again exemplifies continuity as one of our filing locations was against a brick wall.

The brick wall contrasts with the backing and therefore stands out. We are wearing the same costume as the front cover and the font remains the same ensuring that it is kept simple and effective.

To promote our song further I have added a quote from the single on the CD. I tried to pick the most memorable line other than ‘dance on my own’ so it was relatable and one that would present the music genre as fun, upbeat and ‘feel good.’

POSTER

Name is included- Continuity and synergy are presented here as the font/logo remains the same style and colour as the digipak.

Including the icon for ITunes and amazon is conventional within music posters as it gives the audience several options explaining where they can find music by this group.

In our music video there are several shots of the group taking selfies. The fact that we are wearing the same outfits and in the ‘selfie style’ it means that we can continue our theme throughout our promotional packaging which is common through practically all artists material.

Link to social media to entice the audience and get them to search the group as they’ll most likely be interested and our target audience is also predictably going to have a big social media presence

To make poster unique and different from others, I decided to manipulate the images and repeat them three times on top of each other. I found this made the poster more interesting and eye catching. I initially did this because It linked with the fact there are three members of the group and three letters in PYT.

Including information about a feature to gain a broader audience.

Same font and album name (songs name) promotes the group and the video

Including a picture of the digipak I thought was a clever idea as it means people will already know what it looks like before they see it and will therefore be more attracted to it when they do as it’s in their memory

These are all common conventions of a promotional poster, the digipack follows common conventions too. I decided to use common conventions in order to make sure the product would be successful. Because the group is not be so well known and popular, I decided it would be best to stick to common promotions. I was mainly inspired by Little Mix’ promotional packages as they are suddenly becoming extremely successful and marketing and promotions is key to their success keeping it simple with the main focus on the group.