Evaluation

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products ?

Our media product perpetuates conventions of real music videos, as it can be observed that we have edited the pace of the video, so it would match and go along with the rhythm of the song, in a way that makes the video complement the song. Consequently this makes the video fitting to the song, and much more attractive to the audience.  

Print screen of  changes made to the brightness and
contrast of the video.

Another aspect in which we have used conventions, is the fact that indie music videos are often random and colorful; we changed the brightness and the contrast of the video so it would look unrealistic, to intensify the colors so they would be vibrant and have that aspect of fantasy, after all our concept does play with the fantasies of beauty standards created by the media. 


As the video comes to an end, and our character rebels against these beauty standards, the colors go back to its original arrangement, this depicts the young woman going back to reality, and her urge to get out of - what the majority of modern society considers to be - the ideal lifestyle.

Glamorous depiction of the young model.

Turning point: The young model is fed up and breaks free from the media's manipulative ways.
It can be seen here the transition, from 'dreamlike state' which isn't really dreamy - vibrant colors,
 which  emphasizes that notion of fantasy - to reality.

Final depiction of the model who urges to go back to a ordinary reality.

Nevertheless, there are no such rules and precise conventions to follow in this particular genre of music, when comparing with other genres such as Pop, Rock and RnB. Therefore it can be argued that the convention for a indie music video is to simply be different than the conventional mainstream music video, to have no conventions at all; this was suitable as it allowed us to have more freedom in our project to film and edit, as we didn't have to worry so much about conventions.


Our project challenges conventions of music videos, as it is a truth that music videos in general do not convey important messages; the majority of them are used as a form of escapism, to entertain audiences and promote the artist's work. We challenged that convention to a certain extent, by including a serious message in our video - which is that women shouldn't be passive towards the media - through lively actions and playful, comic visuals, hence our media text still plays its role which is to entertain audiences and promote the artist's work, but it goes beyond its expectations as it carries a strong ideology behind, and in my personal opinion, this makes our music video unique and successful.


Usually - in indie music - the artist appears performing their songs in their music videos; however, we wanted to be different and challenge that convention, by creating a concept that reflects the band's beliefs, and consequently reflecting some of the band's identity. We put some thought into it and decided that this would be utterly effective as many bands have done this at least once, and the results were always successful. This option would bring enigma and it would evoke curiosity in the viewer, this would ultimately lead them to research the artist and make them want to watch their other music videos.

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts ?

I find the combination of our music video, with the digipack and magazine advert utterly effective, as the actress who plays the role of the model in our music video, also appears in both the digipack - front and back cover - and in the magazine advert; hence, there is a connection between our main product and our ancillary texts, which I personally believe is essential and fitting, as it enables the audience to relate one with the other. This method is used by many artists, that way the audience becomes aware that there is a link, that these products belong to the same artist - but more importantly - to the same album.


Another way in which the combination of the two is effective, is the fact that the themes found in our video are also found in the magazine advert, front and back cover of the digipack, these themes include eating disorders, beauty standards set by the media, celebrity's behavior, etc. 

Back cover of the digipack

It can be seen in this, that she has already been completely manipulated by the media, to the point of reaching degradation of herself. This particular picture, resembles the stereotypical polemic images of celebrities. It depicts the conventional negative behavior that celebrities usually have. It links perfectly with our video, as it is another repugnant depiction of the mass media. The main theme found in this back cover, is drugs, this allows another link with the video, as the scientist induces drugs on the model many times.

Scientist's checklist.

 

Front cover of the digipack.
The fact that she is tempted to eat
the plastic burger telephone, connotes
she is on a diet and is deprived from eating what she wants.

Like our music video, the front cover of the digipack is really striking. 
The message conveyed in our video is conspicuous, and even though the front cover emphasizes the concept, it is done in a rather subtle way, which contrasts with the manner in which we displayed the concept in the video. The connotations of eating disorders and beauty standards set by the mass media, are definitely there, but if one hasn't seen the video, there will be an element of mystery as the front cover only hints the themes explored in this album. This is highly desired, as the artist does not want the album art to give too much of the content away to the audience, otherwise it won't evoke the interest in them to purchase the product and listen to it. Therefore the album art has to evoke curiosity, it has to be delicate. 

By researching professional album magazine adverts, we found that the majority of them use the actual front cover of the band's album, in order to promote their work on their magazine. Therefore, we did the same, we only changed the dimensions and the contrast of the image, so it would resemble an actual magazine advert. We also decided it would be better to keep the front cover as the magazine advert, because that way the audience can relate one with the other. They see the advert on the magazine, and it not only promotes the product as it also makes it easier for them to actually find the product as they become aware of what the album art looks like.


The fact that these themes are found not only in the main product, but also in the and ancillary texts, makes the connection between these media texts even more poignant. Consequently, its promotion of the artist is stronger, as the ancillary texts emphasize the ideology already found in the music video.

3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback ?

From my audience feedback I have learnt that the artist's image is utterly important in the music industry, as young people find that their overall image is essential in order to evoke in them the desire to listen to the artist. I have also found out that music videos are more important than I originally thought, this is so because the majority of teenagers find them a crucial component in their everydaylives, as well as a necessary method for them to connect with their idol and to start listenning to new artists, as it is through music videos, that they can get a feel of what the artist's style is like.


Through the feedbacks gained, I have learnt that music videos are truly like commercials for songs, they are vital to an artist, as it helps them promote their song in a way that no other media text could do:
"I find music videos so important, that once I watch them, I never look at that song the same again, so if the video is really appealing to me, it makes me like the song more, and listen to it more often."


I also found out, that our concept is indeed evident in our video, and that it is a effective video, which conveys a important message through playful visuals, which makes the whole experience entertaining and different, as it was mentioned before, most music videos do not bring serious messages. Some people even compared our video to the notion of movies: "it brings a life lesson at the end, but it is very entertaining to watch as the visuals are attractive and humorous." 


We had problems when editing, as we could not change the green background, because we were unaware in the filming process, that we weren't supposed to move from the right spot. Therefore, we turned the video to black and white, but our audience was quite honest about this, they all agreed that the black and white effect did not work well with the vivacious visuals, so we got advices from our college staff, and later we changed the contrast and brightness of the video, which worked out better than the original version, as it gave the notion of dreamlike world, which fitted our concept entirely.

I have also learnt that Indie music is popular with both females and males, which goes against what I originally predicted. I reckoned at the start that males were the target audience of Indie music, but in fact, indie music can be compared to RnB as it attracts both genders equally.

4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages ?

Firstly, I have used Google throughout the whole process of research, planning and evaluation, this is due to its versatility. Every image, lyric, quote or information needed, I managed to find straightaway on Google without any problems or having to search elsewhere.

 Blogger was a really useful tool, it allowed me to post all my research online quickly; it also helped as it saved us from doing a lot of printing, it also prevented us from losing any paper work.  Apart from Google, Blogger was surely the easiest tool to use throughout this entire project. I used the Blogger as an online folder, every piece of research, planning, and even the process of the video production can be found in it.

Thirdly, I have used youtube as a source to find music videos that could give us inspiration and ideas to create our own music video.
Furthermore, I used this website in order to analyse music videos that were relevant to our chosen concept for our project, as a part of our research, and later embed the video on the blog along with the analysis.
I also used youtube to find videos that reflects on fandom, artist and video director research.

I used the software, Powerpoint, in order to create moodboards to depict the ideas, themes and the concept of our project. It is really easy to use as well as useful.

Later I used the website Slideshare in order to upload Powerpoint presentations unto the internet and ultimately embed them here.
I made a free account on this website, and found that it is a easy to use tool.

As it can be seen in the picture above, we have used a professional camera, a tripod, professional lights, and lastly, a green screen.

Unfortunately we had problems with changing the background of the green screen when editing our footage, hence we had to work with other techniques in order to embellish our music video in a way that would be relevant to its concept.

We were very fortunate to have mac computers in our college, which was utterly helpful, as they are indeed high technology that brings the ultimate softwares, it enabled us to get the best out of our project.

Final Cut Pro, a software which allowed us to easily edit our project, we learnt how to use the program quickly due to its versatility. I really enjoyed working in final cut pro since I had no experience in editing before, and I found that this particular program was easy to use, it wasn't complicated at all, so I quickly got a grip on how to use this software.

I also used a software called 'Microsoft Image Composer' which allowed me to put images together in a montage, to give a sense of what the music videos that I was analyzing, looked like.

We also used Adobe Photoshop Cs4 in oder to create our digipack covers and magazine advert.

Music Video

Digipack

Many artists like to release digipacks due to aesthetic reasons, they are more expensive than normal cds, they look nicer as the digipacks material consists of paper/cardboard, therefore it does not crack like jewel cases do, this may be one of the reasons why fans particularly like these.  Digipacks include bonus tracks and extra footage/documentaries/interview with the artist.

Below find some examples of different digipacks:

Fandom

With the Media bombarding our everyday lives with all sorts of music, tv shows, films, games, cartoons, it is a consequence for all of us to become a fan of something; since there are endless options for all different tastes. 

Stereotypically speaking, fans who get utterly attached to music idols and go to extremes in order to get their attention, are usually teenage girls and young women. The tendency is for these artists to be set in the Pop/RnB music scenario.

"this emotional attachment - some have compared to a form of love - is a vital component. May even be so intense as to go beyond an individual fan's ability fully put into words and explain it(...)" Matt Hills.

This video shows how obsessed one can become with a famous musician, but more importantly how -unfortunately- often, only girls go to extremes like this.


With new technologies such as Twitter and Youtube, fans have gained the freedom to interact with their idols. It has become easier for them to meet their favorite artists, as the majority of them post on Twitter when and where they will be, hence it goes beyond online interaction, it enhances the relationship between fans and their heroes, as it often gives them the opportunity to actually meet them in real life, many times.


"It is important to make contact in real life and not just online in social media like Twitter." Amanda Palmer, lead singer for The Dresden Dolls.


Youtube is also used by fans who are trying to gain their idols attention, or to simply show  how much they appreciate their work and their style/image.
There are tutorials teaching fans how to copy their artist's make up...




There are fans who are also artists and are trying to show to people -and their idol- their own talent -and again- how much they love the artist's work.




Some videos do grab the artist's attention, and it may ultimately result in this..

Music Video Director Research

Joji Koyama

London-based director, Joji Koyama is also known as "Woof Wan-Bau"; After his graduation in art, Koyama started to direct music videos; he has also shown his talent through short films, comics, animations, drawings and photographs, which ultimately displays the versatile artist that he is. Koyama won the prize for 2004's Best Music Video Public Choice Award, British Animation Awards, as well as 2005's Best Animated Film, Halloween Short Film Festival ICA London.
It can be observed in his work that skills are abundant as he masters different techniques such as stop motion, computer animation and live action. The surrealism and creativity are surely the main aspects of his works, he has once said in an interview: 

"My ethos is to be as playful as possible, to make something that is not just simple and glossy—with something a little bit more imaginative going on."

One of Koyama's work that can be linked to our music video, is the video to the song 'It was acceptable in the 80's' Its main style: vibrant colours and comic/playful visuals, are aspects that are also found in our music video. We researched various music videos, including Koyama's work, and the video below inspired us to produce something similar.

Evan Bernard

Evan Bernard is an american director of both commercials and music videos. He is known as he has directed videos for punk bands such as Green Day and Rancid, as well as other artists like The Beastie Boys, Moby, etc.
He is also famous for directing television ads for companies such as Toyota, Puma and Red Stripe.
Bernard's most recent work, is the music video to the song 'Double Vision' by 3OH!3, which gained positive reviews due to its creativity and originality.




Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton

Faris along with her partner, Jonathan Dayton, have directed award-winning music videos, such as "Californication" by the band Red Hot Chilli Peppers, "Freak on a Leash" by Korn, Smashing Pumpkin's "Tonight, Tonight". They have also made music videos and documentaries for artists such as Oasis, Weezer, Janet Jackson, Beastie Boys, R.E.M, etc. The couple has gone even further since they have directed many commercials for IKEA, GAP, Apple Computer, Mastercard, Puma, and many others.
The team has received critical acclaim due to their comedy-drama film, as it won them two Academy Awards.




Liz Friedlander

Friedlander is highly respected in the music industry and is considered one of the most admirable directors. She has directed over 80 music videos, and is known for working with artists such as U2, Celine Dion, Alanis Morissette, R.E.M, Blink 182, Plus 44 and others.
She won the MTV's Viewer's Choice Award for Best Video of 2002 for her work with the artist, Michelle Branch. Friedlander formerly worked as a producer and editor, she has worked with The Red Hot Chili Peppers among others.
It can be seen in the music video "Adam's song" by Blink 182, a important concept that conveys the lyrics to the song. Stop motion technique is also used in this music video, and is surely one of the main aspects of this video that makes it eyecatching, and it was one of the techniques we considered to use at the beginning of our project. 

Research

Research: Feminism in Contemporary Music

The scene of Pop and RnB music has been filled with talented female artists, and it is a truth that the majority of them were acknowledged for their youthful looks and passivity towards males. This can be observed in various media texts, but especially in music videos where they construct their image and usually emphasize, amplify the meaning of their songs.




 Britney Spears, 'Hit me baby one more time'

 

Britney Spears 'Hit me baby one more time' is an example of this. As she grew into a woman, she begun to sing songs which do enpower women in a way, but let's start from the very beginning. The lyrics to her single 'Hit me baby one more time' convey nothing but female passivity and submission towards males. The lyrics reflect on the subject of relationships and break ups; and it is implied that a woman can not be independent, she needs a boyfriend in order to be happy. The video to this song does not only convey the lyrics but it also portrays another message; the viewer is encouraged to believe that education is not important, as the video begins with the artist Britney Spears sitting in a class, not doing any work as she daydreams away about her boyfriend. So the overall message in this is utterly negative, it weakens women as it puts them in a position of submission. It simply connotes that it is essential for a young girl to have a boyfriend, but it is not important for her to focus on her education.

'My loneliness is killing me(...)When I'm not with you I lose my mind'

'Oh baby baby the reason I breath is you'

Taylor Swift, 'White Horse'

Another female artist whose work is similar to Britney Spears, is Taylor Swift. Her songs consists of the same themes; such as love and relationships. Swift doesn't seem to bring something new and different to her audience. The majority of her works are utterly conventional and stereotypical. Her songs convey female passivity, she always seems to put herself in the role of the weak victim in her songs, who is always suffering and is treated badly.




Fortunately, the music scenario seems to be evolving as new female artists are blossoming and showing the talented, strong and powerful women that they are, consequently enpowering other women through their songs.
P!nk has been one of the most successful female artists in the music industry since 2001, though she does sing love songs that are considered stereotypical, the majority of her songs are 'feel good songs', they convey a positive message and more importantly they enpower and strenghten women. Pink does bring original music to her audience, she has shown she does not only own powerful vocals, but also the ability to stand out from the crowd and create art that truly makes the difference. 'U + Ur hand' conveys the opposite of Spears 'Hit me baby one more time', in fact it conveys that women are not men's sex objects, it also implies that women do not need men to be happy.

"Wanna dance by myself, guess you're outta luck
Don't touch, back up, I'm not the one, uh buh-bye!

Listen up it's just not happenin'
You can say what you want to your boyfriends
Just let me have my fun tonight, alright?

I'm not here for your entertainment
You don't really want to mess with me tonight
Just stop and take a second
I was fine before you walked into my life

Cause you know it's over
Before it began (...)"

 

Pink has released an endless amount of songs with strong meanings behind. Her song 'So what?' which reflects on her divorce, is one example of how she approaches the theme of break ups differently than most females in pop music. Unlike the stereotypical break up songs, 'So What' is an up beat track which also comes along with optimistic and enpowering lyrics, the visuals of its music video only emphasize this as it's humorous from beginning until the end.

Find below the link to Pink's music video 'So What'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XKZh3vWeGc



Feminism Icon Poster

Picture taken from her music video 'Raise your glass',
which highlights the fact that Pink has feminist perspectives in her music.

It can also be argued that Kesha is also a feminist icon. If not all of her songs, the majority of them do bring a sense of equality towards men, as she adressess them in a way that is stereotypical and socially acceptable for male artists to adress females, usually in HipHop and RnB songs. She makes the difference as she is one of the few female artists who constantly portrays men as her sex objects in her songs, as well as depicting herself as a independent and strong woman, who is free sexually to do what she wants, without caring how society may see and judge her simply because she is a female, it is clear in her work that Kesha's aim is for sexual liberation just like other feminists.

The lyrics to the song 'Blah Blah Blah' are a good example, the song is both humorous and quite explicit as she basically conveys that she wants the boy to stop talking as all she wants from him is sex. Is quite comical as it challenges stereotypes, it is seen as normal for pop male singers to make these kind of statements, whereas is not seen as normal or acceptable for a woman to say such things; Kesha is gradually breaking that notion of females being less sexual than men in her songs and strengthening women.

In her song 'Tik Tok' she says the following: 'And Now, the dudes are lining up cause they hear we got swagger' This verse is one of the key ones in this song. It is interesting as she made use of the word 'Swagger' which is associated with confidence, with personality, instead of looks or their sex appeal, which would be the stereotypical words used in pop culture, specially when referring to females. Therefore, Kesha has feminist perspectives in her music.

Record Label Research

Record Label Research

XL Recordings is a British independent record label which was inaugurated by Tim Palmer along with Nick Halkes and Richard Russell in 1989.
 The label has brought to the industry many talented artists, such as The White Stripes, Adele, Dizzee Rascal, but more importantly, Vampire Weekend - our chosen artist -.
 I personally believe that XL Recordings is truly suitable for our chosen artist, because the majority of the artists signed to XL Recordings fit the same genre of music as Vampire Weekend, and they are also successful musicians, hence why XL has become one of the most significant independent record labels in the world.

 

" Russell broadened the musical horizons of the label whilst maintaining a credo of working with artists he saw as original and inventive "
The quote above only emphasizes the idea that XL Recordings is appropriate for Vampire Weekend, as our chosen band is genuinely original and unique.

However, there are plenty of other record labels that are suitable for Vampire Weekend.
One of them is surely Epic Records, an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. At first it was as a jazz imprint, but in 1960 the label broadened to all genres, consequently Epic grew as a label and became better known for giving a chance to new artists and different genres of music.
The label's greatest achievements was the release of the album Thriller by Michael Jackson, in 1982, which sold eighty million copies in international sales, ultimately making it the biggest selling album in history.
Other acknowledged artists within the same genre of music as Vampire Weekend, are signed to Epic Records, these include The Script, Incubus, Modest Mouse, Mudvayne and Shakira.




Founded in 1945, by Irving Green, Berle Adams and Arthur Talmadge. Mercury  Records is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Initially they were focused in classical music, jazz, blues, country music and rock and roll. But the label has broadened to other genres, such as RnB, Grime, Indie, Heavy Metal and Pop. 
Mercury Records operates in the UK as well as in Australia, USA and France. Bringing together talented artists from different cultures. I reckon that the diversity brought by Mercury Records is what makes them one of the biggest Record labels.
Artists similar to Vampire Weekend are signed to Mercury Records, such as Stereophonics, The Killers and Noisettes, all rock/indie bands that have gained recognition and reached UK top charts.

Artist Research

 ARTIST RESEARCH:

Research the branding and the marketing of artists who already fit into your chosen genre.

Incubus

Alternative rock band Incubus, was formed in 1991 in Calabasas, California. 
The band successfully managed to sell over 100,000 copies of their second album S.C.I.E.N.C.E without the support of radio or television exposure. 
This is one of their most admirable achievements, hence the reason why I chose them for this research. Incubus is a truly unique band just like Vampire Weekend.
When they released their third album Make Yourself, they earned mainstream recognition as well as critical acclaim.
Incubus evidently is a band able to evolve and mature in their career. As they have experimented with different instruments and diverse genres of music and ultimately achieved success and critics praise as they have displayed how creative and talented they are.


Like many other rock/indie bands, Incubus did not allow the media industry to exploit their image in order for them to gain success. Their achievements were purely earned by their musical gifts and creativity, by their art. 

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"Classic UK rock delivered with whiskey vocals"

Stereophonics is a Welsh rock band, formed in 1992. The band has achieved mainstream recognition in 1997, with their debut album Word Gets Around, which immediately reached the top six in the UK charts, later followed by them winning an Brit Award for Best New Band. 

Stereophonics

Ever since 1997 the group has been a success, and today they are considered one of Wale's biggest talents.
The band's success was earned as they are a creative and talented group. Their intense & affecting lyrics along with Kelly Jone's husky vocals have made an impact on rock music, and these have given them the success and recognition they worked hard to get. Unlike other artists, Stereophonic's image doesn't draw much attention as they don't rely on it to be a successful band. However they still wear stereotypical rock clothes, such as leather jackets and sunglasses, but that is as far as it gets.


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Research an artist who does not fit into your chosen genre.

Justin Timberlake

Justin Randall Timberlake was first famous for being the lead singer of the boy band 'N Sync which was formed in Florida, 1995. But as it usually happens in the music industry, the band broke up and the lead singer, Timberlake went on in a solo career.

He released his debut solo album 'Justified' in 2002, which sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. In 2006 he released his second album 'FutureSex/ Love sounds' which was just as successful as the first one, reaching UK's top music charts, ultimately winning six Grammy awards, and two Emmy awards.

Like other boy bands and pop/ RnB singers, Justin does use his image to earn success. Ever since he was 'N Sync's lead singer, he has been considered to be an attractive and very well dressed man, he even became a sex symbol.

Ever since he released his latest album 'FutureSex/Love sounds' he has been performing his shows and modelling in his photo shoots wearing a suit and a tie, It connotes elegance and manhood, this has become part of his image, of his style. 

Besides his looks, Justin has showed he is a truly talented man. He doesn't only have excellent vocals and great dancing skills, he also blows away his fans by performing the piano, the guitar and by beatboxing.

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Gorillaz

In 2000 the British music project, Gorillaz was created and it has brought to the music industry a new concept, it launched a new trend: Virtual bands. Where the actual musicians hide their identities behind cartoon characters and genuinely only focus and sell their music.
Their concerts were reviewed as "Awesome, Unique." as they are a mixture of art and music.


British cartoonist who designs the Gorillaz visuals displayed an interesting point of view when referring to the group's image 'If you’re going to pretend to be somebody you’re not – which is the whole point of being a rock star – then why not just invent fake characters and have them do it all for you?'
A virtual band allows the musicians to have freedom, something artists lose as soon as they gain recognition in the mainstream. They have the opportunity to express themselves in their music, be successful without involving their previous identity, allowing them to live their lives like ordinary people.
Their debut album released in 2001 sold over seven million copies, which led to an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful virtual band.

Audience Research, Questionnaire..

I found this website where - once I have created an account in it - I can create surveys for free, pass on the link to my friends so they can answer the questions, and ultimately get the results needed for this project.
I thought this website was not only useful but easy to use.

http://www.freeonlinesurveys.com

Here are a few printscreens, showing the questions I put together in a survey...

Result:

Through this questionnaire, I found out that the target audience of Grime music are teenage and young men of African origin, whereas Pop music are teenage and young women. However, Indie music seems to be equally attractive to both males and females, but the tendency is for White-Caucasians to listen to this. I also noticed that very rarely young people listen to the radio or watch television in order to consume music, the majority of them use Youtube to watch music videos, and mp3 devices to listen to their music on a daily-basis. This research has also highlighted the fact that young people do judge artists by their image, as very few said they usually give a chance to them, despite their image. My Questionnaire also shows that people that do dress according to their favorite artists, tend to be young teenagers, whereas the majority of the young adults claimed to only do sometimes or not at all. Another interesting fact is that the majority who find music videos a vital component to their lives, are teenagers aged between 15-18, the majority of the young adults have claimed they don't find it crucial to watch it when a particular song is released as they feel satisfied to only listen to the song.