Research

18 July 2023 - we did research on the effectiveness of creating music videos to understand why a MV is made in a certain way which will help us in making our own music video for our coursework. First we chose a type of music genre and our group decided on Pop Music. 

For a music video in the ‘Pop’ genre, the theme of the song usually surrounds a safe topic like love or relationships, in which nowadays extravagant visual effects and a small storyline is created to attract the attention of audience. This is done because Pop artists are targeting general/mainstream audiences. Making the main idea of the song more relatable helps the artist build their audience and gain more fans of their songs which leads to more consumption and hence more revenue for the record label, enabling the artist to have sufficient budget for producing more music videos and other media texts in the future. 

This marketing technique of using synergy through publishing the same music in different mediums allows for constant repetition of using the same colors, fonts, shapes or symbolism which helps reinforce the artist’s brand and makes it more memorable. Just by listening to a catchy melody or seeing a specific object or color continuously allows the audience to associate specific things with the artist which again helps the artist in selling their music through the purchase of their albums or merchandise, causing their revenue to increase.

20 July 2023 - Today we researched about the 4 elements that make up a music video. 

• lip sync which is done for the main parts or chorus of the song by the artist as it builds their brand for audiences to correlate the music with the artist

• title card (record label, producer, production house) 

• storyline (cross cutting between artist lip sync and the story)

• end credits (sometimes especially if it includes many actors/doesn’t only show the artist)

For Pop Music Videos, they all generally follow the same style. 

26 July 2023 - Today we analyzed two well known Pop Artists’ branding across different mediums. Having good and consistent branding is important especially in the music industry since there are many artists in each genre so by having a good brand, artists are able to differentiate themselves from everyone else.

1 August 2023 - A music video script is essential to make as it gives a detailed explanation to our actors as to what to do, say or act in specific parts of the song. It also allows our cameraman to know the type of camera shot, angle, or movements that has to be done to tie in the actions of our actors with the song.

To make a script, we first must listen to the song repeatedly to help us visualize the scenes in each lyric including the type of emotions it’s trying to convey, the main idea of the song and the tempo/beat of the music (upbeat = more active/expressive actions). After that, we can break down the song into different scenes to show the sets they are located in. Then based on the set, we start to think about what the actors should do or how they can interact with the area and the props in it. Here we must ensure to write as specific as possible so it is clear to both the actor and cameraman.

Drawing a storyboard gives both the actors and directors a better understanding to visualize how we want the end product to look like from the angles and shots to film the scenes in hence perfecting each part.

15 August 2023 - Creating a digipak is one of the media products we had to give for our coursework so to ensure we make an accurate digipak, we researched the typical conventions of a digipak. 

A digipak is said to have 6 parts: front cover, back cover, front inner cover, back inner cover, CD and spine

Front cover - artist name, album name, parental advisory sticker (if necessary)

Back cover - barcode, copyright info, record label, credits for producers, track list

CD - copyright info, artist name, album name, record label

Spine - artist name, album name

The images used are usually eye catching and related to each other (whether it be a person, object, color or symbol) with the front cover showing a clear picture of the artist

6 September 2023 - Before actually making the official digipak, our teacher gave us the class time to practice making one through following the typical conventions of a digipak. Since we already started filming a bit and had some pictures of Caylee, Angelo and Allyson, we tried using the photographs we took to create a trial digipak. I did the CD while Charlize did the front and back cover.

8 September 2023 - All famous artists have social media pages to connect with their fans which helps attract new audiences thus gaining popularity, however, this can only be done if the artist's account is well posted and clear for everyone to understand. Most artists follow the same typical conventions when deciding what to posts which include

• album release 

• tour dates

• merchandise

• aesthetic pictures of themselves relating to the album 

• random photos of the artist

Their social media page must also include

• the artist's face as their profile picture

• artist name as the user name (which can be an alias)

• bio relating to their album

• links to other important sites (ie music video on youtube, downloading the album on different streaming platforms, merch sites, concert website)

• highlights

• verified account

• usually high follower count

9 September 2023 - Social media was probably the media product we were both most confident at since we both use Instagram and are quite familiar with it. For our first attempt in making a famous artist's social media page, we posted some professional pictures, album release post, behind the scenes moments and concerts. Since our brand color is red, most of the posts have red as their main color. Behind the scenes pictures shows audiences a fun side towards the artist, thus leading to engagement.