Intriduction: for my comp 3 our group was told to do a music promotion package to use the song Chambers Of Reflection by Your Anxiety Buddy, an indie pop song which was originally created by Mac Demarco but we chose the licensed cover. For our star we went with a persona that represents loneliness and solitude which some audience could relate with
Branding is just the image or vibe an artist shows so people can recognize them. It can be their style, personality, or humour. This links to Richard Dyer’s Theory of Stardom which says celebrities are made by media through promotion and interviews so people can relate to them more. This can be achieved through conforming or subverting to genre conventions. The meaning of genre convention are established rules, elements, tropes that define specific genres in media.
Conventions in media are not stuck forever. They shift depending on what new artists decide to do. We see some follow the usual style because it works and people are used to it. Others change things up so it feels new. When something feels familiar the audience can sort of relate to it and connect to it much quicker. If it looks too different it might confuse them. Branding is really just keeping the same look again and again. Same colours. Same kind of clothes. Same vibe everywhere.
When we were planning our project we did not want the music video to look separate from the digipak or the Instagram page. It had to feel like one thing. So we kept the lighting soft in all of them. Not too bright and also not too dark. It gives off a quiet and emotional mood which fits our song. At one point we tried stronger shadows but it looked too dramatic so we changed it. Now the soft light shows up in the video and also in the photos online and on the cover. It just makes everything feel connected.
For our media representation we wanted to show teenagers how they actually are. Not always happy or confident but rather sometimes people our age feel lost and don’t really know what they are doing with their life. Society expects a lot from young people and that can mess with your head. So instead of showing a perfect lifestyle we decided to show the struggles too. The point is that feeling stressed or confused is normal and you shouldn’t feel embarrassed about it.
(Fig 2.1)Our star is a teenager because it makes more sense for the story. He looks sad and unsure of what he is doing in a lot of scenes and that was done on purpose. We didn’t dress him in anything fancy. Just normal clothes you would actually wear. We even filmed in a supermarket which is kind of random but also realistic. It shows that even in a normal everyday place someone can be thinking about their future or feeling stuck.
We used close up shots so you can actually see his face properly. When he looks tired or upset it feels more real. We also showed bigger shots of the supermarket so it doesn’t look fake or staged. The character we created is meant to be relatable. He likes to doubt himself making it more relatable to targeted audience
This links to David Gauntlett who talks about identity. He says people use media figures to help shape who they want to be. In a way we did follow the stereotype that teenagers are confused about their future because our star is like that. But we also show that he is trying to improve and grow.
On our social media page we kept the same mood. The colors are darker and not too bright because it matches how he feels. The photos are also quite simple and not overly posed. The captions sound honest and a bit emotional. We wanted him to feel like a real person you could actually know, not some fake perfect influencer.
When we started the digipak we didn’t overcomplicate it. Indie pop covers are usually simple so we followed that. We used a close up of our star because emotion is kind of the main focus in this genre. His face says more than a big background would. The design is minimal and there’s not loads of text everywhere.
But we also changed a few things. Instead of putting him somewhere nice or aesthetic we put him in a dark room. It feels more empty and isolated. That choice links to the meaning of our song. It’s not trying to be loud and expresses itself and that’s the point. We wanted it to feel a bit uncomfortable and honest.
From looking at other indie digipaks we saw that most of them use muted colorss and darker tones. They don’t really use bright colors. So we edited ours in a similar way. The darker colour grading makes the emotion stronger. Even before listening to the music you can kind of guess the vibe.
We kept his clothes normal too. Just regular outfits. That makes him look like a normal person instead of some big celebrity. It helps people relate to him more. We also focused a lot on lighting. Not too harsh. Just enough to show his expression clearly. His serious face mixed with the dark tone makes the whole thing feel emotional.
This also connects to Richard Dyer and his idea that stars are constructed in media. We kind of built our star to seem relatable but still different in his own way. Everything from the close up to the colour grading helps create that image.
Our target audience is mostly teenagers and young adults age 16 to 25. We felt like they would understand the meaning of the video more than kids would. Especially people who have gone through hard times before. If someone has felt stressed or lost at some point they might connect to it more. We are also aiming at people who like indie music and prefer artists who feel real instead of fake or overly perfect.
In the music video the artist is shown as someone who is not fully okay. He looks alone most of the time. His clothes are just normal everyday outfits because we did not want him to look rich or styled up. In the supermarket scenes he is by himself which makes everything feel a bit empty. We used close up shots so the audience can see his face clearly and notice his emotions. Then we added long shots of the supermarket so you can see how small he looks in that big space. It makes the loneliness stand out more.
This idea connects to David Gauntlett and his Theory of Identity. He talks about how people use media figures to help shape who they are. So if viewers see our artist dealing with struggles they could reflect on it and relate with it too.
Our social media follows the same vibe also going for the dark and gritty vibe as the music video. This helps create a branding which we are going for which the fan could connect to, Fan could also interact by giving comments in the music video which establishes a sincere connection between the fan and the artist
In the end branding is just the overall image of the artist. It is how people remember him. It includes the way he looks the mood of the visuals and the kind of message he gives. If everything looks the same style wise it is easier for the audience to recognise it. If it keeps changing too much people might get confused.
In our project the music video social media and digipak all have a similar feel. They are kind of dark and not very bright. We used a lot of close up shots of his face and normal places like the supermarket. These things show up in all three products. Because of that it does not feel random. It feels planned.
We made our artist look like a normal person instead of someone famous and perfect. He wears simple clothes and shows real emotions. That makes it easier for the audience to relate to him. Overall all three parts of our project link together and help create one clear image of who he is.
