PLANNING: Video Clip for Website

On my website, I need to feature a 30 second video clip, and I currently have two ideas for this (the one that I pick will depend on the footage that I am able to get – so it’s good to have a backup idea).

My original idea was to make a short behind the scenes video of my music video. This would feature clips of quotes from the cast on set, a montage of the filming process, and little interview clips with the cast members. I like this idea, but this might not be something I’m able to do due to COVID-19 and social distancing – getting clips for the music video will obviously be the main priority, and there may not be time/opportunities to get many other clips with the cast.

My other idea is to create a tutorial on how to make a ‘bug friend’ (these bug friends will be featured as a prop in the video, so showing fans how to make their own would be a nice idea). The tutorial would show what materials you need, how to make the bug, and at the end I could feature clips of the artist with the bugs or clips of them on set. The advantage of this idea is that it would be something that I could make on my own, and making the bug friends is something I need to do anyway. This is also quite an original idea compared to the behind the scenes video, but it will all depend on what I am able to do with the resources that are available.

GENERIC RESEARCH: Industry Research

How has the music industry changed?

The music industry has changed a lot over time, especially in the last 10 years. Streaming has changed the way we listen to music, and is more popular than ever – Spotify currently has 130 million premium subscribers. Streaming currently makes up 80% of the music industry’s revenue, and CDs, which have drastically declined in sales over the past decade, now only make up 9% of the industry’s revenue. Vinyl has made a comeback, but nowadays most artists make the majority of their money through streams and selling merchandise, whereas this was previously made by selling CDs and vinyls.
These are all things I will have to bear in mind when designing my website. Having links to streaming platforms will be essential, and will encourage people who visit the website to download the music (especially since streaming is very popular amongst my target demographic). Featuring a merchandise store on my website will also be a good idea, as this is one of the main ways artists make money. On this merchandise store I will feature products such as t-shirts and hoodies, as well as the option to purchase the album digitally, or purchase the physical copy on vinyl. Vinyls may not make as much money for artists as they used to, but they are still quite popular amongst my target demographic (my website research showed me this, as all the websites I looked at had the option to purchase vinyl albums on their merchandise store).

What role does Warner Music Group play in the industry?

Warner Music Group (WMG) is a record label conglomerate owned by Warner Bros. It’s one of the ‘big three’ recording companies along with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, and WMG owns some of the largest and most successful labels in the world, including Atlantic Records, Parlophone, Warner Records, and Elektra Records. There are a lot of big mainstream artists signed to Warner, such as Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, and Charlie Puth, but the label also signs some smaller artists, such as Cavetown and Hobo Johnson. This means that there are a range of music videos produced by artists signed to Warner, from large scale productions intending on appealing to a large mainstream audience, to smaller productions made mainly for fans of the artist. My music video will be more like the latter, because of both the record label and my target demographic (a socially conscious, 16-25 year old, middle to upmarket demographic, rather than a big mainstream audience).

PLANNING: First Ideas

GENERIC RESEARCH: Language and Digital Convergence

How do media producers use language to communicate meaning?
Media producers use language such as shot types, camera movement, angles, intertextuality, lighting, colour palettes, editing, and mise-en-scène to help create meaning. For example, intertextuality helps media producers create and communicate meaning by borrowing meaning from other media texts. Music videos are a short form, meaning that they often don’t have time to establish a clear narrative and create meaning, so intertextuality can help music videos establish these things by borrowing meaning from other media texts. Intertextuality also allows audiences to feel a sense of gratification if they understand the reference. Shot types and editing can also change the pace of a music video to help it fit the song nicely.

How do media producers use digital convergence to link their products?
Media producers use digital convergence to link their products in many different ways. Some examples include using a similar house style/colour scheme in both a music video and on the website, linking social media on an artists website, and bonus content (like an interview with the artist) or Easter eggs on the website that link to things in the music video.

Revision of Pitch

Following up on my generic research and audience research, these are my current ideas for what I will feature in my music video and on my website.

I still want my music video to focus on narrative, but I think I will also include a performance aspect throughout the video. This was something that my focus group liked the idea of, and it would also allow me to get more close ups of the artist, reflecting Andrew Goodwin’s theory. The narrative of my video will focus on a teenage boy struggling to come to terms with his sexuality. The lyrics of the song I’ve chosen (‘Boys will be Bugs’ by Cavetown) address the issue of toxic masculinity and it’s effect on teenage boys, and my video will feature a gay main character who gives in to the pressures of toxic masculinity, but eventually ends up being proud and expressing his identity. Since the song I’ve chosen is in first person/from the perspective of a character (eg. the lyrics ‘I’m a dumb teen boy’), the main character of my video (the artist) will be lip-syncing the majority of the lyrics. I want my video to have a clear aesthetic and colour palette, so I will have to bear this in mind when choosing specific locations. At the beginning of my video, I would like to feature the titles (‘Boys will be Bugs by *name of fictional artist*’) as a hand-drawn animation as this is something that would show of my skills in other areas, and would also interest the audience from the beginning of the video.

For my website, I will feature all the regular codes and conventions of an artist’s website, including the artists logo in the top left hand corner of the website (in the same hand drawn style as the titles in the music video – digital convergence), a navigation bar with tabs such as ‘About’, ‘Music’, ‘Tour’, and ‘Store’, and the music video on the homepage. The homepage will also feature photographs of the artist, and a short audio-visual clip – a few of my ideas for this are a behind the scenes montage, an interview with the artist, or a tutorial on how to make a ‘bug friend’ (these bug friends will be featured as a prop in the video, so showing fans how to make their own would be a nice idea). The website should have clear house style, using similar colours and graphics to those featured in the music video, and should be easy to navigate.

GENERIC RESEARCH: Summation

In my research, I have identified many codes and conventions of music videos, including:

·        A range of shot types

·        Many different locations

·        Intertextual references

·        A distinctive colour palette and aesthetic

·        A focus on narrative with performance aspects

·        Close ups of the artist/band (Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory)

·        Features the artist as the star of the video (Richard Dyer’s star theory)

·        The use of stereotypes, which are then later undermined (this is more common in protest videos)

·        Makes a statement (again, this is more common in protest videos)

·        Makes references to social/cultural/historical context

·        Visuals that illustrate the lyrics (Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory)

I have also identified the following codes and conventions in my research into artist’s websites:

·        A clear house style

·        The use of similar fonts throughout the website (often similar to the font on the artists most recent album cover)

·        A distinctive colour palette (often reflecting the colour palette/style of the artists recent music videos/album cover – showing digital convergence)

·        The artists logo (usually in the top left corner) acting as a home button

·        A navigation bar, usually featuring pages such as ‘About’, ‘Tour’, ‘Music’, ‘Video’, and ‘Store’

·        A simple layout making the website easy to navigate

·        Images of the star

·        The artists most recent music video(s)

·        Links to stream/download the artists most recent album/single

·        A page dedicated to all the artists music, featuring song lyrics and links to stream/download

·        A merchandise store

·        A page showing the artists upcoming concerts/tour, including links to purchase tickets

·        Easter eggs

·        The option to sign up for email updates

·        Links to social media

I will use these codes and conventions in my music video and website, such as:

·        Featuring the artist as the main focus of my video, and using close up shots of the artist (relating to Andrew Goodwin’s theory).

·        My music video will focus on narrative, and should include a few shots of the artist performing throughout the video.

·        I will use intertextual references that my target demographic should understand (but even if they don’t understand these references the video will still make sense).

·        My video will feature several different locations, including a garden, a science classroom, school halls, a bedroom, and a few others (depending on what I have access to).

·        A lot of the visuals in my music video will illustrate the lyrics (relating to Andrew Goodwin’s theory).

·        The website will have a clear house style that reflects the music video, using a similar colour palette and similar fonts to those used in the video.

·        The website will feature the music video on the homepage (digital convergence).

·        The homepage will also feature a navigation bar, featuring links to pages such as ‘About’, ‘Tour’, ‘Music’, ‘Video’, and ‘Store’ (making the website easy to navigate).

·        I will feature images of the artist on the website, as well as a short behind the scenes video from the making of my music video.

·        I will also create social media accounts for my artist, which will be featured on the homepage of the website, encouraging fans to interact with the artist.