OCR Media Studies - Centre Number: 16607 Candidate Number: 6046: April 2021

Brief 4: Music video and online

Requirements of the brief

You work for an independent media production company. You have been given the task of producing a three-minute music video for a protest song* by a fictional band/artist signed to Warner Music Group, and two pages for the working website for the band/artist.

You may use an existing song for your music video (this does not need to be copyright free).

The music video must feature a narrative appropriate to a music video (e.g. a performance montage, a linear narrative illustrating or commenting on the song, or a mix of performance montage and other narrative elements).

The web pages must promote the band/artist to its target audience and enable fans to interact with them.

Summary of brief requirements:

Statement of Intent (approx. 500 words).1
Music video: One, three-minute music video.
Distribution channel: Content must be age appropriate for young adults from the age of 16.
Number of web pages: One homepage and one linked page.
Cross-media production target audience: A socially-conscious, 16–25, middle to upmarket
demographic. There must be a clear sense of branding across the two elements of the cross-media production. Production detail that must be included
The production of the music video must include (as a minimum):
- Range of camera shots, including shot distances, angles and movement as appropriate to a music video.
- Editing of footage appropriate to a music video.
- At least two different uses of mise-en-scène.
- At least two characters representing at least two different social groups (e.g. as defined by
  age, gender, race and ethnicity, sexuality).
- Graphics/titles to include the name of the track and the name of the band/artist.
  The production of the web pages must include (as a minimum):
  - Original audio or audio-visual content which may include material from the music video but must include at least one element produced specifically for the website.
  - A minimum of two original images (with at least one different original image on each of the two pages). These images must be different from those produced for the music video.
  - Appropriate conventions of website design, including an original title and logo for the band/ artist’s web page and a menu bar.
  - Text introducing the band/artist.
  - Working links from the home page to the other page.
  - A range of appropriate media language techniques (typography, images, fonts, backgrounds,
    logos, etc.) as appropriate to the purpose of the website.
    *A protest song may be any music that addresses a social, cultural, political or economic issue or may be adopted by a minority or under-represented group as expressing their identity. Allow any music that reasonably may be so defined.
    1 A Statement of Intent document needs to be completed as part of each OCR set brief. Learners need to complete a Statement of Intent document to outline the ways in which they propose to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of their chosen set brief.

How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief?

Product 1

For my first product, I intend on creating a narrative music video to a protest song that follows the story of a teenage boy struggling to come to terms with his sexuality. The video will focus on narrative, but should also include a small performance montage. This music video should reflect the industrial context of being produced for an artist signed to Warner Music Group – one of the biggest music conglomerates in the world, that signs both mainstream artists, and smaller artists (like my fictional artist). In the brief provided for the music video, a protest song is described as ‘any music that addresses a social, cultural, political or economic issue or may be adopted by a minority or under-represented group as expressing their identity’. My music video will fulfil this brief as the song I’ve chosen (‘Boys will be Bugs’ by Cavetown) addresses the social issue of toxic masculinity and its effects on teenage boys within its lyrics, and the video itself will feature the representation of a gay teenager who is experiencing the pressure of toxic masculinity, but eventually overcomes this and learns to stand up for himself and expresses his identity. I want my video to be aesthetically pleasing, and appeal to my target audience, described in the brief as ‘a socially-conscious, 16-25, middle to upmarket demographic.’ My video should appeal to this demographic, as it will present social and personal issues that they are aware of (toxic masculinity and coming to terms with your sexuality), and some may be able to relate to the situation faced by the main character in the video. The video will feature codes and conventions that are associated with music videos (which I identified in my research) – including media language such as a range of shot types, intertextuality, different shooting locations to influence the mis-en-scene, and an appropriate editing pace that matches the song. I will use intertextuality to the film ‘Scott Pilgrim vs the World’ (a film that my target demographic will likely be aware of) when editing out the swear words in the song. The video will also pay homage to a-ha’s ‘Take On Me’ music video through the combination of real-life footage and animation, a reference that younger audience members may not immediately recognise, but one that a slightly older, secondary demographic will likely recognise, broadening the appeal of my video. I will also make reference to the artist ‘Beabadoobee’ (an artist with a similar music style to the song featured in my music video who my target demographic would likely be aware of) by having my artist wear her merchandise in some scenes. I will feature several shots of the artist lip-syncing the lyrics of the song (reflecting Richard Dyer’s star theory), and a lot of the lyrics will be illustrated by the visuals (taking influence from Andrew Goodwin’s theory).

Product 2

For my second product, I will be creating an accompanying website for my artist. Nowadays, it is incredibly important for artists to have an online platform, especially since my target audience are a part of the demographic that are most used to doing things online. The music industry has changed a lot over time (see industry research), previously artists made their money from vinyl and CD sales, but nowadays the majority of revenue is made through streaming (which is particularly popular with my target demographic – see focus group research), touring, and merchandise. Websites are really important for the revenue stream – as they help to promote gigs and tours, link to streaming platforms, and sell merchandise. The artists website must be appealing to my target audience and easy to navigate, and should feature tabs such as ‘Home’, ‘About’, ‘Music’, and ‘Contact’ in the navigation bar of my website (which I identified as conventional tabs for an artist/bands website in my websites research). The ‘About’ page will discuss the life of the fictional artist, and their experience growing up as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, providing representation for this community outside the narrative of the music video. As well as my music video, the website will also feature a 30 second blooper reel, featuring outtakes and behind the scenes of the music video. My website will also feature Easter eggs, the main one being a competition to win an exclusive signed poster of the artist. The website must feature a merchandise store, several photos of the artist that should reflect their indie brand image, links to social media, and links so that the artists music can be purchased/downloaded from several different websites. To reflect the industrial context, my website will feature the Warner Music Group logo at the bottom of all the pages. The colour scheme of the website will reflect that of the video (using mainly blues, with some greens and yellows) to make sure that a clear house style is maintained. The website should also feature my artists logo at the top of all the pages – this logo will also be featured at the start of the music video – further anchoring the sense of brand identity between the two products.

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production?

I will demonstrate my knowledge of digital convergence by linking the website in the description of my music video, and by featuring the video at the top of the homepage of my website (this was something I noticed was featured in most of the websites I looked at in my website research) – so both are easily accessible from each other. I will also feature Easter Eggs on the website that relate to aspects of the music video – such as posters in the background of the video will also feature in the background of the website, and will link to intertextuality as well as reflecting digital convergence. The website will also contain links to the artist’s social media sites, as this is the best way to encourage audience interaction with the artist (especially for my target demographic of 16-25 year olds, who spend a lot of time on social media), and this will also create a community for fans of the artist. The website will also feature a call to action encouraging fans to Tweet their thoughts about the artist to be in with a chance of having their Tweet featured on the website. Both of my products will have a clear sense of branding through the use of a clear colour palette, font choices, images, and stylized illustrations/gifs that will feature in both products.