Like a cinematic symphony, a music video weaves sonorities and images to create a captivating piece of art. Our product incorporates representation, branding, and audience engagement which permeate every aspect of our production process. A distinctive identity full of uniqueness and lively characteristics penetrates our products via the use of vibrant colours, and camera angles such as a long arc shot. We have conformed to conventions such as using a traditional pop band makeup while challenging ideas of heteronormativity through subtle hints near the end of the music video.
The design across the digipak and social media portrays a distinctive visual identity through the use of bold and bright colours, graffiti that symbolises freedom, and butterfly iconography which hint at themes of passion, empowerment, and energy. The various colours of butterfly design utilised on the digipak symbolically signify unique individuals undergoing life changes, which appeals to a broad audience who resonates with this experience. Our promotion mirrors Hesmondhalgh’s idea that media products are carefully formatted using several strategies to reduce risk. A drawback in our design of the digipak package and social media posts is the lack of additional engaging products such as a lyrics booklet. The Psychedelic style is metaphorically represented via the use of glitch effects in a Dutch angle as it evokes distortion of reality, euphoria, and entanglement of feelings, which reflect ideas of postmodernism per Baudrillard. The abstract collaged image patterns represent the impulsive and inner thoughts experienced by the artists, shaping their personalities as full of passion. By establishing unity, it increases audience engagement as in Ariana Grande’s recent posts, her unified use of beige and toned-down natural make-up establishes her new style which increases audience engagement, curiosity, and attention. Furthermore, famous Western musicians such as Charlie Puth, Cardi B, and Selena all created Chinese social media accounts such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin (Chinese TikTok) to directly target specific demographics. We advertised our product via Instagram Posts, Reels, and YouTube which facilitates the wide spread of information globally, increasing audience consumption. Contrarily, Taylor Swift “learned to block some of the noise” as she turned off the commenting function, implying the disturbing and insignificant messages received. Often, audiences are interested more than in an artist’s music, but the person.
The diversity of posts encourages the audience to ‘follow’ and pay more attention to our artists’ products. For instance, posting trailers, behind-the-scenes (BTS), and promotional photos is an approach Ariana Grande took when introducing her new album ‘eternal sunshine’ on Instagram. She is also highly active and engaging with her fans as she replies to fan’s reaction videos when listening to her songs and sets them on to her stories. Our posts are high in quality as we include film stills, BTS, and daily life photos. An engaging caption is used when posting the announcement of the video as we used the word ‘Official’. This grabs the audience's attention and establishes authority, importance, and exclusivity. Additionally, a short ‘spoil’ of the most captivating scene (the arc shot) in the video stimulates interest and encourages audiences to view the full version. This approach was a direct reference to Ariana Grande’s post on the video ‘yes, and?’ promotion. However, more types of media can be included such as videos as it provides a more immersive and interactive experience through sound and motion. For instance, Ariana Grande’s BTS video of the creation process provides an alternative angle of viewing and feeds audiences extra content to stay engaged, meanwhile exemplifying cross-product promotion.
The song is performed by two Asian teenage girls and targets teenagers, Asian demographics, and English speakers. This phenomenon could be explained by Gilroy’s Postcolonial theory; where Asian teenagers are often influenced by the blend of their own cultural and Western ideologies simultaneously which categories our artists more internationally and relatable to a greater population. Additionally, through the feedback from the audience, some people sensed the hint of LGBTQ connotations which was not our intention which reflects Barthes’ idea of ‘The Death of the Author’. According to Barthes’ semiotics theory, all messages are decoded through the use of semiotics and the representation of minority groups widens our targeted audience. To exemplify, Taylor Swift’s single “You Need To Calm Down” explicitly represents LGBTQ individuals and supports this minority group as an influential musician. However, we implicitly challenge the idea of heteronormativity while Butler suggests that non-heteronormative identities are marginalised or subjugated within society. The song ‘get him back!’ is an Alternative/Indie song which is a considerably niche trending genre that attracts people with particular tastes. As an example of genre hybridisation per Neale, this would challenge arguments by Curran and Seaton that media concentration is designed to appeal to mass audiences. This further implies ideologies of the Romantic movement where the purpose of art was meant to be expressive, not standardised perfection.
The double meaning of ‘get him back’ is implied in the scene when the same artist was displaying dramatic and contradicting emotions towards each other, mirroring reality and fantasy. This addresses the issues of romantic relationships in society which draws attention to our product due to its high relatability. As Gauntlett said, media offer audiences a wide diversity of gender-based identities that allow people to shape their own. Our target demographic is Generation Z and addresses ideas about love and how individuals are free to be expressive and possess multiple identities. The change of attitude is represented via the iconography of butterflies and colour toning to exemplify the idea of metamorphosis. For example, as the butterflies emerge behind the artist, it implies her overcoming of emotional barriers and signifies her confidence in establishing a new self as the colour grading transitions from low-saturated to bright warm colours. The performance section constitutes five members including male and female in a conventional pop band which would be appealing and relatable to both genders and music lovers. Ariana Grande used many close-up shots in her video “boyfriend” in slow motion which created an intimate and dreamlike feel. Nevertheless, most of our shots depict dynamic movements which ignore the importance of close-ups. To improve, cropping in on footage was made to offset the lack of close-ups to achieve high primary engagement per Tunstall. To further establish repetition, the arc shot was rotated in the opposite direction and reused which created a sense of surrealism. For instance, in Selena Gomez’s “Single Soon”, she cuts between a few locations presenting new scenes previously featured to draw consistency throughout further establishing her brand as an empowering artist. Incorporation of creative shots such as low angles, fish eye lenses, and overlaying effects were included to enhance visual engagement. From the song “Left and Right” by Charlie Puth and Jung Kook, the arc shot of the two artists was an inspirational reference that we borrowed which encapsulates the meaning of optimism and freedom in our work.
At the bridge section of the song, a shift to an abstract style concept video features the artists’ in a multifaceted manner. By employing the contrasting colours of red and black combined with the flashing editing effect, artists’ conflicting emotions of evilness, revenge, power, and unique personalities are explored through cultural codes way which would be appealing to audiences who appreciate artistic creativity. Generally, the theme of friendship, lovers, resilience, and empowerment is highlighted which universally all age groups can appreciate but is mostly dominated by young adolescents and adults. As a result, audiences identify with role models and develop gender schemas per Martin and Halverson which shapes their framework towards gender. This is further supported by Gerbner’s cultivation theory which media cultivates perception of reality and this affects gender behaviour. Thus, encourages fan art and parody which allows audiences to express themselves in creative ways which is suggested by Jenkins and Shirky.
The editing and style of the music video is a conventional concept video hybridising performance elements which guarantee its acceptance among the audience, which is the most common genre of music videos and further supports Hesmondhalgh’s idea of minimising risks. However, following traditional styles does not always result in positive outcomes. Standarised and conventional products may lack the creativity that aims to serve the mass audience which is what Curran and Seaton argue. “Somebody That I Used To Know” depicts Gotye’s emotional changes from being vulnerable to anger which is symbolised through nudity and eventually covered in sharp lines and colours of paint. Being more creative and niche has a dual effect on attracting people who enjoy this genre, or it is impactful enough that drive the mass audience to consume high creative quality media.
To conclude, our promotional package aims to serve a mass audience that relates themselves to the themes of love, friendship, and self-actualization. We disobeyed social conventions such as hinting at the featuring of minority groups (LGBTQ) and femineity in a non-stereotypical manner. Furthermore, our digipak and social media posts further the interaction between artists and audience, meanwhile it also portrays our artist’s identity through repetition of themes and codes which establishes unity in this album.
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