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Critical Reflectoin

How does your product represent social groups or issues?

My music video is mainly targeted towards teenagers, therefore, all my actors are teens, however, instead of the stereotypical idea of teenagers (the idea that we're all addicted to our phones, never go outside, and have a bunch of drama), I made my video more of a homage to nature and friendship. In the use of footage of just fun moments, for instance, the medium shot I used of the two girls dancing, represents the liveliness and freedom of youth, in contrast to the current world where many teenagers stay in their rooms, play games online, and talk to people via a device. Additionally, there's a great contrast between the shots where one character is walking alone, and between the shots of the characters all together as a group. This challenges the idea that teenagers just are alone all the time, locking themselves in their room, and being plagued by social media. It shows a more quit kind of solitude, and an equal balance between enjoying being alone and enjoying time with your friends.

How do your products engage with the audience? 

Online Distribution

I used specific social media applications to help catch my audience's attention to my music video and brand. Using my website, Instagram, and other social media platforms enables my music video to connect with a younger generation and community, increasing video viewing and music sales from my target audience, teenagers. Because, let's face it, teenagers would much rather be scrolling through shortened clips on TikTok than watch a music video in its entirety.

Target Audience:

  • Girls

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  • High schoolers and teens

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  • People looking to relive their youth

Audience Engagement

My music video will engage with all the audiences (for reference, i made a chart which can be seen to the left of this text) it wants to grab their attention. By utilizing media, it will attract a younger audience, and by having content skewed to high schoolers, it can also interact with my audience by constantly showing high schoolers themselves which will interact with my younger audience in a way that makes those readers feel more connected to the music video since it is relevant to their age group.

Summary of Media and Audience Engagement

In conclusion, even though my music video caters to a short range of ages, I will be able to advertise it to the younger target audience through social media and have it on my website to make it more accessible to all of my target demographics.

How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’? 

Setting

The setting of the beach and the ice cream shot allude to the branding and idea of summer fun with friends, like that one last summer before everyone leaves high school and goes their separate ways. I kept this consistent in all the branding for my music video. On the digipak, the whole front and back cover feature shots of the beach and the characters, and all over my promotional website and Instagram, that same theme of "beach" continues to make a consistent brand and idea for my music video and production.

Social Media

In the social media page and website for my music video, it call for the audience to become extra actors. In my opinion, by doing this, the audience can relate more to the artist and brand because they know they can be a part of the product. This creates a sense of this not only being a brand, or an artist these teenagers like, but creates a brand of intimacy, much like the intimacy of teenage friendships shown in the music and music video. It makes the audience feel a familiar connection to the brand and increases interaction online and with the artist. With social media, the audience can directly talk and comment on their idol's posts and even put likes on them.

How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

When i began to research different pop and indie style music and music videos, I found that many of them had soft color pallets, and featured a lot of nature and narrative, both in the music and music video, for instance, in the research I did concerning the song "august" by Taylor Swift. I also implemented this into my music video by shooting it at the beach and using light, airy colors in all my shots. However, when I went to go research more traditional indie artists, like Gracie Abrhams, there wasn't any narrative element in her music video. It was mostly just shots and pictures of her, much like a scrapbook. I wanted there to be a storyline in MY music video though, so by giving my music video a story, and characters besides the artist of the music themselves, I challenged this typical indie music comvention.

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