CRITICAL REFLECTION
QUESTION 1 )
How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?
Personally, I think this year has been a massive success when it comes to my own research and the way I have managed to use it as an advantage to inform my products and produce them in the best possible manner.
This year has been a long process where I have learned many things that have been useful towards my final productions such as learning about the conventions of real music videos in order to construct messages and meanings. Firstly, I have been able to learn that it is of great consequence to include codes and conventions within music videos as it allows the audience to be familiar with particular genres and sub consciously they will eventually recognise the different conventions within the genre, providing a structure to the video that they will understand. This year, I chose to produce a music video in the R&B genre, where I was able to learn and include real and specific music genre conventions such as the importance of the camera work and how in the R&b genre, shots tend to be medium shots or pan shots which is when the camera scans the scene horizontally and the camera is turned to follow the artist situated in the middle of the screen trying to use their presence to attract more audiences. Moreover, I also learned further conventions, such as the importance of editing and how important thought beats tend to be to keep the audience engaged in the video. Also, regarding Mise-en-scene, I have learned the importance of lighting and how in the R&B genre these are usually high key with a black and white grayscale filter on top to create a soft tone to the video and therefore creating a sensual atmosphere. I have also learned that R&B music videos tend to be quite illustrative therefore the artists perform a lot as in real story performance, or just sing and dance in front of the camera, therefore when it comes to Mise-en-scene, facial expressions and body language tend to be very important as they also create the whole atmosphere of the video, transmitting different meanings to the viewers. (These are usually sexually persuasive, in order to attract an audience). Further on, costumes and props also tend to play a really important role in the codes and conventions of R&B music videos and especially on my own production. When it comes to female R&B artists, (as in my own video), they tend to be wearing provocative clothing to attract the opposite sex of the age range of mid teens to late twentys, reinforcing Laura Mulvey’s theory of male gaze.
When It comes to the production process of my own digipak, I have also managed to learn and include a variety of conventions such as following a simplistic design and colour scheme. However, I decided to use contrasting colours because this is also used to give the digipak that contemporary and modern filling towards my production, slightly subverting the old, and classic R&B genre conventions which I really wanted to reinforce to my audience. Furthermore, I also learned how in R&B digipaks the use of different colour fonts and fonts are used in order to make it eye-catching towards the audience. Finally, R&B digipaks tend to include; males/females presented as attractive and confident, a range of colours, special and attractive fonts often centralised, and typical RnB iconography in terms of clothing, settings and ‘bling”.
For the social media page production I have also managed to research in depth and learn a variety of conventions regarding R&B artists and their social media pages. Firstly, The page will always promote new music videos and albums produced by the artist in order to attract an audience. Moreover, there is a lot of information given to the fans related to the artists work in order to attract the audience and keep them engaged, which I have decided to include by using instagram’s featured stories section. Social media pages usually have a similar aesthetic over the whole feed including a variety of bright colours and the same layout in all of it to attract the audience. And finally, the choice of images (Including sexual attractive Images) and the combination of bright colours are used to also attract the audience but most importantly to communicate the genre, as well as the use of links to music videos or Spotify albums.
Finally, during the whole production process of the three different products including the music video, the digipak and the social media page, there are some conventions I have decided to adapt due to the specific meaning I wanted to transmit to my audience, by lightly subverting the old and classic R&B genre conventions and portraying my product in a more contemporary and modern way, but at the same time maintaining the urban essence of the traditional R&B genre. Therefore there are a few conventions such as the choice of bright colours with a blue pallet contrast that I have decided to exaggerate in all three products in order to reinforce a contemporary, modern feeling. Moreover, when it comes to R&B Music videos conventions, I have also dedicated to adapt the mise-en-scene conventions regarding costume making my costume choice something more simple and “fashionable” with a variety of colours so my targeted audience between the early teens and late twenties are able to feel identified in the way of dressing. Finally, In the production of the social media page, I have decided to adopt the same codes and conventions, however,I have adapted a few things such as the symmetric layout and the use of two different languages in posts. Spanish (artist’s native language) and English in order to attract a wider international audience, and make the social media page look more modern and alternative in a way.
QUESTION 2 )
How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of branding ?
Throughout this hall year’s course, I decided that it was crucial and really important for me to create a “Brand Identity” for when creating multiple media products In order to help me differentiate my work from other students' competition and appropriately position my brand. Developing a professional, creative identity design, will help me stand out to potential audiences in my targeted market. Brand identity is the visible elements of a brand, such as color, design, and logo that identify and distinguish the brand in consumers' minds. When it comes to my own brand Identity “Mc Visuals” I have created this elements of the brand with a specific logo design with unique colours (black/white) across my music video where I added the logo at the beginning and at the end, across my digipak, where I also decided to include the logo and small mentions to the brand, and finally I also managed to create a brand Identity throughout my social media page with specific hashtags such as #Mcvisuals and small mentions by the artist to the brand in her individual post and additionally throughout my blogg making the logo visual at all times.
Regarding My digipak, I think I have been able to produce it in the adequate manner in order to “Sell” the album to the audience. This has mainly been due to the design of it, starring the name of the album with the use of a range of colours and special and attractive centralised fonts making it eye-catching towards the audience. At the same time, I equally aimed to “sell” the digipak across my social media page trying to include teasing posts and featured stories announcing its release with several images and comments that will provoke my audience to buy theirs as fast as they can.
Finally, throughout this hall process I have sought to communicate the genre of my music video and the style of the artist through a variety of elements of my social media page and digipak. The main elements I have fully focused on have been the choice of images and how the artist is portrayed in them as someone glamorous, attractive and joyful, communicating her style through her outfits and attracting an audience. Furthermore another element I have also focused on including in my social media page is the use of links that will take audiences to the artist’s latest music video release or any music platform which includes the artists songs, helping to reinforce the genre of the music video. Moreover, the choice of music in the featured stories which I have decided to include mainly songs of the same genre will also help to communicate the genre of my artist’s music video. Finally, when creating the digipak one of the most crucial elements I have focused on has been the choice of dissimilar colours and fonts, in order to reinforce the style of the artist as someone different and the meaning of it being a contemporary and modern R&B music videos but still maintaining the urban essence of the traditional R&B genre due to the visible locations in the images.
QUESTION 3 )
How do your products engage with the audience?
When I had finally finished my first draft for the three products, I had the chance to present them in a focus group in front of my class where I received feedback from my peers and teachers. At first, I did receive plenty of positive comments from them as to how I managed to represent the codes and convention of my chosen genre in the right manner, especially through the use of the mise-en-scene and the editing using the adequate colour and filter pallets. Moreover, I also received several comments on how well I managed to produce in all three products that contemporary feeling, subverting the old and classic R&B conventions and making my work something new and innovative. However, I also did receive negative comments about my products, such as some production weaknesses that could be improved for example having more footage and being able to have stability in all of my shots. Nevertheless, I am looking forward as a producer to keep improving and learning from my mistakes. Although, I must point out that it has been a really tough year where I had to work under very big pressure and difficult circumstances due to Covid, that has not allowed me to produce my music video in the best possible manner I wanted to. If there is something I have learned from focus groups this year, it has been that as a producer I should try to have better organization as well as focusing on all of my footage when filming in order to have the best possible results.
QUESTION 4 )
How do your products represent social groups or issues?
The main idea I wanted to represent across my three products was the idea of lightly subverting the old and classic R&B genre conventions and portraying my products in a more contemporary and modern way, but at the same time maintaining the urban essence of the traditional R&B genre, reflecting the contrast between the old and fashionable world with a new upcoming generation represented as something new, fashionable and creative. Therefore I have tried to show a specific age group throughout the 3 products, targeting a younger audience between the early teens and late twenties, represented as “the new Generations”. Furthermore, regarding gender in R&B, females tend to be targeted by artists because stereotypically, songs are about love and heartbreak.These type of songs will often appeal to teenage girls because they can relate to them and usually feel tempted as they involve fashion and synergy within the narrative or theme. Regarding my own choice, the song I decided to use talks about love and heartbreak therefore I decided not only to target mainly females, but also young males as the artist performing in my video is a female character therefore I tried to use Laura Mulvey’s theory of “Male Gaze” in order to equally target males with the use of physical attractiveness to the artist by using minimal clothes from the waist upwards in one of the outfits, and also with the use of seductive body language and facial expressions.
#VIVIKCUANDOVIENES
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