CRITICAL REFLECTION

QUESTION 1: How do your products represent social groups or issues?

Using symbolism, my products convey the subject of emotional fragility and the question of how it is perceived differently in males and females. By creativity, sincerity, and non-conformity to stereotyped narratives, I've made sure to express the sensation of a continual flux of emotions throughout the three products. This is mostly accomplished through the exploration of new forms and techniques of dealing with societal concerns, resulting on inspiration to postmodern media's feature of ambiguity and challenging meta narratives with many mini-narratives.My products target an older adolescent demographic aged 18 to 25, owing to the ambiguous message of emotional fragility and the usage of social media to sell the product. Inspired by Judith Butler's gender representation theory and how female and male roles in the industries have a set of stereotypical roles, I opted to keep the visual depiction simple across the three platforms to allow the audience to be engaged in their own perception of the text and subvert the portrayal of gender by using a female actor for a masculine voice. The aim was to convey how, in society, there are many stereotyped disparities between men and women, but by using a male voice performance and a feminine physical performance, we can challenge conventions and show that we are all the same emotionally.

QUESTION 2: How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of Branding?

While generating many media products, the key reasons to create a brand identity are to generate a distinct and identifiable image for the company, build trust and credibility with the target audience, and separate the business from rivals. To accomplish a strong and successful brand identity across my three media platforms, I introduced a black and white colour palette and incorporated the symbol of a red heart across all of them. The black and white colour palette conveys the emotional fragility of the artist which creates a stronger bond with the audience. Also, the black and white palette makes reference to the flashbacks in the music video, which continue to subvert the stereotypical roles of being emotional. This branding is essential for the ease of linking each product for the audience to consume. The digipak design will sell the song to the audience as it has incorporated a QR code in the back cover of the album, which will lead them to the artists page where it displays the music video, merchandising and tour visits, leading to an increase in sales and artist recognition. Additionally, the social media page shows the different types of merchandising for the digipaks available, where the posts are available black and white colour palettes, creating a stronger link to the album cover. The use of black and white tones used throughout the Digipak, contrasting with the warm lighting used on the music video, conveys the idea of deeper meanings and complex themes of the Indie genre. The use of low lighting and close-ups in the social media combines elements of introspection, adding to the gloom of the music video genre and artist identity. Justin Chandler is a single singer-songwriter who displays his emotional fragility through his digipak and social media profiles, rejecting stereotyped gender roles and handling societal concerns in a way that reflects his audience's style.

QUESTION 3: How do your products engage with the audience?

Due to the social media connection employed across the three media channels, the audience are given numerous options for developing their own fandom for the artist and music video. My friends and professors were quite impressed with the atmosphere of the place, which appears to be a professional space. They express how entertaining and intriguing they found the video, describing it as an uncommon abstract video with numerous types of art and symbols reflecting the continuity of life. Another great response about the music video was how the slow motion fit the tone of the song, making the film more melancholy and reflective for the viewer. Despite the fact that my peers were blown away by the end product and how the film drove you to create a personal and reflective meaning, they urged that I produce more close-ups. The use of close-ups connects the audience to the actress and the abstract tale being conveyed. This maked the viewer feel more connected to the film and less like a stranger watching an outside narrative. I had great hopes for the setting and actress, but I quickly learned that because of budget and time constraints, it was difficult to create a more professional video. This will influence my future work as an individual and develop my future work as a group, improving the financial constraints and result in a more deep video in which the spectator experiences escapism. Lastly, when producing and editing the music video, I had to conduct extensive personal study, which inspired me to improve my editing talents. Using YouTube research, I was able to edit and integrate numerous effects to make the final result, which improved the video's outcome.

QUESTION 4: How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

My study informed me about the distinction between the independent and mainstream genres. This helped my comprehension when recording and deciding on different aspects of media productions, resulting in a more appealing product for my target audience. A true music video follows the principles of having a direct address to the audience, being able to lip sync, and having a narrative or a performance. These characteristics are required in a music video to capture the audience's attention and expand on the meaning of the song. The music conventions for the indie genre were mostly centred on aesthetic representation, which led to a broader personal interpretation of the song. This links to Dominic Strinati and his theory of popular culture, where he argues pop culture products are now considered as valuable as traditional high art, as I used this throughout the video with the paint, dancing, and usage of instruments, creating a combination of high art and popular art in the form of a music video. It is sometimes related with the emphasising of originality and nonconformity in an indie digipak, reflecting an unconventional design such as an asymmetrical layout. I incorporated these standards by designing a minimalistic basic design with spectacular photos that quickly attracts the viewer's attention. From my study, I discovered that the majority of indie musicians portray themselves on social media as authentic and generate a genuine depiction of their sentiments.Following Henry Jenkins' fandom theory, in which audiences become active, emotionally attached to the artists, and sell the products, I shared the authenticity of Justin Chandler on my social media platforms to demonstrate the emotional fragility that men may experience, as well as the sense of honesty and truth conveyed by the black and white photos, causing audiences to actively engage with the product. The employment of these patterns may appeal to the audience since it consistently exhibits a sense of personality and identification to the spectator, enhancing their better comprehension of the song and personal events. During the filming and editing stages of my music video, I altered and changed the usage of muted tones to a tungsten light to generate visual comfort and connect with my audience through warmer tones, since it adds empathy to a really emotional tune. Additionally, owing to the song's painfulness, it employs a very warm acoustic, reflecting the light colour into the acoustic to connect with the spectator more emotionally.