Critical Reflection

This is a reflection of what I have achieved and learnt from producing this music video as well as my digipak and social media site.

Firstly I will introduce the way in which I have represented different social groups and issues in my music video. In terms of age, I have portrayed youth issues (as this music video and song is likely to appeal people in their late teens and early adults) and I have decided to use actors in their late teens to represent this. For example, I have shown the youth obsession with technology and the way in which stereotypically they need to be constantly checking their phones. My main actor at the start of the music video is shown to be upset about his significant other not arriving home on time and not having texted him in a few hours "like why you're coming home at those ghastly hours" and he has to keep checking the time and wait for a message in order to feel better. This could be relatable to specially young people who are experiencing a similar situation.

Although the song does not necessarily narrate a teenage romance, I decided to represent it that way through my music video. I decided to portray how many teenagers are dependant on their significant other and how this affects them to an extent in which they can not imagine living without them. In my music video, the main character is only shown to be fulfilled and content when he is with his lover which is why the scenes with the female actresses are more vibrant and less desaturated compared to the scenes where he is daydreaming about her. Moreover, both the male and female gender are represented in the music video and even though the storyline is communicated through a male perspective, I tried to also show an independent female figure who's happiness does not rely on someone else. The reason why I decided to center the storyline around him is because according to my research, my target audience consists of mainly men which is why with a male figure they could perhaps feel more represented.

Secondly, my artist's brand identity is crafted through all the forms of media that I created. For instant, I decided to keep the same typography for all of my digipak and also for my music video. India serif is the font that I used and it gave my product a more simplistic look as I wanted all of my audience's attention to go to the actual product and not to distract them with an extravagant font. I got this idea by taking a look at other artist's digipaks and music videos. For example, in Arctic Monkey's 'Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino' they decided to go for a simple and non striking font which matched with the album as a whole and the song itself as this album is more calm and less guitar based as other albums they have created.

'City Never Sleeps' is at times slow but mostly vivacious song and I believed that the font chosen in the digipak conveyed that simplicity which is then contrasted with the graffiti pictures from the back cover and it all represents well the whole concept of the song. Similarly, in the social media page I made sure to keep a similar colour scheme and a more desaturated colour palette which is also linked to my music video as throughout the video the colour tones are more greyish despite the scenes with the main actress which are more vibrant in order to represent what she makes him feel. Also, for the digipak I decided to use the same outfits as in the music video as well as in the social media in order to keep that same pattern and create the artist identity which will make him distinctive and act as a form of branding.

digipak

music video

Thirdly, one of my main goals was engaging with my target audience in order for them to feel represented and therefore consume my products. This was done specially through the social media page as I posted some sneak pictures and videos of the filming hinting that a new project was coming up which allowed them to stay engaged and feel curiosity. This is done by most artists in their social media pages. For example, currently the Weekend's instagram page is merely promotional as not so long ago he released a new album and at the moment he is on tour. What he successfully does is posting snippets (short clips) of a new song of new videoclip in order to capture his audience's attention and keep them engaged through the process. Moreover, I also decided to create merchandise and tour dates in order to establish a closer relationship between the band and its audience. Also, in the music video I not only decided to tell a story but also make it performance based in order to appeal to the indie rock conventions and therefore to my audience. The digipak also included a picture of one of the members of the band playing the guitar to preserve that indie essence.

tourism instagram snippet

the weeknd instagram snippet

Lastly, it was crucial for me that my music video and my whole production challenged the indie convention which is why I had to spend weeks of researching and planning in order to correctly use these conventions. During my research, I found out that a lot of indie music videos are performance based specially the indie rock ones which is why I decided to use this aspect in part of my music video. I took inspiration from Arctic Monekey's music video 'I bet you look good on the dance floor' and I decided to rent a music studio for a few hours that gave the music video an informal vibe as if we were rehearsing just like Arctic Monkey's video. Generally, if music videos include performance as well as narrative, they film it in a different setting to where the narrative is filmed. I used this idea in my project for it to not be repetitive and monotonous as I did want to have different locations for each part of the story. Conventionally, indie music videos include a variety of props such as guitars, drums, posters... I also decided to introduce this into my work and not only in the music video but also in the social media page and digipak. The electric guitar was the main element that appeared in all of my three productions in order to refer back to the genre.

Arctic Monkeys 'I bet you look good on the dancefloor'

My music video 'City never sleeps'