FINAL WEBSITE LINK

 https://15-cpet.wixsite.com/coursework

FINAL VIDEO

 

FINAL WEBSITE SCREENSHOTS

 

Video Walkthrough and Explanation

 https://youtu.be/m6GUgv6iAX4

My music video, to Love and Suicide by The Trusted, narrates the story of two boys who have been in a relationship, broken up, and coincidentally end up in the same place they met after they broke up. 

The video commences with a two shot of Saen and Charlie at Chinnerys first meeting. 

The titles of the song run through, with a dark aesthetic emerging through use of blue arcade lighting and dark lips eating a love heart sweet, foreshadowing the later events of the video. The lips are a motif throughout, intertextually referencing Rocky Horror, a cult film many indie fans will be aware of within their cultural competency. 

4 images flash up, one after the other: one of Saen, one of Charlie, one of them together, and one of Saen on his own, quickly demonstrating the basic narrative of the story. 

Shots of Tom lip syncing the song in 4 different locations throughout he video act to adhere to Dyer's Star theory and demonstrate Tom's star persona, giving fans what they want to see while also creating a character of narrator throughout the video. A wine bottle and guitar picks reflects the 'lilac wine' lyric too, adhering to Goodwin. One of the location shots involves Tom through a a frame: demonstrating Goodwin's theory further. 

The narrative - with an old film effect put over it - illustrates Saen laying among flower beds writing in his notebook and sketching (typically done when in love and daydreaming) reflecting the lyrics of 'flowerbeds' and 'existence' where he writes in the book ;'what is existence' followed by the answer 'love'. 

The chorus narrative demonstrates the boys in the height of their relationship, sitting on a wall - a stereotypical love scene ie in Submarine (another indie film) - and lyrics reflect visuals through things such a a heart made of pebbles, with the beach being a motif throughout the video. 

The second verse begins with the boys on a date at a picnic as in insight to their relationship. Dropping money with dark lights reflects the 'money without meaning' lyric. This begins to demonstrate the turning point in the song where the relationship breaks down. Saen can be seen reading a newspaper in the park, demonstrating the lyrics 'of fake news - its just the same as real life' - reflecting Goodwin's theory further. 

The lyric of 'patient kiss' is reflected through the overlay of the lips, adhering to Goodwin's theory of lyrics reflecting the visuals.

Saen is given a bunch of flowers, and then a chess board appears reflecting the lyric ' do you want to play'. 

An arcade light flickers on the Volta of the song, when Tom flicks his hand and the chess board flips as the relationship breaks down. 

The chorus shows a series of stereotypical heartbreak shots of Saen ripping out his pages of his notebook and throwing flowers.

The bridge narrates Saen getting back on his feet after the relationship, illustrating a train journey to a gig, with overlays of Saen erasing the makeup from his face effectively wiping away the relationship and tears. He gets his confidence back in himself with the overlays of the lips in the background. 

In the last chorus, gig footage of The Trusted is playing, with Saen and lip overlays bringing all narrative strands together and creating star persona and performance footage, adhering to both Goodwin and Dyer. 

Finally, the boys meet again in the same place and share a knowing smile, intertextually referencing La La Land. 

Website Walkthrough and Explanation

 https://youtu.be/WjVpW-2wDXw

Upon opening my website, a Lightbox appears promoting the tour. 

My home page has a rotating menu, inspired by Declan McKenna's website, of which all pictures link to the corresponding sections on the website through page anchors. The Time with Tom section links to my separate page, which sports some promotional videos of Tom discussing being back at live gigs and Love and Suicide. I have also connected the song release to Mind UK, a mental health charity, to create cross media convergence. - The HMV reference is also because my audience are growing increasingly fond of buying physical records. Also on this page, is an intertextual link to Alice in Wonderland due to my use of the phrase 'down the rabbit hole'. - I have also got an Easter egg, which is the psychedelic swirl also referencing the rabbit hole, which when clicked takes the audience to an exclusive Spotify playlist 'Tom's Tunes'. 

I have designed 3 album covers which flip to the back covers when hovering over them, taking inspiration from another indie band website, that of Catfish and the Bottlemen. 

My music video (3min50sec) is under the albums, with a link to a page with an extended edition exclusively for fans (Jenkins' fandom theory) - this also features an opportunity for fans to create a music video for the band, encouraging participation (Jenkins) and end of audience (Shirkey).

The sliding tour poster banner engages fans and generates a buzz around the tour. 

The Kerrang magazine feature and music journalism gave me an opportunity to demonstrate my journalistic skills, while the cover is an intertextual reference to many famous bands such as Nirvana who are renowned for smashing guitars on stage. Kerrang is also an extremely established music magazine which fits in with the band's genre of music. 

The merchandise section links to my video, in that it uses similar lighting aesthetics to create a sense of branding. 

The newsletter and contact forms are another good way to encourage audience participation, while the social media links work and re direct to all platforms, and the universal logo also links to the universal website. 

Statement of Intent FINAL

 

Statement of intent draft 2

 How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief? (approx. 400 words)

Product 1:

For my music video, I intend to create a video that portrays a relationship from the angle of a homosexual breakup. As well as this, I want the video to be enjoyable for my target audience of a socially-conscious 16-25 year old, middle to upmarket demographic so I have chosen the song ‘Love and Suicide’ . I will use a range of different shot types and mise-en-scenes to help with the fast-paced theme I intend to create, which will help my target audience stay engaged. I also intend to make an intertextual reference to the cult-classic film 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' and musical 'La La Land': two films my audience will hold in their cultural competency and will therefore connect with. I intend to have a relationship between lyrics and visuals, music and visuals and  a large focus on my talent to help create his star persona and close-ups of the artist to meet the demands of the record label, thus adhering to Goodwin's music video theory. 

Product 2:

According to my research, Universal Music Group are one of the biggest three music labels in the world. They consider themselves to have a social responsibility to "support and partner with organizations around the globe that are working towards meaningful positive change and social responsibility": this is exactly what I have done via the use of convergence with 'Mind', the mental health charity on my 'Time With Tom' linked page. Cultivating my artist’s star persona will be assisted through the creation of the accompanying website, on which I will include ‘exclusive’ interviews and playlists with the artist, tour information, merchandise selling, subscription opportunities and many other features. There will be a clear house style across the website which will fit with the aesthetic of the music video, linking the products together. The website will have links to the music video, social media pages, music streaming platforms and the universal label website which will create cross media convergence. I also intend to include an easter egg on the website, which links to an exclusive Spotify playlist where the audience can form a sense of personal identity with the artist. In addition to this, I am going to create a link to an exclusive 'full version' of the music video in order to encourage active audiences to engage with the website. I will also give the opportunity to sign up to a mailing list to receive more exclusive content.

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production? (approx. 100 words)

Both my website and video have a strong link through the use of aesthetic, artist identity and convergence. I intend to promote the website link in the description of my music video, have a clear house style connecting both products together and put the music video on the website so they are fully connected there. My aesthetic is consistent through both products and the same characters/ actors are also used to create a strong link. Convergence is also demonstrated through the links on my website to streaming platforms and social media, as well as linking to the Universal Music Group website. A short video on my website explores the artist's inspiration behind the song: This in itself creates convergence between my two products.