Evaluation Question 1

How do your products use or challenge conventions?

Music Video

Before starting the project, we researched several artist that are in the same genre. 

Artist from the same genre. (Similar to our artist) 

1. Robin Schulz

2. Lorde 

3. Grimes 

4. Sky Ferreira 

5. Lana Delby

6. Bjorke

7. Lana Del Rey

               

We have specifically focused on female solo artist such as Lana Del Rey, Grimes, Sky Ferrira. We noticed that there are similarities in their music video to ours. The music video portrays the singer as beautiful and graceful, creating a very feminist characteristic. ( Emotions are emphasized through close up, as it focuses on face expression.) Adding to this, there are also resemblance in their music video story line, as the camera seems to be following the singer around. Through our research, the classic singer for this is Madonna. we have used a similar concept in our music video as the camera follows the main character around. The narrative is told from the main character perspective. This is further emphasized from a dream like setting, as she is in her own world, and she is the narrator of her story.  We have conveyed the main character to be an epitome of classical beauty,timeless and sheer feminism. This is emphasized by the mise-en-scene used, such as the vintage dress and hairstyle.

Conventions of a music video

In our music video, there seem to be several links between the visual and the lyrics, for example " I am waiting here for you", the singer seems to be staring out, looking away and waiting for somebody. This is emphasized from her still face expression and body gesture. There is no direct eye contact towards the camera, suggesting that her eyes are lost in the view. As her mind wanders somewhere far off, suggesting that even though her body is presented here, her mind, her soul isn't. ( Her mind is with her lover, the one she is waiting for) The body gesture could symbolize sadness as she is standing with a slight bending shoulder, which shows lack of confidence. Bent shoulder is also one of the symptoms that could be classified as depression. 

Adding to this another symbolism for waiting could be the boat. The symbolism of a boat is presented as a journey, or a reflection of the past. A still-boat may suggest that her journey is her nostalgia of waiting for her lover rather than moving forward, and is frozen in time.

Adding to this another link between the visual and lyrics is "we are the ones they talk about, tell me how you feel" and I'm the only one who thinks it's real". We tried to show that the singer is controlling the narrative about her own life. Even though she is in control of her own world, but she cannot control other's negative perception on her as she is considered to be a deviation from social norms. Which can clearly be seen through other people expression. People turn to stare when we are doing something we are not supposed to do as something outside their judgement captures their attention easily.

This is further emphasized as there is a link between the music and the visuals, as the beat changes the singer seems to be jumping in front towards the camera and back. This indicates a shift of phase over time, no matter where she is, people will still see her as a 'monster'. ( As she is different. ) Thai society has a very strong base of tradition and culture, so this may indicate that they are resisted towards changes, or ideas that are different. ( Therefore she is seen as a 'monster') 

 

Furthermore ," Every color mixed together will make another reality". This is ironic as our music video is black and white, which clearly suggest that nothing is real, as everything is in her mind. She is like a dream like figure. It is furthered emphasized by the camera work, as the camera follows her around. 

There are also links between the music and the visual in several scenes, which is done by editing. For example, the first few seconds there is an introduction of different locations associated to the beat. As the beat changes, a new location is portrayed. Our aim was to give the audience an overview of all the location which the singer was about to explore. (Summarizing all the location)

Moreover, we have used the link between music and the visual as a trigger to change the narrative setting and location. Doing this helps the story line, as it makes the transition of the editing smoother. Helping the narrative to connect with each other. ( Used when there is upbeat) Also we tried to crete balance in terms of audience attention, with the visual and the music. We tried to change the visual according to the beat.

The moving of boat, was a transition to a new scene.

The movement of leg, changed the scene. 

The turning of Thai snack, was made according to the beat. ( Emphasizes the beat of the music) 

A similar kind of link between the music and visual can also be seen in Charlie xcx " Boom Clap" music video. As many of the transitions and scene were done according to the beat. Again this is done through the camera following the singer around. ( Similar to our music video)

Using location as a transition, changes according to the beat.

Moving object as a transition to a new scene, which was done according to the beat.

Our music video is inspired by many music video and components but the main reference is the traveler blogger video "Jenn visits Bangkok".

 For example in Jen's video she visits Thai temple, which is one of the main attraction of Thailand. There are several famous temple in Thailand, such as Watt Pra Kaew (Where we filmed our music video), Wat Pho, Wat Arun. The reason that temple reflects Thai culture is due to the fact that Thai people are true believer of Buddhism. Buddhism is seen is a foundation and a strong base for Thai people. They conduct life upon the teaching of Buddhism. This therefore emphasis that in order to truly show Thai culture, we must show aspects of temples and rituals of Buddhism.

Jen capture's a long shot of Thai temple. This capture is perfect, as it shows the architecture of Thai temple and rituals, which is emphasized by the monk walking. We were then inspired to show both the architecture of the temple and Buddhism rituals.

A long shot which shows an over view of the temple, mainly the architecture. 

Close ups of the religion rituals, which includes lighting the candle and preying with the lotus flower. (Showing respect) The lotus flower is very important as as it symbolizes purity in Buddhism religion. Lighting candles is believed to represent Buddha's teaching and a guide towards light from the darkness.  

Jen also visited places that highlights Thai traditional art. Which were famous from the olden days. These art would relate to Thai myth, which would be performed and passed on to the next generation.

This inspired us to show Thai art in our music video as it is a factor that contributes towards Thai culture.  Even though Thai art in our music video is shown differently, as we emphasized the art in the temple to create a further link towards Buddhism. Most of the Thai art work are inspired by Buddhism. We show Thai art through the architecture of the temple, as there are several close up towards the pattern and statue furthermore a long shot of Thai painting. ( Which is painted through series of story) The reason we wanted to engage with Thai art is due to the fact that art is all about perspective which is relatable to the narrative. Everyone has different perspective towards the main character, which is also art as some may view it ugly but others may view it as beautiful.

The emarald Buddha is very well respected in Buddhism. As it is believed to be made in India but through time has been moved to Ayutthaya and finally Watt Phra Kaew. Resting Buddha, provides protection for the place and people. To fully observe this piece of art, we decided to use long shot.

Thai culture patterns, which was inspired from the olden days. (Sukhothai period) To observe this piece of art at first we did a close up, and slowly zoomed out. 

A long Buddhism story painting.  the camera follows the singer as she walks. 

Jen also captured a long shot of how majority of Thai people live. Majority of the middle class worker base their living upon selling products, which highly enhances street food. Street food is one of the factor that symbolizes Thai culture. Thai street food captures a huge amount of tourist attention as in the west there is rarely street food plus its very cheap in terms of the price comparison. Thai street food are known for their spice taste. This represent the fact that Thai food are very spicy and are thai people's favorite.

Therefore we were keen to show the highlights of street food and a peak into the workers life. This is done through close up of their face expression and close up of street food making. 

This is kanom Buag is a very famous Thai snack, as it has been around for 100 of years.
 Since Ayutthaya period.

Thai noodles are one of the easiest access of Thai food, as it is found in most corner of the street. Which is prefeared by the workers. 

The reason we choose this lady's footage is due to the fact that she gives out the right expression to convey the tone and mood. We wanted to show how difficult life is for them, it shows the fact that she has to work hard to earn her own bread. 

Throughout the music video we wanted to portray the framework in such a way that it conveys the mood and tone of the sadness as the main character awaits for her lover. Adding to this we tried to highlight the lyrics and Thai culture through the framework that is used.

 The over the shoulder shot, creates the exact mood we wanted. It suggests that the main character awaits for her lover, as she stares out into space. The lack of eye contact towards the camera suggests that she isn't communicating with the audience or people around her as she gives high importance in her life and her world. This picture is almost a reflection of her life, which the road symbolizes. Her road of life without her lover is empty and it synchronized with her feelings. The unorganized signs can be symbolized as obstacles that she is going to face throughout her journey without her lover.

This high angle shot, which is a close up towards the singer face represents the vulnerability and weakness the singer faces. This is one of the shot that directly suggests that the singer is weak, the camera is a mirror of an eye. ( The eye of other people looking down at her, she is judged.) It shows that the society is more powerful as they are able to look at her, but is is powerless as she can't look at us. This also signifies the fact that Thai society is based upon patriarchal status. As men are more dominant than women, they are expected to run the economy and are considered to be leaders of the family. Where as women are expected to support and follow the men's footstep. This shot emphasizes her loss without her lover as he was her strength and she depended on him. On the other hand this shot is a contrast to the whole video overall, as she is the dominant character which the camera follows around.

This shot illustrate the reaction of the society towards her, as she is seen as a norm breaker. This is clearly seen from face gesture and body language, as they turn or stop to stare at her. She is seen as different and weird, which is a negative connotation. ( The mood we wanted to create) Adding to this long shot allows us to see everything in a straight line which again may represent life, people are moving forward which means they are living their normal life with on going routine, but the main character is standing through this phase of time. Which suggest that she is abnormal, as she is stuck and isn't able to complete her routine normally.

Objectification 
Throughout the music video the main character isn't objectified but her gender is shown to be weak. As she awaits for her lover ( male), this indicate that she is dependent upon her lover, and shows that is emotionally and mentally affected by the lost of it. She is still stuck in the moment, and she is the one who chooses to stay in her own bubble, denying help from the society. For this she is judge by them.

Personality
Our aim in in this music video was to connect emotion to her personality. Her personality shows that she is eternally gracefully beautiful, whereas she is also weak and fragile. This is shown through the lack of eye contact with the camera in some of of the scenes, where she looks lost.   


DigiPack 

Since this our first time designing our digi pack, we felt it was quite relevant to do some research.

We tried to do some researching, the artist we looked at were taylor Swift, Calvin Harris and Nicki Minaj. All of the 3 artist presented their digi pack in a very similar way, as all of them shows a very strong identity. For example Taylor Swift is known for her curly golden hair, with a sweet and innocent look. Nicki Minaj is known for her pink, as for Calvin Harris he is known for his techno/ digi icon. We tried to do the same with our artist, as we show her face clearly, and notates her as a graceful and eternal look. ( Tried to convey a sweet, innocent look)

Through our research we also looked at Female solo artist in the same genre, such as Grimes. We also looked at unique digi packs.  The one that stood out the most for us was Troye Sivan's digi pack. 
In my opinion the most successful factor about his digi pack was his ability to convey emotion from the use of acrylic paint, with a mixture of realism and abstraction. For our digi pack, we used grayish, black to represent the mood of sadness and this is also used as a marketing strategy as our music video is in black and white. In addition it was also a mix between semi-conscious and conscious state, as everything was in the main character head. ( Unreal and dreamlike)

As Thai culture is our main theme we also wanted to link Thai culture to our digi pack. We thought that the Thai flag would be the best representation of Thai culture, as each color is meaningful. Furthermore Thai people honors and uphold the flag, as it is their pride.

The reason we chose to use rope is that it has significant meaning and it is relatable to the music video. Firstly rope are used to tie things together and are able to fix brokenness, this is relatable as the main character wants to fix her broken relationship but she is missing a rope. ( She is failing) Adding to this there are several knots shown on digi packs, the infinity knot. Which is known for endlessness, this is comparable to the main character's love, as she would wait endlessly for her lover. Another name for the infinity knot according to ancient myth is "The Masonic Love Knot". Which is known for healing and originally is an adaptation of Buddhist symbols. This is therefore link again to Thai culture, as Buddhism is the largest religion in Thailand. ( Which Thai people really believes in) We have also purposely used the color of black and white a contrasting color to remind the audience of reality Vs dream theme.  

                                                     

Website 

This is the first page that the audience will see once they have entered the website. We took inspiration from Lana Del Rey's website. The reason we for having an entry page as it is a good marketing strategy. As you can directly access the social media pages from pressing the icons above. Furthermore the use of black and white photo is a trigger towards the new music video. ( As the new music is also black and white. )  

Adding to this we also have artist written message to the fans. This is done to create intimacy between the artist and the fans. It is a way for the fans to gain an inside of the artist, and know the real " My Mealanie".  As she explains the inspiration of her music which is related to her personal life.  There is also " My Melanis's Story", which tells her fans her action and steps to her current position as an artist. This is beneficial for My Melanie's reputation as a whole, as her story is told from her perspective and not manipulated from the magazines. The fans are able to gain real facts and the story from the website.  Artist messages are also seen in many of famous superstar's website such as Adele. 

    In addition to this we also have merchandise line, which is what most artist have. We thought it would be beneficial long term marketing. Most of our products are products can be used for daily life, such as t-shirts. ( The design are based on digi pack, which emphasizes the artist identity and music)  This is a free cost marketing, as where ever the person goes wearing the shirt, people are more aware of " My Melanie" as an artist and the album "Krung Thep". Our album is again promoted in the shop section encouraging the audience to purchase it.

 Additional to this fans are well aware of the artist latest work and the upcoming work just by looking through the website. We have " music" and " whats next page", and latest photoshoot work. This is again used to promote the artist work. Furthermore we have set the music video and the track
"Petals" on auto play in some of the main pages, which will force the audience to at least scroll down to witness the existence of the music video and track. ( Encourage the audience to watch the music video.) There is also a several tour dates summarized at the bottom of many page in the website, such as " Whats next page" this is to again trigger the audience to purchase it. The method of purchasing is rather simple and easy.

 To increase the stars popularity and reputation, we encourage the fan to follow her subscribe her in every possible social media. Which is seen on every page of the website ( Social media icon). The link leads the fan to direct page of the artist, this is to save the fans time and effort to find the star. Also to be updated with the last news, fans must subscribe and sign up.

We tried to create a strong sense of branding by linking the products together. For example our theme, we went for black and white and plant theme. As we wanted to portray My Melanie as a nature lover, who cares about the environment. This also links with the digi pack and music video as there were many links with flower,.(My Melanie was holding a rose., reference to thai flower) Adding to this we used the same font,style of writing and cover photo ( the same digi pack cover was used for track cover, (My Melanie holding a flower))  for both our digi pack and website for the audience to associate them together.