STATEMENT OF INTENT

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)

Production

I’ve chosen to create a music video for “Don’t Stop” by Red Hot Chili Peppers. The brief states that I am working for a NEW band so the goal of the music video (and website) is to establish the identity of the band. As a mew rock band, I want to develop an identity that is quirky and youthful (in keeping with the target audience) but that would also potentially appeal to an older audience as well. I will be using lo-fi visuals and somewhat absurd imagery. For example, I’ll have a 90s video camera effect over the whole video, most of the shots for the verse will have literal interpretations of the lyrics and the entire video will be shot in a hall near my local church (save the final shot which’ll be shot on the beach); this will allow me to make the most of my budget (which is zero) but will be justifiable in terms of attracting the audience. Adding to this low budget feel, the lips synching will be off in places and I will replace guitars and a drum kit with similar but inappropriate instruments. The mise en scene of the music video will all be designed to convey the idea of a youthful, quirky and somewhat unprofessional group of young people, wearing casual clothing that is entirely accessible to the target audience. I feel that the lo fi nature of the video will encourage audience members to feel that they can interact, evoking Jenkins's idea of spreadability to capture the target audience (see website / convergence).

Website

I will maintain the quirky and somewhat nostalgic identity of the band by theming my website to evoke the feeling of a website in the 90s. The header and footer of the site will be taken from internet explorer and will be slightly altered to work for the purposes of the website. For all images and text boxes, I’m going to try to make them look like computer tabs and I’ll use animations to make some look like pop-ups and also make the website more interesting visually. My objective is to make the audience put effort into navigating and exploring the site, having to click on things to find their way around. For example, the menu at the top will not have obvious names to take them to things like merch store, tour dates etc. This will force the audience to experiment and interact. Next to some of these images, I’d like to add some extra tabs to add more visual flair with some fitting the section they’re put in (e.g. the world map in the tours section). I will include classic elements like band interviews, introduction to the band and a gallery, but all emphasising how ordinary the band are, encouraging the idea of accessibility for the target audience. For my second page, I’m going to make it about the financial elements such as marketing their merch, tour dates and offering links to purchase music. The music video will be on the homepage, accompanied by an attempt to engage the audience by asking them to share memes based on stills taken from the video. This will encourage Jenkins's idea of textual poaching to engage the audience.

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)

The video and the website will share a lo fi sensibility in order to establish a cohesive identity for the band across both products. The video will have an end card that directs viewers to the website, acting as a call to action, but most of the convergent elements will be on the website. For example, the music video itself will be on the website, but rather than simply be available to view, I will include section asking the audience to share their memes by taking and editing stills from the video. As already stated, this will encourage Jenkins's idea of textual poaching to engage the audience.