Generic Research: Textual Analysis 1 (Website)

Florence and the Machine is a band that plays mainly indie pop and has been active since 2008. The singer, Florence Walsh is an eclectic artist that is known for her hippie attitude to music where she chooses to express herself.
Her website reflects this side of herself by not being the conventional website. Instead of giving information about the author, Florence chooses to instead have an artistic promo for her new album with small, hand-drawn illustrations with aged photographs of herself. They reflect a certain aesthetic she has and makes her more appealing to those who enjoy a simplified website.

Textual Analysis of Florence and the Machine's Website from daisyq2

Florence and the Machine have a website that is written for a supportive audience to engage. It introduces the audience to both new and fresh releases. The website is both pandering to the fans with the introduction of known music as well as introducing a 'best of' to people who are visiting for the first time.

- First takes the user to the main page of which is unconventional and doesn't have a taskbar or any buttons

- An embedded video fades in with a red square with 'Lungs' written across it in the iconic font used the majority of the time for Florence and the Machine's music

- The simplicity is something introduced early on and is repeated throughout the entirety of the website

- The embedded video spins around and introduced the album cover and introduced the audience to her 10th Anniversary Edition of her album, long-term fans of hers understand the reference to her old album and will be interested to see if there are any differences on the special edition
- This home page also suggests that it changes periodically, depending on the events Florence is having at the time, as the 10th Anniversary section cannot be used permanently.
- There is no clear masthead although Florence's logo is shown at the side of the page with her social medias underneath (although they're not visible in the screenshot)
- Depending on which button the audience presses, they are taken to different pages such as with her store and to listen to her music 
- There is no navigation bar and, instead relies on the audience scrolling down the page to look at the homemade effect of the website 

- When you click on the individual social media platforms that Florence has on her webpage, you have this cross-media convergence which allows the audience to have a more interpersonal relationship with her as they can follow and interact with her media accounts.
- There is an idea of the brand image shown through the repeated image used in her social media, making her easily recognisable and familiar.
- Her Facebook is her least active account where, the majority of the time, she posts thanking her audience and reposting things from her other accounts, this is due to the fact that her target audience is millennials who are more likely to use Instagram or Twitter, of which Florence is more active on.

- Florence uses her Twitter to post new music but also to retweet images, videos and messages that her fans leave for her, creating this idea of the interpersonal relationship between fans and celebrities

- Instagram is known for being a photograph page which allows users to share images with captions. Her personal page of @florence is used to share short stories and poems she finds interesting and images and paintings she likes
- This juxtaposes her band account that consists of promos for new songs and videos at concerts and represents the differences between a personal account and a business account

- A YouTube account is important for artists as it correlates all their music and music videos into one area and gives ease of access to their fans and people who want to view their videos
- As well as this, YouTube is the most popular video streaming site on the internet and therefore, by using that site, they're likely to get more views than if they were to use Vevo or another music video streaming site.

- Florence and the Machine also have a Spotify account which helps promote the music. Unlike Apple Music, Spotify is free and has over 240,000,000 users of both free and premium which allows for a much wider audience to listen to her music, a plus for the band as they can reach more people
- However, Spotify doesn't share music videos which is why both YouTube and Spotify are utilised in order to share their music on a wider scale

- If you choose to sign up to the website, a pop-up shows which allows you to sign up for the newsletter in order to get more information about your favourite artist.
- The pop-up also mentions about getting more information from Universal Studios about other artists similar to Florence and the Machine, an example of self-promotion and trying to get a wider audience not only for Florence but for other bands under the same studio in order to try and get more money.

- When you click on Store, you are taken to another tab with the iconic font for her album Lungs. The colour scheme of red and gold reflects that of the album cover and the new vinyl aesthetic that has been used to update the newest release of the album.

- The site has the main page which gives a range of choices to buy from, especially marketing the seasonal 10 year anniversary rerelease 

- Colour scheme is consistent throughout the whole site and compliments that of the main website 

- It is also split up into sub-sections with Music and Merchandise being separated, creating ease of movement through the pages

- The music section has both her new and old music in ascending order with the oldest at the bottom and the most recent at the top. It allows audiences to decipher what sort of album they want.

- The merchandise has a mixture of both her old and new clothing which gives the audience a choice of what style they wish to have. The hand-drawn artwork on some of the shirts reflects the style of the main website as you scroll down, furthering this brand identity

- She also sells a book of lyrics and poetry Florence herself has written which is a very personal perchance allowing the audience to feel as though they have a personal relationship with her. It's an unconventional item to have in a merchandise store and this and the name of the book - Useless Magic - reflects the style and aesthetic Florence wishes to achieve.

- Both buttons Out Now and Listen Now take the viewer to separate tabs of which you can choose where to listen to her music.
- Simple and easy to manoeuvre and understand 

- Her website includes another embedded video of the best highlights in concert of her Lungs tour, with the age shown by the audience and the phones they hold
- It is her celebrating her achievement of having come this far
- The link takes you to the same site as above and allows the audience to listen to her album

- On the home page, there is an option to click Live Dates which takes you down the page to this section. The entire webpage is also accessible to scroll on it, making it easily accessible to anyone.
- This part of the website would usually have the times and dates of Florence and the Machine's next performances, however, due to COVID-19 and also the fact of no recent album releases, there are no dates on her website.
- The band is known for also playing at festivals and this would be advertised on the festival's webpage as well, therefore appealing to a wider audience who may find interest in Florence

- As you continue scrolling down the page you get to Florence's most recent release, High As Hope which is advertised here with links to buy it and listen to it. This reminds audiences that she has new music as well and the whole theme of the website is based on this album with the lighter colour palette and illustrative detailing.

Generic Research: Textual Analysis 5 (Music Video)

Connie Lim, known by her stage name MILCK, is a small singer based in LA. She initially rose to fame after a video of her performing her song 'Quiet' at the 2017 Women's March went viral. The acapella number was praised and embraced as an anthem for the movement as it speaks out against sexual abuse and highlights how the victims will share their stories in an attempt to help save lives. She's an activist for women's rights and sexual assault survivors as she herself is one, having written the song 'Quiet' as a way of coping with abuse. She was eventually signed to Atlantic Records and released her debut EP This Is Not The End in 2018.
The music video for Quiet features a very powerful performance scene where women are all standing in a room playing instruments and singing with MILCK herself and I want to create a similar sense of unity in my own music video. It creates a sense of empowerment and, although the song is quite emotional, the joy the women seem to have at the end of the video suggests that there is happiness even in dark times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl_Qfj8780M

This music video ending is incredibly powerful and makes you feel strong, despite the audience not being present in the video. I wish to create a similar atmosphere with my music video.

Generic Research: Textual Analysis 4 (Music Video)

I decided to do another two Textual Analysis in order to study a couple of music videos about sexual assault as well. However, I decided to still use a long continuous shot for some scenes and therefore Textual Analysis 1 still refers to my revised pitch.
Lady Gaga is a long time activist for LGBT right, women rights and has repeatedly supported the Black Lives Matter movement along with multiple others throughout her career as an artist. Her activism has brought her a lot of attention as well as outlandish fashion sense and tendency to cause controversy. Although her usual style of music is considered to be pop dance electronic, Gaga shows her vocals in the sombre song Til It Happens To You which speaks out against sexual assault. In her music video, she attempts to highlight the sexual assault that happens on campus to girls, from friends and strangers. It's a powerful song that juxtaposes the rest of her other more upbeat music and is emotional with the message of overcoming abusers and standing tall.
I wanted to take influence from this video from the way that there are almost two sections of the music video: the first half being the vulnerable women who are attacked but the second half shows them conquering this and becoming powerful as they stand with one another. I want this set-up to be used in my own video with the first half being with the singer oppressing the victim and have the woman overcoming their strength in the second half.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmWBrN7QV6Y
The music video for Til It Happens To You was created as a visual art piece to bring awareness to sexual assault of young women on campus and the video itself has a very high budget feel. The see of professional cameras suggest at the severity of the topic and the video has a high quality to it, creating a moving and emotional piece. The whole video has a black and white filter, furthering this emotional value to it and suggestive of the deep and meaningful story behind it. There is no performance in the video, instead, giving way to the narrative.

Planning: Reflection on Moderator's Report

Brief 4: You work for an independent media production company. You have been given the task of producing a three-minute music video for a protest song* by a fictional band/artist signed to Warner Music Group, and two pages for the working website for the band/artist for a socially-conscious, 16–25, middle to upmarket demographic.

Important things to consider when doing coursework from the moderator's report from last years NEA

1. Make sure that your editing fits the track or else the video won't be as cohesive as you necessarily want it to be.
2. Don't film the actors from behind (unless necessary) as doesn't suggest at a range of shots and also doesn't adhere to Andrew Goodwin's.
3. Avoid using vertical mobile phone shots.
4. Use an element of performance as those were the ones that achieved higher marks.
5. Use Wix to complete your website as it is easy to use, isn' complicated and is free.
6. Use the same models in your music video to on your website to show this idea of cross-media convergence.
7. The best music videos demonstrated technical skills and understanding of codes and conventions of music videos.
8. The statement of intent needs to be equally balanced between the music video and the website so it can summarise both parts of the coursework.
9. Use costume to create this idea of representation.
10. An online blog and record of your studies is better than a hard copy which can get damaged or lost.

Revision of Pitch

Due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, the likelihood of me being able to complete this music video is unlikely so I am having to alter my idea slightly. Since I had already done extensive research into music videos, I didn't want to change my idea completely as I felt that it would throw away a lot of hard work. Due to this, I decided to keep with music videos and look back on my old ideas.

When referring back to forming my first ideas, the other potential music video idea I had was for Florence and the Machine's song Girl with One Eye, a song about sexual assault written and sung from the male perspective. Due to my music video for Exit Music requiring me to visit London, take part in a Pride Parade and be in large areas with people, I decided that for the safety of myself and my actors, I would have to modify this idea to be feasible to do considering the circumstances. I decided to change my idea to a different song because I knew that Exit Music would have more impact with the large groups of people and, unfortunately, this is impossible at the present time.
I, therefore, decided to re-evaluate my pitch and rewrite it with my new idea in mind.

I still took into consideration the audience and general research I had done when revising my pitch and used the information I had found to dorm the foundation of my revised pitch.

- I aim to create a powerful piece of visual art within my music video with an equal amount of both performance and narrative in order to appease my target audience of 16-25-year-olds with the music Girl With One Eye by Florence and the Machine (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBNZOywyD8s). As well as this, I am going to create a website that fits with the aesthetic of the all-female band but also with the ideas surrounding it in order to appeal to my audience who have the cultural competency to understand it.
- To target my specific audience of young women, I intend to use intertextual references to sexual assault social movements which specifically target the audience such as the MeToo movement and ideas of fighting against rape culture and sexual assault, hence the actors in the video being female.
- Although my video is targeted at women, the scene at the end of the video includes people of different genders as well as ages, ethnicities and sexualities, representing everyone as a community of people who stand up against sexual assault of women.
- Results from my surveys suggested they were interested in the performance, of which I now will include more of, however, this gave me the idea that having a music performance would benefit by giving gratification to the audience and also having the band involved, with lip-syncing and musical instrument performances.

This revision of my pitch allows me to have a much wider set of possibilities for my outcome and doesn't require a large group of people to come together, keeping both myself and everyone around me safe.

Audience Research: Audience Research Summation

My audience research actually helped me revise quite a lot of my ideas, especially around the performance aspect of what I wanted to do as I didn't want to include any. From my surveys, I found that performance was actually a very popular accessory for music videos and this encouraged me to revise my ideas and include performance aspects as well. My audience research told me that people consume music videos singularly from YouTube, suggesting this is the site I will upload to as it is the most popular and most enjoyed site. 

As I suspected and my focus group confirmed, people enjoy ease over anything and therefore Spotify was the most popular streaming platform that people used. Therefore, for my website, I am going to promote the music on Spotify in order to achieve more of an audience. As well as this, the target audience that I used for my focus group enjoyed festivals and concerts, suggesting that the band could play at festivals as well as at venues which I and include on the website. 

I intend to use a range of darker and lighter themes for this music video with the strong idea of young love being prominent as some of my results from my survey suggested people may find it too dark and may not enjoy it. By using a variety of themes in my music video, I can achieve this mix of both dark and brooding scenes with light-hearted scenes.

Generic Research: Generic Research Summation

In my general research of music videos, I have found that there is a general scheme to many of them that they seem to have in common:

- a range of different shot types: this is used to create an impression of depth and movement to the video. By having all the shot types the same, the video can feel relatively 2 dimensional.

- a focus on costume: costume comes into play when trying to create an impact on the audience but also for easter eggs to get your audience to engage in more depth (such as in Radiohead's Daydreaming). A change of costume allows for the character to have a different approach and suggests time skips but a singular costume creates a sense of narrative.

- close-ups of the artist: although I originally didn't want to include the artist in my video, after researching other music videos I found that it was important as it adheres to Andrew Goodwin's theory of being able to recognise the artist and therefore I decided to incorporate them to appeal to my audience.

- more than one location: by skipping between locations can give the video more depth and suggests that there is a passage of time. It also makes the video more interesting to watch.

- intertextual references to other media texts: this can make the difference between an active and passive audience by hinting at other texts throughout the music video. Bands like Radiohead that have been around for many years can use their own music as intertextual references, but Hayley Kiyoko references the style from coming-of-age films to create her stylised music video. I intend to do this through this idea of protest signs, relating to the gay liberation movement and also with intertextual references to action films with the continuous shot of walking towards the camera. The words written on her face relate to Lauren Brocious and her #YouDefineYou movement.

- performance vs. narrative: a combination of the two is good to use in order to fulfil Goodwin's theory but to also engage an audience. I feel to combine the three music videos I looked at would make a good range of differences that I could use for my media so elements of narrative with the story and clips that cut away to film the band playing the music.

- colour palette and lighting: using less lighting sometimes makes footage difficult to make out so instead, using a darker colour palette with the mise-en-scene can create certain moods for videos such as a creepier, more threatening atmosphere to something with bright lighting and a yellow colour palette. I am looking to use brighter lighting for the more positive scenes where the girls are happy and in love and a more grey, faded filter over the scenes of her walking down the street.