Generic Research: Trying out Album Cover Designs

 When starting my designs for the band, I realised that I needed an album cover for both the merchandise and the CD that I was selling on the shop page. My initial ideas was to base it off of the chosen name of the song, 'You Made Me Cry', and wanted to embed ideas of eyes and crying.

I had an idea of designing a coloured version based on a photograph of myself I took. I knew from the beginning I wanted to have a simplistic piece with simple line art but dabbled with colour too. I ended up not liking either, both with and without the nose as i felt the eyebrows and coloured features drew away too much from the ideas of the tears

I also tried to design a front cover using a photograph of myself as the main image. Although I liked the picture I took, I felt that the real life image didn't quite fit the aesthetic of the band. It felt too complex and, although it looked nice, I preferred the idea of a more minimalistic image.

I hand drew the minimalistic eyes drawing on Paint, almost as a joke to begin with, however, the more I looked at it, the more I liked it. I felt like it looked like an actual band cover and also saw it to look nice and simplistic enough to also be merchandise designs too.

Easter Egg to the Second Website

In order to allow audiences to interact more, and for them to receive gratification from it, I included a link to my second website in order to create a sense digital convergence. This link can be found when you click on 'Visit #YouMadeMeCry'.

https://daqua3103.wixsite.com/theevergreens

It takes the audience to the second website, a fictional charity set up by the band to raise money for those in abusive households, specifically youth, the target audience for their music. The website includes stories of other and a way to get in touch which allows for audiences to feel included in a group, and not alone. 

The idea of this came from my Textual Analysis of MILCK's website I CANT KEEP QUIET. The website functions in a similar way with the use of sharing stories and allowing audiences to get in touch if they need help or if they want to share their own experiences.

First Draft of Video

Second Website

https://daqua3103.wixsite.com/youmademecry

I created a secondary website to extenuate the storyline behind the band. Their charity #YouMadeMeCry, based on the music from their latest album cry, is a charity that helps people, who have suffered from abuse, get their lives back on track. The fictional band, The Evergreens, have used their platform to help raise awareness and money for their charity which helps those who have suffered abuse, especially youths, find their way back to a functioning society and life.

Updated Website

https://daqua3103.wixsite.com/theevergreens

Since my first draft of my website, I have updated it to suit the conventions of a band's website. I included a lot of images of the bands in order to satisfy fans who enjoy seeing the members and have a simplistic layout for both ease of access and aesthetic.

The homepage is large and a picture of the band takes up the majority of the main page to suggest at the main purpose of the website is. The wide shot of the band makes the website feel ore professional and sleek and the way the horizon cuts through the picture makes it feel wider.

The homepage is large and a picture of the band takes up the majority of the main page to suggest at the main purpose of the website is. The wide shot of the band makes the website feel ore professional and sleek and the way the horizon cuts through the picture makes it feel wider.

When you click on the main title of 'The Evergreens', you are taken to a secret section of the website where you can access secret footage of the band fooling around and messing u on an interview, giving both gratification and humor to the audience. There is also a sense of happiness as people manage to get the gratification from finding the Easter Egg as well as seeing footage that is exclusive and makes the audience feel closer to the band themselves.

As you scroll down the homepage, you can learn more about the band, which then links further into the 'About' page, and their newest album, of which my music video is for. I decided to also create a second website which will be linked from this section to understand further into the meaning of the song, music video and intention behind it.

On the about page, there is also more information about the band itself as well as each individual member. This allows for audiences to feel like they're involved in the band's lives and to feel more involved with them. It creates a sense of a more interpersonal relationship between the audience and the band of which they feel like they know the band members personally.

The history of the band is sectioned here which will, when written, give a short section explaining how the band was formed and their first performance. Although not necessary, ii wanted to include a small section to give more depth to the characters created in the band and for audiences to be able to understand them on a more personal level. The section on concerts and events is there for general audiences, not just fans. The variety given of smaller events to bigger more personal events creates a wider range for the band to partake in and for audiences to participate in.

Although not interactive, I produced a small section of the music that the band had hypothetically created. I took inspiration from the Wix websites original music layout and created my own layout for the music. I did screenshot the music timing because I didn't know how to replicate it, however I feel as though I achieved the desired effect of a music album and it looks as though it could be interactive. When I have completed it, I will also put the music video in this section as well as on the section of videos.

Very simply put, this section is of photographs of the band I have taken and put for the enjoyment of the audience.

This section is for the videos, mainly the interview as well as the music video which is yet to be implemented. I will also include a short section of information about both videos including the actors, filming locations and copyrights for the actual artist.

With the album art that I created, I put it on auto-generated t-shirts so as to create placeholders without having to create my own merchandise in real life and taking pictures of it.

Statement of Intent

file:///C:/Users/daqua/Desktop/Statement%20of%20intent.pdf

Audience Research: Audience Behaviour

When considering my brief of creating a protest music video and a website targeted at an audience of socially conscious 16-25-year olds, the audience takes centre stage when thinking about how to present the products. To be socially conscious, the audience has to have a cultural capital which enables them to have general understandings of the modern world and how it functions. A socially conscious audience understands to interact with the artist such as using their website and buying merchandise to support the audience.

Primary Audience
Psychographic: The typical audience for a protest music video, would be a socially conscious audience who enjoy watching music videos for narrative and engage with media products such as news sites and social media. The age demographic would be between 16-25-year olds as 61% of teens say that they are watching more online videos than they were last year, perhaps due to the increase in the popularity of sharing media products. (https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2017/08/170392/music-videos-history-popular-2017)
Age: The target audience of 16-25-year olds have an affinity for being interested in indie music, especially those of a culturally aware perspective with indie/alternative music being preferred by 31% of people between the ages 16-19 and 40% of people between the ages 20-24. The majority of the time they are female and are therefore more likely to supports and agree with the themes in the music video. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/253915/favorite-music-genres-in-the-us/)
Interests: The audience's interest would rage from interesting with videos and online media to watching films. They are more likely to be tech-savvy and enjoy interacting with more alternative media products such as Tumblr. They are likely to listen to artists with smaller followings yet with their unique sound and enjoy watching music videos. 73% of teenagers say that music videos are the best way that an artist can express their music and share their creative vision and they tend to share this online with friends, creating a large branding. (https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2017/08/170392/music-videos-history-popular-2017)
Gender: The codes and conventions found in the music video are more likely to attract women due to the fact that 35% of women worldwide have experienced sexual assault and that 90% of sexual assault and rape cases are women. (https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/facts-and-figures and https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence) Therefore they are more likely to interact with a protest video on this topic.

Secondary Audience
Psychographic: The secondary audience is going to be outside of the 16-25-year old audience, more likely to be male and interested in the music videos. Although men make up a small minority of rape victims, they still exist and therefore are able to relate to the music video. This also still likely to be somebody who enjoys listening to indie music.
Age: By having audiences that are out of the targeted age group, allows for a wider audience and for more people who may enjoy the music itself to also enjoy the music video and artists' website. This is shown by the 35% of people aged 25-34 enjoy alternative music as well and therefore are capable of enjoying the products of which they are not specifically targeted. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/253915/favorite-music-genres-in-the-us/)
Interests: Their interests may not be involved as much in other media products but are likely to be as culturally competent as the target audience. They likely listen to similar artists as well as enjoying reading, going to the cinema and accepting modernised lifestyles.
Gender: Men are also likely to be interested in this product too since the rape and sexual assault rates for men are unfortunately increasing and one out of every 10 rape victims are male. (https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence) This suggests that the ambiguity of the perpetrator in the music video, a woman with a moustache, allows for both men and women to put themselves in the position and to understand from personal perspectives the experience, perhaps making it more likely to stand with them.