Week 11 - Advanced Portfolio Final Edit

Grace Watson
16 April 2021
Media Studies
Week 11 - Advanced Portfolio Final Edit

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Week 11 - CCR Draft Notes

Grace Watson
13 April 2021
Media Studies
Week 11 - CCR Draft Notes

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Question 1:

• Contrasting races - Maori male actor alongside a white female = this adds diversity to the music video, allowing individuals of various races to feel represented and as though they can relate.
• Throughout the video are the themes of regret and depression - very typical, and common, themes felt amongst members of society. Ideally we had planned to end the music video off with a happy scene, one of Phoebe Armitage (the actress) reaching a point of peace, and feeling a sense of fresh, new hope now having expressed all her sad emotions that had been weighing her down. This traction was going to be shown by a shot of her at her mother’s graveyard in a large, white and frilly dress, slowly beginning to lift her eyes, look up and begin smiling, representing that joy will come in the morning. However, due to technical reasons we weren’t able to capture this shot - it quickly became dark (nighttime) earlier than expected, and our expected filming schedule was interrupted because talent had to leave early. Whilst editing I also realised that it almost just worked better to keep the mood consist throughout, and not end on a lighter note, but instead on a fade to black. The very timely and commonly-felt themes discussed in the video will relate to certain viewers, and allow them to think deeper. The music video almost normalises these emotions, and encourages people to feel as though they’re not aliens for feeling a sense of regret or shame for something they’ve done in their past, but encourages them not to stay in that place, but to instead choose to do the right thing, and to perhaps listen to the guidance of those around them who really care for them.
• Phoebe Armitage appears distressed and highly affected by the situation, revealed through countless close up shots, whereas Levi Wijohn appears less fazed, and more ‘chill’, one could say.
• This supports the typical stereotype of women being emotional and easily affected by things, and the stereotype of men being brave, strong, tough and unemotional.
• Represents teenagers as being rebellious and disobedient - a generation that prefer to do their own thing, and then often regret it later on.
• Represents the loving, healthy relationship between a mother and daughter - one that breeds smiles and laughter, in comparison to when the mother is no longer around, and her daughter feels lonely and distressed. Highlights the fact that we, as humans, thrive off of human connection, and that we truly need our mothers in our lives. 
• Discusses the issues of depression and anxiety - where the talent seem to feel both. 

Question 3:

• The sequence is not boring or slow. Instead, it frequently cuts between shots to different locations, and to shots of different actors. This ensures that the viewers don’t lose interest and turn the video off. Instead they’re encouraged to become engaged, and to think deeper beyond face-level and what is obvious.
• Use of flashbacks to tell a story, creating a more narrative ‘vibe’ - engages with audiences because they begin to feel as though they’re being taken along this timeline, in which they’re getting to know the characters.
• The plot line is revealed to the audience as the sequence goes along, which encourages them to think and draws them in as they begin to ponder what the dynamic is - whether Amone is Phoebe as a young girl, what happened to Phoebe’s mother etc etc. Often times when audiences need to think deeper to some degree, they become more invested in a video, waiting to see what happens next.
• Relevance!! The themes such as regret, depression and anxiety discussed within the video are very relevant topics and emotions amongst teenagers (our target audience) nowadays, more than ever before, and so they’re able to perhaps relate to some of the emotions discussed in the video, and feel ‘moved’.
• Relevance and relatability are excellent ways to engage audiences.
• The challenging of stereotypes furthermore engages audiences - by challenging the typical, stereotypical way of filming and editing a pop genre song (which usually has fast cars, over-the-top costumes and lots of makeup), our footage is more realistic and natural - furthermore creates a realistic and relatable ‘vibe’ to which audiences can relate.
• Through a combination of the editing and actual structure of the music video, and the contents of the video - i.e. what is being discussed. 
• By supporting the typical stereotypes of men being brave and women being emotional - may strike a cord of anger within women towards this stigma society has created, who feel as though men are just as emotional, for example.

Question 4:

• As part of my research I discovered that pop is a very popular genre of music - being the favourite genre of most of the people who completed my questionnaire earlier this year. I, too, love the pop genre (it’s my favourite), so I used this to my advantage and chose to create a music video to a song that is within the so popular pop genre - instantly making it more appealing to possible audiences.
• With the all the racial movements going on worldwide at the moment, we thought it’d be fitting to represent groups of varying backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities - reach a further audience by relating to a larger number of people. Diversifying our music video and it's possible reach.
• From my research I also discovered that pop genre songs typically have lots of bright colours, makeup, costumes etc = challenged this to create effect.
• I challenged these conventions: dark, moody lighting in some instances and natural lighting in others, a few slower, more held-out shots, deeper, more intense themes. 
• Overall, my music video really does encourage audiences to think deeper as opposed to other songs in the hip-hop genre, for example, which hold little substance and consist of course language and inappropriate visuals.
• I interviewed a group of interviewees, asking them questions based on my completed rough edit of the music video. A few of the participants suggested cutting between shots in time with the beat - this is something I had already actually planned on doing from the beginning, and had try to do, so I went back to editing and made sure that that effect was even more clear.
• Pop genre music videos usually consist of stage shots/shots where the artist performs the song as well - I used/conformed to this convention by including stage shots throughout my music video where my talent are passionately singing, their facials revealing their respective levels of worry and distress. By conforming to this convention, I provide some level of normalcy in my music video (also with the bright blue and purple hues of stage lighting), which then both allows the audience to concentrate on the other, more deep elements of the music video, and additionally adds an additional element of fun and excitement to it as well.

Week 10 - Focus Group Interview & My Response

Grace Watson
9 April 2021
Media Studies
Week 10 - Focus Group Interview & My Response

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My Response to my Focus Group Interview by gracewatson143