Emmelie Wright

1. Name: Emmelie Wright Candidate number: 3531 Critical Evaluation This essay consists of an evaluation of my media campaign to promote an artist. As a group we decided to create an all male band for this project. When creating a music campaign to promote an all-male band we wanted them to subtly break gender stereotypes. We decided it would be an innovative idea to present them in a modern setting where gender stereotypes are now becoming outdated. On the Instagram page we posted behind the scene pictures of their digipak photoshoot which showed that the band members were affectionate and were enjoying each other’s company. This helped to break the stereotype of male rock bands being serious and intimidating as well as men typically not showing affection towards each other. Along side this we chose the colour scheme of the digipak using customarily feminine colours, with pink being the most prominent colour as usually rock bands are associated with black, grey or red, more darker colours that signify angst. This gave the message that they aren’t the typical male rock band but something modern. These decisions assisted us create a lovable and relatable band; helping them gain a following as well as the audience taking comfort in viewing them as idols. This image is amplified with their down to earth personalities, we showed this with their casual Instagram posts. Overall this will be appealing to audiences as this will make believe they are more real and not just a band they may listen to. This reflects Richard Dyer’s star theory where a star must be both extraordinary and ordinary.

2. During our music video, we wanted to address the unappealing aspects of toxic masculinity in a subtle way. We displayed the stupidity of toxic masculinity through comedy as we ridiculed the concept. We portrayed this by having a narrative in our music video where we had a workout montage with a man trying to achieve a serious work out but it then turns out to be for a hungry hungry hippos' tournament. We demonstrated the negative connotations in his personality and how unappealing his company was with the reactions of the teacher when he wins as well as him shouting at a young child. Overall this is comedic and entertaining as well as reinforcing his obnoxious personality . The band displaying them ridiculing toxic masculinity which is a relevant issue in todays media will show their true values thus making them more likeable in the eyes of their fans. As I mentioned earlier, our digipak is unconventional colours for an all-male rock band, with the colour pink. This was chosen to reflect the attitude of our band correctly, as red would signify a much heavier rock vibe and anger, and blue would indicate a lower mood album. Pink is a more neutral colour however is unconventional for a male rock band. This helps to create a bran that reinforces the breaking down of gender stereotypes illustrating our band’s beliefs contrary mainstream media. I think them being themselves shows they are not manufactured which contradicts Dyer’s star theory where he states that stars are only manufactured to feel like real people. In my media campaign I aimed to engage my audience in a variety of ways. One example is that we offer people an escape from reality through the comedy in our music video. The story line in our music video is lighthearted and funny which can distract people from any stress they may have in their life. The use of a comedic narrative offers the audience a positive viewing experience. This is consistent in the performance aspect which is also lighthearted. The band clearly look like they’re

3. having fun and that they are only regular people enjoying playing their song and sharing it with the viewers. We all need to have a break from our busy lives to recuperate and just switch. Throughout my campaign we paid homage to the late 70s and early 80s. We showed this through the design of our digipak being bright colours, inline with late 70s and early 80s album cover designs. This created an atmosphere of nostalgia that promoted an image which will appeal to the demographic of the older generation. This older demographic will appreciate that the younger generation are enjoying the music that they were listening to when they were teenagers which engages them with this band. Having a boy band making rock music in a fun way will also draw in the demographic of teenage girls. Teenage girls stereotypically are the fans of boy bands. However, I do feel as that it is a boy band that produces soft rock music rather than, like One Direction, the target demographic will expand further from just teenage girls, as illustrated pop, by the nostalgia aspect I referred earlier on. This will help them become more successful in their career as they have a larger audience, and more people will enjoy their music rather than just one specific demographic. Our intention throughout our media campaign was to create a band that would appeal to more than one demographic. We followed camera movement conventions in our music video in order to amplify the nostalgic feeling that the song also brings. We included quick zooms and tracks to replicate the music videos were filmed in the late 70s and early 80s as well as the fact we had an intertextual reference with our training montage to ‘Rocky’. The use of the training montage reflects one of the most iconic montage scenes in cinematic history. This will engage a demographic of fans of 80s films to appreciate the homage to ‘Rocky’. In general, we follow genre conventions which will make the music video more entertaining. We reflect the familiar style of soft rock music videos from the 80s but in a more comical, parody way. We bring back what music videos were like back then, which were supposed to be serious at the time but that we find funny now, as well as the training montage

4. leading up to a punchline. While analysing the music video ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by ‘Survivor’ I can tell the band thought that they were cool, however now it comes across as satire. With this in mind, I thought we could incorporate this element into our performance sequence to make this part of the music video just as fun as the montage. This will help engage our audience throughout our music video and ultimately make our band more appealing to a wider audience. Anyone of any age and background can enjoy this music video with all our distinct aspects included in it. In addition, I followed Godwin’s music video theory. I edited the music video to show and reflect what you hear in the music video. With fast pace editing for the guitar solo, cutting in time with the music, combined with the fast zooms we keep the music video energised. This is essential for audience viewing for example, if you hear a guitar solo but you’re watching the singer, the audience will at once lose interest in watching. This helps us draw in our viewers to gain more attention for our band. On our social media, we show that the band care for their fans, responding to their comments as well as mentioning that they can meet them in person. This parasocial interaction will help them build a healthy relationship with their fans. An example of this is a fan commented that they are excited to see them perform live, and their Instagram responded saying they are welcome to come backstage and have a chat afterwards. The chance to meet a band while they are just starting out, when you can see they are slowly getting big is an incredible feeling for the fans. Creating a healthy relationship with an artist or band, even if it is just through a parasocial interaction will help show the world they are only normal people that are prepared to see and treat their fans with respect. This is what we look for in a star image as writing good music isn’t everything, having a good image and being generally a good person helps boost their credibility.

5. To conclude, I feel as though we created a successful and enjoyable media campaign for our band and we enjoyed the process of creating a star image. I feel as though I understood the different aspects and necessities of a media campaign to promote a band. 1416, words