CCR for Music Video

 

1. 1. How does your product use or challenge conventions AND how does it represent social groups or issues?  

 

While this project does little to challenge conventions, my partner and I utilized conventions as a backbone for our project. Specifically, we used the conventions of the pop-rock genre such as wearing casual clothes and numerous action shots to develop our video. However, the main focus we took was portraying the pressure on the youth to choose careers which often results in high anxiety. By juxtaposing the stories of two teenagers who did not completely have their lives figured out, we portrayed teenagers resisting this anxiety by being calm about their indecision. Our first character, Christina, wishes to be a performer but it is not particularly skilled. We follow this by adding the upbeat phrase that she is still following what she loves which is more important than being good at it. This again portrays the anxiety teenagers feel as they are pressured toward what they are talented with, not what makes them happy. Following, we show a character, Jenna, who is more skilled at their interests but is indecisive about what she wants to do. We end the video by making it clear that she still has time, which is the heart of the issue. This all was purposely planned based on our own experiences and how we interpreted the song which made this section very easy.  

 
2. How does your product engage with audiences AND how would it be distributed as a real media text?  

Our feel-good message is obviously meant to uplift our audience. The lighting and music are meant to “pump-up” the viewers and remind them that most anxiety and pressure are internally driven which can be combatted. As an actual music video, it would be distributed as a music video on streaming platforms like YouTube and perhaps in schools as a part of a mental health curriculum. Music videos as a genre are not often used in television which rules that out, but perhaps it could be at malls on a TV as a background to a store. Prototypical of the genre, the music is feel-good which does well in stores to cheer the shoppers. On streaming platforms, it is catchy and short which keeps attention until the end. Additionally, these platforms reach a wide range of viewers especially since OneRepublic is a popular band.  Overall, the message of less pressure for the audience would be distributed as a video on streaming services to have the most effect. 

 

 

3. How did your production skills develop throughout this project?  

 

While I have some experience behind the camera, this was of no use this time. Instead, I had to face the new challenge of being an actor but also teach someone else how to use a camera. As opposed to before, I took a much stronger leadership role which involved a lot more decision-making than I was used to prior. I had to consider and balance each decision for costs and effectiveness which was difficult because it often took me a couple of tries. Production is definitely more expansive than just filming, and this project made me realize that it is often the easiest part. While I had a better idea since my commercial, my production skills grew in breadth as learned about each part of creating a commercial. For example, I was in charge of editing, and I had never done that before which taught me a lot about how important good filming was to simplify the editing process. I definitely appreciated this experience and think I will be better prepared for the next project.  
 

4. How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware, and online – in this project?  

 

My group and I tried to keep things simple but used a range of software, hardware, and online material in this project. For hardware, we used a phone camera. We used a phone camera because it was the simplest, but also included a decent camera that was easy to move into focus. Phones cameras also are very compatible with other programs which made it easier to switch a computer to edit. This leads to our online technology. We used an editing software called CapCut to edit including adding our music. I chose this software to edit myself because it had a wide range of choices already available to me which made it simpler in the learning process to understand editing. We integrated software by using the camera app on the phone to zoom in and out of shots as well as using certain lighting techniques in the camera app software to make sure it was the best it could be. Overall, we chose to keep it simple and use as little variation in technology as possible as it was the simplest and most compatible to use.