EVALUATION

 Our project represents toxic relationships through the portrayal of a middle-class couple at a dinner party. We used the song ‘Under the Table’ by Fiona Apple, and interpreted the lyrics “kick me under the table all you want, I won’t shut up’ as a woman being put down to keep quiet. This includes elements of misogyny, reflecting the old belief that women should be seen and not heard. This inspired the idea of a dinner party, where our star is neglected by her partner. This is reinforced by footage of the couple arguing in the kitchen under cold blue lighting, symbolizing the tension in their relationship. Additional imagery, such as projected images reflecting the anger of our artist, helped portray the toxic relationship. We used cold lighting and blue tones to represent the coldness between the characters. However, we chose to break the fourth wall, with the artist singing directly to the camera, to represent her growing confidence. This was reflected within the narrative, as she looked at herself in the mirror and let herself express her anger. We chose to leave the ending of the music video undetermined, finishing with the Lucy sitting down at the table. Although we didn’t reveal what happens next, she looks directly into the camera as she sits making it clear that the confident persona that she adopts while lip-syncing has spread, and she has regained her power in the situation. This follows our interpretation of the lyrics, while also being a clear representation of a toxic and unbalanced relationship.

We used consistent imagery across all our projects to establish a branding identity. Our artist is portrayed as hesitant to be in the spotlight but willing to be emotionally vulnerable and discuss important issues, including misogyny and toxic relationships. Our repetitive imagery was created with the use of projection, as it allowed us to experiment with colour and lighting while still creating the same look. After using the projector to represent emotions in our music video, we used it to create a sense of mystery surrounding the artist in our digipak. We then proceeded to use the same images we projected onto Lucy’s face, on our Instagram page to tie together the products. Despite being used in a different way each time, the repetitive use of imagery throughout our coursework contributed to the branding identity. The ink effect was taken from royalty-free sensory videos online, but we purposely chose videos with a black background so that our artist was in the shadows. This helped represent Lucy as withdrawn but also powerful, with the spreading of ink matching her spreading anger. Despite appearing mysterious, the music video clearly shows Lucy’s emotional vulnerability, which she must overcome to stand up for herself. This is also shown on her social media page, through heartfelt messages dedicated to her fans detailing her emotional connection with the album. For example, while announcing the tour Lucy reveals that the album was written during a “very vulnerable and lonely point” and that the support from her fans has given her the courage to share her experiences. This is further reinforced by Lucy’s face often being obscured in shadows, to represent her hesitancy to share this vulnerable side with her audience. The representation of the artist remains consistent, and consumers know exactly what they are getting when they purchase the album.

We wanted to engage with our audience by including imagery that requires some interpretation. Although we deliver the narrative almost like a short film, we also used imagery to convey emotions and to keep the audiences attention. Our music video requires participation from the audience to interpret the true message, drawing their attention and building a connection to the song. Consumers have to connect the different strands of the narrative to understand that they are connected and represent the artist's internal conflict. Using consistent visual styles across all our products creates a branding identity that increases engagement, helps build a connection between the album and the artist, and encourages consumer loyalty. This is achieved by being consistent with visual elements and messaging, it creates familiarity and trust between listeners and the artist. We also aimed to create empathy with the audience, as through the social media page Lucy reveals she is emotionally connected to the experiences she is singing about. This makes her more relatable but also portrays her as more like a ‘real person’, who is not untouchable. My social media page was also designed to promote engagement by creating a sense of anticipation for the release of the album and music video, encouraging discussion amongst fans and interaction in the comment section. 

While drawing on conventions observed from the alternative pop/rock genre, we also chose to challenge some of these conventions. For example, in a lot of the videos we observed, such as Mazzy Star’s song ‘Fade Into You’ and Regina Spektor’s song ‘Us’, very muted colour palettes were used or even just black and white. We decided not to follow this and instead went for bright bold colours through the use of projection. We chose to do this as we felt that the song had a powerful message of the artist expressing her frustration towards those who try to silence or control her, and as it reaches the climax of the song her anger becomes clearer. We believed that intense colours should be used to match the strong emotions expressed in the song, reflecting the intensity of the artist's emotions.

We also chose to deviate from the convention of solely using imagery and lip-syncing. Instead, we pursued a narrative that we hoped to convey in conjunction with the lyrics. Although this is unconventional for the ‘alternative’ genre, this does match Andrew Goodwin’s theory of music videos, which states that conventionally, music videos have a link between the lyrics of the song and the visuals being displayed. We achieved this by use of lip-syncing, but also matching some of the actions to the lyrics. For example, as Luci sings “I won’t shut up”, those words are repeated across the screen to reinforce the message that she will not allow herself to be silenced.

Despite choosing to challenge some conventions from the alternative genre, we also made sure to keep the focus on the artist and focus on her representation by including a lot of close-ups. Although we chose to implement a narrative, the whole music video still revolves around Lucy, and she receives the majority of the screen time. We also made sure that the narrative didn’t distract from the song or representation of the artist. This is conventional for the ‘alternative’ genre as typically lyrics are meaningful and artists want the consumers to focus on the message being put across.

In conclusion, this project provided me with an opportunity to learn about and challenge some of the conventional norms within the ‘alternative’ genre through my music video, social media page, and digipak. Through the creation of a consistent brand image across all three products, I was able to establish a clear and coherent identity of my artist, which effectively communicated the overall message of the song we picked. The music video specifically addressed social issues such as toxic relationships, and by doing so, I was able to demonstrate the power of media to engage audiences and establish communication between artists and consumers. I now have a better understanding of the process to research target audiences, and producing a product that fits their expectations, while also establishing an identity for an artist and getting their message across to audiences.