Blog Posting - Music Marketing Project

 

Music Marketing #1

 In order to create a successful brand, my group and I decided to make a marketing plan for our fictional band "Electr!fy". A marketing plan is crucial in order to promote what seems to be an actual band of current times.

As Electr!fy, they're always finding ways to connect with their audience. To achieve this, my group has planned a comprehensive and basic music marketing strategy. 

1. Understanding Our Audience

Our target audience is primarily young adults aged 18-30, particularly white Caucasians. Taking into consideration their preferences, behaviors, and the platforms they frequent in order to further connect and promote our music. 

2. Leveraging Social Media

Social media has been our primary tool for reaching their target audience. We've focused on platforms like:

• TikTok: Short-form video content allows for them to engage with their audience and showcase their personality. The short videos linked to YouTube helps the band live.
• Instagram: Instagram helps us build a strong brand identity and share behind-the-scenes glimpses.
• Facebook: We use Facebook to connect with a wider audience and share longer-form content like music videos and live streams.
• YouTube: A YouTube channel is the hub for music videos, live performances, and exclusive content. This is also where Electr!fy mainly gets paid. So, all the snippets displayed on the various platforms will be linked to YouTube in order for this band to keep thriving.

3.  Strong Brand Identity

A strong brand identity is essential and vital for any artist or band. This band comes from a small, low-key town in New York. With a 3 men and 1 woman, this band bursts with vivid music as well as relatable, profound feels, letting anyone be able to listen in.

4. Creating Engaging Content

As my group further researched, we discovered that content is key, so we've focused on the high-quality content that audiences love. This includes:

• Music Videos: Complement the songs as well as showcases the artist or band. Develops representation as well as illustrates Electr!fy's brand.
• Social Media Posts: A mix of engaging posts, including behind-the-scenes footage, music snippets, and fan interactions. This purpose is to market artist demand, It's essential in our visual/auditory world.
• Live Performances: Energetic live performances that showcase talent and connect with our audience on a personal level. This shows how the band wants to connect with their fans and viewers, or even visually change their brand to the public (as years pass).

As more research gets brought up to the surface, my group and I have realized how visual the world is today. The planning progress truly helped open the eyes of me and my peers.

Blog posting - Representation

Gossip Girl, my favorite series, has made me realize how it offers a fascinating lens in representation. This series representation in media, particularly class, gender, and sexuality. Gossip Girl is set in the elite world of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and a unique fusion of drama and social commentary. By tracking every move of each character showcased on the blog Gossip Girl, the show transforms their lives into a spectacle that feels disconnected from their true selves All while discovering the complexities of teenage life along with wealth and privilege.

Blair Waldorf, a character built and constructed around ambition and rivalry. As the queen "B" of her social circle, Blair’s life is highlighted on how women in media are often represented through the lens of competition and personal ambition. Blair's design is marked by high fashion and assertive personality which reflects societal expectations of femininity, showcasing both power and vulnerability. However, there is a selection that was chosen, which portrays women as jealous and rather stupid when in love. Although, she has moments that show true girl power, along with teenage emotions bursting through her role. 

The visual choices in Blair's character, from her designer outfits to her assertive presence, serve to reinforce her role as a powerful female figure. However, her portrayal often leans into stereotypes of the “mean girl,” raising questions about how female ambition is perceived. Her costume and makeup choices are made to be of natural beauty yet disgustingly elegant to prove Blair is above others. The selection of narrative structures that focus on her competitive nature with other women, particularly her bestie Serena, additionally emphasizes the stereotype and notion of women as competitors rather than lifting each other up.

To contrast Blair, Serena van der Woodsen, represents the stereotype of the rebellious, sexy, beautiful, and free-spirited woman. While she is perceived as having a carefree lifestyle, her character becomes one with deep personal issues, including self-worth and the consequences of her choices. This duality provides a more nuanced representation of femininity, challenging the stereotype of the “perfect” woman.

Serena’s relationships often explore themes of sexuality and emotional vulnerability, presenting her as a extraordinary person rather than a bland, plain stereotype. However, her storylines occasionally fall into the trap of being the "other woman", while struggling with addiction and self-destructive behavior that can reinforce negative stereotypes about young women from wealthy backgrounds.

Gossip Girl serves as a unique and fascinating representation of youth culture, gender, and class in media. While the show successfully reflects female characters like Blair and Serena, it also portrays broader societal biases in its handling of race, social and economic status. Through its selective storytelling and character construction, the series both challenges and reinforces stereotypes, which can create critical discussions about representation in contemporary media.

Sound

During this sound lesson, I learned about the impact of sound in storytelling and how different sound elements can help illustrate actions. In this sound lesson, I learned how sound doesn't always add up to the object that's "supposed" to make it. The videos showed and demonstrated various sound effects, illustrating how they enhance experiences without visual cues. I also gained knowledge into the importance of layering sounds. 

The project was to brainstorm a 1-2 minute scene that could be conveyed entirely through sound. We needed to identify the specific sounds present in our scene and create an outline that explains how these sounds build a realistic narrative. However, we were limited to using only seven words throughout the entire soundscape. 

I began by brainstorming various scene ideas, ensuring they fit the requirements.  I would put all my criteria on my notes app, listing the sound effect, action, and link to the sound. After selecting sounds for each scene, my partner and I focused on identifying sounds that would realistically depict the atmosphere. I then created an outline on iMovie to organize these sounds to ensure each sound contributed.

During brainstorming, I listed several potential scenes that could develop a story with pure sound. I considered the types of sounds that would naturally occur in each scenario and how they could communicate action. Since my submission was Santa arriving to a house to deliver present, it was more fairytale sounds than I realized.

My outline provided a clear structure for the soundscape, breaking down the scene into segments. This organization allowed me to see how sounds would flow together and ensured that each element contributed to the narrative.

I utilized Adobe Creative Cloud for editing my sound project. This software allowed me to layer the sounds, adjust volumes, and apply effects, helping to create a neat and organized final product.

I would say I successfully created a dynamic soundscape that captured the essence of Santa arriving and a child catching him. The layering of sounds and attention to detail helped convey the scene well. However, I would like to improve my editing skills to create smoother transitions between sounds and experiment with more complex sound effects in future projects. Also, I would like my foley to improve although it wasn't as bad as I thought I would make it.

OWF

We had to film a One Word Film project for our AICE Media class. Everyone will create a short film that to represents a random word given. In this project, we also had to utilize camera shots/angles and editing techniques to help in conveying the story.

To start off, I first brainstormed with my partner. Since our word was "tolerance", we did our best to think of real-world situations where we had to tolerant someone or something. At first, our project would've been on an annoying little sibling who constantly annoys the older sibling, but we concluded it would be more relatable to film friends. Our project now centers on two friends: one is bothering and pestering the other, while the other is working on an crucial school assignment.. By brainstorming, I could pre-visualize my project to know what shots and angles to film. After filming and putting together the film, I used iMovie to edit my videos altogether.

I truly believe every aspect of filming was done pretty well however, I would like to try to edit better. In this project, it was clear the storyline and the shots/angles helped illustrate that. The editing should help create seamless flow as the project enhances.

OWF_Dragonetti.docx  

The Camera Shots Quiz was the first assignment needed to complete this course. It is based on the knowledge that the class has gained on composition, movement, angles, and shoots. Telling a story using only fifteen photos. 

I decided to use a phone to create a mystery story that is left up to the viewer's imagination. The phone displays an unknown number repeatedly texting and calling to get someone's attention. That person ignores the unidentified number and declines.

In the way of telling a story with just fifteen photographs, I think I succeeded. The story did progress, the shot order made sense, and it was, in my opinion, easy to follow. The anonymous caller was becoming increasingly insistent as the story went on, messaging constantly and making urgent calls. Still, I think there are a lot of areas where I could do better. For example, presenting a story, using more creativity in the images, and just improving as a storyteller. A real text message from an unknown number and a real phone call would be a plus. 

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My name is Emma and I chose AICE Media Studies because I am fascinated over the impact the media has had on our society. Being passionate about the certain control the media has over the entire world, made a desire to research and learn more about this topic. The main reason I'm creating this blog is to publish my thoughts over the media, discuss the influence technology has, and document about the media in general. I hope to gain more knowledge over this topic and dive right into the realities that the technology distorts for the world.