For brief 4, I will create 2 products. I have an interest in how the music industry can advertise for different audiences and how they can portray meaning in music videos. By doing this brief, I will be able to help create my own narrative which would correlate with my chosen song. I also have been able to previously explore making magazines, which is a part of the products which I will be producing, this means I will be able to apply the knowledge which I already have onto this product. 

I wanted to do this brief because I would be able to explore more diverse ways media is portrayed. This could be done through work such as semiotics and narrative theory. Music videos can portray different signs and signifiers, which is the work of Saussure, this separates the sign and the meaning behind it. This could be displayed in my video as I can show different meanings to common things. It is also possible to show narrative theories in music videos, such as distinctive character types and equilibriums. Character types was a theory by Vladamir Propp, who distinguished how different characters bring structure to stories. Equilibriums are used in many different scenarios, the theory shows how everything has an equilibrium, disruption, and a new equilibrium, which I would be able to apply to my music video.  

I will make sure my products will be able to target my target audience which I am trying to have them be around 16-18, who are interested in different genres of music, as I will be trying to show how smaller artists are able to create and produce music. In terms of psychographic profiling, which is a theory made by Rubicam and Young, I am targeting the ‘reformers’ and the ‘explorers. I enjoy reading Music Week, which is a magazine which distributes a monthly magazine about the latest music news. This will help ensure that I will understand how to have the correct flow and language in my product. I like Music Week as I like how they set out the front covers, as they can include vast amounts of information without making it look too cluttered. As for my music video, i have been able to watch numerous different videos which have had big and small budgets, but I am influenced by music videos with smaller budgets as they are able to show a more realistic story, whereas bigger budget videos sometimes are more about having better visual shots.  

I need to make sure both of my products are connected in terms of content and representation. I will be able to do this by having similar visuals throughout my music video and on my video, also including context for branding being reinforced within the music video and parts of the magazine to include articles related to sponsorships. I need to ensure that my indexical signs, which is from the work of C S Pierce, are consistent and are providing the correct meaning which I want them to portray.

WHY rather than WHAT

I am producing 2 media products for set brief 5. My aim for this online promotional campaign is to raise awareness health campaigns such as anti-vaping. This is because I believe our generation has normalised the issues within this topic as it has become increasingly popular since 2003, with 68.1m people using e-cigarettes in 2020. I would like to discuss the dangers further including some of the serious health risks and life-threatening issues that come with it.

This will be emphasised through this campaign in hope to inspire others to quit vaping and realise it is not a healthy alternative to smoking. I decided to take up this brief because I have interest in the topic of Semiotics in media language. Specifically, Roland Barthes theory of semiotics. This is because semiotics includes signs, and the connotations and denotations behind them. This links to my topic of anti-vaping because I feel that today’s society has normalised vaping (the sign) and overlooked the serious health issues that come with it (the denotations). Within this I will also link to Roland Barthes by identifying the myth that vaping is a healthy alternative to smoking, as well as conventions of vaping. It is important that I have a target audience in mind, so the product I am creating will target teenagers between the ages of 15-18 as I believe these are the most common ages to begin vaping. Essentially these ages are also effective because they are known to be more conformative than other ages, meaning it is likely they do not know the damage they are causing to their bodies, and they are only choosing to take up vaping because it is a popular activity of teenagers.

In terms of Rubicam and Young’s theory, I am targeting my product towards the “succeeders” because they are confident in themselves and have strong goals. I feel this will be effective as they may be able to quit vaping (or never begin) through their strong willpower. I am also targeting the “explorers” as these types of people that are driven by a need for discovery and a challenge, meaning they are likely to conform to ‘trends’.

In terms of uses and gratifications I am aiming to create products that provide information about today’s society and the ‘norms’ that have been brought upon teenagers and connect individuals together through a greater awareness of the social issues. Therefore, my aim is traditional media with a new form aimed at younger people. As I often read the Guardian and the Financial Times, so I will ensure that the style, tone and register of my web pages will reflect these professional products. For example, as I use TikTok everyday as it is a popular social media platform among young people, I will make my videos match the style, tone and register of other popular videos that have inspired teenagers.

I am producing 2 media products for set brief 5. My aim for these products is to raise awareness about social health issues, such as vaping as I think it has become very popular for youths over the past few years. I wanted to take up this brief because I am very interested in the use of Tiktok to help spread social or political awareness and information. I also think that campaigns have been very useful for many years and are successful at circulating knowledge.

It is really important that I have a target audience in mind, so the audience I am targeting will be teenagers as I feel like vaping is most popular around that age, essentially, they will be 15-18 years old. In terms of Psychographic profiling (Rubicam and Young), I will be targeting the ‘strugglers’ and ‘explorers’. In terms of uses and gratifications, I am aiming to create products that provide information about the real world and how we can change young people’s lives. Therefore, my aim is to create products that young people and teenagers find entertaining and will keep them engaged. I have decided to use Tiktok as a way of spreading awareness because it is a huge media platform that over 1 billion people use, mostly teenagers/young adults. As I often use Tiktok, I understand what the formality and themes are like, so I will stick to these ideas and styles. I also understand that campaigns and websites are a lot more formal than audio style media products, therefore, I will ensure that the style, tone and register of my web pages will reflect these professional products. As I like listening to podcasts regularly, I understand that my podcast will need to include a theme, an audio logo and special guests.

I want to connect both productions in terms of content and representation, so I will be using the same participants for both the photos for the campaign and the Tiktok videos. I will also include consistent iconography to ensure the theme of my brief is well produced and easy to understand for young people. To do this, I will ensure to use dominant signifiers throughout both products which will support the main message of the product.

I am producing 2 media products, that show a coming-of-age film (the shift), for set brief 3. The media products include three movie posters and three 45-60-sec TikTok videos promoting a coming-of-age movie. These media products vary in traditional and digital marketing strategies which will ensure that it will reach maximum audience as it guarantees that individuals who don’t use the media will still be aware of the movie and people who use media, will also have acknowledge of the movie. This is because the fascination within the film industry and how films have such depth when it comes to signs is something that often intrigues audiences. I also find it captivating how snippets of films can manipulate the audience to watch the film. I chose this brief because I believe that the exploring and enhancement of knowledge through semiotics will guarantee audience engagement. through my mini videos but mostly through my posters. I really like the whole concept of being able to build meanings through signs and I’ve always liked guessing what small details or signs in films meant and often found myself searching for answers. I am hoping that this NEA will help me explore these ideas and create meaning and profundity to the movie.   

I think it is important that I set a target audience, so the audience I have in mind will be teenagers who are mourning or envy their younger self’s or more specifically audiences who fit the profile “adventurers, “virtuoso” and “architect”. In terms of uses and gratifications, I’m aiming to create products that explore a feeling of sadness towards growing up. This is because the characters in my film will show the sorrow towards growing up. Growing up and expressing how you feel about it is something very common. Therefore, my aim is to give comfort to those who miss or are grieving their younger selves and wishing they could be children again and to reassure them that feeling like this is completely normal. So, my film is about the heartache towards growing up. I have enjoyed watching films that discuss these issues as it gives me more understanding and the movies that have a huge influence on my media products are the movies, “13 going 30” and “to all the boys I’ve loved before”. I love how the first movie I mentioned shows a contrast of two different people in two completely different life stages and for the second movie, I like the poster format especially the fact that it is from Netflix. I will make sure that the mini videos I produce have the same type of vibe and scenery. I will also make sure it looks professionally produced with quality videos and aesthetics. Films discreetly use semiotics, and I will reflect this in my videos.  

I want both of my productions to connect in terms of content and representation, so all my characters will be the same in the videos and the posters, however in the videos, there will be different scenes, but they will still somehow relate. E.g. keeping the same characters as in posters. I will also use consistent branding, such as the name of the film to ensure consistent iconic and indexical signs.  

I will create 2 media products for brief 4. I have chosen this brief because I have always enjoyed music and especially the visual component as I find it fascinating. I took this brief up because I am interested in narrative theory and seeing how music related media have their own narrative. For example, I really like Todorov’s theory that in every media product, the characters go through stages. They start in an equilibrium, something disrupts it, and they resolve the conflict, creating a new equilibrium.  

The target audience that I will be aiming my products at will be teenagers that enjoy music. This will be 15–21-year-olds who enjoy the visual and textual components to music and who enjoy reading about and discovering new aspiring artists. In terms of Young and Rubicam’s Psychometric profiles, my target audience will be the explorer’s. This is because they like to discover new concepts and genres of music. In terms of Katz and Blumler’s Uses and Gratifications theory, I aim to create products that target people who want to seek media to fill emotional experiences and escape their ordinary lives. I enjoy reading the NME music magazine so I will ensure that the style, tone, and flow of my magazine matches that of NME’s style. I enjoy their style because of its busy front covers and detailed content. As for my music video, I am influenced by self-directed videos by artists. This is because it shows their own story through a video that is created exactly how they envisioned it.  

I want both my music video and my magazine to be linked in content and representation. This will look like my magazine and my music video both featuring a sponsorship. I will consistently reinforce the branding for the sponsorship through out the video and have specific articles based on the sponsorships. I will ensure that throughout my products, my indexical signs are consistent and provide the correct meaning that I want to put across.