Statement Of Intent

 Statement of Intent

How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief? (approx. 400 words)

The song I’ve chosen, “When Doves Cry”, is a song about heartbreak, despair and an end to a toxic relationship. The video I plan to make will feature an overarching Narrative, starting with Shadorze having a messy breakup with his partner. From that point, he’s enraged and in disbelief of what’s just happened. He gets in his car, driving with no intention of stopping. 

While driving, he finds a necklace left behind by his partner in his car, something which further reminds him of what he’s now lost.

Intercut with Shadorze driving, the music video will cut to what is meant to be a fictitious version of the main character, a version of him where his relationship with his partner did not go sour. This ideal version of him will be intercut with the real him; having a light blue wash over the video which will contrast the red wash which will be used to emphasise the character's rage in the final sequence. This is where I will incorporate performing elements like Lip Syncing and Dancing done by both versions of the character. There will also be flashback scenes, where the character is seen being let down by his partner and then throwing a tantrum when he faces his partner.

When we cut back to the present version of Shadorze, he is slamming the brakes of his car, getting out and dancing in a deranged manner while the sound of his love confession to his now ex-partner plays. He is at his worst at this point and like many of us, the decisions he makes aren’t the most rational. He spots a puddle of water and has the idea that he wants to end it all by literally drowning his sorrows. At this point, a red colour wash can be seen; highlighting the anger he is feeling and contrasting the lack of anger shown by the 'lighter' version of him.

He plunges his head into the water, crying out the lyrics to the song. Once his raw emotions are at the peak, he spills over to the side, lying flat on his back with his arms and legs spread out. As an overhead shot zooms out to reveal almost a hallucinogenic vision of an ideal version of himself in a functional relationship with his partner, who is holding the golden necklace as seen before.

The genre I’ve been given for my Music Video is ‘Love Song’, I will be making my video a song about the end of a relationship and the fallout, aftermath and devastation one experiences after an event like that. My video will fit into the genre as the ‘When Doves Cry’ is a song about heartbreak and toxic relationships, the video I’m making further leans into this theme. However, I will be subverting the norms of the genre by having the represented relationship being a homosexual one. A detail which only gets revealed at the very end of the video; the representation of this relationship will be purposefully ambiguous (only being revealed at the end) as it would work and feel relatable no matter the audience's sexual orientation.

My target audience’s age range is 16-25 year olds. Everyone in this age range has either been in a relationship or had a particular affection for someone they could see themselves in a relationship with. The sad part is that most relationships come to an end, something that no one wants to go through but most people will go through one. Making the theme of my music video a sadly relatable life event, allowing the audience to resonate with an extreme example of a part of life.

My Artist's record label is the UMG (Universal Music Group). The concept of my video was definitely inspired in part by The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights", who is also an artist under the UMG. Drawing similarities in the aspects of the video being filmed at night, heavily featuring a sports car and having a narrative. On top of this, the decision to make the character's relationship a homosexual one is something that UMG would have no problem with. Many artists under UMG are Pro-LGBTQ, for example, Taylor Swift's "You Need To Calm Down" music video heavily featured and uplifted the LGBTQ community. Making the concepts featured in my music video ideas that have already been been done by UMG artists and have been successful.

There will only be 1 performer in my music video, but he will be leading the narrative, lipsyncing and dancing. Something which is not uncommon to see from UMG artists.

As previously mentioned, my music video took inspiration from The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights", thus some mise-en-scene and intertextuality in my video will be driving shots at night with a car and a sequence which incorporates digetic sound and a stop in the music.

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and  understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production? (approx. 100 words)

When taking photos for my album cover, I took other photos which I planned to use for my website, ensuring that most of the images I used were not screenshots from my video. My website features a colour theme of Black, Orange and Purple. Black and Orange are the colours which make up my artist's logo, which is also featured at the end of the music video and on the top banner of the website. Purple was a colour that was featured at the start of my music video and in the central image of my website. It was used because of its contrast with orange to create an interesting blend of colours.

My central image of  the website features the name of my artist 'Shadorze', a short description that hypes up the artist and the logos for UMG and Republic Records. The text 'Shadorze' is shown large in the same font that was used in my music video to show the song's title, it is also seen in the thumbnail for the behind the scenes interview I did with my artist called "5 Minutes With Shadorze". This constant reference to the same font will help to create an interconnect feel between the 2 projects. I chose to feature the Universal Music Group and Republic Records logo as I've seen that this is a common feature of UMG's artists and that I wanted to make it apparent that this is the music company and record label my artist is signed to. 

Right below the central image, you can find the 2 videos I have published by Shadorze. The first is the featured Music Video 'When Doves Cry' which is being marketed as the album's first single. By scrolling down a bit more, you are able to directly purchase and stream the song from the website, that is also where you can see the official cover image for the album. The second video, as I previously stated, is a interview in the style of GQ's celebrity interviews where my artist was asked 3 questions. All the questions related to him and his upcoming album, I took this opportunity to market the album and make statements which would normally be clipped and made headlines in celebrity news sites.

Next, I created a 'bandsintown' account for my artist, entering all the necessary information to create a world tour for the upcoming album. Again, using the fonts and colour scheme that has been present throughout the website so that it is cohesive.

I was inspired by Lil Nas X in terms of how he interacts with his audience, which is also aged from 16-25 year olds. He is in that age range, like I am and understands what kind of comments and designs will get the people's attention. That's why the vibe I plan to give off with my website is of an extremely self-confident individual who knows his worth. Because I feel celebrities too often try to undersell their reach and ability; being seen as false modest and preachy as a result. I plan to craft my celebrity's persona in a way that is genuine and very shareable, featuring links to the artist's Social Media as well to stay connected to Shadorze's day-to-day.