Final Products

Here are the final products for component 3.

⋆˚࿔ Final Products 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

MUSIC VIDEO

Here is the link if anything goes wrong:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oPMUPi8sh8643u4AWY2w_CrV-FZykgzpd6ReH4r4Zsg/edit?usp=sharing

DIGIPAK

SOCIAL MEDIA

Here is the link to Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/by.elliecollins?igsh=bmdjN2Q1dHU2OGYx

Here is the link to YouTube:

https://youtube.com/@by.elliecollins?si=TYcEBLl-feJ-x031

Here is the link to LinkTree:

https://linktr.ee/by.elliecollins?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAdGRleAPsxkdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAafxPXqf5Qz64fkVBbq-Gcvb4QJJ_rnviyuhaPZ0NaxCdIWVqR8Gs_pFtERFvw_aem_dfZ9YT3pVykVncj54DwgVw

AUDIENCE INTERACTION 

Critical Reflection

 This blog contains my critical reflection for component 3.

For our music promotion package, we decided on “pov” by Ariana Grande (2021) from her Positions (Deluxe) album. This song is from the RnB genre with pop influences. Our star, Ellie Collins, is an upcoming singer-songwriter, who's passionate, artistic, and a shy daydreamer. Our music promotion package is aimed at teenagers to young adults (15-25), couples, hopeless romantics, and Indonesians. We want to convey a dominant reading that people can discover self-love and confidence through healthy relationships.

To create a music promotional package, we must first think of branding and persona of the artist. Branding is how a recognizable identity and perception is created, possibly through visual elements, logos and emotional connection. This is especially important for artists to differ themselves from others and build a dedicated fanbase. According to Stuart Hall’s theory, media messages are not passively received. Instead, producers encode their intended meaning into the text, and audiences actively decode and interpret that meaning. To make Ellie’s brand, the most notable similarity between our products to create a sense of branding are the warm colours, where orange and brown are the main hues, especially on her Instagram (Fig 1). We decided on these colours as it connotes comfort which shows the artist’s softer personality, and these colours are a popular convention of RnB digipaks. We also used digicam footage and pictures in our video and digipak to give a timeless and nostalgic feeling to our products. We used guitars and written lyrics/doodles (Fig 2, 3) in all products to show Ellie’s passion and creativity in music production, reflecting her singer-songwriter persona. It also emphasizes vulnerability and intimacy, reinforcing the healthy relationship dominant reading of our music video. Across our products, a “handwriting” and cursive typeface (Fig 2, 3) similar to an autograph, was used to make our products more personal and more feminine respectively. Our digipak was inspired by Bird’s Eye - Ravyn Lenae (2024). We found that Ravyn uses a small logo consisting of her initials, and I wanted to place one on our digipak too to make Ellie’s initials more recognizably hers (Fig 3). We posted grainy pictures with a filter consistent with the other social media posts so audiences are able to make visual connections between posts and think of Ellie when they see similar photos (Fig 1). Though Ellie’s brand shows that she’s an introverted daydreamer, Richard Dyer also argued that stars’ personas are constructed. Ellie occasionally shows her off-screen persona on her Instagram (specifically on her magazine post), where she wears revealing streetwear fashion, shows confidence, and seems career-focused because of the photoshoot concept (Fig 3). However, her signature warm tones are still present to connect her on-screen and off-screen persona and solidify her brand.

Fig 1: Ellie’s Instagram

Fig 2: Shot from the MV and Thumbnail

Fig 3: Digipak design 

Genre conventions adapt over time to satisfy changing audience expectations and cultural shifts. My group uses genre conventions and technical elements to create engaging RnB products. RnB music video genre conventions include dream-like/low quality shots, low-key lighting and simple fashion (“Get you” - Daniel Caesar [2025] and “Love Me Not” - Ravyn Lenae [2025]). We conformed to these conventions to make our video and digipak feel authentic and intimate, aligned with Ellie’s “small artist” persona. The dream-like visuals are also meant to show the hopeless romantic daydreamer trope, making it relatable to teens who crave love. We also conformed by using vintage elements such as digital camera footage/photos (Fig 3, 4) and vinyls (Fig 1, 2) in our social media and video to create a nostalgic and retro theme to target young adults. These elements work together to make our products recognisably RnB. Steve Neale argues that balancing repetitions and difference will keep texts familiar yet new, which is why we decided to subvert some conventions. From my music video research on "Snooze" - SZA (2023), I learned that female RnB artists often represent sex symbols with revealing outfits and sensual eye-contact with the camera which aligns with Mulvey’s male gaze theory. We decided to challenge this convention as there are cultural shifts which protest the objectification of women. We challenged it by portraying Ellie as an introverted “girl next door” by making her cover cameras and by using comfortable fashion such as a plain t-shirt (Fig 4, 3), she becomes more relatable to teenagers. We subverted the luxurious convention by using public and personal spaces, with no show of materialistic props, to highlight the ordinariness of our star — which, as mentioned by Richard Dyer, is one of the key factors of stardom. Since our song still has some pop influences, we decided to use high-key lighting (Fig 2, 4), a pop convention, at the start of our video to appeal to pop fans, and also to make the “love at first sight” scene feel happier and surreal (Fig 7). 

Fig 4: Shot of Ellie covering the camera

According to Clay Shirky, audiences expect media content to be interactive or else they’ll reject it, which is why artists must engage with their audience to sustain their fanbase. Since our target audience consists of teenagers and young adults, we decided to use more modern methods of engagement to appeal to them. We made our digipak interactive by adding a QR code that leads to a LinkTree containing Ellie’s socials (Fig 3), letting audiences discover and explore more of Ellie’s work. We also input a phone number on the inside that fans can call and will hear an automated message from Ellie (Fig 3). I was inspired by Katseye’s Gabriela (2025) marketing campaign where they used similar techniques and went viral. Although Katseye is a pop group, their target audience is also teenagers and young adults, so I believed this method would be effective. This creates an “easter egg” for audiences to talk about in comment sections. The uses and gratifications theory says audiences consume media to fulfill personal reasons, such as social relationships. Our star encourages social relationships through her social media by sparking discussions with teasers, which is a hermeneutic code that creates big reactions from fans leading to them interacting with each other (Fig 5). Ellie posts behind the scene vlogs of her dates and the filming process, sharing personal bits that make fans build parasocial relationships. Ellie occasionally replies to comments to keep audiences engaged and keep her “extraordinary” aspects too, which is supported by her newer posts with brand partnerships (Fig 1), which relates with consumption in the theory of stardom. Our star also encourages active consumption within her fandom, which aligns with Henry Jenkins’ theory that fans don’t consume passively and are active, creative participants who create new content. Ellie’s fans create edits of her and interact with each other to gain her attention, and Ellie encourages this by interacting back (Fig 6). 

Fig 5: Comment section and post of teasers

Fig 6: Comment section interaction

In our products, we focused on representing a healthy teenage relationship as our dominant reading. Stuart Hall’s representation theory states that meaning is created through signs and language. Our video represents this couple with cliche and stereotypical events and dates, and also montage-like editing which reflects Ellie’s imagination and mimics a daydream. An example of a stereotypical trope used is the “love at first sight” trope (Fig 7), which ties into what a hopeless romantic (Ellie’s audience) may think love works. We represented couples in the “puppy love” stage by making Ellie have shy mannerisms such as covering the camera (Fig 4), which also shows her vulnerability in her shyness. However, as the music video progresses, she seems more confident as we have her lip sync on a TV screen (Fig 8) without shying away, showing her emotional growth with less insecurity. Since the theme of the song is about Ellie’s partner’s perspective, we used POV shots from a digital camera (Fig 4) to show Ellie’s growth and journey to self-love from his shoes, which makes audiences have a deeper emotional connection to the storyline, and makes it more immersive. The concept of “puppy love” is often associated with younger audiences aged 15-25, which helps attract teen and young adult audiences. We additionally represented them by using a messy, self-decorated bedroom (Fig 9) which shows that teenagers and young adults are disorganized and expressive. This also creates a sense of relatability for audiences who face similar circumstances. We also represent Indonesians by using one of Ronald Barthes’ narrative codes — the cultural code — by using Indonesian recognized products such as Indomie (Fig 9), and PDA such as Karl helping Ellie put a helmet on for the motorcycle in an over the shoulder shot (Fig 10). This may increase the authenticity of our star as she reflects her Indonesian culture and daily life.

Fig 7: Shot of Love at first sight trope

Fig 8: Shot of Ellie lip syncing

Fig 9: Shot of projector scene

Fig 10: Shot of helmet scene

Overall, our products create a consistent brand built on nostalgia, imagination, passion, artistry, and love. They promote personal growth and self-love in relationships, encouraging young audiences to embrace battle insecurity. Our branding aligns with our star’s persona, but if I could improve anything, I would clarify the overall message with my team to ensure a more cohesive final outcome.

Media Language

This is the blog for component 3 discussing the media language and technical elements and storylines that I used to generate meaning to support dominant reading and target audiences. This talks about the ones that I couldn’t fit in my CR, and will focus more on the non-styling aspects. I have made a separate blog for media language related to styling. This blog was done by me (Cassie).

₊𖥔 Media Language ۪ ׄ໑୧ ׅ𖥔ׄ

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REFLECTION:

My role in this stage was creating this blog. The media language blog was really useful because it let me explain all our technical choices like camera, sound, mis-en-scene, and editing in more detail, especially things we couldn’t fully include it in our critical reflection because of the word limit. It was also actually fun to see how all the different elements we worked on came together to create real meaning and tell a story through media, giving us meaningful connections to these projects. This improves the quality of it too. However, one problem I faced though was that this blog took so long to complete and was really exhausting, especially since I had a lot to talk about. Despite that, I’m still really happy with the final result and I think it turned out pretty well and according to what we want and expect. Moreover, to solve this, I worked on the blog in chunks, so every other day I would complete a few sections and then stop when I felt tired which helped me stay motivated and not get overwhelmed by the loads of tasks left that is yet to be done. Next time, I would try to manage my time more efficient and effectively. I’d definitely want to start earlier and not feel rushed and panicking which may hinder the quality of my future projects if this keeps on happening.

Production: Communication and Organisation

This blog shows the process of our communication and organisation for componant 3. I (Cassie) changed the formatting and highlighted/bolded some words for easier reading, and contributing in creating some of our organisation systems. This blog was created by Kimora.

⋆｡‧˚ʚ Communication and Organisation ɞ˚‧｡⋆

During the pre-production and production process of our music video project, we required a significant amount of planning, communication and organisation to ensure the filming and post-production process ran smoothly. Below I (Kimora) will discuss the methods of communication and organisation we used as a team and evaluate how they helped us during the whole project. 

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WHATSAPP

We used WhatsApp as our main method of communication throughout the whole project and it played a crucial role in ensuring the project ran smoothly, without it, it would have been difficult to manage many other parts of the project. Below shows the different ways WhatsApp was used during our music video project along with evidence. 

Firstly, WhatsApp was a key tool for brainstorming and sharing ideas during the production process. Through our groupchat, we shared our ideas, suggested improvements and built on each other’s ideas, which helped build a developed vision for our music video. We often used polls to gather opinions efficiently and make decisions as a group.

WhatsApp was also used to share important files and resources we needed during the production process, such as links to documents, Google Drive folders and PDFs. This allowed all of us to have access to the materials such as the storyboard, classwork or photo and video folders. Adding these links and files into the group also reduced the chances of us losing them as everyone has access to the same materials in one place, making it easier to stay organised and refer back to any important information when needed. 

Lastly, WhatsApp was used to coordinate the filming process such as by organising locations, dates and times. This helped us ensure that all members were informed and are available to film during that time. This helped filming become more efficient and reduce confusions or misunderstandings during the filming day. It also allowed for quick communication of any last minute changes. As a result, it helped us made the filming process structured and run smoothly. 

From our experience of using WhatsApp as our main method of communication, there were several advantages and disadvantages: 

Advantages	Disadvantages
Allowed quick and instant communication between all group members	Messages could be missed or ignored if not checked regularly
Made it easy to organise filming	Miscommunication could happen
Helped keep everything in one place, reducing the risks of losing materials

Overall, WhatsApp played a crucial role in communication and organisation throughout our project. It allowed ideas to be shared, filming to be planned efficiently, and important files to be easily accessed, making the overall process more structured and collaborative. While there were some minor limitations, such as delayed responses or overlooked messages, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.

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GOOGLE DOCS

Google Docs was used as a key tool for writing and organising blog posts, such as the statement of intent, filming schedule and research blog posts. Through Google Docs, we were able to collaborate as all group members could access and edit the document at the same time, making the process more efficient. This allowed us to share and improve our ideas together and work could be completed quicker. 

During the post-production process, we had to work on a few extra blog posts, therefore we created a shared document compiling these extra blog posts. The document included different tabs consisting of the different tasks we had to make. This made it easier for all of us to access each file. This helped keep our work organised and reduced confusion

From our experience of using Google Docs, there were several advantages and disadvantages: 

Advantages	Disadvantages
Allowed real time collaboration between group members	Requires internet connection
Allowed sharing of ideas and feedback easily	Changes could be made without others noticing immediately
Helped keep work organised in one place

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GOOGLE DRIVE

Google Drive was used to compile all the photos and videos taken during the filming process, which would later be used for the music video as well as the Instagram page and the Digipak. All members had access to the folder, allowing us to be able to view and upload photos and videos taken from each device. The folder is sectioned based on the different locations we filmed in, which made it easier to find specific photos or videos when needed. This helped save time and reduce confusion, as all the files organised and sorted out.

From our experience of using Google Docs, there were several advantages and disadvantages: 

Advantages	Disadvantages
Easy access for all group members	Uploading large files could take time
Allowed all photos and video to be stored in one place	Files could be accidentally deleted or misplaced
Made it easier to organise files by location

⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔ ꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ ⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔

PINTEREST

We also used Pinterest, which is a platform used to collect and organise visual ideas, to create a shared board where we collected photo inspirations for our music video and moodboard. This shared board allowed all group members to access the board individually and add ideas to the board. This made it easier to visualise the overall aesthetic of the music video and ensure that we all are on the same page and have the same idea. As a result, it helped us keep the vibe consistent as we can always look back at our Pinterest inspiration board.

We organised the board into four sections; scenes, locations and fashion for both the male and female actors, while also including a general section below it to represent the overall vibe and mood of the music video. We created sections to organise our ideas clearly and make it easier for us to find specific inspirations when needed.

From our experience of using Pinterest, there were several advantages and disadvantages: 

Advantages	Disadvantages
Helped visualise the overall aesthetic of the music video	Too many ideas could make decision making harder
Collaboration made it easier as everyone could add their own ideas	Risk of copying ideas instead of being original
Sections helped organise ideas clearly

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NOTES APP

We also used the Notes app to brainstorm and organise ideas. It was used to create to-do lists or checklists, which helped us keep track of the tasks that were needed to be completed throughout the production process. Other than that, it was useful for planning our Instagram content, such as brainstorming post ideas and layouts. Overall, this helped us stay organised and ensured that nothing was forgotten, making the overall production process more efficient. 

From our experience of using the Notes app, there were several advantages and disadvantages: 

Advantages	Disadvantages
Accessible anytime on our personal device	Is not the most efficient for collaboration as we cannot edit at the same time as others
Easy and quick for brainstorming ideas	Limited features compared to other apps
Helpful for creating to-do lists and checklists

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INSTAGRAM

I (Kimora) also used the saved feature on Instagram to collect inspiration from existing artists’ posts. I saved relevant posts into a folder to help develop ideas for our artist’s Instagram feed. I then further organised these into a more structured mock-up by creating another saved folder, which made it easier to visualise how our own Instagram page would look like. This helped us develop a clearer and more consistent style and it ensured that our artist’s branding was well planned and suitable for their target audience. 

From my (Kimora) experience of using the Instagram Saved feature, there were several advantages and disadvantages: 

Advantages	Disadvantages
Easy to save and collect inspiration from real existing artists	Some artists have taken down their posts leading to some saved posts disappearing in the saved folder
Allows visual planning of Instagram content
Helps develop the artist’s image / branding ideas

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PHYSICAL ORGANISATION

Lastly, we used physical organisation methods such as paper-based brainstorming, which was usually done in class. This allowed us to quickly write down ideas or initial plans for our music video. This helped us develop our concepts more clearly and contributed to the early planning stages of the production process.

From our experience of using the Physical organisation, there were several advantages and disadvantages: 

Advantages	Disadvantages
Quick and easy way to brainstorm ideas	Can be easily lost or damaged
	Can become messy or unorganised

⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔ ꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ ⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔

REFLECTION:

This blog was done by Kimora, but I had a role to also contribute by helping to organize things like making the Pinterest board and creating polls in our WhatsApp group to make communication easier and more efficient. I was also very active in the group overall. I also used my Notes app and Reminders app to keep track of the tasks I needed to complete, which helped me stay organized. However, one problem I faced was that sometimes not all members were active in the WhatsApp group, so important information could get buried or missed leading to a misunderstanding or someone forgetting to do their part. As a result, I misunderstood the deadline and realized it was actually earlier than I thought since I didn’t properly check the group chat. I solved this by quickly completing my work before the deadline as well as doing an all nighter and making sure to check the group chat more regularly after that. This experience showed me how important clear communication is and to organize things with people when they are really available and not just randomly discuss things in the group without calling or tagging the person we want to assign. Next time, perhaps organizing group calls can help by making sure we are all available. Additionally verbal communication is much quicker and clearer, meaning we could finish our work much earlier as well, well before the deadline.