Evaluation Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Evaluation Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Audience Profile

             My primary target audience are white British females aged between 17-23, in the C1-2 socio-economic background.
  

      Due to the British locations based in Norwich and ethnicity of the characters featured in my production, the primary audience would be British as these aspects would appeal to them as they could further relate to the characters and setting. This could also be because the artist that the music video is promoting also falls into this category, so may be more likely to appeal to this group. 

        The primary audience would be females aged 17-23 years old as the production is centred around a teenage/young adult character, thus the audience would be able to identify with the character as they are of a similar age and therefore would be more invested in the music video.They may also be more likely to be in the C1-2 socio-economic group as this age range primarily consists of students ans thus may not be working or generating a large amount of income. This is also because statistically more females are diagnosed with a mental illness than men -although this could be due to women being more likely to seek help and thus receive a diagnosis, not that they are more likely to have a mental illness- and thus a female audience may be able to identify with the character further, and thus the video be more likely to appeal to a female audience. Furthermore, the video was inspired by as well as follows conventions of Drama, Suspense and Horror films, of which -according to research by the UK Film Council- appeal more to a female audience below the age of 35, of which my primary target audience would fall into.

       My target audience may be interested in films such as Donnie Darko as it deals with the issue of mental illness in a teen/young adult character, and Sucker Punch as it narrative focuses on a young female character who dominates the narrative and thus may appeal to a female audience by challenging Mulvey's claim that the female actor is never meant to represent a character that directly effects the outcome of a plot or keep the story line going. My audience may also be interested in fills of the Gothic or Horror genre, and so audiences familiar with the conventions of Gothic film will feel familiar with the mise-en-scene which resembles the trackless forest of the characters imagination; thus will find the setting and editing familiar - as suggested by Kress' definition of genre as 'a kind of text that derives its form from the structure of a frequently repeated social occasion, with  its characteristic participants and their purposes'. 

       They may also be interested in programmes such as Criminal Minds as many episodes revolve around mental illness, including ones specifically focusing on Dissociative identity disorder and looks into the thinking of the perpetrators; as well as and American Horror Story as my music video was inspired by texts in the horror genre, and this is a modern text that is already popular with people in my target audience age range. 

         My target audience may be interested in music in which explores real issues that the youths of today have to deal with, such as gender identity, sexuality, mental illness, abuse and prejudices such as sexism, racism, homophobia, etc. This is because individuals who may be experiencing issues such as this can identify with such texts and then feel as if they aren't the only people going through that particular thing in their life, and therefore may be using texts for certain uses and gratifications such as Personal identity or possibly Personal Relationships as suggested by Blulmer and Katz. Artists whom explore such issues are La Dispute, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Bring Me The Horizon; as well as more niché artists that gain exposure through YouTube such as Benny and Melanie Martinez. 

      As my target audience may have an interest in psychology, a text that may appeal to them is Psycho Pass, of which is set in an authoritarian future dystopia, where omnipresent public sensors continuously scan the Psycho-Pass of every citizen in range. The sensors measure mental state, personality, and the probability that the citizen will commit crimes, alerting authorities when someone exceeds accepted norms. This may appeal to my target audience as not only does it explore the human psychological state, but also others perception and ethics of the authorities. 

Music Video

    To gather audience feedback for my music video I had a number of people -most of which where A level media students- fill out a questionnaire after watching my production, consisting of questions such as 'How much did you enjoy the music video?', How do you rate the camera work and editing?' and 'Was there any part you found confusing or hard to understand?'. I received mostly positive feedback, and having received response from 4 females aged 17-20 and 3 males aged 17-18, the few negative responses came from the male audience and thus supports the presumption that my target audience would predominantly be females aged 12-13. Most responses gave the highest score for aspects of camera work and editing, as well as for their enjoyment of the music video.

      Whereas the main issue that arose from this was that with an abstract and heavily metaphorical production some viewers had difficulty following the narrative or understanding the characters, as both were played by a single actor. Because of this I received an aberrant reading from one of my respondents, according to Stuart Hall's encoding and decoding model in which my intentions of what I wished to portray to the audience was not received in the way I intended by this individual. Cases of this can be seen in real music videos, most recently Sia's 'Elastic Hearts' was the centre of controversy as the abstract video of which intended to present two different self-states was quite widely perceived to have paedophilic undertones, despite the fact that this was not in fact true.

        In response to this feedback I decided to alter my music video as to make it clearer to the audience that, much like with the above video mentioned, my production was exploring the idea of Dissociative Identity Disorder and thus to make it more clear that the two characters within my narrative are two parts of an individual's personality. I did this by adding quick cuts of the dissociative identity over shots of the main personality as to make it clear that they are one of the same person. 

     

Print Productions

              I also used a questionnaire to gain audience feedback for my print production from 8 A2 media students - 4 females and 4 males, all aged 17-18. Similarly to the feedback received from my music video, a number of the more positive feedback came from female respondents, once again reinforcing that British females in the 17-23 age group are my primary target audience as it is individuals within this group whom are responding most positively to both my main and ancillary texts.

          The responses showed that the thing most people liked about both my digipak and magazine advert was the theme of dissociative identity of which was represented through my use of images as well as the layout of my digipak; as well as positive comments on the editing and use of colouration on said images. The aspect highlighted by feedback as the main issue is whether or not the print productions successfully reflect the genre of music. This may have been an issue as with my digipak and advert focusing on the theme of Dissociative Identity Disorder seen in my music video, it may not have any explicit references to the genre of the band that it has been created to promote, and therefore at the surface level of the products it may be difficult to deduct what genre of music the artist falls into.

Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product with ancillary texts?

Evaluation Q2

Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Research into Target Audience

     After conducting research, I have identified my primary target audience as white British females aged between 17-23, in the C1-2 socio-economic background.

     Due to the British locations based in Norwich and ethnicity of the characters featured in my production, the primary audience would be British as these aspects would appeal to them as they could further relate to the characters and setting. This could also be because the artist that the music video is promoting also falls into this category, so may be more likely to appeal to this group. 

        The primary audience would be females aged 17-23 years old as the production is centred around a teenage/young adult character, thus the audience would be able to identify with the character as they are of a similar age and therefore would be more invested in the music video. This is also because statistically more females are diagnosed with a mental illness than men -although this could be due to women being more likely to seek help and thus receive a diagnosis, not that they are more likely to have a mental illness- and thus a female audience may be able to identify with the character further, and thus the video be more likely to appeal to a female audience. Furthermore, the video was inspired by as well as follows conventions of Drama, Suspense and Horror films, of which -according to research by the UK Film Council- appeal more to a female audience below the age of 35, of which my primary target audience would fall into.

Teenage/Young adult characters with mental illness

    As the narrative of my music video is centered around a teenage/young adult girl suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, I decided to do some research into teenage/young adult characters with mental illnesses in various other media texts, of which influenced/inspired the character in my production. 


Donnie Darko - Schizophrenia

   

    In Kelly's 2001 'Donnie Darko', Donnie is a paranoid schizophrenic high school student troubled by visions of a sinister-looking figure in a rabbit costume named "Frank." The end of the world is coming very soon, according to Frank, and Donnie may have something to do with it. Donnie tells his psychotherapist, Dr. Thurman, about his continuing visits from Frank; acting under Frank's influence, he floods his school by damaging a water main. At the end of the film, events of the previous 28 days recapitulate in reverse order and action, until Donnie finds himself in bed in the early hours of October 2. As he sits laughing uncontrollably, the jet engine crashes through his room, killing him.




Toko Fukawa - Dissociative Identity Disorder

 In the murder mystery visual novel and Seiji Kishi's 2013 anime series 'Danganronpa'', Toko Fukawa has a severe persecution complex that originated from the bullying that she had to live through early in life, she is highly suspicious of other people, frequently accusing them of thinking bad things about her. Her unusually quick tendencies to self-victimize quickly characterized her interactions with most of Class 78. We later discover that she suffers from dissociative identity disorder, Genocider Syo being the name of her murderous and sadistic alternate personality. She swaps between her usual abrasive and self-conscious personality and the serial killer Genocider Syo after sneezing or fainting upon seeing blood. Her sneeze-induced change is a reference to the character Launch from the anime and manga Dragon Ball.


Charlie - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder



    In Chbosky's 1999 and 2012 'The Perks of Being  a Wallflower, charlie shows signs of Post  Traumatic Stress Disorder, Borderline Personality  Disorder, Anxiety and Depression. 
 In an epilogue, Charlie is discovered by his parents  in a catatonic state and does not show any  movement despite being hit reluctantly by his  father. After being admitted to a mental hospital, it  emerges that his auntie Helen sexually abused him  when he was young, and his love for her (and  empathy for her troubled youth) caused him to  repress his traumatic memories. This psychological damage explains his flashbacks and derealization phases throughout the book. 




Shiro - Dissociative Identity Disorder

    In Jinsei Kataoka's 2007 'Deadman Wonderland', Shiro developed an alternate personality to cope with the pain caused by torturous experiments she had to undergo ever since her early childhood. Her second personality, known by the name Wretched Egg, is dreadful and bloodthirsty, as opposed to the kind and cheerful Shiro.  As Wretched Egg, she would psychologically torture Ganta by killing his friends and pinning the blame on him, as well as intimidate him by overpowering, leaving Ganta to feel frightful and resentful towards her as a sort of revenge for her pain and suffering in her past.





Craig Gilner - Depression 

    Vizzini's 2006 'It's Kind of a Funny Story', inspired by his own brief hospitalization for depression in November 2004, follows Craig whose stress eventually manifests itself in an eating disorder, use of pot, affected sleep habits, and suicidal thoughts. after going to a psychiatrist who prescribes him Zoloft, he believes he is cured and so decides to throw away the medicine. Consequently, his depression builds until he is unable to fend off his suicidal ideation, he calls a suicide hotline and is admitted to a nearby psychiatric hospital. In December 2013, the writer Ned Vizzini committed suicide after his ongoing struggle with depression.

Print Productions

Panel 1

Panel 2 + 3

Panel 3

Panel 5

Magazine Advert

CD Construction:

     

Application of Genre theory in Scandal's 'Shunkan Sentimental'

     
      Scandal are a punk rock band formed in 2006 from Osaka, Japan. They originally played live street performances until they were noticed and signed to the independent label Kitty Records, and since 2009 have been with the label Epic, a Japanese company owned by Sony Entertainment. The band have performed the theme songs for many anime series, such as 'Shōjo S' and 'Harukaze' for Bleach, and 'Shunkan Sentimental' for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. 
  


     
      In the opening shots, there is little use of lighting of which creates a dark mise en scene for the video, of which may appear fitting for rock music videos and thus may be used as a convention of the genre. This is further reinforced by the use of steely blue tones added in post-production, the likes of which are utilised in horror films -such as Carpenter's 1978 'Halloween'- as to add an other worldly feel and build suspense; conventions of such films being popular in the alternative music culture. This reinforces the ideas of Katie Wales who noted that genre is an  intertextual concept, and John Hartley who suggests that we need to understand genre as a property of the relation between two texts.

      The use of location such as a dark, isolated building reinforces genre as it reflect the underground venues in which alternative music such as punk and rock had originated, which in turn connote a sense of anti-authoritarianism, as well as some aspects of Anarchism - ideologies of which are strongly associated with the Punk genre. This links to the French sociologist Maffesoli who coined the phrase 'Urban tribes' -example of an urban tribe being punks- of which he said were microgroups of individuals who share similar ethos, dress style, behavioural patterns; whose social interactions were largely informal and emotional. This vastly different from the late capitalisms corporal bourgeoisie cultures based on detached logic. This explores Gunther Kress' ideas on genre, of which he defines as a kind of text that derives its form from the structure of frequently repeated social occasion, with its characteristic participants and their purpose. An example of this can be seen in My Chemical Romance's video for 'Desolation Row'.

      Furthermore, the use of costume is used within the video as to reinforce the punk rock genre of the band. For example, the colour scheme of dark colours such as red and black, as well as the incorporation of tartan, is another feature associated with the punk genre. 'Royal Stewart Tartan was a popular pattern for the fashionable upper crust of British society in Victorian and Edwardian times. Its subsequent association with the aristocracy meant the pattern denoted civility and authority. Punks reappropriated the plaid, and wore the pattern in torn-up strips, as bondage wear, and other unconventional means. This was yet another way to give the middle finger to the established rulers of British society and showcase punk's dissatisfaction with the way things were' (Source). This is a clear display of Nicholas Abercrombie argument that genres permit the creation and maintenance of a loyal audience which becomes used to seeing certain programmes within a genre. 

                                  

 

Photos for print production

      As to symbolise the theme of dissociative identity disorder and create a clear, fluent link to my video in  my print production I wanted to feature both the girl and the dissociative identity within the print production. I wasn't quite decided on how I wanted to do this, so for each character I decided to create a distorted image of which would physically represent two or more parts of the individual. I slowed down the shutter speed on the camera and got my actor to move their head from side to side as to create the effect of having multiple faces as to represent the different parts or identities of the individual. I decided to do this whilst taking the pictures as I thought it would look more organic and have a better effect than if I had tried to do a similar thing on photoshop, but also took images that weren't distorted so I could attempt it and see which I preferred. I also did this as to enable me to use the images differently, for example I wouldn't want my digipack and magazine advert to look exactly the same and thus taking a range of different pictures in different styles enables me to create these two different texts of which still also have a clear relationship to one another as well as my music video.

     I also decided to have some images in which the focal point isn't one of the identities, but rather with a more explicit reference to the settings, with the forest and natural imagery suggesting that the mental illness has a physical, organic basis. The use of cards -similar to tarot cards- displaying supernatural themes  was used to reinforce the supernatural and horror connotations of a forest location, of which have a strong link to lycanthropy. The use of the pocket watch was in reference to the fact that in many cases of Dissociative Identity Disorder there are dissociative or amnesic barriers between the different identities, and the fact that one identity is not aware of the others actions. Similarly, the image of the shoes in the tree is similar to when kids throw shoes over phone lines in the street, or which is in fact the final shot in my music video, thus making a clear link to my music video and print productions. It also links to my production in that it reflects the childish aspect of the Id in Freud's tripartite personality theory, the suggestion of the Id being dominant leads to the development of psychosis reinforces the thematic link of mental illness.

Gender Identity Exploration

      I came across this video on Tumblr of which through both the lyrics and the video itself portrays the issues of Gender roles and identity, highlighting the past and current struggles of individuals in society, many of whom may be trans, agender, gender fluid or non-binary. Gender roles are a social construct involving a set of social and behavioral norms that, within a specific culture, are widely considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex. The perception of gender roles includes attitudes, actions, and personality traits associated with a particular gender within that culture.





        From the beginning, the video addresses certain gender stereotypes, such as blue being a colour for boys and pink being a colour for girls. This is a common stereotype of which people assume defines its users, for example most toys of which are geared towards female children are pink or other similar colours, with even the packaging following a similar trend. This is also true for those toys aimed at male children of which tend to be in darker, harsher colours. The same can be said for clothing and even food packaging, in which different editions have been released as to appeal to the different genders.

      Similarly as explored in this video, the idea of certain material things or interests are only acceptable for one gender to partake in. For example, the props in the shots of the group of boys are mostly to do with sports or trucks, and it is only when the boy goes for the pink doll that the other boys turn on him. This is mirrored in the lyrics 'Hush boy,..don't say a word, throw on a jersey and no one gets hurt' of which clearly refers to how most boys are assumed to be sporty and athletic; and suggests that instead of doing what he wants, and speaking for himself, the boy should repress this and start doing what all the other boys seem to do. This is paralleled with the group of girls who are surrounded by objects of which connote a sense of vanity and lack of intelligence, and similar to the boy, the girl is turned on by the others in the group when she decides to look in the book rather than following the other girls actions. As reinforced by the lyrics 'Hush girl...just bat your eyes. Play our little game...', it refers to how some girls are seen as dim and lacking intelligence; only being concerned with their looks, and that its strange for pretty girls to be both curious and intelligent. This is highlighting how society wants both boys and girls to simply play into these gender assigned roles, and those who dare defy this are singled out and cast aside.

         The line '...you're raising suicidals...' is in reference to the recent proliferation of  exposure in cases of trans kids committing suicide due to not being accepted by those surrounding them, including their own families, or due feeling like they don't fit in or don't know what they identify as. One of the most recent cases is Leelah Alcorn who was a 17 year old American transgender girl whose suicide attracted international attention. Alcorn had posted a suicide note to her Tumblr blog, writing about societal standards affecting transgender people and expressing hope that her death would create a dialogue about discrimination, abuse and lack of support for transgender people. Around a similar time, the suicide of 15 year old transgender boy named Zander was also brought to light. This highlights the issues and potential dangers of society trying to force archaic gender roles and outdated, hegemonic values/ideals onto individuals. 

Print Production Ideas

Initial Print Production Ideas

Audience Theory in 5 Seconds of Summer's 'Don't Stop'

     5 Seconds of Summer are a pop rock/pop punk band formed in 2011 from Sydney, Australia. Don't Stop was released on 9 May as their second single, reaching Number 2 on the UK Singles Chart; it is also the second track off their self-titled debut studio album  released in June 2014.

         

 
    The primary audience is 15-22 year olds as the performers themselves are in the 18-20 age range, as well as the fact that the video doesn't have a serious tone and thus may appeal to this age range as something easy and fun to watch. The audience would most likely be predominantly female, despite the band also having a large male fan following, as the topic of the track is centred around being attracted and longing to be with another person - a focal point of which may appear to be more appealing to a female audience. Whereas the idea of superheroes - and subsequently the comic books and films they are featured in- are stereotypically considered to be geared towards and consumed primarily by a male audience, and thus these references to superheroes in the video may aid in appealing to their male fan base.















     Lasswell suggested that media texts have certain functions for individuals in society, one of the prominent aforementioned functions is entertainment.  Many music videos by pop punk/rock artists are fairly light hearted and may not have a serious tone, thus making it an entertaining and easy to consume text. In the opening of the video -of which mimics a superhero movie trailer- the intention to entertain the audience is set up with the use of the 'Green band trailer' screen of which is present in many online trailers for upcoming films. By mimicking this convention of film trailers but with a humorous tone - evident in the text 'By the association that does that sort of thing' and '...vulgar amounts of spandex'- helps to reinforce the style and tone of the band, as well as the purpose to entertain the audience.

 
    The intention to entertain the audience is reinforced throughout the video, by the running self-mocking tone portrayed throughout the text. This is evident in the portrayal of the characters not being very good superheroes, with scenes of picking up litter and finding a lost cat rather than grand heroics you would see in a superhero movie, although this changes when the group come together. Similarly, the use of the intentionally obvious green screen editing at the end of the video paired with the amusing group shots reinforce the self-mocking and playful tone intended to entertain the audience. The use of these features is similar to fellow pop punk band Blink-182's video for 'All The Small Things'- reinforcing the light hearted approach of bands in this genre.

     

     Similarly, the use of intertextual references is an audience pleasure of which could attribute to the entertainment factor of the video for the audience. The video itself -as previously mentioned- mimics a superhero film trailer, with a broad reference to comic books and films of which this type of character frequents. Whereas there are a few features of the video of which specifically references 'Kick Ass': a creator-owned comic book series written by Mark Millar and illustrated by John Romita Jr, published by Marvel Comics under the company's Icon imprint; following the story of Dave Lizewski, a teenager who sets out to become a real life superhero. The comic was adapted into a 2010 film of the same name directed by Matthew Vaughn, starring Aaron Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong and Nicolas Cage; followed by the sequel 'Kick Ass 2'.

       One aspect reinforcing this intertextual link is the similarity between certain costumes in the video to that of Kick Ass and Red Mist, utilising the same colour schemes of green & yellow and red & black as well as the similarity in design. 












      
   
     Furthermore, the scene in which the group comes together mirrors that in the film 'Kick Ass 2' where individual self-proclaimed superheroes decide to come together to create a newly formed superhero team - much like that portrayed in the video.

 

      Similarly, the use of the exterior, performance location of a building rooftop strengthens the link to superhero comic books and films as images of the protagonists looking out at the city from atop a building is a common motif seen in both medias. This is also similar to the location of Ling Tosite Sigure's video for 'Abnormalize', in which you see the cityscape from atop a building where the performance takes place. 

    Blulmer and Katz stated that individuals might choose and use a text for certain purposes such as diversion, personal relationships and personal identity. In terms of diversion the themes of the films and comic books referenced as well as the video itself could be a text of which viewers use as an escape from their everyday lives and problems, for example if someone feels helpless or as if they don't have a sense of control in their lives then the theme of superheroes may be an appealing type of escapism as they are commonly depicted as just, valiant and helping those in need. In regards to personal relationships, one of the most prominent audience pleasures of a text is feeling part of a group, for example substituting individuals or groups in media texts for the audience's own family life and social life. As previously mentioned, when the individuals in the video come together they achieve more and there is a strong sense of togetherness and camaraderie, of which one may expect to feel from a personal friendship and thus the audience may utilise the video for this. This links to the idea of personal identity as individuals may be drawn to the characters in the video due to an identification with them, or a sense of aspiration in which they harbour a desire to be somewhat like them, beit to the superhero characters or the actual performers themselves. 

     
     In regards to audience reception, as it is a fairly simple video of which intends to entertain the audience, it would be plausible to suggest that the video would largely receive a preferred reading. This is because this video appears to have drawn upon audience expectations by using certain codes and conventions relating to aspects such as genre, such as the energy and use of humour that has been utilised in videos by other bands of the same genre such as Blink-182, All Time Low and Fall Out Boy.