3. Brand Identity
For the brand identity of both the main product music video) and ancillary texts
(Digipack and Magazine ad), I made sure I followed a consistent brand identity
throughout in order for my promotional package to be effective.
A brand is the identity of a product, which creates a particular image/motif that an
audience links to a product. It is an effective way of individualising an artist apart
from others in the competitive music industry.
There are 8 fundamentals creating a brand identity:
Brand Essence (meaning of brand)
Brand Slogan (brand’s catchphrase)
Brand Personality (Refers to the relationship between characters used and
relativity to the audience)
Brand Values (What it stands for)
Brand Appearance (Physical appearance/ aesthetics, sound, genre represented)
Brand Heritage (Traditions reflected upon)
Emotional Benefits (What feelings are presented/ offers to consumers)
Hard Benefits (The quantifiable benefits it offers consumers)
4. House Style
The brand identity of my media product mainly represents the genre of house music.
However, SubFocus offers a more ‘open’ music genre, he claims he tries to blend a composition of
house, garage, electro and dance. This is partly why I chose SubFocus, as his wide range of music
suits the tastes of most people our age who participated in my interview questionnaire, making him a
popular brand.
His brand identity is modern being a single artist, he also follows the conventions of modern house
music through the absence of directly addressing his audience, this leaves a sense of mystery.
Typical conventions of House music includes:
Music videos tend to portray messages about dancing, love, sexuality, and drugs, all underpinned with
repetition and a steady bass drum beat,
Tends to include a seductive representation of women, that usually attract the male gaze.
Sometimes has a group dance (usually freestyle) and another group watching them showcase their
talent, this follows the beat of the song and offers consumers the motivation to dance and immerse
themselves within the music. Dance scenes are often set in a club with a DJ performing, sometimes
this is the artist of the song however usually the producer of the song doesn’t usually appear.
Female vocals are often used instead of the main artist, this may be due to female vocals having a
popular dominance over house style ballads and slower choruses of songs.
House music generally has a surreal atmosphere shown through both instrumentals and visuals
accompanied by edits. However they can also go the other way and have a surreal atmosphere
through use of amusing visuals guided by edits (I.e. Animals Martin Garrix) in their music videos.
SubFocus is comparable with artists such as Disclosure, as they are similar in that they both share
conventions of house music that branch off to other music genres, they both also use narratives in their
music videos that have a subjective message and surreal visuals through use of editing. However, they
also differ from each other due to the fact Disclosure follows the concept of exposing raw reality and
SubFocus follows more dreamlike concepts. They are good examples of the diverse nature of house
music, which I think focuses more around emphasizing the ‘feeling’ of the music and beat to its
audience rather than implementing a particular message.
5. Our brand identity in relation to
Andrew Goodwin
Andrew Goodwin suggests that there are particular
conventions in association with and define music
videos. As well as using conventions of house style
music throughout my main product and ancillary texts, I
have also used the conventions created by Goodwin:
A link between the lyrics and visuals that
illustrate/contradict the lyrics.
A link between the visuals and music with the visuals
illustrating/contradicting/amplifying the music.
Need to sell the artist: the artist may develop their
image throughout the products and therefore a band
identity/ star iconography visible throughout.
6. Media language in our music video
For both my main product and ancillary texts I had to ensure my brand image was visible
throughout the promotional package. By following the conventions of house-style music I
have constructed and continued a sense of brand identity through use of media
language for example: Mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and lighting.
Cinematography
A convention of the house music genre is the use of varying angles showing the different
representation of protagonist and antagonists if there are any. In these examples the left
are clearly the antagonists and the right is clearly the protagonist.
7.
Another convention commonly used is editing that contributes
to the surreal visual aesthetics of the video. By including
particular conventions of house music this helps create an
association for the audience.
My Video
SubFocus video
8.
Another main element as part of
house music is a surreal concept that
follows a subjective message.
My music video
follows the continuous
and repetitive chase
scene of a main
character and masked
people, representing
views of outcasts by
society.
Whereas, SubFocus'
video ‘Out of the blue’
follows underwater
footage and surreal
blue editing with an
unknown message
behind the narrative.
9.
Some house music videos show visuals following narrative that are
considered mundane, or highlight prejudice against a specific group
and shows support towards that group. This highlights the modern
gaze and how ‘times change’ and acceptance is a part of society
now. However I challenge this particular convention and follow a
surreal concept.
‘When a fire starts to
burn’ Disclosure
‘White Noise’
Disclosure
‘Latch’ Disclosure
‘Voices’ Disclosure
10. Mise-en-scene
Location
As part of mise-en-scene the location/setting helps to construct a brand identity, in my music
video I chose to use Knavesmire Woods (York) as the location for shooting. This represents
some conventions of house music well as it is a surreal environment with plenty of opportunity
for establishing shots. It also represents an ideal setting for my concept (a tense chase scene
with varying light affected by density of the wooded areas). The woods portray connotations of
eeriness associated with horror films which adds to my desired atmospheric impression I
wanted to portray to my consumers. The varying density of the woods is appropriate for
different mood for different scenes, the open flat ground is suitable for running scene and
changing angles, whereas the thick wooded area with less light is suitable for tense creepy
scenes involving the masked characters sneaking inbetween woods. The fact that it is dark
and secluded suits the desired surreal atmosphere well.
Avicii symbol acting as a
‘motif’ for the brand.
Costume
They play a big part in representing and upholding a brand image, as it shows iconography of a
particular group. However, in the house genre band performances aren’t usually included, and
therefore other motif act as ‘costume’ associated with that artist. For example, Avicii uses a
geometric symbol which is implanted throughout his videos and promotional packages. In our
music video we did use costume that was all black with an odd pop of colour where
appropriate. The masked characters wore neutral clothing with animal masks and the main
character wore black and green (as cameo for the wooded area) This wasn’t for many reasons
other than adding to the eerie atmosphere and having a simple colour scheme that is easy to
repeat.
11.
Narrative/Props
The mains props I used were animal
masks, this added to the surreal visuals
and suited the wooded surroundings
well. They were used as conceptual
representation for how outcasts are
viewed, and may also make the listener
feel isolated as they are immersed within
the video through empathetic angles
(close-ups) and synthetic personalisation
in the lyrics.
12. Lighting
Throughout my music video my only
source of lighting was natural. I liked how
it was distorted by the time of day, cloudy
weather and shadowing caused by the
trees. I think this adds to the surreal
atmosphere well. The changing lighting
also develops the conventions of house
music by the varying lighting being
present however it’s due to natural
circumstance rather than artificial
tampering.
13. How brand identity is shown
through media language in our
ancillary texts
Digipack
Cinematography and editing
For the front panel of my digipack I have used a close-up of
the main character’s hands holding a cut-out photograph.
The photograph acts as one of many motifs placed in the
beginning of the video. This motif acts as association for
the brand identity for the artist (a common convention found
in house music). The black and white world around the
photo represents how ignorance will dull your life, the
colour in the cut-out open the window into another
dimension and the edit creates a surreal image. It
represents how being open minded and accepting to those
different from yourself will create a brighter, safer world.
For the back and inside panel I used a mirroring edit to
create a kaleidoscope effect, which I thought added to the
artistic aesthetics. The back panel and two inside panels
show masked characters, adding to the eerie mysterious
nature of the video, and adds a dark side to the packaging
which will be another brand association for the audience.
Mise-en-scene
The main prop used for the digipack were the masks, which
continues a consistent brand identity for the artist shown
throughout the promotional package. The minimal
costumes adds as dark silhouettes for the tense chase
scenes and eerie ‘hiding’ scenes. It represents the image
wanting to be portrayed, and I liked how the simplicity
doesn’t over complicate the mise-en-scene.
The font style was consistent throughout the promotional
package, which continues the iconography and
associations tied-in with the brand identity. The font
matches that of the original SubFocus ancillary
texts, therefore I knew it was following the conventions
associated with SubFocus.
14. Magazine Advert
Cinematography and editing
For this I used a mid-shot of the main character by the tree where
he eventually joins the masked characters and accepts them.
This makes this particular tree recognisable as the scene where
everything changes. For people who haven’t seen the advert this
is persuading them to watch it due to the mystery of the
relevance the masks have as part of the brand. Also the fact that
the main character’s face can’t be seen adds to the mystery. The
surrealism of the image follows connotations of house music due
to its surreal and subjective subject matter.
Mise-en-scene
As part of the mise-en-scene the main props used were the
animal masks, however a single white mask makes an
appearance at the end of the video, when the main character
(society) accepts the masked people (outcasts) and joins them as
they realise they are no different. For the cover of this we placed
a few white masks in order to present the idea of inviting both the
main character and audience into a modern perspective of the
world (Accepting others). They also lead mystery as both the
person in the image and audience are wondering about the
masks’ purpose. Iconography is kept consistent throughout the
magazine advertisement which allows the audience to recognise
the artists’ promotional package. The earthy tones/colour scheme
consistently used along with the masks act as motifs for the
artist., as they are used throughout the promotional package,.
The font used again is repeated throughout all of the texts
including the music video and it closely matches the font used
originally to promote the band name, this follows the connotations
of SubFocus therefore I know it will appeal to existing fans of
SubFocus.
The same location and other elements representing mise-enscene are used from within the music video to draw in its
audience and promote the music video, The mysterious
atmosphere portrayed is eye-catching and the five stars stand out
and promote the album to be successful. Ratings of popular
albums are recognised conventions of popular and contemporary
music along with ways of connecting with the music through
social networking, which are additional pathways that allow the
audience to immerse further within the synergy of the music.
