Initial NEA Ideas

 

Initial Ideas

I have chosen to focus on the music video brief of Alternative music for Domino Recording Company.

Song Ideas:

• Not Strong Enough- Boygenius
• Themes: This would focus on social media causing people to lose their individuality and sense of self. I would follow the songs overall message which critiques superficiality and materialism and attempt to create a world where everyone is the same by featuring all characters in the same outfits and having similar behaviours as a way to reflect the song’s ideologies by showing how everyone is losing their authenticity and becoming the same. 
• Target Audience: The music video’s theme is especially important due to the target audience of a primarily 16–25 year old middle and up market audience of people who like to be engaged because 16-25 year olds are the digital native and are therefore most likely to fall into the false reality created by social media.
• Locations: Park, bedroom, school, shopping centre
• Genre Conventions: I would fulfil the genre conventions of an Indie/Alternative music video by following more of a narrative, but also combining this with performance and also attempt to add an artistic element
• Lyrics and Melody: 
  
  The song has a somewhat upbeat melody which is reflected in the locations. However, as shown by the lyrics on the left, it is quite a complicated ad sad song. I would use symbolism for lyrics like ‘black hole opened in the kitchen’ to show a phone which connotes ideas of negativity surrounding phones. The chorus shows how self identity is being lost and how social media is worsening people’s mental health.
• Overall, if I were to use this song, the video would challenge the ideas presented in social media to 16-25 year olds and attempt to remove their addiction to how they are perceived. The video would be a call to action to bring back authenticity and encourage people to be who they are, not who they want people to think they are.

• Thirst Trap- Audrey Hobert
• Themes: This music video would have similar themes, but focus on insecurities and dressing in a way to impress a crush. The song suggests that wanting a boyfriend is embarassing and humiliating, because all you do is wish you were with them, making you view yourself negatively. I would use intertextual references to different social media platforms to show the different ways in which people try to show off and hide their insecurities, as well as looking at the stereotypical 'perfect' girl.
• Target Audience: The target audience of 16–25 year old middle and up market people would find this relatable as a common teenage experience is feeling insecure as well as having a crush. This relatability would make the video enjoyable for the audience. 
• Locations: Bedroom, park, school, beach
• Genre Conventions: This would fulfil the genre conventions of an artistic DIY style because it would incorporate animations of things such as thought bubbles and things to emphasise certain elements. I would also take inspiration from 2000s coming of age movies to convey the message of the song.
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  Lyrics and Melody: This song uses a lot of lyrics that focus on insecurities and having a crush. As previously mentioned, this song is relatable for the target audience which would create interest for them. I would align the content of the music video with the lyrics. For example, ‘I’m taking thirst traps in the mirror in my room’, I could have the main character taking mirror selfies.
• Look At That Woman- Role Model
• Themes: This music video would focus on celebrating women and also challenging the idea that only one type of woman is beautiful. It would aim to create female empowerment. It would also encourage female friendships by showing the beauty in how women interact with each other.
• Target Audience: This would appeal to the target audience of 16–25 year old middle and up market people because they are very active on social media which pushes insecurity onto people and suggests that only certain types of women are beautiful. 
• Locations: Park, Bedroom, School, Beach
• Genre Conventions: This music video would follow less of a narrative structure and would be more like a compilation celebrating femininity and diversity. It would also have a performance aspect as part of this compilation style video.
  
• Lyrics and Melody: This video would align with the lyrics of the song as the chorus repeats the sentence ‘look at that woman’. This would show a lot of different women and celebrate their beauty.

Having considered at all of these, I think that Not Strong Enough by Boygenius would be the best option for my music video because it calls the target audience to action. It would also have the most opportunities for the different theorists we have studied.