Out of the Box Production

When talking about the social issues, my product represents the way humour can be a way out of depression or any other mental health issue anyone might be facing. Everyone has faced hard times during the Pandemic and we have all had a fair share of isolation. The product I have made, is offering another way, in which the audience can view the isolation we all, had to go through. Extroverts and introverts were both differently affected during the Pandemic and whilst many chose to focus on depression and loneliness; I decided to showcase the fun and humorous side of isolation especially on how isolation can sometimes drive us to do things which would be considered absolute lunacy. This way, the audience can see the humorous angle of being void of company and bored. The product might help with any mental issues they may face and make them aware that they are not alone as many were feeling the same way as they were and that might put a smile on their faces. The video also adds a sprinkle of love with the puppets and how the two are separated at first but find each other again which can give the audience hope. With my video I had hoped to ensure Stuart Hall’s theory of the audience being able to decode, relate and understand the media so as to ensure that the target audience would accept the message (negotiated or preferred reading) and make the video successful in all aspects. They would get the idea of what I wanted to portray in my music video.

As Andrew Goodwin’s theory states that visuals and illustrations of a video should match up with the lyrics I tried my level best to make sure that the video relates to the theme of the song of isolation and uses a lemon tree which was a handmade prop. The settings are almost the same as both the original song and my video are in a home setting. However, my video goes in the direction of extreme lunacy and boredom. This humorous take on lunacy uses string puppets which is not commonly used in videos and which adds to its unique selling point. Almost all the props used in the video are actually being sold as merchandise on the website at ‘Our Store’ these are also available for viewing on our Instagram page. The logo is handmade and uses an illustration of the female puppet hanging in between the words. The lyrics of the song and the meaning behind them are portrayed in the video and are linked.  Almost every product bears my logo and the actress and star of the video has used all of it. The logo was given a unique name and was hand drawn by me.

Our demographic is all age groups so engaging with the audiences was crucial to help the video become successful. The audiences are encouraged to comment and follow my Instagram page. This particular social media page will give them all the updates and spoilers/trailers, etc. of the video. The website has more information for audiences looking to get a better understanding of the video and the direction I took, or for those interested in reading more about the inspiration and what made me come up with this idea. Since this video has no restrictions whatsoever it is available to be viewed by all age groups. All the props used in the video are being sold with a limited discount on the website this way audiences can buy merchandise and be a part of the community. The actress is wearing almost all of the merchandise to draw the audience into buy it. The puppets, which are quite rare, are also being sold.  In order to create Richard Dyer’s Theory of a Star Image the actress not only plays her role in the video and in the Digipack but also is seen posing with nearly every item in the Store so as to help audiences to relate to the video and encourage them to buy products.

In order to generate a buzz and get attention the video had to become something the audience had never seen before. Also in order to get paying customers I had to make sure the prices were reasonable and since word of mouth plays a big role in how successful the video is I had to make sure to create a buzz for the video. The website had to be very eye-catching and interest the audience.

My research was the most useful part of the whole blog as without research I would never been able to understand how artists create a platform for themselves, sell albums and create that sense of enigma and audience anticipation before the release of a video. Many of the music videos I have viewed deal with either depression or romance. Rarely is there a gem of a video that looks at lunacy, quirkiness and love. Through research I found inspiration in the form of Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lenox, the legendary British rock band, Queen and even the 1968 musical fantasy film, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang where the Toymaker transforms the actors into life-size dolls. I tried to recreate my actress’ makeup in a similar way. Therefore, in a way, my music video does use conventions such as angles, shots, editing which are all typically used in music videos but it also challenges conventions like the genre which is not a very usual topic for a music video. According to Andrew Goodwin a music video has to have certain basic conventions such lip syncing, cars, houses, makeup, jewellery etc which I have incorporated to the best of my ability. The actress is wearing very heavy makeup throughout the video and some scenes is wearing all the rings that she could place on her fingers. The video uses a mixture of genres; Lunacy, Boredom and Love. Every producer and director knows that lighting and mis-en-scene are key to a good video. For the video and even the digipack we used wall lights, lamps, torches (including the mobile phone) and even editing brightness to make the video look as well lit as possible. My background setting takes the form of a messy house which is not something normally used in videos. The digipack uses the conventions and has every convention down to a T. I had taken my inspiration from a Barry White digipack which I tried to mimic it as best I could.

Lastly humorous aspect is something everyone can connect to and enjoy and from the Uses and Gratification Theory it is understood that people seek to consume media for entertainment, social interaction and information so through engaging with the audiences on platforms, a community would be formed which would further create a buzz for the video. The video is made to cheer-up audiences and for them to resonate it with real life and see the humorous side of looking at life.