CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION

MUSIC
Q1) How do your products use or challenge VIDEO
conventions and how do they represent social groups or
issues?

Ans) for our Advanced Media Foundation Portfolio, my team members and I worked on a music
promotion package for which we worked on a A Music Video, a website and A Digi Pack.
We selected a Classical Pop Song by a renowned singer Sahir Ali Bhagga ‘Rangreza’.

We conducted extensive research on genre before starting off with our music video, which helped us get
familiar with the style and codes and conventions of Classical Pop. Classical Pop is a genre that promotes
a lot of culture and tradition through dressing,mise en scene. This genre establishes great connectivity
with reality, which makes it very easy for viewers to relate to the concepts and messages being
represented. The Color Scheme of this Genre usually consists of very bold and bright colors which
further helps in uplifting the genre.

For our Music Video, we adopted a very conventional approach towards the Narrative. The Synopsis of
our Music Video revolves around the life of A Girl who is shown through to two totally opposite roles
that is as a wife and then a widow. Through this narrative, my team members and I aim to shed light on
the torture face in conservative and highly narrow minded area such as Pakistan. It captures the aspect
of how difficult life becomes for a lady after the death of her Husband, to whom she dedicated her
entire life which is made even more difficult and torturous through society stereotypes, showing how
the girl struggles mentally and then fights to achieve internal peace and contentment. Through our
music video, we wanted to address our mostly patriarchal society by showing some of the
misconceptions attached to womanhood & their identity as married women & widows. The Narrative
depicts Gender Roles to a great extent.

The Narrative was constructed taking into account various different codes and conventions of the genre

For example:

The Protagonists are dressed in Eastern Clothes. The Protagonist here (in the Music Video of Halka halka
Suroor by Farhan Saeed) is seen wearing Shalwar Kameez and a waistcoat. The female protagonist of the
Music Video is also dressed in Traditional Clothes in a bright shade of Red which gives very bold look.

We also adopted this convention. The representation was further constructed by promoting Pakistani
tradition through eastern clothes. The Male Protagonist was dressed in Shalwar Kameez, the national
dress along with a waist coat in order to compliment the look. A very Colorful Lengha was chosen for the
Female Protagonist to give a bright look and A red Dupatta was used deliberately to make the female
protagonist stand out as well as represent the element of love.
Moroever,Classical Pop Music Video tend to be shot in historical Places or very elaborate and cultural
locations, which further help in contributing to entire mise en scene of the music video.

This was another Convention that we adopted for our music Video. We wanted to have a traditional and
elaborate location which would perfectly establish the mood and culture that we wanted to promote in
our music video therefore we chose a ‘Haveli’ for this purpose.
Classical Pop Music usually promotes cultural values and norms. However, various societal norms are
being challenged through the music video. For eg;Men are usually considered to be very harsh and hard
hearted.However,our music video shows a soft side of the male gender and uplifts the fact that men can
be very caring and loving too.
We browsed through a number of pictures of Sahir Ali Bhagga and some other classical pop artists taking
in ideas regarding how the artist should be represented.

We decided that the artist would be dressed in light eastern clothes. We did not want the artist to be
dressed in a very elaborate and embroidered clothes as that would ruin the essence of the video hence
a white colored Shalwar Kameez was selected accompanied with a light brown shawl.
Women are considered to be very week, unable to speak up for their rights spend their lives according
to the stereotypical framework constructed by society. Widows are expected dedicate their entire lives
mourning the death of their husband and not A framework has been constructed of widows not having
to be dressed up, wearing jewellery or makeup and are expected to live a very dull life. The Narrative of
our Music challenges this stereotypical norm. The music video shows the female protagonist getting
frustrated living according to the ‘Widow Stereotype’ who then struggles and finds peace.

Q2) How do the elements of your production work together to create a

Sense of ‘branding’

Ans):The Elements of our production work play an extraordinarily vital role in branding. Branding and
Promotion are extremely important that help in constructing an identity for the Artist. They help
construct a star image, establishing loyalty of individuals towards the star.Morover,Branding and
Promotion is also very essential ensuring the work of the Artist/Singer is able to reach a vast number of
people.

Developing the Artist Name was one of the elements of our Production work that helped create a sense
of branding. Among the list of a number of various different names, my team members and I decided to
name our Artist ‘Alauddin Shah’.Alauddin is a Mughlai name, meaning ‘Nobility of faith’ whereas ‘Shah’
is a title given to the emperors, kings, princes and lords of Iran. As this name gave very royal vibes, we
decided this name as the identity of our artist, considering it was very impactful.Moroever,this name
also established connectivity with the genre very well considering the way classical pop songs are
inclined towards tradition and culture.

We kept a simple, joined handwriting logo as that gave a very refined look simple logo also seemed very
appropriate making it relate-able with the artist.
The Record Label was another element of our production work that helped create a sense of branding.
The Record Label was designed in a way that would have very traditional and historical vibes.Therfore
we used the Taj Mahal,which is one of the phenomenal symbols of ‘love,faithand discipline’ and these
aspects are promoted to a great extent by our Artist. The ‘Jeem’ was deliberately written in urdu to
create some diversity.

The Music Video itself also helped create a sense of Branding. It reinforced the star image of the
Artist.Moreover,it turned out to be a great platform through which a very profound message was given
using the Artist’s song,hence increasing the star power of Alauddin Shah.

The Website was another element of our production work that helped create a sense of branding.
Considering that internet marketing is extraordinarily significant in this technology dominated era,
having a website for the artist turned out to be a great means of promotion. Creating a website was
another tactic used for enhancing the star image of the artist.

Moreover, having a website was a great way of engaging with the audience. It gave access to the
audience to be updated with the latest events that took place, book tickets for the upcoming concerts
etc. very bright Color Palette was chosen which not only gave a very festive feel but also established a
lot of connectivity with the song ‘Rangreza’.
Additonally,the website was a great platform for interactivity as individuals would be updated with the
latest news through subscribing.Additionally,the website had different links of social media forums
where the artist can be followed.
Additonally,Merchandise also helps create a sense of branding. This helped create brand identity givin
the artist a benefit ail edge,helping raise star power.

A digi pack was also designed which further helped create a sense of ‘branding’. The colour pallet for the
digi pack was the same as that of the website. The Colorful theme of the Digi Pack also uplifted the
aspect of how emotions are depicted through colour. The colours of the digi pack connoted a lot of
happiness. The Music Video also represents the use of colours to depict emotions, considering the
change in the colour of the clothes of the protagonist. The digi pack helped in boosting the star image of
the Artist hence creating a sense of branding.

Q3)How do your products engage with the Audience and how would they be distributed as real
media texts?

Ans)Engaging Products with the audience is immensely significant. The Audience plays a vital role in
influencing the success of a products as well influencing different elements of the product. Our Priduct
was produced taking into account the preferences of our target audience.

Our narrative targets individuals above the age of 18.The Target Audience is not very specific
considering we aim to get the message across as many individuals as possible. The psychographics and
demographics of our target audience were also taken into account while producing the music video.The
message behind the music video is majorly inclined towards females.

The Representation of Classical Pop also engaged with the Audience very well. It creates awareness
about a societal norm and uplifts problems that the audience, specifically women can relate to. Through
the survey, we concluded that a lot of people relate the lyrics and visuals and this was kept in mind
while constructing the narrative. A narrative/story based music video was also production taking into
consideration the consumer preferences concluded from the survey.

Our product would be distributed as a real media text through several different ways. The music video
would be distributed through the music company ‘Taj Records’ that has an agenda of contributing
towards creating social awareness.
Additionally, Music Magazines will also be used for the distribution and marketing of the Album which
would be great platform of distributing our product by having advertisement posters.

The Digi Pack would be readily available at all CD Shops where customer can buy the Album. Moreover,
The Music Video would also be played on various different music channels. The song would be played on
Radio.

As concluded from the survey, majority of the people watch music videos online. The Music Video will
be uploaded on Websites such as YouTube and Dailymotion.Additonally, the Music Video would also be
available on the website of the Artist. The song would be released on different apps such as Sound
Cloud and Saavn etc.It would also be uploaded on the Instagram and Facebook page of the Artist

As the Artist would be touring a number of different places, the product would be further distributed
through live performances.

Q4) How did you integrate digital technologies: software, hardware and online in this project?

Ans)We were very dependent on a number of digital technologies for the production of this music
promotion package. Digital Technologies helped in creating a very well converged media product

1) Music Video(video)
2)Digi Pack (Print)
3)Website

We used a DSLR in order to create a high definition video. We had also used a DSLR four our Foundation
Porfolio.However,it was great exposure using the camera for the music video, learning about various
other tools and techniques.Additionally,we also used a tripod to ensure all the video clips are stable. It
was also used for conducting the photoshoot of the artist for the digipak.
The Internet was another form of digital technology that was very helpful. Using the internet, we
conducted extensive research on our genre. The Internet was great platform to engage the audience.
The internet enabled access to information within an instant. We watched a lot of videos of YouTube for
inspirations. Our video was also uploaded on YouTube as a means of distribution.

Survey Monkey was a website that we used to make questionnaires which were then floated on social
media sites such as Facebook. It was a very convenient website.

Facebook was also integrating for calling out for auditions, floating survey. We also used Facebook to
contact the singer for permission to use the song.
The Internet was also very useful for creating presentations on websites like Prezi,Visme Etc.

‘WordPress’ was the website that I used to record all of my work on my blog and keep it updated.
Having everything listed out and planned beforehand ensured that the production was carried out in an
organized way.

Microsoft Word was also used to make charts such as the recce sheets and the shot
divisioning.Microsoft PowerPoint was also used to make presentations which were then embedded
through slide share.
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Adobe Photoshop is another form of digital technology which was integrated. Using Photoshop, we
designed he record label and the identity for the Artist.Additonally,it was also used to design the Digi
pack for the Album.

Adobe Premier was also integrated for this production work.Using this software,the music video was
edited.