Marketing Project #2

 The process in making this project was very interesting. We were completely lost at the beginning seeing as none of us knew anything about metal and since the music has a very specific aesthetic and vibe we did not know how to be original when making this. We also struggled in the beginning because the lyrics of the song were simple and vague, not allowing us to make any creative decisions. Additionally, for our music video it was stressful at the beginning since all of the music videos we watched as examples, were very reliant on the set they filmed and we knew we did not have the liberty to make as many creative mise-en-scene decisions. Finally, it was hard in the beginning to make this a band that would cater to the current youth since, nowadays, teens seldom listen to metal. However, we did in fact persevere. 

We started off with our research and noticed the pattern that most metal music was either made for shock value, or included very dark topics. Our song treated depression, saying it will make you “Blind”. We decided early on to cater to more taboo problems teenangers deal with, as we thought depression would be hard to convey and we wanted to be more original. We landed on the drug problem within kids as we thought it was not discussed enough, especially when it comes to drugs like adderall or ritalin, and when it comes to suburban kids, as most correlate drugs to lower income. Additionally, we focused on the stress that school can bring and the negative effects it has on teens. 

For our marketing my colleague Ben decided we should go for a casual look. They would use social media as promotion, yet they would be very mysterious and post little, in order to keep the audience's intrigue. We used Ben’s friends and pictures of them as the basis for our social media, as the pictures they had fit the look we wanted, of a couple of high school friends making music for fun rather than being owned by a company, although they are signed to a label. This look, we noticed, is nowadays more appreciated by teenangers as they like seeing that honesty and probably like seeing themselves reflected in the media they consume. We also decided later on that it would not make sense for a band so small and so amateur to be having huge tours, so we stuck to the small gigs in pubs, as it is something seen a lot with small bands, especially rock-punk-metal bands. 

Our art was made by Sofia. We struggled a lot trying to figure out a specific style for them and their first album, which we also decided would follow a storyline of a young boy’s descent from drugs. We took inspiration from bands like My Chemical Romance, and we thought it would fit our specific song. The art is both very messy, but very minimalistic. This sort of art style is seen a lot nowadays, and we though it perfectly encapsulated the meaning of this song. Sofia made the art in Photoshop. 

Our music video was mostly made by me. I wrote, filmed and edited it. I decided I would play with lighting a lot, since  we wanted to show the clear contrast between the first, second, and third parts of the video. The first one has cold lighting, with blue tones. It feels distant and anxious. The second part has high- key lighting, with high saturation, showing the euphoric side effects of the drugs. Finally, the last part is very warm, showing the stress and physical toll the drugs and the addiction has had on him. We also used a lot of camera techniques, such as changing the shutter speed to use more frames in certain parts, and replicate the effects of the drugs. Finally, I was very keen on editing to the beet of the song, as it flows better, and tells the story both visually and audibly. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this project. As someone who makes videos weekly, I rarely think of the other aspects of making a production, and this has really shown me that it is a specific process that takes effort and focus. I think this will help me with my portfolio project, as now I have become much more aware of target audiences. Normally I would make whatever I wanted and made it look however I wanted (which isn’t necessarily bad), but technically speaking, it is better I become better accustomed with genre and audiences, as it will better the quality of all of my work, and help me grow as an artist. 

Here are the difference in light between sections of the MV.