This is my critical self reflection for component 3
Cambridge’s component 3 tasked students to create a music promotional package. My group had created an artist of the indie-pop genre by the name “Vanya Viani” covering Rina Sawayama’s song, “Catch me in the air” (2022). Our goal was to construct a relatable yet aspirational persona, blending Vanya’s real-life passion and persistence with her star image (Richard Dyer’s theory of stardom). Through our music video (mv), digipak, and social media, we intended to convey themes of the dominant reading (reception theory by Stuart Hall) of childhood nostalgia and self-discovery- this is central to our branding. We aim to target young Indonesian women (12-27 year olds) as our primary audience.
A consistent branding throughout the three media products acts primarily as a marketing strategy. Unifying visual identity reinforces brand recognition and emotional connection by communicating a clear message the audience decodes. We built Vanya’s strong visual identity with intentional mise-en-scene across the mv, digipak, and social media. E.g. Her signature earthy, organic colours of off-white, sky-blue, sage-green, pale yellow and coupling her with nature themes resonates with local audiences by mirroring tropical landscapes. To add, by placing her in relatable, everyday settings like her bedroom, we aligned her with concepts of peacefulness and authenticity (Fig 1). Furthermore, the digipak, social media, and mv all had a balance of handwriting typography that gave a sense of personal touch & informality and a serif typography connoting elegance & tradition (since it had a similar intricate style to Balinese batik textiles) (Fig 2). The consistent theme aided audiences to form expectations of Vanya’s introspective musical style and personality.
Research into indie pop conventions played a significant role in the production of our media products. Steve Neale’s Genre theory highlights that media texts conform to genre conventions to be recognisable but also subvert to add originality and differentiate themselves from competitors. My research on indie and pop genre conventions found a drastic contrast. Indie artists work on a low budget in a small team with basic equipment resulting in an unpolished look from the production but a lot of experimentation in style while pop artists film on a high budget that's reflected in their equipment which allow for dynamic and smooth shots, costumes, hired actors, and professional editing to give a final product a perfected look.
We leaned heavily on the indie conventions by conforming to purposeful unpolished production to emphasize rawness. E.g. hand-held camera techniques, intended ‘mistakes’, minimal edits for unfiltered visuals, ordinary clothing/costumes, mixed with natural lighting (Fig 3) whenever possible created an honest, realistic look for our mv and artist. We focused solely on our single actor to highlight her individuality, which was a common trope (e.g. AURORA “Cure For Me” & Mitski "Nobody.") in the indie genre. Influences of retro aesthetics were clear in our mv, digipak, and social media (Fig 4) while also incorporating high-energy visuals from pop mvs to push her outgoing, optimistic personality and match the upbeat melody.
To subvert from conventions and differentiate ourselves, we prioritised the narrative of the mv. Although performance was common in the indie genre, putting a spotlight and diverting from a typical romantic storyline (e.g. Big Thief "Not" & The 1975 "If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)") to craft an innovative story about personal struggle and self-growth develops a unique story to reel in audiences. The emotional narrative of parental bonds and self-growth- weaving in a story of loss and resilience- allows us to connect deeply to our audience that gives them a fresh and truthful perspective of going through life’s ups and downs.
The digipak had to reflect Vanya’s message of overcoming difficulties and self-discovery in the mv. The bedroom setting, set design of plushies, and her doting expression towards a childhood toy expressed a vulnerable and a private side of her life that will elicit feelings of fondness towards childhood in audiences. Childish activities (drawing and sleeping with dolls) were also used and aimed to sell a sense of nostalgia. This feeling was only enhanced through added retro filters (sepia and desaturation) to help the digipak feel more dated but this can also be seen in the mv and social media (Fig 4). The nostalgic ambience by both mv and digipak will help them to be more relatable to audiences by sharing sentimentality for childhood with the artist.
The representation of mother and child’s close bond/relationship was explored in our media products. We featured the closeness through symbolic gestures. Examples of the mom supporting her daughter were prominent (e.g. the videos taken of Vanya’s old recitals, the dress and the note left for her, and the fading voiceline of the mother’s support in Fig 5) presents the mom’s ever-lasting support towards Vanya despite her absence. Besides that, there were closeups of the music sheet with the words “Song for mom” written with red pen as a symbol of love, singing the lyrics “[...] Look at us now,” towards the camera as if speaking directly to the mother and throwback pictures on social media (Fig 6). This calls attention to the influence Vanya’s mom had on her music and passion. By this poignant representation, the audience would feel as though they were sharing an intimate moment with the artist.
We subtly represented grief and Balinese-Indonesian identity through the narrative of Vanya’s mother’s illness and passing with cultural codes (Barthes’ narrative codes). Implications of her mother being sick were noticeable with the mention of being at the hospital, but we depended on cultural codes to imply her passing through the sprinkling of red flowers in the ocean- a Balinese ritual for the departed (Fig 7). Red flowers represented life and blood being let go while Vanya wore a traditional white dress (contrast to the western black for mourning). Audience feedback confirmed our target audience of Indonesian viewers recognised the codes, proving how our mv culturally resonates with our viewers.
We did not neglect the representation of Vanya’s persevering pursuit of a music career. Vanya’s hardworking personality is brought up by the use of a jumpcut (edit) that implies time passing while she’s preparing for her performance. Changes to her schedule board, calendar, and room aid in relaying the message (Fig 8). Stuart Hall theorized that the media creates representations and is not a true reflection so I planned for our star to challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes of young Asian (Indonesian) women believed to be submissive, passive, family-oriented rather than career-oriented (Van Zoonen’s cultural context on feminine discourse). Instead, I take on a more progressive view, striking a balance between Vanya striving towards her dreams and caring for her family by always referencing her relationship with her mom in her music career (Fig 6).
We took advantage of new media as a tool for marketing. We opted for the diversification of online platforms by adopting a multi-platform (Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube, etc. in Fig 9) strategy to maximise the reach of our target audience of Indonesian teens and young adults but also cater to a broader audience. McLuhan’s idea that medium is the message and each new technology has a bias categorizes social media to be hot media (rich in sensory information) that prioritize short-form content so we aim to farm engagement with digestible content like images showcasing Vanya’s personal life (appealing with celebrity ordinariness, Dyer’s theory of stardom) through behind-the-scenes content, pictures/selfies exposing her day-to-day activities and short videos on top of the promotional posts. In addition, our captions were open-ended questions to encourage interaction from audiences through comment sections (Fig 10). For platforms with text formats (X & Youtube community posts), promotional content detailing her current activities as a music artist (tour dates, concert details, etc.) would be posted to satisfy the need/want for surveillance by making information easily accessible to audiences.
To engage audiences by fostering identity and community, we employed Gauntlett’s theory on self-identity and the idea of personal identity by naming our fandom ‘Daisies’ for fans to identify personally and connect socially. Supported by Clay Shirky’s idea that audiences expect media to be interactive, we made a public group chat for fans to interact directly to the artist or each other (social relationship) and be the first to receive information (surveillance) regarding her, which would strengthen relationships and lead to long-term audience loyalty. This is valuable for Vanya’s small indie fanbase to inspire participatory culture and raise interaction. Likewise, active audiences (Jenkins, theory of fandom) may choose to communicate with each other through the comment section (Fig 11).
To conclude, this music promotional package successfully positioned Vanya to be an approachable and inspirational artist. We combined our emotional narrative with an interactive social media strategy and built a strong connection between Vanya and her audience to feel connected with her journey as an upcoming artist and to cultivate a dedicated fanbase. Moreover, our cohesive branding that merges indie authenticity and pop vibrancy creates a distinct visual identity to effectively display Vanya as a rising star.
