This project has taught me the importance of metacognition and planning. In order to fulfill the expectations of a project, every step must be taken into account, and analyzed on its contribution to the overall assignment.
The first step, research, allowed me to take inspiration from other brands’ marketing techniques. My group and I drew a lot of our business strategies from other bands or artists, such as Vampire Weekend, Cults, and J.Y. Park. We were then able to have proof that our marketing techniques would work, given the success of these other brands. Although research may not seem like a crucial step to the process, gathering data is important to the overall ending of the project- why our campaign should be sponsored, and what proof shows our band will be successful.
After carrying out research, brainstorming and planning must occur. This is the step where all our ideas come together, producing a general outline of what strategies out band will use. Reflecting on our case studies, we decided that our target audience would consist of teenagers to young adults. Using this information, we then developed a marketing plan that was tailored to fit this type of audience. For example, our primary medium of choice would be social media, including Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube and Tumblr- platforms that this age group frequently use.
We also developed a brand image during this planning phase; we thought that our band would use a pastel primary color palette and a darker secondary color palette. The contrasting of these hues would create a defined image, which is crucial in order to differentiate ourselves from other artists. During this step, we also planned out the structure of our presentation. We created an order to which our slideshow would be presented to make it more engaging and understandable. Matching the brand aesthetic to our presentation’s aesthetic created a sense of consistency with the ideas being spoken and how they were shown visually.
The most difficult part of the planning process was developing the idea for the music video. It was hard to develop a storyline that would be easy to understand, but also fit in with the image of our brand. Despite this, the storyboard really helped lay out our ideas and prepare us for the filming process.
After the brainstorming process, my group and I started working on the pieces to our project. Each member would contribute to the project according on their strong suit. One of my group members excelled in graphic design and art, so she was excited to work on the logo, poster, and website cutout of our brand. I enjoy writing, so I put our ideas together on the presentation in a way that would be visually pleasing and comprehensible to the audience. My other group member really enjoyed filming and editing, so she took on the director/editor’s role in the production of the music video. By first brainstorming our ideas together, then contributing our strengths to the project, our end result became better.
Because we had already created a storyboard, the filming process was relatively simple despite our few difficulties. One problem we encountered, was people walking into our shots, however we expected it as it was a public space. We had all the props we used at home, plus a tripod, so searching for materials wasn’t an issue. We did run into some problems with the special effects makeup- applying fake blood in the middle of the park wasn’t that easy. Despite this, we managed to take all the shots in one day.
The development of the presentation itself was just putting our ideas together in a way that can be shared engagingly and efficiently. We already had our ideas: the outline of our brand, the order in which it would be presented, the design of it, the image of the logo, the website cutout, and the poster we had already created. After putting together the slideshow, we assigned ourselves slides, and rehearsed them to make sure we satisfied the time limit and knew the material. Although we were slightly over the time limit, I am assuming it was due to nerves, which will definitely be worked on in future presentations.
The editing process was a little bit rushed as it was done lastly; we have definitely learned that with future projects it is very important to manage your time. There were a few difficulties with this step: cutting the videos, and removing the black lines on either side of the screen if it was shot in portrait mode. For the next project, we will be sure to make sure the camera is always in landscape mode to prevent future post-production difficulties.
The presentation itself was nerve-wracking at first, but as it went on, I felt more comfortable presenting in front of the class. One of the things that needs to be worked on is the timing of our presentation. Our time was a little bit over what it was supposed to be, 15 minutes. In addition, our flash drive with the presentation failed to work, so we had to go into our google account to find the google slide. Luckily, we had no issues with the debut of the music video; I feel like it ran smoothly without technical difficulties. At the end of the presentation, I feel that my group answered the questions effectively, which showed the class that we really thought about our campaign.
This project helped me learn skills that will be valuable for bigger projects, such as ones that would be given in college. Having time management and planning skills is crucial to developing a project that not only fulfills the rubric, but exceeds its expectations. After developing this campaign, I feel more confident in my ability to make videos, preparing me for the music portfolio project. In addition, my mindset towards projects like this has changed- I now want to start early on them and think about the meaning and benefit behind each step I take. Symbolism and plot creation are huge aspects of the upcoming project, meaning metacognition would be an important skill to have. This past project has really helped me become into a meticulous thinker who reflects on how the little decisions I make will influence the whole message I strive to communicate.
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