This blog post contains the critical reflection to my component 3 project
My brief was to create a music promotion package consisting of a music video, social media page and digipak for our fictional R&B artist “Ellie
Collins” using the song “pov” by Ariana Grande (2020). The product presents an authentic female artist aimed to target teenagers, young women
and couples aged 16-25 who value simple relationships.
Branding is established through the display of consistent visuals of the artist's persona and style across all products. This is important as it helps
the audience easily recognise and recall the artist across different platforms as the visuals are constantly repeated, slowly associating the brand to
the artist. In my project, our artist Ellie Collin’s brand is based on ordinariness and sincerity. Her branding is constructed through the repeated
visuals of casual clothing and simple dates, in the music video and social media page, she is often shown wearing comfortable clothing like t-shirts
or tank tops and her dates are simple such as picnics and walks in the park. These visuals represent her as ordinary and relatable. We also tried to
keep a consistent color palette of warm colors (beige, brown, orange), shown in her Instagram page and digipak. These warm colors connote
warmth and nostalgia, which associates Ellie as emotionally sincere. Her branding is also constructed by her persona, which is consistently
presented across all three products. In all the products, she is shown playing a guitar (Fig. 1), this signifies her passion and desire for music, this
connotes that she isn’t just a performer but also a musical artist who genuinely expresses herself through her music. Her on-screen persona
presents her as an ordinary and emotionally sincere figure, shown through her simple dates and natural performances, this allows audiences to
perceive her as relatable and genuine. On her social media page, her post consists of captions written in a personal and informal tone, which
reinforces that she is genuine and expressive rather than professional. The repeated use of the brown heart emoji “🤎” (Fig. 2) in her captions
helps audiences associate this emoji with Ellie, strengthening the recall of her identity. Moreover, her frequent interactions with fans through
comments and replies (Fig. 3) helps construct a closer relationship with her audience, making her seem more approachable and relatable. Her
off-screen persona is pretty similar however her clothing style subverts her on-screen persona, she dresses up in a more streetwear style, such as
shown on her magazine cover in the Instagram page, this makes her appear more bold and confident.
Fig. 1 - Ellie shown playing the guitar across all three products
Fig. 2 - The brown heart emoji frequently used by Ellie
Fig. 3 - Fan interaction through replies in post comments
Research into R&B conventions heavily influenced both our music video and digipak. R&B digipaks typically focus on the artist with solo shots,
warm or muted colours, tracklists on the back, and consistent imagery across inside panels and the CD. Music videos in the genre often use
close-ups to emphasise emotion, medium shots to show settings, and narratives centered around love and relationships. We used these conventions
for our products while also fitting Ellie’s persona into it. In the digipak, we followed conventions by featuring a solo image of Ellie playing the
guitar on the front cover, highlighting her passion for music and her identity as a genuine musical artist. Warm beige and brown tones create a sense
of intimacy and sincerity, consistent with R&B aesthetics. The back cover includes the tracklist, but we subverted tradition by adding an interactive
barcode (Fig.4) and phone number, allowing fans to hear Ellie’s voice, which makes the product more personal and engaging. The inside panels and
CD maintain the same colour palette and simple, cohesive design to reinforce her brand. In the music video, we conformed to R&B conventions
through close-up and medium shots that show Ellie’s expressions and the casual, relatable environments of her dates. We also subverted conventions
with brighter lighting (Fig. 5) during daytime scenes to reflect the pop elements of the song, while later scenes use darker tones to highlight
vulnerability and emotional intimacy. Both the digipak and music video maintain consistent visuals, including Ellie playing the guitar and warm
tones, creating a cohesive brand identity across the products and reinforcing her persona as authentic, approachable, and passionate about music.
Fig. 4 - An interactive barcode at the back of the digipak
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Fig. 5 - Brighter scenes used in music video
The social media page primarily targets teenagers, young females and couples aged 16-25 who value ordinary and genuine expressions of young
love and nostalgia. This appeals to them because the products reflect their own experiences and emotions, shown through relationships and dates.
The Instagram page includes a mix of professional and personal posts (Fig.6), including magazine covers, MV release announcements, behind-
the-scenes photos, personal / lifestyle photos and appreciation posts. Professional posts show Ellie’s public and professional persona as a relatable
yet rising R&B artist. Her professional posts include captions written by Ellie herself (Fig. 7), which adds authenticity and relatability, making her
and her audiences have a closer connection without creating a distance of professionalism. Her personal posts create authenticity and showcase
her genuine persona. This aligns to the Theory of Stardom, as audiences are drawn to artists who appear ordinary and relatable, allowing them to
form a stronger connection and create parasocial relationships. Hermeneutic codes such as spoilers or captions hinting an upcoming release invites
audiences to create speculations and be invested in her work. This engagement allows fans to interact with each other and create a shared sense of
fandom. The social media page also fulfills the Uses & Gratification theory by providing surveillance by allowing fans to stay updated on Ellie’s
releases and activities, it also offers diversion through relatable content shown through personal photos and date posts. Moreover it also supports
personal identity by showing relatable and personal values through her passion in music and her value of love and relationships, it also encourages
social interaction as fans comment and connect with one another through the comment section.
Fig. 6 - Instagram feed shows a mix of professional and personal content
Fig. 7 - Instagram post captions written by Ellie herself
Our project represents Indonesians and young couples who value ordinary and genuine expressions of young love. We aim to show how ordinary
gestures in relationships create a heartfelt and meaningful feeling to audiences and how authenticity shapes relationships. In the music video, Ellie
is shown going on simple dates with her significant other. Most shots are filmed through a pov shot (Fig. 8), putting the audience in the couple’s
perspective, making it more engaging and relatable. Clothing and props also show ordinariness and simplicity. Ellie’s style in the music video is
very basic and simple, such as wearing t-shirts or tank tops along with simple props for her dates such as paintings, this can enhance Ellie’s
creativity and authenticity, making her appear humane and relatable. To target Indonesian audiences, we included some scenes showcasing
Indonesian culture, for example where Ellie and Karl ate Indomie (Fig. 9), which is a traditional Balinese dish. This makes Indonesian audiences
feel represented as they share the same cultural knowledge, which increases relatability and engagement. On social media, we show this by
providing a mix of both personal and professional posts. Captions in most of Ellie’s posts are personal and written by herself, she uses an
informal and friendly tone, subverting professional public figures where captions are kept in a certain formal tone to enhance their professionalism.
Ellie’s captions make her sound more ordinary and approachable to audiences, therefore audiences can easily relate to her and feel more connected,
creating parasocial relationships. Other than that, Ellie frequently interacts with her fans through Instagram post comments, she replies and
genuinely communicates with her fans. This creates authenticity as her personal typing style and choice of wanting to communicate with her fans
shows that she is a genuine and affectionate person.
Fig. 8 - An example of a POV shot used in the music video
Fig. 9 - A scene showing Indonesian culture where Karl and Ellie ate Indomie
