Social media interactions

social media interactions are important so that an artist can gain support from a fan base and also so that they can share news and communicate with other artists and people from around the world. Below are some of the accounts Isla follows and why social media is important to her. 

Isla merchandise

Here are some examples of the merchandise we have designed for Isla. We have created T-Shirts, pins, mugs, calendars and phone cases.

Creating the merchandise

We used the website Cafe Press to create the merchandise for Isla. This website allowed us to upload our own images onto it to make our own merch designs.

Tour dates

Below are Isla's tour dates with venues. These were decided upon so that the ticket release would be pre- music video release and the tour would be post album release, this is so that the package release would promote excitement within Isla's fan base and promote good ticket sale and revenue.

Tour destinations

Due to our large target audience, we decided that we would need to book venues that cater to different age groups. Some places that are known for their indie rock music, but also some small theaters so that younger fans can also attend and enjoy the music.

Album song list

6AM
City Lights
Illusion
Skin deep
Exiles
Alter ego
Cloud nine
Shadows
Lost and found
Eyes wide open
Matthew
To come up with some more song ideas for our album we created random ideas which we though would match our genre. this was fun because it meant we could get creative. 6am is our single which we are releasing a music video for.

Timeline of annotated lyrics

This is an annotated printout of the Corrine lyrics. Once we had ideas of the locations we wanted in our music video, we began to annotate the lyrics with what locations and shots we will have at each point in the song. This is not a set plan but a rough idea of what we want to include in the video. We treated this as a way to get our ideas flowing before making the storyboard and before we started filming.

List of merchandise

Clothing

• T-Shirt
• Jumper
• Jacket
• Hats/Caps

Accessories

• Keyring
• Phone Case
• Ring
• Necklace
• Bracelet
• Badge
• Fabric Patch
• Tote Bag

Miscellaneous

• Mugs
• Bottle
• Poster

Café Press

This website has a large variety of products that we can personalise and use to create our merchandise. 

http://www.cafepress.co.uk/

Photoshoot slideshow

Throughout filming we also took photos to go with our website and digipak, and to also promote Isla as an established artist.

Merchandise research- Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift has got a new synergy point: snakes. Snakes were incorporated in one of her most recent music videos and on some of her live performances.In her music video she is seen surrounded by snakes and also wearing rings in the shape of snakes.


Swift has now used this synergy from her music videos and live performances and it is now featured in the merchandise she is producing.

http://www.instyle.com/news/taylor-swift-snake-merchandise
This article talks about how Swift is now using snakes in her merchandise and below are some examples of her products.


We thought that this was a very good idea and an interesting way to tie together the merchandise with the media products we will be making. We noticed that most artists just use their names, album titles and song lyrics. This is something that is different and unusual and could be something we do with Isla. In her case, we would probably incorporate roses onto our merchandise products.

Keeping organised

We created a table to keep on track to ensure we were all on top of our blog posts and tasks, this helped us communicate as a group ensuring everything was getting done, and we were not going to miss anything essential.

Blog posts	Lorna	Jess	Leah	Group comments/ questions/ ideas:
Production Diary
3 track presentation
Class presentation feedback
Lip synch task
Cross media
Digipak research
Website research
Similar genre videos
Similar artist research
Similar website
Cd cover analysis
Timeline of annotated lyrics
Availability
Storyboard
Shooting schedule
Evidence of filming
Photoshoot
Group reflection
Steal-o-matic
Website progress
Digipak progress
Halfway evaluation
First draft video
Class feedback of first draft
Magazine article
Digipak advert
Final construction
Peer assessment
Risk assessment
Creating logo
Marketing research
Social media – followers, following, posts
Teaser
Interview research
Magazine research
Synergy of Isla
Album song list
Merchandise research
Merchandise ideas and evaluation
Font
Synergy ideas eg rose
Organisational skills

Interview questions

Here are some questions which could be answered by Isla in an interview to allow fans to get to know her as an artist better:  

1. What do you like doing in your spare time?
2. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever done for you?
3. Who is your celebrity crush?
4. Are you single?
5. What is your favourite movie?
6. What is your biggest/weirdest fear?
7. What has been your best/worst date?
8. Would you date a fan?
9. What would you change your name to?
10. do you have any pets?
11. Who is your inspiration?
12. What is your favorite song?
13. if you were not making music what else would you be doing?
14. whats your favorite song on the album?

Storyboard

Final logo

This is Isla's finished logo. We decided to keep it simple because we thought that a simple logo looked more professional.

Creating the logo

First we made the logo in Microsoft PowerPoint. This is because it is easy to use and so we could ensure that we made it efficiently. We did not need any fancy effects because we wanted our logo to be simple and so PowerPoint was a suitable tool to use.



We then used Adobe Photoshop to remove the background from the logo so that we can insert it onto different products.

Digipak 2nd draft

This is another draft of our digipak which was changed according to more feedback from our peers. We added more red to the panels and also changed a couple of pictures on the digipak to make it flow better.

Digipak Feedback

After completing a first draft of the digipak we got feedback so that we could continue to improve the synergy and look for the final digipak.

Website feedback

In order to gain feedback on our website, we administered a feedback survey to some of our friends. We already received feedback from the people in our class but wanted to gain a response from a wider audience.

What do you like about the website?

Lots of people responded that they liked the geometric design (the boxes in the background). As well as this, the red colour scheme was also mentioned by many. We were told that the simple design makes the website very stylish and professional. Another positive was the use of photographs on our website. We were told that they were placed well on the pages and provided a very aesthetically pleasing look.

What do you dislike about the website?

Some of the pages seem a bit empty because some things are spread out a lot causing empty space. Also, some of the text is hard to read due to the colour and size.

What is missing from the website?

The main thing mentioned was that there was no merchandise page, but this is something that we had already planed to add. People also mentioned social media links and a news box/page

What changes would you make?

It was suggested that we could make some of the information text larger. Also, ensure that all of the colours used tie together well (some blue text was used and this should be changed to black).

Magazine cover research

To further promote our artist, We looked at how different companies showcased artists on their magazines to focus the consumers attention on the artist. Below are a couple of covers from the Rolling Stones and Billboard magazines, and you can see how they position the picture so that the musician is in front of the title, to make them stand out even more.

Digipak 1st draft

Here is the 1st draft of our digipak to promote our artist.

Rose and Red synergy

Going along with our theme of 'red', we decided to use imagery of red roses in our video, on our website and on our digipak. Images of red roses on all of these products will help to tie them together even more than we already have with the use of the same font and colour scheme. 

We took a photograph of a rose and used Photoshop to remove the background.
 

Font final decision

After trying to use the font decided by our survey, we discovered that it was not available on all of the programs we needed to use. We then decided to use a different font that was available for download on all of the programs that we needed to use. This font gave a much more professional look to the music video and related 

Font name: FOLKLORE

Halfway Evaluation Feedback

Feedback

Music Video Teaser:

We received both positive and negative feedback for our music video teaser. We were told that we had great image variation and a good variation of special effects. It was also mentioned that our location choices for the video were very good and interesting. Another one of our strengths was that we edited the shots to change in the beat of the music. However, some people also said that our lip syncing could be improved and, at times, it is very obvious that the artist is not really singing the song. As well as this, it was said that the pace was very slow due to the long shots that were used. Maybe we could add some more shots to increase the pace? Also, they said that we could maybe add some of the special effects used to more shots so that they do not look out of place. We also use some of the same shots more than once and very close to each other. It was suggested that we could add some more shots in between to space it out a little and reduce repetition.

Website

As a whole, the rest of the class liked our main image and all of the photos on the website. It was also said that the website links really well with the artist image and also has obvious synergy with the teaser video and our plan for the digipack. People also commented that our website worked well; It's simplicity was praised because it made the website very easy to use. However, in balance, it was suggested that we could add a little bit of creativity to make it more interesting and a bit less plain. As well as this, it was suggested that we could add some more links, for example a link to the Youth Music website on the attached logo. We could also add a merchandise page onto the website so that we can sell it on there. Another weakness of our website was the number of photographs on there in relation to the volume of written content. It was suggested that we should add some more text to the website to make it more informative.

Brand Image, Name, Image and Stage Presence

Many people in our class liked the 'Youth Music' idea that we had because it makes our artist more relatable and gives an even more established background. This added detail will make our artist appeal to many more people. It was also said that our artist's image goes very well with her personality and background and her whole 'story' is very well thought out and detailed. In contrast with this, some raised that there is a contrast between the artist's image and personality with the music that she creates. It was said that we should make it clear that this is due to the artist trying to increase her versatility to avoid confusion.

Target Audience

Our class thought that our target audience was very well planned out and said that it was clear that we had put a lot of thought into who we are targeting. It was also said that our versatility suits our main target audience of young adults because people of this age group are all so different. Though, it was suggested that we could extend our target audience to slightly younger viewers because the artist is quite young, herself. As well as this, some said that we should consider doing some artist interviews to raise awareness of the artist.

Next Steps

Music Video

• Ensure that we film some more lip syncing shots that are of a higher quality
• Add some more cuts to make the video more interesting by increasing the pace
• Add some more special effects to the music video
• Add some more shots in between those that are the same

Website

• Add some more text
• Add some creativity/special effects
• Add more links to things like the Youth Music logo
• Add merchandise page
• Add social media links

Digipack

• Make this a priority to ensure that it is complete promptly
• Include synergy with the website and music video

Brand Image

• Make intention of versatility clear

Target Audience

• Extend target audience?
• Do some interviews to raise awareness

Evidence of Project

Music video teaser

This is our teaser trailer for our music video. This will be use to promote Isla's full music video release.

Artist photoshoot

We decided to take some photos at Admirals park, in nature. This is because we wanted some shots with trees to link with the shots that we had already taken outside of our school, next to the tree. 

We decided to take some creative shots as well as simple ones of just the artist to give Isla an artistic feel.

Website so far

The basic website design has been decided and we are now beginning to create the web pages. As well as these pages, we intend to add a page for merchandise so that we can promote Isla's single even more.

https://hartounnoushiansl1.wixsite.com/isla



This is the 'Home Page'. We plan on adding the social media links to the homepage to provide easy access to the people visiting the site.



The 'About' page which introduces the artist.



The 'Music' page for songs and music videos.



The 'Tour' page for upcoming tour dates and venues.



The 'Gallery' page for photoshoot photos.



The 'EPK' (Electronic Press Kit) page. A summery of information about the artist.



We have also included a 'Contact' page so that people can contact the artist's team.