How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief? (approx. 400 words)
PRODUCT 1
My documentary, ‘Grassroots’, follows the lives of young musicians and their pursuit of wider success, oftentimes through social media. Shot types will be very important in conveying a sense of intimacy (so the audience feels as if they are getting ‘behind the scenes content’). For example, I will include over-the-shoulder shots, vlog-style voiceovers and live footage to create a performative documentary, as theorised by Bill Nichols - the people featured in the documentary will also have a large control over the narrative. This will fulfil the BBC Three remit of having ‘innovative’ content, as well as showcasing ‘New UK Talent’. An element of ‘interactive relationships’ will be incorporated through the feature of the musicians’ social media platforms, encouraging the audience to go and follow them, and footage of performance livestreams. As the target audience is intellectual 16-34 year-olds, I will appeal to them as the people in the documentary are young themselves, creating a sense of relatability, and they will be more likely to take an interest in the subculture of local alternative music. More intellectual elements will be added through intertextual references, such as the mention of musical influences and cover songs, and will also briefly touch on how the artists persevere with online performances during the COVID lockdown. I would like a ‘rising star’ representation - showing a binary of the musicians in their homes and then performances on stage - seen in the opening scene of the documentary.
PRODUCT 2
My website will have more of a clean-cut feel compared my documentary, and will be reflective of the stylings of the current BBC Three website. Whilst the documentary is about the struggles of a young artist, the website should be a reflection of how the artists are wishing to represent themselves, in order to look engaging and exciting. However there will be a similar colour palette of bold greens, blues and reds in order to create convergence, and a main colour palette of greys and purples that are conventional of BBC Three. To add to the intellectual content I will include an easter egg within one of the featured photos, in which I will have a video exploring sexism in the music industry, and how women are often overlooked at live performances. Social media will also be heavily promoted; for example there is a section encouraging viewers to ask questions to the musicians via Twitter, and the #REBELGIRL movement hashtag, making an intertextual reference to Riot Grrrl. Other additional content such as musician profiles and quotations will be included, in order to enrich the viewer’s experience with the documentary and fulfil the ‘surveillance’ segment of their Uses and Gratifications. The musicians will be represented in their best light on the website, as it acts as the ‘final piece’ of the documentary. All of their individual talents and personalities will be collated on the website for innovation and engagement.
How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production? (approx. 100 words)
My documentary will reference my website through the use of pop-ups upon entrance, which contains a Twitter button to incite conversation with the participants of the documentary. This would encourage the audience to visit in order to interact with others and see their opinions. In order to acknowledge the digitally convergent nature of the musicians’ lives, there will be photographs from their social media pages, for example their Instagram feed, therefore leading the viewer to use their own accounts to find out what else the artists post.
