statement of intent x

  

My NEA will focus on the launch of a new two-piece girl band called the supernovas. Inspired by Lana Del Rey, Oasis and the wider brick pop alternative scene, the bands aesthetic and sound aim to combine vintage Americana with contemporary indie pop appealing to a "Gen z" audience.. The mix of vintage britpop and alternative pop establishes a distinctive identity for the group, targeting a teenage audience that values authenticity, aesthetics and intimacy. The campaign will promote their debut release, 'national anthem'.

 The TikTok campaign will include three videos, each meeting different audience gratifications. The first will be a cinematic lyric visualiser with elements from the music video. This TikTok will focus and rely on mise en scène such as heart shaped sunglasses and the American flag to create an Americana aesthetic. By using fast paced editing, on screen text and cinematic mise en scene, this video will showcase the lyrics while creating a visually immersive experience that encourages diversion and personal identity.

The second TikTok will provide BTS content, beginning with a playful skit on the phone booth where one band member speaks through the phone and says “we need to get the band back together“. It will then cut to scenes where the group is in the studio recording music. It will also cut to every day locations, representing the band in a natural light, building a personal relationship with the audience. This promotes a sense of authenticity and intimacy by exposing the members personalities. I will appeal to teenage girls, who often seek para social relationships with artists. These reflect the uses and gratification model, specifically personal identity and personal relationships. Surveillance is another pleasure as viewers stay up to date with the band by following updates about the bands work.

The third TikTok will feature a Q&A session, where the band answer fan questions. This creates a dialogue between the artist and audience, strengthening engagement by allowing the band to be shown in a natural and relatable way. This rejects stereotypes of women in music as solely an object for the male gaze. My band rejects stereotypical portrayals of women and pop as passive or sexualised. Instead they are shown as creative outspoken and independent behind the scenes and Q&A highlight their personalities humour and talent showing female artist is authentic approachable role models. The band will not be sexualised for male consumption but instead represented as authentic and relatable aspirational figures for young women. The representation of women is that they are creative, outspoken role models. Rather than reproducing stereotypes, this campaign will subvert traditional portrayals of women in music videos.

My production represents contemporary social and cultural context by focusing on TikTok as the central platform of music discovery and fandom. This reflects the shift from traditional music promotion to short form interactive content consumed by a community. My target audience is primarily teenage girls, or people within the age range between 12-25, with a secondary appeal to niche alternative boys. Using psychographics, the band would attract Aspirers, Funseekers, and Free Spirits, enticing them through image, lifestyle and relatability.

The billboard will reinforce brand identity following conventions of music advertising. It will feature high contrast visuals, minimal text, a bold title of the band along with a striking image of the members. Colours will follow a red and white and blue pallet, promoting the bands vintage Americana identity whilst standing out in an urban setting for people to notice. Having polydor as the record label, The Supernovas are positioned amongst other familiar artists.

Alongside the TikTok and billboard campaign, my project includes a music documentary called 'Echoes throughout the Eras". This documentary will compare 3 bands from different period periods. Velvet Adolescent representing the 1980s and 1990s, Lemon Halo representing the 2000s and the 2010s and my band "The Supernovas" representing contemporary pop. The documentary uses interviews, archive footage and performance clips to explore how music style and band culture has evolved. This intertextuality places my band within a wider list of pop bands, giving audiences cultural context, also appealing to fans interested in music history. Streaming the documentary on Netflix reflects youth media habits and allows the target audience to stream the documentary.