Decisions Decisions

Earlier this week Isa and I met with our teacher to discuss our progress and inform her on our choices. When we met with her we were still undecided on what song we would use for the music video because Em really liked two of the song on her album. After talking it over we have decided to do "Cage". This is a very personal song that describes how Em felt while she was in the hospital. We hope to be able to meet with her later this week to discuss ideas and specific shots so that we can start filming as soon as possible, I am so excited to start filming and the creative process for this video, I know its going to be great!

Here is a short clip of Em singing "Cage" and the lyrics...enjoy!

Voices surround me, it's harder to breathe
there is no escape, my head is killing me
i stand in my cage in silence and fear
for the demons of darkness have driven me here

 Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will tear me apart
most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the dark

 I'm trapped inside a cage
I'm like a deadly machine
My heart is locked in chains
My mind is a disease
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Can you
Can you save my soul?

 People are watching, they think that i'm insane
I see them, they're talking, do they know i'm not okay?
Shadows are screaming that i am alone
I hope it's all a dream, i'm out here on my own

 Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will tear me apart
Most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the dark

 I'm trapped inside a cage
I'm like a deadly machine
My heart is locked in chains
My mind is a disease
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Can you
Can you save my soul?

 Deep inside
Where nothing's fine
I've lost my mind
Oh, deep inside
Where nothing's fine
I've lost my mind

 I'm trapped inside a cage
I'm like a deadly machine
My heart is locked in chains
My mind is a disease
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Can you

Can you save my soul?

Case study

Isa and I feel it is really important to research different artist that relate to Em's overall look and music style. Isa and have decided to research Ed Sheeran and Alessia Cara. Both of them have different marketing techniques that we could use to help Em develop as an artist. Click here to see what Isa found while researching Ed Sheeran!

Alessia Cara is a 19 year old Canadian singer and songwriter. Before signing with Def Jam she used to make covers on YouTube to share with the world. After signing she released her first single "Here" on April 30, 2015. Since then she has had multiple hit singles and received many awards including Breakout Artist of the Year.

Alessia's music style is Alternive R&B and pop. "The campaign run by the label plays up her self-identification as an “antisocial pessimist." She is known for her casual look and while she is very well known she still manages to stay unrecognized in some places.

Since the Music Video is one of the main components for this project I decided to look at Alessia's video for inspiration and see editing and style techniques that we could use for Em's video.

 Another big aspect of the this project is    creating a website. I have uploaded screenshots  to show you all what Alessia's website look like.  one of the main characteristic that is important  to focus on is the format of her website.  Although she has a menu bar that allows you to  directly go to different part of her website, all  the information is available by scrolling down.  This is very important to consider when making  Em's website because most people access  websites through their mobile device, therefore  it is more convenient to have all the information  on one page that is easy to view.

The first thing you see when you go to Alessia Cara's website is some of her music videos. As you scroll down social media icons allow you to visit her accounts and follow her.
on her website she also announces her tour dates and upcoming events.

 One of the most important components is her sign up list. You can sign up to become part of her team and get special emails and updates. I feel this would be an interesting thing to add to Em's website. She also has a tab for merchandise...we will definitely be doing merchandise as part of Em's campaign.

Another big aspect of Cara's campaign is her use of social media. Her logo for most of her social media accounts is a " a cartoonish picture of a beanie yanked down over an unsmiling face, wild black curls bursting out at the sides." This logo not only represents her brand, but also reflects her personality.


This type of logo is what we are thinking of for Em's cover for her digi-pack.

Overall we feel Alessia is very similar to Em. As you can see in her music videos and social media she is very personal to her fans and stays true to herself. She aims to create songs that have meaning and that others can relate to.

             





AlessiaCaraVEVO. "Alessia Cara - Here." YouTube. YouTube, 26 May 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

AlessiaCaraVEVO. "Alessia Cara - Scars To Your Beautiful." YouTube. YouTube, 11 July 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2017

"Alessia Cara." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Mar. 2017. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

Sullivan, Caroline. "Alessia Cara: 'Social Media Is like a Fake Reality and It's Hard to Block Things Out'." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 10 Mar. 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

Account, AcVerified. "Ac (@alessiacara)." Twitter. Twitter, 17 Mar. 2017. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.

"ALESSIA CARA (@alessiasmusic) • Instagram Photos and Videos." Instagram. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.

Social What?!

Since our target audience includes Millennials and Gen Z it is obvious that social media has to play a big role in Em's marketing campaign. I have conducted research for our target audience specifically relating to their social media usage and preferences.

Gen Z and Millennials are "the first two generations to grow up with the internet and technology as a significant part of their lives." This fact will highly impacts the way we market to these groups, since they are so knowledgeable about different  platforms, we have to be smart and relatable in order to successfully reach them.

Although Gen Z and Millennials are very similar in some aspects, they still vary in their way of thinking and consumption habits. For example, "Whereas Gen Ys were known for their excessive online consumption, Gen Zs are known for their selective consumption."

Gen Z are know for being hands on,  they want to be involved and would rather create something than watch. This characteristic makes Snapchat a key social media in Em's campaign. Snapchat also appeals to Gen Z because of their short attention span. They want their information fast and concise. Through this social media Em can post daily updates about her music and life and make her audience feel like they are taking a journey with her.

YouTube is also a huge platform, "Gen Z is less influenced by celebrities but rather influencers." YouTube will allow Em to keep her fans updates and share her music with her audience. Through this platform she can inspire others and share her story.


As seen on the graphic the most used social media by Millennials is Facebook. Isa and I were very skeptical about using Facebook for Em's style of music and audience. We felt that her target audience use other social media platform more, however after researching it is evident that we must create a page for Em. With its new Facebook Live feature the use of this social media has increased.  If we chose not to use Facebook we would be losing a large portion of her target audience, therefor creating a page for her is one of our priorities.

85% of Gen Zs visit YouTube more 

than any other social media site.

 Em's current social media platforms include  Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube. She is very good about keeping up with them and connecting with her followers, however her post often lack aesthetically pleasing backgrounds. With such a visual target audience it is imperative that her post capture her followers eyes.

Em currently has two Instagram's, a personal and a music one, however she uses her personal more. Isa and I suggested that she start using her music Instagram more and try and post everyday so she can start building her brand and image.

Over the duration of the project we are going to incorporate social media as much as possible to develop Em's image and brand. We hope to increase her audience and share quality post to her fans.


YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.
KelseyJones. "5 Ways to Target Millennials and Generation Z Online." Social Media Today. N.p., 17 Feb. 2015. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

Perez, Sarah. "Snapchat Is Now The #3 Social App Among Millennials." TechCrunch. TechCrunch, 11 Aug. 2014. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

Bergh, Joeri Van Den, Sarah Grant, Christophe Jauquet, Giulia Gasperi, Katia Pallini, Rani Surmont, and Alieke Stubbe. "Millennials & Social Media: The What, Where and Why [infographic]." InSites Consulting. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

"Gen Z vs Gen Y and Social Media." Sprout Social. N.p., 08 Mar. 2017. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

Overview of the Week

I am currently in the process of compiling research to then create a whole post about that. In the meantime I wanted to keep you all updated on what has happened...


On Friday my classmates and I were put in to groups to discuss and help each other with our projects. We did this last year too and I felt that last year was way more helpful in helping me develop a story and ideas. I believe this is primarily because of the choice of project. Since my group doesn't know my artist, it is hard for them to pitch ideas about the video and overall look of the campaign. However, I really enjoyed helping others develop their plots and give them my advice.



Today Isa and I were suppose to meet with Em to do a small photo shoot in order to gather pictures for her website. However, due to all of our busy schedules we decided to save that for next week and rather plan exactly what shots we want. During our meeting we also discussed ideas for the music video. Em has two songs in mind for the music video, we are trying to figure out which song would be best, since it is her first music video and we want it to reflect who she is and what she has been through.




We also narrowed down the target audience to ages 15-30. This includes younger Millennials and older Gen Z. We feel this is the best audience to target since we can easily reach them through the use of social media. Her alternative/pop style and relatable lyrics will for sure draw in a crowd. We are excited to move forward and start designing the website and digipack.





"Millennials: The Tragically Misunderstood Generation." Odyssey. N.p., 11 Apr. 2016. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Conner, Lynne, and Vrf Klima Says. "Arts Talk with Generation Z." We the Audience. N.p., 01 Nov. 2015. Web. 12 Mar. 2017

Get to Know Em

As planned, here is the interview Isa and I did with Em. Since we did not know Em before her performance at Open- Mic night, it was imperative that we conducted this interview early in the project. Our goal for this interview was to get to know her, understand her and for her to get to know us as well. We want it to make it clear that if she is not comfortable with some of our choices to let us know, because at the end of the day this is her music career and we want to make sure she is content with all the choices. Without further do, here is the interview; I hope you love her as much as we do!

What's your name?
Emmanuelle Sasson

When were you born?
October 17th, 2001. So I'm 15.

Where are you from?
Manhattan, NYC, and I moved to Florida when I was 5. But my family is actually from Israel. My father is Turkish and my mom is Moroccan.

When did you start singing?
I’ve known I’ve wanted to be a musician ever since I was 3. When I was 14, I started taking vocal lessons with my teacher, Rachal Solomon. She’s really supportive of my music and has helped me manage my voice better.

Who’s your favorite singer/band?

Twenty One Pilots

Do you play any instruments?

I play the guitar, bass, piano, drums, and the ukulele. And I’ve learned them all on my own except for  the guitar.

How would you describe yourself?

I’m quirky, and I’m a thinker. I like to see the good in people rather than focus on the bad, and even in the darkest times, I try to focus on the good things such as my music and the people I love. I’m also very affectionate, and usually care more about other people over myself. Oh, and I love cracking jokes.

What’s the inspiration behind your debut album?

On February 4th, 2015, I had back surgery to treat my scoliosis. At 13, I was at the hospital for a week, and I had to miss school for a month. I fell into a severe depression because of it, so I started writing songs. “Cage” was the first song that I wrote which described how I was feeling. My music has to do a lot with my personal life, and who I’ve become and who I strive to be. It’s about humanity, our tendencies, and our bad habits. That’s why my my debut album is called “A Universal Paradox”, meaning that you can choose to do something but you can’t choose its consequences.

How would you describe your music?

Alternative rock/pop

What do you want your music to be to other people?

I want my music to be a support system for others. I want it to be comforting and relatable because I know how it feels to be alone and I don’t ever want other people to feel that way.

What are some of your goals as a musician?

I want to get people to feel something when they listen to my music, but to do that, I need to expand my YouTube presence. I also submitted an audition video to America's Got Talent, so that’s another exciting thing that I’m looking forward to. I’m also super excited for the release of my first album, “A Universal Paradox”, which will hopefully be available this summer!

Schedule!!!

Isa and I have created this schedule to stay organized and pace ourselves. We really want to do as much as possible with Emmanuel's music career, therefore procrastination is not an option. Although some things might not happen on the exact dates, we are going to try to follow this schedule as much as possible.

03/02/2017 Finalize Schedule

03/04/17 Interview with Em Sasson

03/08/2017 Genre Research

03/10/2017 Conventions of Music Videos

03/12/2017 Conventions of Digipaks

03/13/2017 Conventions of Musician Websites

03/14/2017 Photo shoot

03/16/2017 Business Card

03/18/2017 Website

03/20/2017 Plan for Music Video

03/22/2017 Storyboard

03/24/2017 Film Video and Begin Editing

03/27/2017 Digipak

03/29/2017 Finalize All Products

03/31/2017 Script and Finalize CCR

04/03/2017 Final Comments

04/05/2017 Post Project

04/08/2017 Post CCR

The Beginning... again!

I am so excited to show you all what I will be doing for my A level Media Studies Portfolio Project! Since my last years “Formation” opening film I feel I have learned a lot and I’m excited to show my growth.

I have decided to do a music campaign!! This is completely different from what I normally would do, but  I am ready to get out of my comfort zone. When I first heard this choice I immediately thought of my friend in Spain that I met at a summer camp, he has been writing music for over a year and really wanted to get his music out there. However,I soon discarded this idea because I felt the distance and time difference would be an inconvenience and make the filming and the whole process too complicated.

A few days before we had to decide on our project I attended an open mic night for my school's Drama Club. This event allows everyone to sing, dance, act, and read their poetry. At one point a girl introduces herself as Emanuelle Sasson and explained that she is working on an album and performed an original song. After hearing her sing I knew that I wanted to help her reach her goal, her voice was so unique that I was immediately captured.

Regardless of which project I decided on I knew I wanted to work individually since I had already experienced working with a partner on last years project. However, this all changed when my friends Isabella also took interest in Emanuelle. Isa and I have worked together on many theater performances in the past, therefore I knew that our ideas would only complement each other. We will be meeting with Emanuelle this week to interview her and understand her goals for her music.
I am so excited to show you all what I will be doing for my A level Media Studies Portfolio Project! Since my last years “Formation” opening film I feel I have learned a lot and I’m excited to show my growth.