Representation refers to the portrayal of a person or an issue. For my final product, I decided to represent the emotional and physical journey of pain that a person goes through, how people experience, process and eventually come to terms with their struggle. I was drawn to this area of representation because pain is an universal human experience, yet it manifests differently for everyone. I wanted to capture the complexity of this journey and not stick to the traditional portrayal of suffering to show the process of going through something tough while experiencing multiple different emotions. Moreover, I also wanted to break away from the traditional norms and perspectives that surround women by representing them in a more modern and empowered way. Rather than sticking with the outdated stereotypes that portray women as passive. I wanted to showcase a portrayal that highlights their complexity, strengths and how they navigate through painful experiences. Judith Butler’s Theory of Gender Performativity is something I wanted to incorporate into my production work. Her theory stated that “gender is not a fixed trait, rather it is a social construct which is shaped through repetitive actions, behaviors, and expressions.” According to her “gender is continuously performed, with people following behaviours that are associated with gender roles that are based on societal expectations rather than pre-existing traits/instincts.” Rather than following the traditional perceptions of how females are expected to behave, our character can be seen engaging in actions that challenge societal norms. In many scenes you can see our actor Tanu dancing on top of tables, drinking alcohol and getting arrested. Through these scenes I wanted to highlight that gender is not a natural quality but a performance shaped by cultural and societal influences. Stuart Hall’s Audience Positioning Theory, argues that “media texts position and influence audiences based on their social, cultural, and individual contexts.” This can be applied to my production because active participants bring their own experiences, value and perspective to their interaction with my production work. Some may be able to fully identify with the emotions and struggles that I have tried to show, while others may interpret it differently because of their cultural background or societal influences. Stuart Hall called this “Prefered Reading.”  For example, an audience who has struggled to deal with a painful experience in a similar way to how our actor has, will probably deeply resonate with the storytelling and connect to the pain and anger shown. 

There are different elements of my production work which together create a sense of branding, some of them are, the color scheme, the chalk-like text, the signature of the artist and the actor, Tanu which is constantly visible in all three of my products. The color scheme of my production work was mostly blue, red, green and black which was used to create recognizable traits between my products. Another element of my production work which creates a sense of branding is the chalk-like text. This choice to use such typography creates authenticity and rawness which links with the overall theme of my production work. 

I have also used chalk text in the music video which helps to create a link with the Digipak and the Social Media. I took inspiration from Madonna’s album “Rebel Heart” which also has a handwriting like typography. Furthermore, the idea of adding the signature of the artist came from Rihanna’s album “Rated R” which didn’t specifically have her signature but has her initial which looked engraved to the CD cover. I thought this was a very clever way of branding as it’s very simple yet memorable. I tried to do the same thing with my Digipak, where I have added P!nk’s signature onto the CD and the music video. The main branding of all three of my products is my actor, Tanu. I chose to consistently feature Tanu to create a stronger sense of identity and help the audience create a personal connection with the brand. Using the same actor across each product ties them together visually, making the branding feel more authentic.

My product engages with the audience by creating a consistent brand identity that reflects the character’s rebellious and vulnerable personality and message of self expression. The music video has scenes like the last scene where Tanu can be seen performing in a room with no audience. This engages with the audience by creating a melancholic atmosphere where they are encouraged to feel sympathy for her isolation and vulnerability.  Moreover, there are scenes where Tanu is directly talking to the camera, this engages with the audience through direct address and by creating a sense of intimacy, which makes the audience feel like Tanu is directly speaking to them and breaking the fourth wall. Additionally, there are scenes like where she is getting arrested for drinking and driving, which is a form of rebellion that engages with the audience by challenging societal expectations and portraying the artist as someone who refuses to conform.

The digipak main image is of Tanu sitting on the floor holding a bottle in one hand, again directly addressing the camera with an unapologetic expression. This challenges traditional beauty norms and creates a sense of rawness and vulnerability which encourages the audience to connect with her unapologetic attitude. The back cover of the digipak has close up shots of lips and the artist’s name tattooed on the larger lip, which reinforces the artist’s rebellious attitude and is an intertextual link to both the Rolling Stones and Rocky Horror Picture Show which some audience members may be familiar with. The social media has images of the artist before she adopted her rebel persona showing her past helps to engage with the audience as it makes her journey feel more personal and it allows the viewers to see her evolution and possibly relate to what she is going through. 

During the creation of our products we were aware of David Gauntlett’s Identity theory, whereby the audience forms a bond with the main character as they view her as a kind of role model, someone they can relate to. This aids audience engagement and the positioning of the audience in relation to the texts. 

Before I started to visualise what I wanted my products to be, I researched many different music videos, digipak and social media of several different artists.I started my research by exploring artists like Rihanna and Madonna. Both of their digipaks made me realize the power of a monochromatic color scheme, how something as simple and basic and black and white holds so much power and creates such a strong sense of emotion. Some of their little detailing like how Madonna had  tattoo-like text on her digipak can create a sense of edginess and authenticity. This inspired me to add tatto-like text on my digipak. Whereas, Rihanna’s digipak also made me realise how showing just a small section of  the face can be so impactful and create a sense of mystery. This minimalist method rejects the idea that women need to use their beauty to engage with the audience. Instead it shifts the focus to the message that the artist is trying to convey which makes the brand feel more authentic. Moreover, I researched many different music videos, digipak and social media of several different artists. I started my research by watching the music video of RAYE’s song “Escapism.” Her video played a key role in helping me to form an understanding of how there is little representation of the complex ways that women deal with pain. The video shows the artist dealing with emotional pain in destructive ways which is very different to what is shown in the mainstream media. The media likes to idealize women’s pain as fragile and heart-broken passively. This chaotic way of dealing with pain allows the audience to see a more realistic and human side of a woman. This inspired me to show female rebellion and imperfection in all three of my products in order to offer the audience a truer, more realistic perception of women’s emotional struggles. After watching RAYE’s music video, I watched Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” music video which helped me to understand that women can not only be represented as victims but can also be shown as empowered. The way she has portrayed herself in the video subverts from the traditional situation of women being powerless and passive, she represented women as capable of taking control of their own stories and life. The way she has used bold visuals, dark color scheme and fearless body language throughout the video inspired me to use similar themes in my products.