Saving Herald is a teenage alternative-pop band based in Broward, Florida. They're well known around South Florida and have gained popularity through Spotify, Youtube, and Facebook, as well as through live band performances around the County. Their newest song "Breathe" is the primary focus of our music promotional package.
My partner and I decided that we would go with a mixture of a performance and narrative story in the music video for Breathe. We felt this was the best route because the performance aspect would help to introduce each artist and give insight into their styles and skills. With the added narrative story, it would add an extra flair to the production. Saving Herald urged us to include a conceptual story instead to lighten the mood of the song due to its deeper meaning. Typical genre conventions of an alternative band's music videos consist of a mixture between narrative and performance, which keeps the video entertaining and enjoyable to watch. Due to their insistence on a conceptual story instead of a narrative, we decided it would be more appropriate to stick with a strictly performative plotline; we didn't want to stray too far from the typical alternative/indie genre conventions. To further introduce each band member, we filmed each artist individually performing the song as well as all together. By focusing on them alone as they're performing throughout the song, there's a more personal air that highlights their talents. By using a variety of shot types and camera movements amongst the band's performance, they're given a chance to show off their distinct personalities. For instance, Nick's hair is a visible part of his branding, which is evident throughout the video as it's shown swaying about while he plays. Kenzie is also given opportunities to show off her drumming skills and in several instances looks to the camera, creating an intimate connection with the viewer. I made sure to include some photos that I took behind the scenes on the Twitter we created, which also gives insight into their personalities further than what was depicted in the music video.
There wasn't much to do as far as the representation of different genders, races, ethnicities, etc. in our music video. The band members are who they are: a white, teenage band. However, there are slight strides in representation as to the meaning of their song. When we'd first begun talking about the project and I asked what the song was about, they informed Dean and me that the song's about mental health struggles. Later into the project, I'd asked them to elaborate on the deeper meaning behind Breathe. Maxx (the guitarist) who wrote the song told me that there was nothing more behind the lyrics other than that "it sounded good together." This was disappointing, to put it lightly. It’s part of the reason why we omitted the narrative/conceptual storyline that was originally going to be part of the music video. If there were more meaning behind the song, I would have liked to include metaphorical, conceptual shots in the production, but I love the outcome regardless. I believe we did a great job at creating their first music video and putting them out there. It’s new, and a nice change from the videos that they have on their Youtube showing them performing live. We chose our location for the video based on what was available, but simultaneously we were fortunate enough to have found an abandoned house that was run down and vandalized before my partner and I investigated it for the first time. This set for our music video depicts a grungy, worn down, deteriorated appearance, and when paired with the look of the band members and the upbeat tone of the song, is balanced perfectly in this alternative-pop blend. Not only was the location convenient, but it supports the deeper behind the song Breathe in a metaphorical sense.
It's common in pop music videos that the lighting is artificial, natural, or colorful. For alternative-style videos, it's best to use darker, higher contrast lighting (often using filters or overlays). We incorporated a bit of both. Through editing, my partner Dean balanced and colorized the shots to appear consistent with these characteristics. In instances where the main singer was performing on her own, the dark, blue hue of the room functions symbolically to represent sadness and provides the filter-like look that we wanted. At the same time, the natural lighting from outside in several of the shots provides the upbeat, pop-like aspect necessary to achieve a proper blend of the genres. Saving Herald had the vision to wear coordinated outfits, so they wore all black, which contrasts with the set as well as acting as a stylistic element that connects the band on a deeper level. Other aspects of mise-en-scene included in our video work to create a sense of unity, such as Kenzie's drum set; the Saving Herald logo they'd created is displayed proudly on the main drum, which is consistent with their other videos posted on Youtube and continues to support their band's branding.
The target audience for alternative artists range from students aged 14 to people in their late 50's, originating from when the alternative rock scene got popular in the mid to late 1900s. "Alternative" is an umbrella term, and a lot of subgenres exist within it, one being alternative pop. The age of this target audience is people aged 14-21. The gender of this audience is generally 50/50, both taking influence from their favorite bands and artists of the genre. They may use these bands and lyrics to influence their identities, or as a form of escapism from reality.
For the cover art component of our project, Dean and I settled on making a vinyl cover. Vinyl is more popular amongst people in our target audience range, as CDs/digipaks have been practically forgotten. For the content of the cover art, I'd discussed with Madison (the lead singer) what should be the subject; I showed her images I could use for reference that I felt were connected to the word, and ideas surrounding the word "Breathe." She felt that the image of someone smoking a cigarette while half-submerged in water worked best. This sort of grungy cover art is consistent with the preferences of our youthful, heavily influenced target audience. By providing subtle connections between the elements of the project, my partner and I were able to maintain this sense of edgy branding. In retrospect, I believe that to be more on brand, we could have made the font color on the cover art yellow instead of red, to stay consistent with their original yellow logo. It would have been closer to alternative-pop while remaining edgy due to the content on the cover. However, Kenzie's drums are red, and red is often associated with edgy music groups, so it's not too far off. Alternative groups tend to tease their audiences often on their online platforms. They release teasers, behind-the-scenes footage, and exclusive videos and images to get their fanbase excited about new, upcoming products. It maintains their audience, engages them, and keeps them excited and interested in their content. So Dean and I did precisely that: dropping teasers and exclusive photos on the Twitter account we created to induce hype for the release of Breathe's official music video as we finalized the production.
Overall I’m incredibly satisfied with what we created for the music promotional package. My partner and I were excited from the get-go to work on this project. Saving Herald is a charming group, and we created a professional-looking video of them performing their favorite song to date, a Vinyl cover, and a Twitter page to advertise the various elements of our project. My only regret is that the band members were not nearly as engaged with the production process as we’d hoped. They were difficult to work with, and oftentimes Dean and I were frustrated with their lack of help and enthusiasm. Through it all, we’d still made a great production. Admittedly I will say that this is primarily due to Dean and his natural talents with cinematography and filming, but I put in hard work where it was applicable through the creation of the cover art and posting to our social media page.
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