‘Art direction is important’
Jane MacGizmo takes charge of her image
‘VIDEO KILLED the radio star.’ So goes the ’80s proclamation, heralding the age of music videos. However, with the rise of social media technology, visual now supplement would-be radio stars. For modern recording artistes, pairing music with visual clips is a necessary element of brand development. Local independent singer-songwriter Jane MacGizmo fully employs this technology, and is reaping the benefits.
Two months since its release, the visual for her latest single
One Away has climbed to over 11,000 views on YouTube. To produce the end product, MacGizmo worked with two rules.
“All the clip needs to be is eyecatching and to only have me. I thought about it like an advertisement – so nobody has any confusion as to who sings this song. I put myself out there to the max, and I was very strategic in the branding. Art direction was important to me,” she told The Gleaner.
ATTRACTIVE MOVING PORTRAIT
The concept is simple and effective. Directed by Tricia Bent, the clip is an attractive moving portrait of the songstress. She has thick faux locs piled into a pineapple atop her head, offset by a crisp, red blazer paired with bright-red lips and a background in the same colour. “This world is full of content, so I thought about how I can make this stand out. A dancehall song on oneshot video hasn’t been done before. We need fresh things – especially when things are happening all at once, all the time,” she explained.
MacGizmo has previously proved her prowess in video production. Before the official launch of her career in 2014, the former film student became a graphic designer. Taking the helm in the development of her own image, she combined her skills in visual art and video production with her musical vision.
Four years ago, she released her debut single, Black Skin.
Four months later saw the release of Babylon. Pooling her skills and talents, MacGizmo took the lead in conceptualising and editing the music video for
Babylon. Soon after its release, the video was picked up by music networks BET Soul and BET Jams.
“I focus on my content having crossover potential. I want to bring a different branding with international appeal. I always aim to strike the balance,” she said.
Produced by ZincFence Records, One Away is the first single leading up to her EP. The artiste is working for more numbers, hoping to hit 100,000 views before laying down the concept for an official music video.
“I really want to push it as much as I can. It’s a lot of money to make a music video, and I’m not wasting it. I need to know it’s going somewhere,” she said.