1. Introduction and Proposed Project
Introduction
In the following document I will be conducting a viability study surrounding my proposed project. This viability study will focus on the feasibility of the project and the methodology and rationale behind it. It will also contain information regarding the target market/audience, cost and potential funding, and a risk assessment and development plan.
Proposed Project
For this project I will be collaborating with an artist/graphic designer to create a joint piece of music and artwork that will depict and express the journey and emotions experienced within a relationship. This will be in the format of a 10–12-minute piece of music from which the artist will take inspiration from to create the accompanying artwork, the artwork and music will then be combined into the finished product of the project and will be available online on the artists social media as well as my own.
As stated, the music will be composed with the idea of expressing the emotions and journey of a relationship, From first meeting to the end of the relationship in a timeline format. During the research and ideas phase of the project we discussed the format and style that the proposed concept would take. From this we researched into other examples of artwork and music collaboration looking at how other projects had been formatted, specifically in relation to short form social media content and animations with music, along with examples of film music for inspiration.
Personnel – Direct/Indirect
This project consists of two main collaborators, the first being myself and the second being a long-time friend of mine named Freddie Herdman who is an artist and Graphic designer.
A little About myself:
My name is Oliver Hargreaves, and I am a third-year production student here at the conservatoire. I mostly specialise in acoustic, folk and pop rock recordings in addition to this I also have a background in classical music as well as experience with both recording and arranging classical pieces (see appendices 4,5,6 and 7). Within this project my role will revolve around the musical elements, so I will be handling the writing arranging and recording elements of the project as well as artist management, if necessary, when collaborating with other musicians during the writing and recording process.
A little about the artist:
The artist that i will be working with is named Freddie Herdman and is a second-year student studying graphic design at Manchester metropolitan university. He has a small online social media presence, mostly on TikTok, where he posts short form art content and animations (See appendices 1,2,3 and 4). He has a wide range of art styles however specialises in ball point pen art as well as animated art. His main roll within the project will be the creation of the music inspired art which will form the completed product. In addition, he will also be responsible for a large majority of the creative direction including the proposed concept the project is based around.
Goals
For this project we aim to create an effective collaboration between art and music which will accurately depict and express the emotions and journey through a relationship. We hope that this project will be something that people can empathise with and relate to. On top of this we hope that this project will be something that people can seek comfort in and use to help express their own emotions and experiences.
From this project we also aim to help promote both of the collaborators as artist and producer respectively through the upload of the finished piece to our social media pages. This project will not be created with the objective of making profit and will instead be used to try and help people (specifically members of the younger generation i.e. 16-21 year olds) with expressing their emotions and providing something that they can relate to and be inspired by.
2. Methodology and Rationale, including influences
Methodology and Rationale
We have chosen to base our project around the emotions and journey undergone within a relationship as we feel that it is an interesting topic that a large amount of people will be able to relate to. In addition, we believe that people should be free to express their emotions and hope that this project can allow them to do so. This project covers a topic of great social importance relating to people’s different experiences within relationships and attempts to negate any misconceptions regarding being emotionally vulnerable through the expression of our own experiences and emotions.
The project will be carried out over the course of 6 months which will each be designated to the completion of each stage i.e. music creation and recording, art creation etc, with the appropriate amount of time being allocated to each stage. This has been displayed in the Gantt chart below (see appendix 9). The music in this project will be written first as we want to do something different to the usual concept, which is writing music to art, and so have decided that instead the art will take inspiration from the piece of music that I compose. For the music I aim to draw inspiration from orchestral film music, specifically Hans Zimmer compositions such as Interstellar, as well as incorporating my own style into the piece, I plan to use live recording where possible as this is my preference when composing music. One element that I aim to incorporate is the concept of a heartbeat or pulse throughout the track which will help reflect the emotion being portrayed, this will likely be achieved through the use of samples. The piece as a whole will likely be piano based with other acoustic instruments and percussive elements supporting it.
3. Market Analysis and target audience
As stated under the goals section of the document, this project will mostly be aimed towards the younger teenage generation from ages 16-21. We have established this as our target audience as after research we feel that they will relate the most to the emotions and topic that our project is based around. Our research into this revolved around looking at the age ranges that people typically get into relationships/fall in love to help define our target audience. With this in mind we looked at surveys that had been previously conducted with one deducting that “45.2% of people were between the ages of 16-20” (Nevin E Adams, 2009) when first experiencing love, and another finding that “55% of people saying they first fell in love between the ages of 15 and 18“ (Marni Dixit, 2018), this and other research helped to shape the age range of our target audience. However, as this project is something that all people will likely be able to relate to, the target audience is mainly a rough guideline as we will allow the end product to be accessible to all audiences.
As I have previously stated, the finished prodject will be available online on social media platforms this however can come with competitors as a large number of artists and musicians share their content this way meaning it will be up to our projects unique style and motives to help it stand out. Continuing on from our selected target audience, we will attempt to target them specifically through strategic use of social media, as shown through statistics the highest demographic for Instagram is “18-24 at 31.8%” (Will Haigen, 2025) which is the social media most used by our chosen market, the next social media form used most by our chosen market is TikTok which has a demographic “18-14 at 24.4%” (Will Haigen, 2025). From this we decided that these would be the two platforms we would use to promote our product as they happen to be the two most used by our audience and also happen to be the two that we already each have a small following on.
4. Costs and Budgeting
Although the project is not for profit and is achievable without any financial input, I have drawn up a rough budget (see appendix 10) and researched into arts funding as a precaution which would allow me to apply for funding between £1000 and £100,000 (Arts Council England, 2025). The budget plan below details payment for both the artist and myself as well as travel costs and the potential cost of a videographer if needed.
5. Contingency/Risk Assessment
Contingency/Risk Assessment
For this project I have conducted a SWOT analysis (see appendix 11) in order to highlight any risks that may occur during the process. The main highlighted risks are the time constraints related to the project’s deadline and communication problems which could arise due to both parties having other projects and work that overlaps with this project. Threats to this project are mostly limited to previous other projects of a similar nature which could detract from our own project. Despite this I believe that this project will provide a good opportunity to work with a friend, which will make communication easier as we have worked together before, and I believe that our shared enthusiasm will drive the project forward.
6. Potential for Development
Potential for Development
On further reflection I believe that the main area in need of development for this project is having a clearer goal and motive to define the project better and also having a more detailed and structured approach which would help to speed the project along. This has also been reflected in the feedback that I have received from fellow students and lecturers.
7. Evaluation Viability
Evaluation Viability
To conclude my project viability study, I firmly believe that my project is viable and achievable. Although there are some areas to develop on and potential weaknesses and threats, I believe that these can be managed and improved on through good planning and communication. I feel that the real strength and reason the project is viable lies in the ability of the artist that I am working with and the connection that I already have with them which will make working together much easier.
8. Bibliography
Bibliography
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