Research into chosen music genre

Research into chosen music genre

      The song that we decided to create our music video for is 'impossible' by James Arthur. This falls under the pop genre in which I am going to research. As a group we all come to the conclusion that this is the best music genre to create a video for as we all have an interest in this genre of music and felt we could all come up with creative ideas to create the music video. Pop is one of the most listen to music genre as it consists of the most recent, popular artist such as Rihanna, Katy Perry, Pink etc. This genre therefore attracts a mainstream target audience.

      One convention of a pop music video is that there is some form of narrative, in which the artist is perceived to be 'normal'. Therefore everyday people are able to relate to the video attracting a wider ranged audience. This is a technique we are considering using when filming our music video. Other artists of this genre consist of Demi Lovato and James Morrison.

One of the pop music videos I am going to analyse is Demi Lovato's song 'Give your heart a break'. I have decided to choose this song as it is a perfect example of a conventional pop music video. It conforms to the generic pop codes and conventions which is effective in allowing the audience to build a relationship with the artist.
   

Demi Lovato - Give your heart a break

     At the beginning of the music video an establishing shot is used to introduce the artist to the target audience. Demi Lovato is seen to be sitting down on the phone wearing a black dress, with a jacket and boots. This represents the artist as an ordinary person, enabling the audience to relate to her. This is conventional of the pop genre to portray the artist as an 'ordinary' person as it allows the audience to have a build a relationship with the artist. Her representation is shown through her clothing as she is seen to be stylish, therefore her fans are likely to view her as a fashion icon and dress in a similar way. Demi is also seen to be performing on her own rather than having other dancers around her performing some form of dance routine. This represents the artist's independence in which she promotes to her audience.

      Mise-en-scene is used in the music video as one of the locations used  is of Demi's house. Difference camera shots are used to show her removing photos of her ex boyfriend from different rooms on the house. One scene in particular is a close up to show her taking the photo off the fridge in the kitchen. This iconography helps creates realism with in the music video and allows the audience to relate to the narrative. This location effective as it highlights that the style of the video is both narrative and performance based. The pictures allow the audience to see the relationship at the beginning and highlight that they were happy and by her taking it down, reflects the end of the relationship. The is also conventional to the pop genre and most songs are of a broken relationship which is shown through a build up throughout the video.

      Close up camera shots are continually used throughout the music video. This is so that it allows the audience to focus on only the artist. It creates a focal point on the artists talent and allows the performance to show of the artists emotions relating to the song. The close up camera shots shows the artists facial expressions allowing the audience to see the artists passion enabling them to build up a relationship with them. This also relates to Goodwin's theory as he suggests that the record label demands close ups in order to promote the artist and focus the attention on them. The main editing style in the music video is slow paced. Camera shots alternate usually on the most predominant beats of the song. The editing pace is parallel to the beat of the music in order to create a continual flow throughout the video.

      The target audience is aimed at teenagers and young adults who are currently in a bad relationship or are going through a break up. Characters in the music video including the artist are of this age group and so people of the same age would be able to relate to the message of the song. However it could also be said that her target audience also includes younger aged children and he previous work featured her in Disney movies. She was seen as a role model to younger children and so she has fans of a range of ages.

     There is further evidence of Goodwin's theory as the music video shows some genre characteristics. Music videos that belong to the pop music genre usually show some form of performance and narrative based. This is evident in Demi's music video as the style of the music video was mainly perfomance and narrative based. This is shown when she performs in various scenes throughout the video, whilst telling a narrative how she has broken up with her boyfriend. It is also conventional for pop artist to be seen in mainstream trendy clothing; this is also evident in the music video. It is also conventional for music videos to seen to be quite bright and light hearted as it attracts a younger fun target audience. This is shown in the flashbacks of her and her boyfriend when they were happy, however a contrast is shown in the performance as low key lighting is used. This represents the sadness and anger of the artist towards the relationship. Therefore the music video conforms to the generic codes and conventions of a pop music video.

Another pop music video that I am going to analyse is James Morrison's song 'Broken strings'.

James Morrison 'Broken Strings'

      In the music video, the artist is represented as an 'ordinary' person. This is shown through mise-en-scene i.e. how the artists is dressed. A long shot camera angle was used to show James Morrison to be wearing casual clothing that consisted of a shirt and jeans. Therefore the audience view him as a 'normal' person.  This relates back to Dyer's Star Theory as he suggested that artists are made to be 'ordinary'. This appeals to the target audience as they are able to relate to the artist and the song and are more likely to watch the video. He is also represented as 'Extraordinary' as he is shown to be playing the guitar whilst singing. This portrays the artists talent showing a contrast, as it makes him stand out from everyone else. This in turn conforms to the stereotypical conventions of a pop music videos.

      Mise-en-scene is a significant feature in this particular music video. Through out the music video, various elements of iconography is seen to smash in slow motion. This refers back to Goodwin's theory as it shows intertextual references.One scene in particular is the when the artist's guitar smashes to pieces. This is effective as the smashed guitar connotes the breakdown of the relationship. Another element seen to smash in the glass vase holding the flowers. The glass could represent the artist's relationships symbolizing the vulnerability, and he is left broken now that the couple are no longer together. A further mise-en-scene element is significant in the music video is the positioning of the artist. James Morrison is regularly shown to be positioned in the center of the room. An example of this is when he is sitting on the bed playing the guitar. A mid shot shows him positioned in the center making him to be the focal point to the audience in turn connoting the artists importance.

Shallow focus was used in the music video when the second artist is introduced. This is effective as it enlightens the audience as to whats going on in the narrative. Nelly is shown to be the James' girlfriend in which they just broke up.This editing style is effective as it connotes to the target audience that she in no longer there. Green screen has also been used in the music video when the room appears to be on fire. This further connotes the emotions of the artist, such as the anger and pain that was caused from the relationship. This also showed a link between the lyrics and visuals just like Goodwin suggested as it was shown when the artist sings 'But were running through the fire...' This is effective as it allows the audience to get a better understanding on the messages of the song highlighting that they are trying to save their relationship even though it cannot be saved.

The target audience for the music video is aimed at young teenagers to adults who are fans of the music genre pop. This is because it follows codes and conventions i.e. the style of the music video. Most pop music videos show a performance and narrative  to portray the message of the message of the lyrics. This is conventional to the pop genre as a narrative is usually shown on a heart break.

     The style of the music video mainly consists of a performance based. This is because the artist is shown to be singing throughout the video even when acting out the narrative. Features such as location all contribute to the performance as the video consisted of one simplistic room. This was used through out the video making the audience focus more on the artist. Genre characteristics were shown in the music video as the artist was shown playing the guitar. This highlights to the audience his talent which is conventional within a pop music video.

Summary

     This research is going to assist me when planning my own music video as I have developed a better understanding of the codes and conventions of the pop music genre. Genre characteristics used in both videos such as performances, narratives, fashionable clothes are all elements that I would like to use in my music video. This is because not only because it would make my music video conventional, but I think it would be effective in attracting a target audience who are particularly interested in this music genre. I am also going to use plenty of close up camera shots in order to promote the artist and enable our target audience to build up a relationship with him. Close ups of the artists guitar will be shown when he is seen to be performing reflecting on his talent.

Target Audience Research - Vox Pops

Target Audience Research - Vox Pops

As a group, we created a Vox Pop video which consists of a number of interviews we carried out when completing target audience research. We asked the general public a variety of open and close questions and collected both qualitative and quantitative data. When interviewing the people, we asked them each question off of the questionnaire we had previously designed. These consisted of questions such as what style of music video do you prefer to watch, or what do you expect to see in a music video. One thing we learned is that the majority of the public would rather watch a music video that conforms to the conventions of the genre as they are able to relate to the narrative, rather than the video be diverse. This was useful as it gave us a better understanding of what is expected to see in a music video and how we could use this information to improve our ideas for our own music video. We filmed us interviewing 4 girls and two boys, therefore this shows that our results are not gender bias and can be applied to both genders. This further increased the accuracy of our findings as it can be applied to a wider ranged audience. We then used Final cut to put together a vox pop video as shown below.

The vox pop will assist me when it comes to planning my music video as I am going to consider the public's response to the questionnaire and alter our ideas for my music video in order for it to be a successful as possible. One thing I am going to consider is using conventional iconography and locations of a pop music video.

Target Audience Research - Evaluation & Sub Culture Theory

Target Audience Research - Evaluation Sub Culture

         What is the purpose of a target audience?

      A target audience is a significant element that a music video is aimed at in order to guarantee its success. A target audience is a specific group of people who the music video is aimed at. These people are usually of a certain age group who all commonly enjoy a certain music genre. The purpose of the target audience is to create fans of a artist. These fans watch the artists music video increasing their popularity, encouraging them to invest in the artists music. Without a target audience there is no one specific to aim the artist at, and therefore they wouldn't get as many people watching their music videos and buying their album. Different target audiences expect to see different codes and conventions in different music genres. We are able to catch a certain target audience attention by including these codes and conventions in the music videos.

      What types of research did you carry out and why?

      To gain a better understanding of our target audience we carried out some research. One element of research we conducted was questionnaires. As a group we designed both open and closed questions in order to gain a better understanding of what the target audience prefers to see in a pop music video. We wanted to find out whether the target audience would prefer the music video to be conventional or diverse, what their favourite music genre was, and their opinions on our chosen artist. Through the data that we collected we were able to import this information into pie charts and through some consideration, make improvements to our ideas for our music video. 

Further research was done to gain an even better understanding of our target audience. We then went onto, as a group create Vox Pops using the questionnaire we had previously designed. We interviewed a variety of people asking them the same questions. This was effective as we found that the close questions no longer restricted their answers and we were able to collect more qualitative data.

      How many people did you survey and why?

      As a group we collectively interviewed 40 people of a variety of age groups. We did this through distributing the roles between each member of the group. Jagoda took on the responsibility of asking the interviewees questions whilst Dipika filmed them. I had the responsibility of giving them questions to ask each individual. We decided to interview this amount of people as we felt that it would be a good number of people to get a variety of answers. Our findings are more likely to be accurate as it can be applied to a larger population.

          Were the vox pops successful and how will you with planning your music video?

     The vox pops were successful as we got valuable information about our target audience and what they expect to see in a music video. This information will be beneficial when it comes to making our own music video as we will be able to apply this knowledge to improve our work. We have gained a more specific idea of the codes and conventions the target audiences expect to see in the pop music video which we are going to incorporate in our video. These codes and conventions consist of elements of symbolism such as fire.It is crucial that we use this information when creating our own music video as it will help ensure the success of our music video.

          Pick 3 different questions and discuss the results that you received. Explain how your results will assist you and your group with planning the music video.

      When researching the target audience, through the questionnaires and interviews we asked 'What is your favourite music genre?'. We decided to ask this as we felt that it was important to know what the most popular music genre is. Therefore we could pick a song from this genre and guarantee the largest target audience.Our data concluded that Pop and Indie were the most popular music genres. This was effective as the artist we had chosen was James Arthur, a pop artist. This therefore shows that we would have a target audience that would be likely to watch our music video. Depending on the findings, we would have considered the answers and altered our genre if pop wasn't the popular choice. This is because we wouldn't have a large target audience which in turn wouldn't guarantee the success of our music video.
      
      Another question we asked was 'what type of music video would you prefer to see: conventional or diverse?' This was asked as we wanted to see what type of artists the audiences would rather watch. For example artists such as Lady Gaga subvert conventions of the pop genre to make her stand out and be different. Artists such as Ed Sheeran conform to the codes and conventions of the music videos however still have a large fan base. The findings we collected showed that they would rather watch a music video that was conventional. This is going to assist us when making our music video as we are going to follow the typical codes of conventions of a pop music genre in order to attract the target audience. If the findings had shown that a diverse music video would have been the preferred choice, we would then had to consider subverting the codes and conventions of the pop music genre in order to make the music video and artist stand out from the rest.
      
      We also went on to ask 'What is your favourite single?' by our chosen artist. The reasoning as to why we asked this question was because we wanted to get an idea of how well our artist is known. The artist is consisted to be 'new' as he is only just releasing his first album following from him winning a talent show 'The X Factor'. If the audience was aware of who the artist was, we wanted to know how many songs did they know. Our finding went on to show that the most favourite song choice was 'impossible'. We found this information beneficial as this is our chosen song choice that we had decided to create a music video for. These results therefore show that our song choice is popular and well know reinforcing the idea that the target audience is likely to watch the video. 

Were there any answers that you had to reconsider and why?
     The questions we asked all displayed the results in which we thought they would. For example we had a idea that pop was one of the most popular music genres and so we chose an artist that was from the pop genre. Therefore when the results showed this, we didn't have to reconsider our chosen artist. We also felt that the narrative and performance are both popular element that the audience would prefer to see as they are generic conventions of a pop music video.

Sub Cultures

      A youth sub culture can be identified as a group of people who are united through common value and tastes such as clothes, music, politics etc. It can also be considered a group of people who are positioned outside the mainstream; people who go against what is seen to be popular.

      One of the theories that I looked at was proposed by Grant McCracken. He suggested that post-modern world is full of diversity, dynamism and creativity. He said that if we look at the array of values and ideologies then we can't say all sub cultures come from one culture.

      A second theory that I looked at was proposed by CCCS. This theory completely ignores McCracken's views of diversity, Dynamism and Creativity. Instead it suggests that all sub cultures come from one sub culture and that differerent sub cultures are due to the mainstream. 

A final theory that I looked at was proposed by Hebdige. He came to the conclusion that although some people think that sub cultures only appear to be different but deep down they are the same. He suggested that if you look deeper, there is enough richness to warrant renaming 'sub cultures' to 'little cultures'.
     
      The genre of music that we have chosen to create a music video is pop. Therefore the theory that bests supports our video would be McCracken. This is because our music video is going to be diverse. Through editing and mise-en-scene elements we are going to make our video creative which coincides with McCrackens theory.

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Target Audience Research - Pie Charts

  Target Audience Research - Pie Charts

Through doing research into our target audience, we interviewed a variety of 40 different people using a questionnaire that we created. As a group we then decided to display our data on pie charts. This is because we felt that they are effective in showing a contrast in our answers that the target audience selected. This is our groups pie charts:

When creating our questionnaire, we made sure that we considered both male and females so therefore our findings are no way gender bias. This in turn means that our findings can be generalised to the wider population. Our finding display a true representation by considering both genders within our questionnaire results and therefore they are likely to be more accurate.

When completing our questionnaire we considered a wider range of different aged audience ranging from the age of 14- 26+. This therefore makes our finding reliable as they can be applied to a wider ranged audience. The majority of the people we gave the questionnaire to was people aged 17-19. This is because these people were readily available as they were at school.


We decided to research the most popular genre of music as we would consider using a artist of the genre. This would be because we want to make our music video as successful as we can, therefore there would be a larger target audience that would watch our video. Luckily, the most liked music genre was identified as pop which coincides with our artist James Arthur. Therefore we decided to stick to our chosen music artist.

As shown in the pie chart, the most amount of music videos watched on average per week is estimated around 11-15.







When creating the questionnaire, we asked what was the preferred music video aspect: performance, narrative or concept based. This is vital information that we wanted to find as it would influence the style of the music video that we would create. As shown in the pie chart, performance and narrative are the more popular aspects of the music video and therefore we decided to used these element. This is also a convention of the pop music genre therefore our style of music video would be conventional. As a group we decided that 70% of our video will consist of a narrative based and 30% will be performance based.

One question we asked was what music video would you prefer to watch, a diverse or conventional one. The pie chart shows that a conventional music video is more popular as the audience are able to relate to the narrative more than a diverse music video, therefore in our music video we are going to conform to stereotypical pop conventions.



The majority of the people we interviewed said that they have heard of our chosen artist. This is useful as it confirms that our artist is well known, and therefore  the music video is likely to appeal to a large majority of people.






The pie chart suggests that the preferred editing style is slow paced. This is because it creates a easy going music video that has a continuous flow. Therefore this will be considered when it comes to editing our music video.





Those who stated that they knew the artist, we then asked what was their favourite single. The majority of the people said their favourite was 'impossible' as it was his most established song. Therefore as a group we are confident that this is the more appropriate song choice as it would appeal to a large audience.



This researched has helped me when it comes to planning our music video as it has given me a better understanding of what the audience expects to see in a music video. I am going to consider the finding when creating our music video by conforming to the pop conventions, and using slow pace editing. We have also decided to use 70% narrative and 30% performance which is something that the audience preferred to see.

   

Target Audience Research - Questionnaires

Target audience research - Questionnaire

Questionnaires are an effective ways of researching the target audience and getting a better understanding of what they expect to see in a music video of a certain genre. It highlights the target audience's opinions of our chosen artist and helps us see what codes and conventions are most popular. We are therefore able to take the findings into consideration and apply them to our music video. We then know that this is a music video that is aimed at a certain target audience that would like to watch it. Questionnaires consist of two types of questions: open and closed. Open questions are useful in collecting qualitative data whereas close questions are useful in collecting quantitative data. As a group we created a questionnaire using both types of questions. We asked 40 different people questions we felt would find beneficial in helping us understand what the target audience expects to see. These questions consisted of:

1)What is your gender:
Male 

Female

2)How old are you?

14-16

17-19

20-22

23-25

26+

3)What music genre do you prefer?

Pop 

R&B

Indie

Rock

Other

4)On average how many music videos do you watch a week?

None

1-5

6-10

11-15

16-20

21-25

26+

5)What aspects of music videos do you find most effective?

Performance

Narrative 

concept

6)Do you prefer music videos that are conventional or diverse?

Conventional

Diverse

7)Have you heard of James Arthur?

Yes

No

8)If yes, what is your favourite single?

.............................................................

9)What editing style do you prefer?

Fast paced editing

Slow paced editing

Colour tints 

Green screen

10)Do you like music videos that feature a motif (any recurring element in a story that has symbolic significance)?

Yes 

No

As a group we all went round interviewing available people asking them the questions above. We surveyed 40 people of all different ages as we would get a wide range of findings. It also helped us identify the age group that most particularly enjoys listening to James Arthur. More specificly we were able to get an understanding of what age groups prefer to see in music videos.   When creating the questionnaire, Jagoda and Dipika worked in a pair and designed our questions whilst myself and Jamie created the pie charts using our findings we collected. 

Copyright

Copyright

Research into copyright laws if effective as it gives us a better understanding of why copyright is used in the music industry. This research will assist me when it comes to creating my music video as I will have to apply for permission to used my chosen song choice.

Copyright law is a legal concept that had been created by the government in order to give the creator of the original work piece automatic exclusive rights. Copyright protects aspects of media such as written, theatrical, musical, film, books, sound recordings, broadcasts etc.  However this usually is only for a period of time. Copyright law prevents anyone from potentially copying their work without consent from the person who originally created the work. It also stops them from claiming any financial profits from the product. 

        Copyright must be applied whenever you copy the existing work. For example copyright must be applied when it comes to creating a music video to an existing song. It states that the artists name must be shown in order to prevent anyone taking credit for the artists work. It also may have positive or negative impacts of the record label and so they must be notified before making the video.

Before creating our music video we had to get copyright permission to use the song. This is so it is legal for us to use the song 'impossible' by James Arthur and that it is for educational purposes. A member of my group emailed the record label Syco asking for the permission to use the song  'impossible' by James Arthur in our music video. We sent a email to syco.prod@gmail.com as shown in the image below on the 27th of September 2013.

As of yet we still have not received a response from the record label however we will continue to email them throughout the process. This is to ensure that we did our best to get permission to create this music video and that we don't break any laws from doing so.

Initial planning ideas

Initial Planning Ideas

In our media group i am working with, Dipika, Jagoda  and Jamie. Dipika and I worked together last year in our thriller opening . I found that we were able to work really well together as we had a similar line of thought. Each member of the group brings something different for example, Jagoda is creative which is beneficial when coming up with a narrative that links to our song choice. Jamie has good editing skills which will make the fire/ card scene effective and when combing the narrative with the performing. Dipika has a good ability to use the camera and therefore that will be useful when it comes to filming our music video. I am the most organised within the group. I will be able to organize when we are going to film, where we are going to film, and for how long. This will be useful as it will allow us to stick to our deadlines and complete our work on time.

Research for video inspiration

 James Blunt - I wont let go

In the music video there are two main aspects; performance and narrative. This is effective in establishing the artist as through close ups they are able to see his facial expression. This therefore enables the audience to build a relationship through watching his video. This is a technique we are going to use in our music video when the artist is performing. This is because it will allow our target audience to build a relationship with our artist and be able to relate to the narrative.

Lana Del Rey - Summertime sadness
Settings is one of the most significant elements in the music video. Lana Del Rey is seen to jump of the cliff side committing suicide. This is also a factor that we are considering for our music video. We have decided that we would like to use a cliff as one of the locations in the video and link the death of a spouse to our narrative. This would in turn help connote our interpretations of the lyrics and display that message to the audience.

Mise-en-scene

Setting:

The most significant location we are going to use in our music video is a cliff top. This signifies their freedom showing that they are 'on the edge of despair'.We are going to show this scene towards the end video as it highlights they are at peace with the relationship.

Costumes: 

As a group we have chosen a pop song and therefore we are going to use casual clothing in the music video as it is a convention of this music genre. The male character will be wearing a checked shirt, jeans and converses whilst the female will be wearing a baggy shirt. The outfit will be used in an indoor setting such as a bedroom where they will be playing the game of cards.

Iconography:

The most prominent element of iconography that we have decided to use in our music video is a pack of cards. This is because we felt that they have numerous connotation that relates to our song choice 'impossible' by James Arthur. The cards are able to represent the relationship between the couple and how they 'play' each other. The symbolism of a 'game' is going to be shown though out the video by using the king and queen to represent both individuals.

 Another element we have chosen to use in the music video is fire. The fire is going to be used to symbolize the break down of the relationship and the pain they inflict on each other. This will be used to show the audience that they have reached the end of their relationship and that the love has 'burnt out'. Some ideas that have been discussed between the group is that combining the cards and fire using dissolve cut to create effective footage.

Lighting:

High key lighting will be used throughout the music video. We have decided to film during the day as it takes place in an outdoor setting. We wanted to capture the outdoor sunlight as it emphasizes the intensity of the landscape such as the cliff top.

Positioning:

Jamie as the artist will be performing in the middle of the of the screen. This is because it will enable the audience to build a relationship through his face expressions. Therefore it helps the audience relate to the emotions that is shown by the artist. We are also going to use extreme close ups to focus on small features of the characters in the video to show how the relationship started of good and gradually how it faded out.

Cinematography

Close ups will be used throughout the music video to highlight the artists facial expressions and therefore display emotions that enable the audience to form a relationship.  Close up camera shots of the cards burning will emphasize the connotations of pain and show the audience the breakdown of relationships.
We are also going to use panning shots when the artist if performing. This will show Jamie playing a guitar which is also a convention of a pop music video.

Style of music video

Target Audience

The target audience for our music video is going to be aimed at people around the age of 15-22 year old. This was because we felt that the audience would be able to relate as they are of the similar age group to the artist. We also felt that it was more suitable to our song choice 'impossible' by James Arthur is more current to their age group and would be the sort of music they would usually listen to.

Artist Representation
Like Dyers theory, our artist is going to be represented in an ordinary way. We are going to do this through the artists dressed in clothing. We have decided that the artist will be wearing jeans, checked shirt, and converses. This is because if we show the audience the artist is perceived to be normal and ordinary they would me more likely to relate to the song and in turn build up a relationship with the artist.

Editing

When editing our music video we are going to use a slow pace when showing our narrative.This is because it will flow parallel to the music and enhance the emotion shown through the broken relationship. However when the beat increases pace, the fire scene will take place which will contribute to the intensity of the music video.
At one point in the video we plan on using dissolve to show the fire burning the cards whilst playing some of the relationship. I think this will be effective as it will connote the pain that is caused in the relationship and that they are no longer together.
Straight cuts will also be used when we change scene from when Jamie is performing to showing the narrative. This will highlight to the audience it is a flashback to when the couple were together.

Music video theory

Goodwin's Theory:  This theory will be used to show genre characteristics. As our song choice is from the pop music genre and therefore our music video will display conventions of pop. Like other pop videos such as Lana Del Reys 'summertime sadness' we are also going to emphasis our locations by using a cliff top.

Our music video will display a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. When the it says 'I remember years ago'  we are going to show a flash back to when the couple we together and happy

Another point from Goodwin's theory is the demands of the record label. We are going to show close ups of the artist (Jamie) throughout the video. This will enable the audience to build a relationship through his facial expressions.

Richard Dyers Star Theory: We are going to apply Richard Dyers star theory to our music video as the artist is going to be seen ordinary (casual clothing, ordinary relationship) however he is going to be extraordinary (playing guitar/talent).

Annotation of lyrics

When the artist starts of singing, the lyrics say 'i remember years ago'. This is where we have decided that we are going to show a flashback of the couple when they were happy. This therefore highlights to the audience the breakdown of the relationship  further along the song.

Further along the song, the lyrics state 'you have won' This is where we are going to relate our theme of cards in the music video. Like Goodwin's theory, we are going to show the relationship between the lyrics and visuals. The cards will show symbolism that she has won in term the argument rather than the game.

When the artist states 'Write it on the skyline we are going to use the scene at the cliff top. This will further show a relationship between the lyrics and visual as we think it is effective in helping the audience get a better understanding of the song and what the message is.

This is the work that as a group we completed in the previous lesson. We discussed different elements of our music video such as Mise-en-scene, Artist Representation, Cinematography, Editing, Style of music video, codes and conventions of music genre, target audience, music video, research carried out and annotations of lyrics. As a group we have decided that we all really like the idea of flashbacks  as we feel it is a good way to show the narrative of the relationship and show a contrast when they were happy and when the relationship has broken down.


Group Meetings and discussion 2
This is our initial draft of our storyboard. We have taken all our ideas in the previous lesson as sections them into different scenes. We haven't completed it in a lot of detail as this is a draft. We have stated the camera shots we would like to use in each scene.

  

Research & analysis of a star Dyer's Theory

Richard Dyer's Star Theory 

Common values of music stardom

• Youthfulness
• Rebellion 
• Sexual magnetism 
• An anti-authoritarian attitude 
• Originality 
• Creativity/ talent
• Aggression/ anger
• A disregard for social values relating to drugs, sex, and polite behaviour

Richard Dyer's theory is based on celebrity icons who he believes are manufactured by institutions in order to gain a financial profit. His theory is divided into a number of sections:

1. Stars as constructions

2. Audiences and institutions

3. Ideology and culture
4. Character and personality

Stars as constructions 

Richard Dyer wrote about the role of stars in film, Tv, and music. Dyer suggested that a star is not a real person but someone who is constructed out of a range of materials (e.g advertising, magazines, films as well as music). He said they depend upon a range of subsidiary media such as magazines, Tv, radio, Internet in order to construct an image for themselves which can be marketed their target audience. An example that relates to Dyer's point is TV programmes such as The X Factor  that shows  us the  construction process of an ordinary person being  groomed, styled and coached into fulfilling a set of record company and market expectations.

Industry and Audience
Richard Dyer believes that stars are made for financial purposes. Fans respond to various elements of the stars persona and therefore go and by their records, products and other brands associated with the artist. Many artists have a shelf life of only a few years releasing maybe 2 albums. Eventually fans start to get bored and so they generate diverse stars that means something for all age groups and that are able to re-brand themselves. An example of this is Madonna. Over the years every album she has released she has changed herself in order to keep the focus of her fans. The star is based upon two paradoxes:The first one being that the star must be simultaneously ordinary so that they are relatable, and extra-ordinary for the consumer. The second paradox is that the star must be present in the media and absent for the consumer.

Ideology & Culture
Stars represent shared cultural values and attitudes, and promote certain ideology. A star may start a fashion trend for example, and the fans will continue this trend by imitating the same fashion, hairstyle, make up etc. An artist that resembles this is Rihanna. Through social networks, now more than ever the artists are able to voice their values and opinions in a way that is not just through their music. One artist in particular that uses this techniques is Lady Gaga. Regularly she expresses her opinions about LGBT issues through one of the most popular social networking sites Twitter.

Character & Personality
This is where the star starts of as a 'real person' and eventually gets transformed and constructed into the idealised role model. Stars provide audiences with ideas of what someone is supposed to look like. For example in society it is seen fashionable to be thin and beautiful.The star supports hegemony by conforming to it by being thin and beautiful themselves. Sometimes they oppose it by providing a difference such as being a larger yet still attractive (e.g Adele.) In nearly every magazines there is a discussion on the star compares to the current hegemonic ideal and we compare them.

Miley Cyrus

Artists are known for having a shelf life of two years before they are seen as old and boring. To keep this from happening, artists are known for making drastic changes in their 'Personalities'. Over time new artist come along and bring something new. Artist such as Madonna and Britney Spears have changed there personalities and music in order to keep up with the changes in the music industry. Their new look keeps the audiences attention which furthers the artists popularity. Another example of this is Miley Cyrus.

Miley Cyrus is an american actor and singer who is known for playing Disney Channels 'Hannah Montana' In 2007 Miley signed with Hollywood records in which she release her first album. The album feature one of her most successful songs 'The best of Both Worlds'.

'Best of both worlds'

In the music video 'Best of Both worlds' Miley's image is represented as a young, exciting teen pop star. This was done through mise-en-scene elements such as clothing. The artist is seen to be wearing jeans, boots and a bright pink sparkly top. This is conventional in a pop video as she is portrayed as a young, fun teen star who is a role model to many young fans across the world. The connotations of the colour pink suggests her target audience is aimed more at girls rather than boys. This is because pink is often seen as a gender specific colour and therefore would attracted a larger female fan base. This relates back to Dyer's theoretical point of character and personality as she is shown to be fun, fashionable and supports hegemony by being thin and beautiful.

Further genre characteristics were displayed in the music video when Miley is seen to be following a dance routine with a group of other dancers. Therefore this shows that the music video is performance based which is a convention of a pop teen music video. It also reflects on Goodwin's Theory as there is evidence of a relationship between the music and visuals. The rhythm of the dance routine is parallel to the beat of her song. This is effective as it enables the audience to get up and dance to the song and view her as a role model. It is also appropriate for her young aged target audience as they are able to copy the choreography and dance along to the song.This relates back to Dyer's star theory as at the time Miley was constructed to be a teen star, an idol to you fans worldwide. She was promotes through subsidaires such as TV shows 'Hannah Montana' which then got created into a movie. 

There is more evidence of Goodwin's theory in the music video. A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals is shown when Miley is seen to be dancing in a way that resembles the lyrics of her song. When she sings 'Mix it all together' she shows a circle motion with her arms. This is a generic convention of a pop music video as it displays fashionable, simplistic dance moves that a younger audience is able to copy and dance to. This is also shown when she goes on to sing 'Without the shades and my hair, you can go anywhere' This reflects that she is wearing a blonde wig as it shows her star identity instead of 'A small town girl' Miley Stewart. This is useful as the music video helps the audience understand the lyrics of the song and how they are showing that she has two different identities one of them being her as a star and the other as an ordinary person. This point could also be used as evidence for Dyer's theory as it reflects on his point about stars as a construction and how they are seen as ordinary and extraordinary. The music video is effective in promoting music stardom values such as youthfulness, as she is seen to be young and innocent, a idealistic role model for a young audience.

This was one of Miley's first music videos in which she established her Style, Personality and values of a star. She was portrayed as an innocent teenager who was beginning to reach the point of fame. This was due to her successful Tv series and now her popular music career that was aimed at a younger target audience. She was constructed to be seen as an idealistic teenager and a good role model. However further along her music career her innocent image began to change.

'Cant be tamed'

When Miley Cyrus released her third album, developing an adult image and a mainstream pop sound. She was promoted through sexually-themed performance which is evidently showing in the music video 'Cant be tamed'.

In the music video Miley has transformed her image through mise-en-scene features such as clothing. The long camera shot shows the artist wearing a 'bird' costume which is seen to be revealing. This straight away highlights a contrast from her previous album where her target audience was aimed at younger children. Through her costume the audience are able to tell that her target audience is now aimed at a more older generation. This relates to the Star theory as it highlights that the artist is a construction. She has changed her image to subvert the generic pop conventions in order to gain publicity and attention. By wearing black clothing it connotes that she is going to display signs of rebellious controversial behaviours.  Like Dyer suggested the videos promotes music stardom values such as originality and rebellion.

Close up camera shots are used throughout the music video. This is effective as it enables the audience to relate to the artist's emotions through their facial expressions, and are therefore able to build a relationship with them. In the close up camera shot  Goodwin's theory could also be applied as voyeurism is shown of the artist  female body as she is seen to be wearing low cut outfit. This is conventional as it is effective in attracting a larger male target audience. This shows how the artist image has changed her target audience as previously she has a female dominated fan base. This relates back to the star theory of Industry and audiences as through changing the artists representation, she has gained a wider ranged target audience. Mise-en-scene such as costumes shows the artist to support hegemony as she is skinny and wearing a fashionable outfit, a convention often seen in pop music videos. 


There is evidence of Genre characteristics in the music video. The style of the music video is mainly performance based. The artist is seen to be singing along to her song and with a little narrative, she is dressed as a bird breaking out of her cage. This is symbolic for the artist breaking out of the teen sensation phase of her life, introducing her new rebellious, dark image. Miley conforms to a generic convention of as pop music video as she is seen to have a dance performance. Long camera shots were used to show her dancing with backing dancers parallel to the beat of the song (Something Goodwin also suggested). Values such as creativity and talent are shown through this as the audience can see she is 'extraordinary'. She is extremely talented as she is able to sing, dance and act.

'Wrecking Ball'

A few years later Miley Cyrus made a come back to the music industry. She completely ditched her innocence Disney image, re-branded her style of music and made drastic changes to her star image. Miley Cyrus has displayed a theme of rebellion that has caught her fans and a wider audience's attention. Her bold controversial image caught the eye of the media which made her yet again one of the most famous pop stars today. Recently Miley released one of her recent songs of her latest album 'Bangerz' which is called 'We cant stop'.

In the music video the artist has subverted the conventions of a pop genre. Close up camera shots are used to establish the artist 'new' image. The camera shot allows the audience to see she has cut her hair short and is wearing sunglasses and red lip stick. The connotations of  the red highlights her new image and reflects on how she is represented as promiscuous. Her new image has cause a lot of dispute as some people believe that her new image is no longer appropriate for her younger audience as they may find her behaviour offensive. Therefore it highlights that her new target audience is aimed at a more mature audience who are able to relate to the rebellious behaviour such as teenagers and young adults. Dyers star theory is shown in the music video as by the artist transforming her image yet again, it shows that she is not a 'real' person but a construction for a consumer purpose. The artist shows a disregard for social values relating to sex and polite behaviour further representing her as rebellious.

This representation is further supported when Miley is seen to be dancing in her video. Miley is seen to 'Twerk' which is now  known to be her signature move. This also reflects on her controversial image which has caused her new popularity. This is also evidence of Goodwin's theory as it shows there is a relationship between the music and visuals. The music video is mainly performance based in which you see Miley dancing with other dancers through out the video. This is effective as it allows the audience to try and copy the artist by dancing to the song. They see her as a influence in which now the 'Twerk' is seen to be a popular dance move. This supports Dyers ideology and culture point as the artist started a trend worldwide in which her fans all now imitate. The artist also relates to the character and personality as she is a controversial artist who has a bold fashion statement. Miley has cut her hair short, which highlights to the audience what someone is idealistically supposed to look and dress like.

There is also further evidence of Goodwin's theory as there was a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. When Miley sings 'We like to party, dancing with Miley' the audience is able to see a group of people dancing with the artist. This is effective as it helps portray her carefree, fun persona to her audience highlighting the artists rebellious values.

In the music video Miley is seen to be wearing a white cropped top and skin tight white trousers. This further highlights her 'new' image are the artist is portrayed to be sexualised. The connotations of white suggest that she is innocent however her outfit shows a contrast. Later on in the video she is then seen to be wearing a netted swimsuit which is also reflecting on her new 'image'. It is evident that there is references of voyeuristic treatment of the female body through her costume. This is done to attract  to show her values of sexual magnetism. Her red lipstick is also used to make her seem 'provocative' which attracts a larger male audience unlike just female fans in the previous years.

I am going to consider Dyers theory when it comes to making my music video. We are going to reflect on the  idea of the artist as being seen as ordinary through casual clothing and show a contrast as the artist is a 'star'. He will be shown to be extraordinary through his talent maybe by playing the guitar or another instrument that is going to be in our song choice.