Planning the Artists Image

Why is an artists image important within a music video?

The artists image is extremely important when it comes to creating a music video as you have to think about many things. One of the things being that you cant make an artist look bad in any way. This is because the artists image is what allows the audience to build a relationship with them and also the image of the artist is what the audience judges them by.

How is your artist going to be represented in your music video?

Our artist is going to be represented as an innocent, down to earth and humble person. As we are recreating a music video, the music artist we are doing is James Arthur. Therefore we cannot recreate a music video to his song and make him look bad. Throughout the music video, there will be many different outfits that the 'artist' will be changing in to as the outfits will be used to portray the artists emotions, feelings and frame of mind.

James Arthur is a British singer that recently won in X-Factor. As you can tell he is represented as an ordinary guy, this is shown mainly throughout the ordinary outfits he wears like normal guys.

The costumes that the artist will be wearing will consist of casual clothing like jeans and a top. However, depending on the flashbacks is what will decide what the artist wears at that time. An example of this could be if there is a flashback of the couple very happy together, the artist will be wearing white to symbolise innocence and purity where as on the other hand, if we show the couple arguing, the artist will be wearing red to symbolise pain. Throughout the whole music video we will try to ensure that the artist is dressed in light colours like white to show the innocence within him. Overall , We will be representing our artist through different types of Iconography, mise-en-scene and settings.

How is the image conventional to your music genre?
The image of our artist is conventional to our music genre as within the pop genre, artist are usually seen in casual clothing like jeans. They are shown as ordinary people and not diverse or 'crazy'. So as we are representing our artist as ordinary, it meets the conventions of a pop music genre well.

What effect does this have with creating a relationship with your target audience?
If the artist's image is conventional to our music genre, it allows the target audience to build a better relationship with them as it helps the audience to get a broader understanding of what the music video is about. Also a music video that reaches the expectations of what an audience wants and also matches the conventions of that particular music genre is most likely to be a success as it appeals to an audience a lot more. So as the artist is being represented as an ordinary guy, it matches the pop genre well which is why we believe that out music video will be a success.

Target Audience Research

Target Audience Research

What is the purpose of a target audience?
Target audiences can be separated into particular groups. These groups can be age, gender or a specific music genre that certain people have more of an interest listening to. So in the music industry, a target audience is a specific group of people that the artists aim their music at. An example of this could be Rihanna and how she aims her music at the age group of 18-23 year olds as her music interests that age group more than others.
One of the purposes of a target audience is so we can create our music video based around what a particular age group would enjoy watching. This would lead to our music video being very successful as we would already have a good audience that are ready to watch and enjoy the video. Without a target audience, as a group we would not be sure on what precisely to add in it to make it successful and for a wide range of people to enjoy watching it.

What types of research did you carry out and why?
To create a better understanding of what our target audience would particularly have an interest in seeing in a music video, we carried out quite a bit of research. One of the research methods consisted of a questionnaire.
As a group we created a questionnaire with 10 both open and closed questions in order to gain a good understanding of what they would like to see in the pop genre. We asked a variety of different people which was good as it gave us reliable results from many different people. We then created a pie chart of the results we obtained in order to get a clearer understanding of what our target audience prefer. This helped our group a lot seeing as it made it easier for us to realise what we wanted to include in the music video to make it fun for our audience to watch.
Another method of research we used was Vox pops. This is when as a group you go around approaching people and giving them a mini informal interview. So as a group we got together and asked the open public similar questions to the ones in our questionnaire. This was helpful because it allowed us to ask more questions and get more answers from a variety of different people.

How many people did you survey and why?
As a group we surveyed 46 people in total. We asked 40 people to answer the questionnaire and 6 people to participate in answering questions for the Vox pop. The reason we chose to survey lots of people is because we felt as though it would give us a wide range of answers which would make our results more precise. We asked a group of both male and female people and also many people from different age groups. This is because it gave us more accurate results and it made our survey a fair test to receive answers from lots of different people.

Were the Vox pops successful?
The Vox pops were successful as we received a good bit of feedback from the public. We questioned 6 different people both male and female of different ages as we thought it would give us fair answers of what individual gender and age group prefer seeing in a music video. The results we received were useful as they broadened our knowledge of our target audience which will help us when recreating our music video as we will know what our target audience will be looking for.

How will you use it with planning your music video?
As the Vox pops were successful, it will help us when planning our music video as the results we retrieved were extremely useful. This has helped us to realise what we definitely want to add within the music video to make it something that our target audience will enjoy watching.

Pick 3 different questions and discuss the results that you received.
One of the questions we asked was 'What would you like to see in the pop genre?'. The reason we chose this as one of our questions to ask the audience is because this would give us precise answers on what our target audience would like to see within the music video. This way by following what they said they would enjoy seeing in a pop music genre gives us as a group the option to include everything they would like to see. This would make our music video very successful. An example of this is how one of the girls said she would like to see 'a breakdown of a relationship'  therefore this is one of the things we will be including in the video. 

Another question we asked in our Vox pop was 'Do you know any of James Arthurs singles?'. This was a good question to ask as it helped us realise how much of a well known artist he is and what single of his our target audience prefer. As a group this helped us decide that we will be choosing the song 'Impossible' by James Arthur as it is the song that is most known and that our target audience prefer.

Explain how your results will assist you and your group with planning the music video
The results we received from the Vox pops provided us with information about our target audience and about what song, genre and artist they preferably enjoy listening to. This has helped us as we now know what song and artist to recreate our music video with to ensure that our target audience enjoy it. As we have gathered this useful information it will help allow the audience to relate to the music video as it is what they would like to see and also allow them to feel more involved.

Planning cinematography

Purpose of cinematography
Cinematography is the combination of camera shots, camera angles and camera movement. Camera shots are used to demonstrate different aspects of the setting, characters and themes. As a result, camera shots are very important in shaping the narrative of the music video. Cinematography is vital when it comes to creating any type of videos as it helps get the message across to the audience a lot better.

What cinematography will you include and why?
One of the cinematography we will be using is close ups. When it comes to filming, close up camera shots usually the most effective as it allows the audience to build a relationship with the artist and it also allows the artist to become well known. This is why throughout the music video, we will be doing many close up shots of the artist as it will allow the audience to relate to the artist on an emotional level and see the pain he is feeling. At the beginning of our music video a close up is one of the first camera shots we will be using to show the artist. We will also be using close ups to intorduce the girl that will be in our music video as it allows the audience to relaise who she is and allows them to develop a relationship with her.

Another cinematography we will be using is a panning shot.
A panning shot is used to give the viewer a panoramic view of a set, a person or a setting. Therefore we will be using a panning shot on both, female and the artist at different points of the music video. Panning shot is one of the second camera shots we will be using on the atrist as it is an effective way to show the aritst of from all different types of angels and also gives the audience a panoramic view of them both. This is effective as it is the main camera shot used to show the audience what the artist looks like in depth and also allows them to see his fascial expression from the all different angles.

As a group we have also decided to use an establishing shot.
Establishing shots are usually used to show a location and as we decided to film part of our music video on the White Cliffs of Dover, we thought that it would be very effective to use an establishing shot during the video of the artist looking out in to the sea whilst on the cliffs. At this point of the music video the artist will be singing the lyrics 'riding on the skyline' and as there is a relationship betweent the lyrics and visuals, it will show that we are using Goodwin's theory.This would also be an effective shot as the location shows how the artist is feeling which is isolation and lonely. The establishing shot allows the audience to see the atmosphere in which the artist is singing which therefore helps them get a rough idea of the mood the artist is feeling.

Another cinematography we decided to use that we thought would be effective is a long shot of the artist singing. A long shot contains landscape and gives the viewer a more specific idea of setting. So filming the artist whilst emphasising on the setting as well will also give the audience an explanation of what is going on. The great view of the setting also grabs the audiences attention and makes the music video a lot more interesting to watch.

Include still images to support points

How is your cinematography conventional to your music genre?
The cinematography we will include in our music video is conventional to the pop genre as it allows the audience to understand the narrative a lot more as well as allowing them to build a relationship with the artist. The pop music genre usually include many close up camera shots as well as panning shots of the artist to allow the audience to become familiar with the artist.

How does it build a relationship with your target audience?
As we are using Goodwin's and Dyer's theory when it comes to creating our music video, it will help build a relationship with our target audience as they will be able to understand the narrative more seeing as the lyrics and visuals will relate. The close up camera shots we will be using will also help our target audience to build a relationship with the artist.

 

Planning settings and iconorgraphy

Planning settings and iconography 

Purpose of setting
A setting is the location where the stimulus of a music video is performed. The purpose of a setting is so that it engages the audience a lot more and makes the video more exciting to watch. Having a setting is extremely vital as it allows the audience to understand the narrative more.

Purpose of iconography
Iconography is another word used for props in media and the purpose of using it within a music video is that it could help convey meaning. Iconography is very useful when using it in a music video as it will help the audience to understand more about the song. An example of this is how using a guitar in a music video would allow the audience to understand that it is conventional to the pop genre.

What settings will you include
The settings that we will be using are very significant to our music video. This will show Goodwin's theory as the lyrics and visuals will relate.
One of the settings we will be using will consist of a studio with a black background. This will be used to show the Artist which is James Arthur who is played by Jamie. It is significant as it shows the performance part of the music video. However we chose a dark room and a black background because he is talking about love and how its 'Impossible'. The dark and dull atmosphere will be used to represent how he is feeling. We will be using a spotlight that will be placed on him to imply how the audiences attention should be focused on him.
Another setting that will be used within the first half of the music video is a bedroom with high key lighting. This will be used to show a flashback of the girl and boy playing cards. The flashback will consist of them two laughing and joking around as we are trying to portray happy memories of the couple together. The reason we chose a bedroom  with high key lighting is because it is significant as well as stereotypical that if a boy and a girl are in a bedroom together it makes it more obvious for the audience to see that they are clearly a couple.

We will be using a living room to show some focus on the girl in a homely environment. We will be filming the girl walking over to the fire place in her living room and picking up a photo frame of her and her boyfriend together on a beach. This will then lead on to another flash back of a happy memory of the couple together on a beach. We chose to film this part in a living room as the fact that she has pictures on the fire place of them two together emphasises how they actually had a serious relationship.

As a group we felt as though filming on a beach would be effective for many reasons. Firstly it is a beautiful location to film in as we could also be able to use the sea and the pure atmosphere. This will show the innocence within the artist.  Another reason is because the beach would also be a great location to show a flashback of the couple very happy together but can also be used to show isolation when the artist is filmed there alone. As the beach is a very empty and simple location, it can convey a lot of meaning. This could be used to show the artist feeling empty inside as he is now single and lonely.

One of the reasons we decided to use the arcade is because we felt as though it would be another good location to show a flashback of the couple very happy together. Another reason is because we are showing the girl cheating on her boyfriend it would be effective as she is 'playing' with her boyfriends heart like it is a game, like wise being in an arcade would show the girl playing games. This is effective because it is showing a juxtaposition.

What iconography will you include?
As a group we decided to chose a variety of iconography to use.
One of the iconography we will be using is a pack of cards. This will be significant throughout the whole music video as the 'King' and 'Queen' will be used to represent the boy and girl as a couple and also used to show them playing a game which also signifies the girl playing a game with the boys heart as she is cheating on him.

We will be using fire as it is an effective piece of iconography in our music video.
This will be used in the scene just before the couple start arguing which is before they break up. The fire will be used to show danger, pain and for example a 'heated argument'.
We will be using the fire to burn the pyramid of cards and as the cards are used to symbolise the couple, the burning of the cards would be effective as it will show their relationship 'burning down'.

We will be using a guitar in our music video as it is conventional to the pop genre. It also fits in well with our music video as the artist we are doing, James Arthur, plays the guitar. So therefore as a group we feel as though it will be very effective.

Within our music video, another piece of iconography we will be using is a photo frame. This will be used to show a picture of the couple together which will lead on to a flashback. As a group we decided this will be useful as it will also allow us to try out more effects. We will be zooming in to the photo frame and then zooming out which will lead on to the flashback. This will also allow us to use other camera shots like zoom.

How is your setting and iconography conventional to your music genre?
Our settings and iconography are conventional to our music genre as we will be using the locations and props to help the audience understand the narrative and context more. As we are using Goodwin's theory we will try and build a correlation between the lyrics and the visuals. The visuals will consist of the location and the iconography and this will be conventional as it gives the audience a better understanding of the song and what emotions the artist is feeling.

How does it build a relationship with your target audience?
The mise-en-scene of the music video will allow the audience to build a relationship with the artists as all the camera shots, iconography and settings will relate. The settings we will be using will help the audience focus on the artist. An example of this could be how we will be using a simple dark room at the beginning of the music video and many close up camera shots of the artist. The dark room allows the artist the stand out and the close up shots allow the audience to build a relationship with the artist. As the iconography relates to the music video it also relates to the artist as well, An example of this could be how the burning of cards are used to signify the pain which the artist is feeling and this allows the audience to understand the level of pain he is feeling.