Planning Lighting & Colour - Miss Miller

A variety of lighting styles and colours is essential within a music video because they portray certain aspects of the music video without having to say them directly. In terms of colours, this is done through connotations. For example, an artist in a love song may wear red clothing because red has connotations of love. Lighting helps to create connotations through the mood and atmosphere it creates.  This makes the music video more interesting because these elements do not just denote the story line but connote the meanings.                                                                

Natural lighting will be used a lot in my groups music video mostly because a variety of our shots will be filmed outside. Natural lighting will be seen in the picnic scene and the short memories of the couple walking and holding hands etc. This lighting technique is conventional to the indie music genre as indie artists often appear natural in appearance in that they do not wear a lot of make-up and aim to look glamorous like mainstream pop artists. Instead they have a rather stripped-back style much like our chosen artist Gabrielle Aplin who wears minimal make-up and has messy hair. This portrays them as natural and down to earth as they are not pretending to be someone they are not. Using natural lighting will have the same effect because it shows the audience that the artist is honest and not hiding anything.Furthermore indie record labels tend to be low budget and so using natural lighting means saving money on buying artificial sources of light. Natural lighting will help represent our artist as confident and honest as she is not afraid to show herself clearly to the audience in her natural state.

Because it is important to include a variety of lighting techniques in your music video, we also decided to entail low key lighting. We will create this with fairy lights and it will take place in the outdoor cinema scene. We will create an outdoor cinema in one of our groups garden and film when it is evening with fairy lights. This is conventional to the indie genre, again because indie music videos are known for being low budget and simplistic and this is portrayed through using inexpensive and unprofessional lighting for an entire scene.
The fairy lights are also conventional to this music genre as they are a very familiar iconography item as many people will have them in their house at least once a year for Christmas. Christmas has connotations of comfort and home which will suggest the couple feel safe in each others company. This lighting represents the artist as creative as it suggests she has created the lighting herself and it also presents her as down to earth and level-headed as she is happy with simple things in life.

My group decided to use colours, mostly in the characters clothing, in order to create connotations. We decided that a contrast between black and white would be effective as it portrays the artists state of mind before and after the relationship.In the first bonfire scene the artist is wearing white clothing which portray her as innocent and pure when she firsts meets the male character. At the end of the video, in the second bonfire scene when the relationship has ended, the artist is wearing a similar outfit but in black. The black portrays her as corrupted and depressed. The high contrast in these colours could also represent good and bad and therefore represent the good and bad elements of the relationship that will be compared through memories throughout the entirety of our music video. This is conventional to the indie genre as the colours are both very simplistic and natural yet bold and edgy. It is stereotypical of an indie artist to have a natural relaxed style yet also appear edgy or quirky. These colours represent the artist as having both a good and bad side in her nature which fits in with the narrative of the music video as she doesn't want to hurt the male character but she has a tendency to break hearts due to her commitment issues. This also portrays her as honest about all parts of her personality as she is not trying to hide the good or bad sides and is open about the whole story.

Another colour that we discussed using as a group was blue. We decided that our artist should wear blue denim clothing as it would have a variety of suitable connotations. The artist will wear a large amount of different outfits throughout our music video because there are a lot of different scenes. In a few of these scenes she will be wearing denim such as denim shorts, ripped jeans or dungarees. She will wear more denim towards the end of the music video in scenes such as the pub and other breakup scenes because denim has connotations of being worn and ripped which portray the breakdown of the relationship. The blue of the clothing will also portray the artists negative feelings in the relationship as sadness and loneliness are both connotations of this colour. Worn ripped denim also has connotations of being old which can portray the narrative of the music video as it entails the artist living in the past and looking back at old memories. The blue is conventional to the music genre because artists of this genre will be expected to use blue to connote meanings of their songs as they often sing about personal and often sad experiences in their life. This represents the artist as conventional to her music genre as well as open about her negative feelings and past experiences such as relationship breakups.

 I decided to interpret red into my music video because there are many connotations of this colour, both positive and negative. I will do this by having the artist wear an item of red clothing such as an oversized t-shirt, red converse or red lipstick in certain scenes. Red is a very emotionally intense colour as it raises blood pressure and respiration rate of those who see it. This could represent the artists feelings at the early stages of the relationship whereby the couple are excited to see each other. Red is associated with danger and so can portray the problems in the relationship and the danger of getting into a relationship when one of the couple is scared to commit. Contrastingly, this colour portrays love and passion and therefore the positive sides of the relationship. This is conventional to the indie genre as it has bold and straight forward connotations which link to indie artists open and honest attitude to sharing their personal feelings and experiences.

My target audience will be able to build a relationship with my artist through the lighting and colours I have selected because they will understand the connotations and meaning behind the colours as well as the mood and atmospheres created by the lighting. Planning the colours and lighting of my music video has helped me ensure my music video will be successful because it has made me consider what to prepare for each scene in order to interpret connotations and meanings to make the media project more interesting and less straight-forward as there will be several connotations and denotations.

Planning Setting & Iconography - Miss Miller

Myself and my group have recently planned the locations and iconography elements that we would like to include in our music video. It is important to consider these aspects because they help to create certain moods and atmospheres as well as setting the scene by providing information for the narrative. If a music video was to have an unrecognisable location and no iconography elements then it would not have much of a storyline and therefore the audience would not engage with the narrative very well. This is because it would be too simple and boring for the target audience to watch. Therefore, if a music video entails a number of different interesting locations and a variety of iconography elements then it is received as more interesting for the audience and they find it easier to engage with. Furthermore, it will make the narrative more clear as the audience will understand the storyline better.

The first location we decided to include was a kitchen in one of our houses. We decided Kerry's kitchen would be best as it is open planned and therefore very light and spacious so the shots will not look dark and there is a lot of room to achieve different camera angles and set up the tripod etc. A kitchen is a familiar setting whereby the audience would be able to recognise and identify with as they would have one of their own which are associated with their own memories, perhaps similar to memories of the artists relationship. Therefore the audience will be able to relate to the artist and build a relationship with them. Also the location will remind them of their own memories and provoke feelings of nostalgia which is a main theme in this music video. My narrative is based upon a set of memories in a relationship which is why my music video requires a variety of locations such as this one. In this shot the two characters who are a couple will be seen making cakes, laughing and throwing flour at each other. This location will be received well by the audience because it is recognisable and familiar to them and they will therefore relate to the characters as well as most likely relating to their situation of baking. This will make the audience reminisce on old memories and therefore feel that the lyrics relate to them personally. The kitchen is a very personal location and so having it feature will create the effect that the artist is sharing very personal intimate moments with the audience. This allows the audience to build a relationship with the artist as they feel that she is letting them into her personal life and seeing her relationship behind closed doors. As a result this creates a level of trust between the artist and audience as the audience feel trusted with the artists personal life which will make them feel important.

Midshots will occur throughout this scene to establish the location and situation so the audience has a clear understanding of where the characters are and what they are doing. Also several close ups will take place to put emphasise on the characters joyful facial expressions and the shape of the cookie dough which will be in a heart to represent love. There are not any major limitations with using this location. The setting is not cramped and is spacious so there are less likely to be accidents as there is more room for the characters to watch the space around them an avoid tripping etc. I am prepared to film in regards of having all the equipment and ingredients so there will be no limitations in regards to that. In terms of health and safety, there is the risk of the actors cutting themselves when using the sharp cake cutter. The only way this can be prevented is by making sure they are both cautious when using it and that there are plasters etc, nearby incase someone is cut. Filming will not be affected by the weather as the setting is indoors.

The target audience is teenagers and young adults which is the age when it is common to experience breakups because it is before the typical age of settling down. Because of this, the audience will most likely be able to relate to this scenario in the narrative and so will think back to good memories of their past relationships. Seeing the relationship of the couple in my music video as though it is behind closed doors and what no one else can see because it is an intimate moment shared with  the two of them in one of their houses with no one else around, means that the audience will feel like they are seeing the audience first hand as if they are a part of it. This makes it easier for them to relate to the emotions of love and nostalgia and in turn relate to the audience as they have experienced the same emotions.

In this scene I will include close-ups of the characters cutting through dough with cake cutters to explain the situation to the audience. I will also interpret a long shot to establish the whole scene and it ill show the male character standing behind the female as they make the cakes together. There will also be other close-ups as the couple mess around and throw cake mix at each other for example. I don't think there are any limitations that come with this location as it is inside and therefore will not be affected by weather. This means we will be able to film it at any time that is convenient for us. The location works well in terms of my narrative as it is spacious and also I have the items needed such as cake cutters and ingredients. The kitchen, however, does not really portray an indie style and so will not portray the artists personality and style unless we decorate it with more iconography related to the indie genre such as fairy lights.The only possible health and safety risk that could take place in filming this scene is one of the characters cutting themselves on a cooking utensil such as a knife or cake cutter. This can be easily avoided if we make sure the characters are careful and cautious whilst filming.

Another setting my group plans to film in is one of our gardens. We have not decided which of our gardens would be the best to use yet but we do know how we want this scene to look. We want to create an outdoor cinema by placing cushions and duvets etc. on the grass and having a white screen with an image projected onto it or using the green screen and editing an image onto it. This will convey another happy memory of the couple before they broke up.It will have a similar effect of making the audience feel a part of the relationship by seeing an intimate and private memory from it. Again this will allow a relationship to form between the artist and audience. 

A long shot will introduce the entire setting to the audience and close-ups will show the couple under a blanket enjoying a film together. This will allow the audience to see the characters facial expressions more clearly and therefore see how they are happy to be with each other. Shot-reverse shots of the characters looking at each other will have a similar effect of portraying the relationship between the two for the audience. There are more limitations in this setting regarding weather because we will be unable to film as the camera and cushions etc. will all get wet. Also it will be difficult to film if it is too cold because this provokes health and safety risks such as the characters becoming too cold. However, this can be easily solved if they wear the correct clothing and it does not rain.

I then moved onto planning iconography elements to involve in my music video. The first iconography aspect I chose to discuss was a guitar. This will be used in the bonfire scene when the male character will be sitting behind the female character and teacher her how to play it. This will be the first scene with both characters and introduces them meeting for the first time and beginning to interact with each other. 

A packet of marshmallows will be iconography of the same scene. The empty packet will also be saved to put in the souvenir box to represent the memory and flashback to it. The memory will be of the couple roasting marshmallows on the fire at the bonfire scene. The burning of the marshmallows will symbolise the inevitable break up of the relationship because it shows something comforting and innocent (the marshmallows) being destroyed. The fire is what burned the marshmallow and show this could suggest that connotations of fire such as anger destroyed the relationship.

The souvenirs that represent each of these memories will be kept in another iconography element - an antique style box which symbolises all of the artists memories of the relationship. This will be a main part of the narrative and so is important as it will help the audience understand and engage with the storyline. he box as a whole represents the past relationship which will be relatable to the audience who will have a lot of memories from their own past relationships.

Planning the iconography aspects ans locations of my music video has helped me prepare for filming because it has given me a clear structure and check-list to use as a guideline when filming. It has put a clear visual image in my head so I know what I want the music video to look like. Planning has also taught me what I have to consider for each location such as health and safety issues and limitations as well as reminding me of the iconography I need to get a hold of before filming.

Target Audience Research - Miss Miller

A target audience is a group of people that a product is aimed at. A target audience needs to be identified before I create my music video so we know how to make our product suitable and appealing to this audience. When a media product is being planned, one of the most important questions the makers have to consider is, "Does it have a target audience?". If the answer is "No", then there is no point in going any further in creating the product. The target audience for my music video is teenagers and young adults aged from 17-25 years old. We carried out this research to see what our target audience would expect and like to see in our final product so we can consider what we need to include to satisfy our audience. To do this, we created a questionnaire and asked 40 people a list of 11 questions. We asked 40 people because we believed that interviewing a larger audience would give us more varied results which were more reliable so we can ensure we will create a successful music video.  The results we obtained from the questionnaire results will help us create our music video because the answers given by the audience shows us what they would expect to see in an indie music video and what they like. Therefore my group can try and interpret their ideas and expectations so we know our product will appeal to the target audience.  

Our questionnaire

First my group and I decided to ask the audience questions about themselves such as 'How old are you?' so we could order them into age groups and 'What is your gender?" so we could separate the males from females.  This allowed me to understand the difference in opinions on the indie genre in different audiences.  Asking for the age of our subjects meant we could see what age group is more likely to enjoy the indie genre as we could see who was more knowledgable and who had more positive things to say about it. This also helped me to see what conventions were most liked by what age groups and so once we had established our target audience we could focus on including those specific conventions. We mainly asked teenagers and young adults as they are most knowledgable of the most recent and current music in today's charts and so they understand more what is pst popular and what world well. This pie chart reveals that the majority of the questioned population were aged 17-25 at 40 per cent which reinforces that this is our target audience as most people in this age group were willing to take part in this indie questionnaire compared to older or younger ages who did not know much about it. The minority of the questioned population were aged 46 and above at only 3 per cent. I took this on board and therefore knew to focus on the answers this age group were giving most as this would be our target audience.






We then asked for the gender of the person as the vox pops we all created do not show the entire gender distribution of the questioned population. This pie chart does however and it shows us that 58 per cent of the population were female and so only 42 per cent where male. All though this is a small difference in percentage it still shows us that females are more likely to listen to indie music. Therefore as a group we know that females are more likely to listen to indie music compared to males and so will remember to make our music video suitable or both genders but more specifically females. However we cannot completely disregard the male audience as there is still a large number of males who listen to this genre of music. Therefore, my group will aim to make our music video suitable for both genders so the target audience will be larger and our music video can be watched by more people. Interviewing both genders gave us a balance of views so we will know how to make our video suitable for everyone.

The third question was also closed and entailed asking the audience a yes or no question. We asked the target audience whether or not they like the indie music genre so we could see is our music video would be received well by the audience and if it was even worth creating a video in this genre because if the majority of our audience disliked this genre then we would consider changing our genre. Luckily this was not the case as 90 per cent of the questioned population stated that they do enjoy this type of music. This means the majority of our target audience are likely to watch and enjoy our music video and so it is more likely to be successful. 10 per cent of those who I questioned said that they do not like the indie genre which could be due to them being unfamiliar with it or not liking a specific artist and so their opinions could be changed by watching our video as they may decide they do in fact like it. However, this will be more difficult to achieve as we did not ask the audience why they do not like the genre and therefore have made it harder for us to change their mind and appeal to a wider audience. this would be what I would change if I was to complete this task again as it would have been useful to hear the audience elaborate on this answer.

I asked my audience what conventions they would expect to see so it would give me ideas of aspects I could include in my coursework. 30 per cent of those I interviewed told me that they would expect to see instruments in an indie music video. This was good to hear as my group had already decided on including a guitar in our music video and so  we were able to know that using that would make our music video conventional in our target audiences opinion. Narratives about love was rated second most expected which helped me and my group to decide to base our music video narrative around a couple and the good and bad times in their relationship. This also suggests that love is an important theme for the audience as it is engaging and relatable and therefore will have to come across professionally and not false as they would not relate to it as much. Therefore I have decided to use a real-life couple to act in the music video as their relationship and chemistry will be real and therefore not appear forced like it may if it was two actors who did not know each other but had to pretend to be in love. Quirky costumes are recognised in indie music video by 23 per cent of our target audience which I will take on board because my group has yet to decide on costumes for our artist and therefore learning that quirky costumes are expected let us know what is conventional. The final convention that was mentioned in 20 per cent of the audience is close-ups. Although this is not the most popular convention of the indie genre among my questioned audience, it was still recognised by a number of them and is therefore important to consider. Close-ups are also an aspect of Goodwin's theory and will therefore make my music video more likely to be successful if they are included.  Using close-ups in my music video will allow the audience to build a relationship with the artist by relating to their facial expressions and feeling as they sing the relatable song.

  Despite having vague of idea of the iconography we would use in our music video from previous research, we still asked what iconography our target audience would expect to find in an indie music video. We did this to see if the results would support our previous research and current ideas and also to see if any other popular iconography was identified. We discovered that fairy lights were expected most in as iconography in a music video and this is something we did not previously consider so we decided that as this is popular we should try and use it in some way. Another popular iconography item was guitar which reinforced my groups ideas as we had already decided to use a guitar and this proved to us that it would work well. In terms of the artists costumes, we did not have a vague idea like we did of the iconography and so this pie chart was helpful as it showed us that our audience thinks quirky and edgy style costumes work best. Therefore we have a set style and will just have to research further into edgy and quirky clothes and watch their music videos to help us decide on set outfits.

We then asked what style of music video they prefer so we knew how to shape our music video in terms of including a lot of performance aspects , focusing on a storyline or having a hidden meaning.  This pie chart tells us that narrative music videos are most popular because 42 per cent of the questioned population thought so. Paired with my other research, this question proved that narrative music videos are the most successful and popular. Because of this we have decided to base our music video on a specific storyline. However, we can also see that other music video styles are not completely disregarded by the audience and they are still enjoyed. Therefore as a group, we have decided to try and interpret each of these styles into our music vide. We aim to provide a storyline so the audience can engage with the audience, shots of the artist performing so the audience can see her talent and build a relationship with her and we will also try to create an interesting concept from the music video as a whole.

We asked what was liked about our chosen artist in order to see if we had made the right decision in choosing her because it would show us if she was popular or not. If she was very disliked by the majority of our target audience then we would have considered changing her to someone else who was more popular and so our audience would enjoy listening to the music video. Luckily though, our target audience all appeared to like Gabrielle Aplin and gave us a variety of reasons why. The reasons they gave let us know what is likeable in an artist in the indie genre so we can try to replicate these traits in our own artist. We would do this by portraying her as talented through the performance style and showing her playing the guitar and making her stand out so she appears unique and quirky.

The highest rated answer for this question was: 'a point of view shot is my favourite camera technique because it allows me to understand the artists perspective'. 23 per cent of the 40 people questioned gave this answer and I noticed a lot of point of view shots in other indie music videos when analysing my research. This is possibly used so frequently because it makes the song lyrics and narrative more personal to the artist and suggest that they have experienced what they are singing about before. This is conventional to the indie genre as they often sing about personal experiences and therefore I think it is a good idea to use point of view shots in my music video. Long shots were also a popular answer at 18 per cent. This camera angle is very useful to establish the shot as it can show the entire setting or character which helps the audience to understand the narrative. Because I am creating a narrative based music video I will remember to include several long shots to make the storyline clear to the audience. A blurred effect was voted as a favourite editing technique because it portrays how the artist is feeling as it represents the artist as confused and overwhelmed or reminiscent of the past. This may be enjoyed by the audience because it allows them to relate to the artists feelings and build a relationship. 15 per cent of the questioned public stated that their favourite camera shot is the shot reverse shot because it shows the relationship between characters which will be useful in my music video as the narrative is based upon the relationship between two characters. 

The next question I asked was 'What is your favourite Gabrielle Aplin song and why?' Asking this allowed us to discover our target audiences preference of music video so we know what examples to follow for our own in terms of what narrative they like etc. It also helped us to decide what song we should choose for our own music video. From this pie chart I can see that most of our target population would list the song 'Panic Chord' as their favourite. 'Panic Chord is an upbeat catchy song about the breakup of a relationship  and reminisces on the good times before it all went wrong.  Because of this my group has decided to choose this song because it is the most favourite by our target audience and therefore they would enjoy listening to it most. I know that I should focus on aspects of the Panic Chord music video when I create my own version because that way it will be equally as enjoyed by the audience. For example, I will make sure the narrative is relatable for the audience. Making this question an open question and asking the public why allows them to elaborate on their answer and tell us what it was about their favourite song that made them enjoy it. The highest rated reason for enjoying their favourite song was the fact that it was upbeat. This tells us that our target audience like songs to be catchy and light-hearted so they are easy to listen to.

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An open question I asked was aimed to find out what lighting my audience believed work best and what their reasons are for this. I found out that the audience preferred natural lighting the most because it is simplistic and allows them to see the artist more clearly. As a result I will try to include natural lighting in my music video to establish and introduce the artist to the audience so they can build a relationship with them. 23 per cent of the audience said that high key lighting works best because it creates a warm atmosphere and so I have decided to use high key lighting in my music video during the happy parts of the relationship before it goes wrong to create this happy atmosphere and mood.  To keep my music video interesting and varied I will also use low key lighting during the relationships dark times because it "imitates the breakup of a relationship".

The final question I asked was 'What narrative would you like to see in an indie video?' I asked this question so I could see what the most popular narrative types are in order to get ideas for my own music video narrative. I compared the audiences responses with my own previous ideas to see if they were similar and would therefore be received well by the audience.  The most common answer was relationships. This works well with my ideas because my group are planning on creating a love story narrative of a couples happy memories before they break up which reinforces one of the second highest answers given which was breakups. This means that because our target audience would like to see breakups and relationships in an indie music video they should enjoy watching my music video as that is what the narrative is based on. 

I created some vox pops of my audience when questioning them. Vox pops are recorded interviews with members of the public. We asked the questions with the aim of finding out what our target audience would prefer and expect to see in an indie music video. I asked both opened and closed questions which had both pros and cons for each. The open questions allowed the audience to elaborate on their answer and therefore give us more detail but are harder to organise into data. Contrastingly, closed questions are quick and easy to ask and easy to organise into data but lack the detail you would find in open question answers. 

Creating vox pops instead of just writing down the audiences answers in a questionnaire was useful because it allowed me to watch back the answers if I wanted to. Watching the vox pops back will allow me to pick up on any extra detail they gave if I missed it during the interview. Furthermore it makes the audience more likely to elaborate on their answers as they just have to speak and do not have to write their answer down. If they had to write their answer they may become lazy and not go into much detail. This is beneficial as a result because it allowed me to obtain more detailed answers from my target audience. 

VOX POPS HERE

Katie

Vicky

mchael

harry

Sub-culture is a group of people who are connected through a common value system of their tastes of music, clothes or politics etc. This group is often positioned outside the mainstream and so they go against the majority and what is 'popular'. People from this culture conform to what they believe in and not what is popular and rebel against the norm in doing this.There is tribal rivalry between groups regarding what each thinks is normal. They are either traditional or neophyte. This means a new idea or concept. 

I am going to apply Hebdiges theory to my music video. He believes that 'if you look deeper, there is enough richness to warrant remaining sub cultures as little cultures'. This is because what each sub culture believe is mainstream to their group is different to other sub culture. Therefore it is difficult to say who is right and what actually is mainstream. 

I believe that mainstream does not exist as cultures are constantly changing and there are so many different cultures.If there is no mainstream culture then there is nothing for other cultures to react to and rebel against and so they are driven by alternative motifs. This idea is from the CCCS (Centre for Contemporary Culture Studies). These ideas will be included in my coursework and theories for my music video because I agree with it and so would be able to apply it to my own work.

I have found this research useful because asking the target audience he questions gave me an incite into what they are expecting/want to see in my music video and therefore taught me what would work well. I will incorporate the answers given into my music video by taking on board what answers rated higher for each of the questions and then trying to include that aspect in it. For example, I will remember to include a lot of natural lighting in my music video as it was voted the  lighting technique that works best. This will make my music video more conventional and successful because it will attract the audience.

Music Video Inspirations - Miss Miller

When carrying out my primary research I have come across several music videos that have inspired ideas for my own. The first is Style by Taylor Swift. What inspired me about this video is the editing techniques used as the whole video itself is very simple and may be boring without the editing. However, including th effects that the video did, it became more interesting and would engage an audience. Each editing technique alsi holds a lot of connotations which I could replicate inn my own work such as layering clouds over the artit which suggest she has an unclear 'cloudy' mind.

The second inspiration that I have chosen is 'Boy' by Nina Nesbitt. This video has inspired me in terms of narrative and mise-en-scene. The narrative is similar to my chosen song as the subject of both is about memories of a past relationship do it was useful to see how an artist in my chosen genre decided to portray this theme. In terms of mise-en-scene, the iconography inspired me. I liked he idea of having a box of memories which is something I have interpreted into my own music video.

'Please Don't Say You Love Me' is another song by my chosen artist and it includes a variety of camera techniques that all have different purposes and work well in achieving them (close-up, mid shot, over the shoulder shot). I will try to include most of these in mind in order to keep my music video varied and interesting. 

I have chosen to create a song in the indie genre and want to create a song with a theme of relationships as it is conventional and easy to create a narrative to. Artists that sing about relationships in the indie genre  Ed Sheeran, Nina Nesbitt and Gabrielle Aplin. I will choose to use a female artist as my actor will most likely be female. I am more likely to choose Gabrielle APlin as she has a song that is conventional to its genre and based pon the theme of memories and relationsips called 'Panic Chord.'

Magazine Advert Analysis - Miss Georgiou

The main purpose of a magazine advert is to promote the artist and their upcoming album and/or tour. It may also help the artist to reach a wider target audience through presenting themselves to those who read that magazine and this may include some who have not previously listened to the artists music. Publishing several posters to several mediums also constantly remind the audience of the upcoming album/ tour and so will create a buzz around it and get them excited. As a result of this they may tell others about it and promote the artist through word of mouth.  Another purpose of a magazine advert is to link in with other advertisements of the  artist. I have chosen to analyse two magazine adverts of indie artists. The first I have chosen is a tour advert for the artist Gabrielle Aplin. I have chosen this advert because it is the artist that I am going to create a music video for and so I think it will be useful to see how she choses to advertise her music and promote herself as an artist. 

'English Rain' tour poster

The artist is represented as carefree and easy-going as she is wearing a summer dress and dancing in the rain not seeming to care about getting cold etc. This is could be because the artist is trying to portray herself as down to earth and happy-go-lucky so her audience can relate to her as they feel she is not much different from them and does possess the typical singers ego because she is relatively level-headed and relaxed. She can also be seen as unique as the image used in this tour poster is different from most others and therefore it stands out. Most tour posters or advertisements feature a close-up image of the shot especially on their first tour as it is introducing them to the audience while this advert hides the artists face and she is very small. This portrays her as creative and individual because she is not following the norms as well as not giving everything away about her so portraying her as mysterious and suggesting there is more to find out. 

The artist is seen running through the dark field which has connotations of her feeling emotionally and physically free and having a light personality which lights up the dark. This could suggest to the audience that the artist has had a bad past but is living through it and is happy now. The black and white filter conotates a high contrast which could be positivity and negativity such as the artists positive attitude and outlook juxtaposing with hard situations and personal experiences of her own. This helps the audience to build a relationship with the artist as she is portrayed as a role model and inspiring to the audience as she encourages them to think positively even about bad situations. 

The advert has a very simple design and layout with the artists name in a large font size at the top so it stands out to the audience and they can easily realise that this is an advertisement for Gabrielle Aplin. This is helpful because the audience can not see the artists face so it is important that the title is set out this way. The artist is shown through a large picture that takes up the whole advert and shows her in the middle. The artist is not showing her face and it turned away from the camera which portrays her as mysterious through creating enigma as she is not revealing much about herself and make the audience want to find out more. The bottom half of the advert is focused on the tour date information for the audience so they can decide whether to attend one of the artist shows if they are interested. They will be able to quickly and easily decide where and when they could watch the artist if they wanted to before booking.

The language style in this advert is very simple and ordinary. This is because it is aiming to both be representative of the indie genre and Aplins stripped back style as well as not giving away much information so the audience want to know more. The style of language is representative of the indie genre because artists and music videos from this genre tend to be laid back and ordinary in terms of costumes and editing etc. For example, the artist will not wear designer or expensive clothes and the music videos are low budget and simple.So this is represented through the simplistic advert and style of language. 

"Plus guests" is written in a slightly smaller font underneath the artists name. This explains that there will be other artists accompanying the artist on her tour. However, it does not elaborate on who the guests are which may be because they are rather unknown as Aplin is a relativity new artist but also because the main focus is placed on her. The artists name is the only name mentioned which puts the main focus of the advert on her. The artists debut album is listed at the bottom of the advert very simply and plainly. There is no extra detail or adjectives to describe it which adds to the effect of creating enigma by holding back information to make the audience want to know more. 

The image choice is conventional of the indie genre as it portrays the artist as unique and quirky as it shows her rebelling to the norms of society and running barefoot in the rain. She is also not conforming to the norms of an advert in that she did not choose to use a close up image of her looking at the camera. The image is strategically placed so that it is the main focus of the advert and sits in the centre. This engages the audiences and focuses their attention on the image before anything else so they can get an idea of the artists style and music genre. The image leaves the audience wanting to find out more about the artist as she is not revealing much and so the audience will look closer at the advert to try and do this and therefore may consider going to one of the tour dates so they can finally discover more about the artist and her music and build a relationship with her. 

The typography on this advert is very plain and simple which makes it easy to read and creates a stripped back indie effect. The letters are not completely straight which creates a slightly distorted effect and differs away from mainstream so the typography appears unique and quirky. This is conventional to the indie genre as the artists and songs tend to be unique with quirky styles. 

The advert promotes the indie genre through portraying quirky and unique aspects and rebelling against mainstream aspects of an artists advert in the pop genre etc. Examples of this include the typography being slightly slanted, the image not being a close-up of the artist and the artist running through a dark rainy place in a dress and no shoes. These all portray the artist and her music as unique and different because she stands out. This therefore makes her more interesting and so would engage the audience and attract more fans.

The artist is promoted by the tour dates listed that given the audience the opportunity to see her live as well as portraying her as successful and therefore making people more likely to buy into her music as they assume that she must be good is she has her own tour in a variety of locations. She is portrayed as bright and colourful through the iconography of the umbrella in the dark and gloomy setting. This  connotes her as being a role model and carefree. 

'Peroxide' tour poster

The second advertisement I chose to analyse was advertising Nina Nesbitt's 'Peroxide' tour dates because it is from the same music genre as my chosen artist and so it will be useful to analyse conventions of my chosen genre. The artist is represented as bold, happy and lovable through the use of bright colours. This also links in with her music which is usually upbeat and this makes the audience want to listen to her music as it is portrayed as fun and enjoyable. She is looking straight at the camera with a serious expression which portrays her as dominant and in control of her image and music which also conveys how she is serious about connecting with her target audience as she is looking directly at them through the use of the close-up.

The main colour throughout this advert is red with a slightly pink tint. There are many annotations of both colours. Red is a very emotionally intense colour as it increases respiration rate and raises blood pressure to those who see it. Therefore it could portray an intense experience of the artist (such as a negative relationship) that she sings about in her advertised album. Red is the colour of fire and blood and is therefore associated with danger and war which could portray the problems and arguments in this past negative relationship.  This colour also portrays love and passion and therefore it represents both sides of the relationship - good and bad, which suggests how dysfunctional and difficult it was. This is conventional to the indie music genre as indie artists are known for writing their own songs and therefore their lyrics will be based upon their own personal experiences. This means the audience can build a relationship with the artist through believing that they know them better and feel like they are similar if they can relate to the lyrics.

Red is also the colour of determination which reinforces the artists serious facial expression and how she is eager and determined to connect withe her audience and be in control. Furthermore red is of high visibility  which is why stop signs and fire equipment etc. are usually painted red. This means that this advert will also be of high visibility and so will stand out in to the audience meaning more people will see the advert and be encouraged to listen to Nina Nesbitt's music.  

The only choice of image is a close up of the artist looking straight at the camera. this is conventional of a magazine advert because artists will often feature close-up, clear and large images of themselves in order to promote their image and music. The image takes up the entire top half of the advert which makes the artist the main focus of the advert. This will help the audience build a relationship with the artist as they will feel that she is directly addressing them through the picture and they therefore believe her music will be directly relatable to them.

The typography of this advert is fairly simplistic and consistent throughout as the majority of it appears to be in the same font and the words are only either black or white. This creates a simplistic effect which is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists tend to be stripped back and down to earth, not flamboyant or hiding anything like other mainstream artists may be. However, the font of the artists name is not completely straight and neat like the font of the other words. This creates a contorted effect  and so appears quirky and different which is also conventional of the indie genre.

The style of language is representative of the artists image. 'Peroxide' is the name of the tour and shows up in the biggest font on the poster. Peroxide is also the name of a type of blonde hair. The artist has this type of blonde hair and it stands out on the advert through the use of the close-up. The word 'Peroxide' reinforces this bold representation of her. 




I have gained several ideas and inspirations from writing this analysis post that I will interpret into my own magazine advert for my artist. For example...

 

Research into Record Labels - Miss Georgiou

Record labels are helpful for an artist because they allow them to spend more time making music. This is because it means other people handle the business sides of things so you val just focus on the creative side, writing and recording music etc.  Record labels know the industry much more than an upcoming artist will. They understand how album releases, manufacturing, distribution and advertisement work. Record labels have been about for a long period of time and so have a lot of connections including contact details that could get other employees to help make an artists album a a success such as PR companies and manufacturers. Record labels will likely have more money than the artist does alone especially to begin with. This means they can spend more money on promoting an artists record than they could spend on it themselves.

Record labels make releasing a record less hard work.  If an artist is signed to a record label, there will be people who will manage the manufacturers and distributors for them as well as running your whole PR campaign for you.  An artist could do all this work themselves but it would take a lot more time and effort. Although indie record labels are often run by fewer people and may have one person doing the job of five major label employees, there are still other people working for the artist in the business of selling their record. So as a result  because I have chosen indie as a genre my artist would have to consider record labels.

Ke$ha

Major record labels are large companies within the music industry that may also own smaller record labels.  Sony Music Entertainment UK is one of the largest music and entertainment companies in the world. A few examples of artists signed to Sony include The Ting Tings and MGMT. Sony Music Entertainment owns smaller companies such as Kemosabe and RCA Records. Ke$ha is an artist that has been signed to both of these American subsidiaries. Sony also owns British subsidiaries including Columbia Records UK, RCA Label Group, Sony CMG, Syco Music, SYRA Music Group and Phonogenic Records. Columbia Records is very successful having signed artists as well known as One Direction, Calvin Harris and The Script. The Foo Fighters and Kelly Clarkson are signed to RCA.  Current artists signed to Syco Music are Olly Murs and Little Mix. So ultimately all of these artists are managed by Sony.There are links to other mediums because Sony is also a well known company in both the television and electronics businesses.


Another major record label is Warner Music Group.  WMG is the third largest business group of record labels also making it one of the "big four".  The company was formed in 2004 as a spin off from Time Warner but Time Warner no longer retains any ownership. This label manages artists such as Gnarls Barkley, Basshunter and Fleetwood Mac. Warner Music Group owns the smaller companies Atlantic Records and Reprise Records. Atlantic Records is best known for specialising in jazz, R&B and soul with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Otis Redding. Warner also has links with other mediums as it is a major film company.

Aretha Franklin

Mariah Carey

Universial Music Group is a major record label who manages artists such as Lady Gaga, Keri Hilson, Gwen Stephani and Mariah Carey.
Island Records is a smaller company owned by Universal Music Group and manages Leona Lewis, The Vamps and U2. Capitol Record is also managed by Universal and this subsidiary manages Sam Smith and 5 Seconds of Summer. Virgin EMI and Decca Records are more of Universals subsidiaries and Virgin EMI manages the artist Ella Eyre. Universal is also a well known film production company.

The Cure

There are not only major record labels. Independent labels can be just as successful as major record labels but cooperate from a smaller company base. They are traditionally known as offering more 'organic' music rather than manufactured mainstream music. An example of an independent labels is Small Wonder Records. This label specialises in managing pop punk and punk rock artists. Artists that have been signed to this company include The Carpettes, Poison Girls and The Cure. The company operated in as small record shop in Walthamstow and was founded by Pete Stennett. The shop used a bag design of a Victorian family with a baby on the front and centre which represented a 'small wonder'. Customers from this shop formed their own indir rock cover band. They named themselves 'The Small Wonders'.

Dreamboat Records is another independent company that operates in the UK and is based in Bristol. The label was founded in 2005 and began to realise songs on a small scale for unknown local artists.It expanded in 2009 to release independent film soundtracks. An example of this is the film How To Be which was a comedy drama starring Robert Pattinson. The soundtrack was written by John Parish and released with Dreamboat Records. The Rollercoaster Project, This Is The Kit and Robin Allender are some of the artists signed to this label.

This Is The Kit

From a music perspective I do not believe it is right that four companies dominate the music industry because it means artists in signed to those companies have a better chance in the industry than others. This could be the case even if the artists in the dominant labels are not as good as those who aren't because they are most popular due to the company and the promotion it provides. This means music that is giving the most recognition will be similar and the audience will not be able to know much about unique artists from other labels and all chart music will be regularly similar and repetitive. In terms of the industry, independent labels are more ignored and unsuccessful which is unfair if they have artist of equal talent.

An independent artist or artist signed to an independent company will have their YouTube fan base but will find it difficult to compete with those artists signed to major record labels as they will struggle to fund their own promotion and music videos etc., while other artists may have this funded for them. This effects the music industry in that independent companies can not become as well known as the major record labels due to the major companies dominating the industry. This means the entire industry is shaped around the type of music the major labels choose to release and the artists they choose to promote. A hierarchy of record labels has formed and so those who belong to the major record labels at the top of the hierarchy will have more opportunities and therefore become more successful compared to independent artists.

In my opinion, I think that independent labels can be as successful as major record labels as success is judged in different way for each artist. For example, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are independent artists who have achieved midstream success; their debut album has gone platinum, they have gained seven Grammy nominations and has over 2million followers on Twitter. A lot of people do not know they are independent due to their success in the form of record and album number sales and largely attended tour dates.

There are some further advantages of an independent company that can not be offered by a major record label. Independent companies often own a smaller number of artists and so have more time to nurture and develop them while a major label manages a large number of artists and do not help the artist develop into a celebrity - they are expected to work in the industry straight away without having time to prepare or grow as an artist. Major record labels have a lot more money but this comes with a lot more pressure as the labels invest a lot of money into an artist (1million+ for a music video etc.) and so if an artist is not making enough profit in return then they will drop the artist so they do not lose any money. This is the reason why a lot of mainstream artists are often switching between record labels which can be stressful and time-consuming while independent artists can save time by sticking to one company.  Furthermore, independent labels offer support so that artists can release material when they believe they are ready to. Another benefit of independent  companies is that they allow an artist to be more creative so they can create music that is more diverse and unique.