Planning cinematography- Miss Georgiou

Cinematography is essential within a music video as different shots help to portray a message and
present certain themes to the audience as well as causing them to connect with the artist. If planned and applied successfully cinematography can intrigue the audience and cause the video to flow perfectly and as we're producing a narrative, make sense and appear less confusing as well as showing them an outline of the events and settings.

One of the first shots I will be using within my music video is panning, specifically at the beginning of the video as a park can be seen with the artist in the location. This shot allows the audience to be introduced to the setting. This sets up the rest of the video, creating a calming atmosphere before more dramatic scenes (for example, the abuse/poker game sequence)

which links the visuals and sound together. Lastly, the panning shot allows the audience to see more than the usual extreme long shot, which is more interesting to watch as the audience get the opportunity to see the whole setting. The calming location and slow panning will link with the calm and slow beginning of the song. Building connections such as this is conventional of the indie genre.


Next, I will use cinematography to introduce the male 'love interest'. A long shot will be used as the male walks across the park to the lyrics 'blue jeans, white shirt, walked into the room' to add elements of Goodwin't theory as visuals and lyrics are linked together visibly appealing and makes the song memorable to the audience. This is also the first time the male is introduced to the audience, therefore this needs to completed well, therefore the male will have his whole sequence for his entrance. This highlights the indie genre as typically, a love interest is usually involved. This further shows the character's importance to the audience and foreshadows what will take place further on in the video. Overall, the audience needs to be able to connect with the artist and visualise elements from her perspective therefore the audience will see the male walking into her life. From the beginning, the audience will feel connected and engaged with the artist by adding this.

Following this clip, we will see the artist for the first time as an extreme close up will be used of the artist's eye, staring at the male to the lyrics 'you know you made my eyes burn'. This again links to the Goodwin theory as there is a clear link between lyrics and visuals. I thought that this would be a tactful way to incorporate this as this raises many connotations, The eyes are known to be the windows to the soul, therefore the audience bonds with the artist before they even see her whole face. Linking to this, parts of the artist is introduced after the male, showing his importance and how much he impacted her life. The use of this conventional to the indie genre as her feelings are put out to the audience which is conventional of the indie genre. This creates a strong bond with the audience as the artist looks at the audience also, so that they pay attention and connect with the artist.

Through most of the flashbacks, POV hand held shots will be incorporated to make the videos more personal, which is conventional to the indie genre and is an inspiration that I have incorporated from videos that I have examined previously. From all of the elements I have gathered from previous inspirations (indie music videos adding flashbacks was an element proved most influential to me because as an audience member, I was drawn in and enjoyed the change up of time. I believed that completing this by using POV shots would be the most successful. This is because this cinematography device will make the video seem more personal and authentic, which links to the fact that this will be used when the couple are together at different locations, when the relationship was running smoothly especially to the lyrics 'I still remember that day we met in December'. However, once lyrics were analysed and the underlying message of love for money was revealed, we decided that this should be added in some way. Therefore, with the beat of the remix, the clips will build up to a negative event where the male becomes angry with the female, regarding the loss of his money.We will add a shot where he looks out the a window, and the camera is positioned outside, in a midshot, she stands behind him which angers him, causing him to push her to the window by the throat. This causes the audience to feel like they are looking in at the drama, making this clip more personal. This will also change up the dynamics of the video, and will be more interesting to watch. Conventional indie videos add events that change up the video and intrigue the audience, and I chose to follow this.

In present day clips, the audience will see
that the relationship failed and that the artist does not cope well with this. A high angle will be used on the artist to transmit her negative emotions. Prior to this, the artist has been represented as strong, especially mentally. However, the use of a high angle connotes the idea that the artist isn't as powerful as she felt before. This shot will counterpart the lyrics 'baby can you see through the tears?' and 'I will love you till the end of time' as they are very sorrowful and haunting lyrics, as she hasn't given up on the male and she is still in love with him, causing the narrative to appear more negative and the audience to feel empathy for the artist and even understand what she is going through. The initial use of this angle causes the artist to seem inferior and timid, which shows a complete change in events. This is conventional of the indie genre as love and loss of love is portrayed in many cases. Because of this, the audience will emphasise with the artist as negative events have happened to her and she has changed due to them.

My target audience is mainly composed of of teenage girls/young adults therefore through the use of this cinematography, fans can build a relationship with my chosen artist through the shots selected, as they all portray the idea of a love story and heart break which teenage girls are stereotypically interested in. These shots also build as story and show the narrative of a ruined relationship, which is not only conventional of the indie genre but is also relatable and builds a bond with the audience. 

Planning setting and iconography- Miss Georgiou

Locations are important within a music video as the audience are provided with visual aspects, they are added into the setting and locations can show a possible link to lyrics, making them more understandable. Iconography is also important as different objects can present aspects about the artist, and let the artist get to know/bond with them.

Locations

We have chosen to select a beach as one of our locations. This is because the beach can typically convey positive memories, and has connotations of happiness and brightness and young memories. This reflect the lyrics of the song, as Lana discusses how they met and how she felt when she first met the 'love interest'. This location will be used within flashback clips, to show the artist's past memories. Therefore, there will be introductory shots such as panning, to present the beach as an important location, to reflect the lyrics 'I still remember that day we met in December'. Also, shots of the couple running around, taking part in traditional 'beach' activities and enjoying their time together. However, there are limitations that appear when choosing this location. This is because we will need to use as minimal crew members as possible. Also we can only film at certain times of the day, so that people on beach don't interfere with filming. There are also some health and safety risks that can come occur for example, water ruining the equipment. The weather can also affect the filming as it is autumn/winter time and we want to use a beach as a location, therefore we will check the weather updates and identify the most appropriate day to film.

As well as this, we have chosen the theme park next to the beach. This is because it will reflect positive/enjoyable memories of the couple and will blend nicely with the beach setting, also. POV hand held camera shots and fast editing will also match the beat of the remixed song. Within this location, there will be POV hand held camera work of the couple on the rides, and walking around the park. This creates the idea of past memories, and how they once had a positive experience together. Also, the theme park can be linked to feelings of joys and creating a rush, much like their relationship linking again to the lyrics 'you went out every night, but baby that's alright'. As you need to pay to get into the park, it means that only the actors and one camera are likely to enter. Due to surroundings, the group would need to take extra care of the camera equipment. As listed previously, members of the public may intervene therefore clips would be filmed at less populated areas. Lastly, the weather can also effect filming as certain rides or the park may be closed down, to avoid this we will research the weather on certain days and identify any information on their website.

Another location that will be featured in the music video is a casual living room, in which a poker game will take place. This room features a group of males including a female sitting on one of men's lap, including elements of the Goodwin theory and highlighting the female body. The artist will then enter the room and distract the 'love interest'. This is when the theme of his love for money, analysed from the lyrics, occurs for example within the lyrics 'he was chasing paper' and 'caught up in the game, that was the last I heard'. From his loss of money, his anger shows and he smashes objects, reflecting the deeper meaning of the lyrics, the idea that she means a lot to him however, money is his true love. This is conventional of the indie genre as the artist typically uses varying conventions to reflect on past memories. The only hazard is any glass that is smashed therefore we would make sure these clips are completed as safely as possible, even replacing this with 'sugar glass'. This room overall possesses a lack of hazards, and the weather isn't an issue.

Lastly, as a group we chose to film all of the present day clips in a forest. This is where the artist is sat reflecting on old memories whilst drinking alcohol. This location is darker and mysterious and overall links in with the nature themes that are conventional within the indie genre, for example flowers and natural features. This would be an effective location to use as the darkness and loneliness of the forest creates characterisation. These sad and negative connotations of the forest links to the lyrics 'I will love you til the end of time' and 'baby can you see through the tears'. However, uneven floors may make the clips more difficult to film and although darkness is a positive, the forest may become too dark resulting in lack of images. Overall, the weather isn't a large problem as the more dismal the weather, the better as this would reflect the artist's deep emotions, and create a difference between bright flashbacks and these darker present day clips.

Iconography

Through out the video, there are clips of the male with a cigarette in his hand. We decided to add this as in the lyrics Lana explains how the man was 'punk rock' and resembled 'James Dean'. James Dean was known for being a 'rebel' and there are several pictures of him smoking, he was an actor that died at a young age and was seen as a typical . We thought that we would add this to make a clear link between visuals and lyrics. Overall, 'bad boys' are known to be an appeal to women as they're dangerous and 'hard to get'.  Lana would also be seen smoking whilst with the male, showing his effect on her. This also an element of the Dyer's star theory as there is a clear element of negative habits and rebellion.

Linking to this, the male would also be seen drinking or with a bottle of alcohol in his hand, this continues to show the 'bad boy' and 'rebellious' image through the lyrics 'you were sort of punk rock'. This piece of iconography will also be used by the artist through present day clips, which shows she has turned to negative habits after the break up. Alcohol and other elements are typical of the indie genre as they usually reflect past events (for example Lana's alcohol problem) and is mostly, a typical convention. 

Fundamentally, the locations and iconography chosen show conventions of the indie genre and different representations of the artist, causing the music video to appeal to a wider audience thus creating an artist/audience bond. 

Magazine advert analysis- Miss Miller

Magazine adverts are important for the artist to create as they promote the artist/album to a wider audience and to overall  raise awareness for the new album, therefore increasing sales and the promotion of the artist. The use of a magazine advert also links into different media elements through the use of convergence as the album gains support from different companies which increases sales.

Representation of the artist

Within this cover, Lana Del Rey  possesses a clean cut appearance, wearing a white shirt, flawless makeup and perfect hair. This is an image for her target audience (teenage girls) to aspire to, especially as this is unprovocative however, also intrigues males due to her natural beauty. This is conventional to the indie genre due to the simplistic attire and shows that she takes her music career seriously. This image also represents Lana as being powerful and independent, as a mid shot highlights her strong stance  and her chin raised as well as this, causing Lana to look down into the camera lense, creating the sense of power respect/the idea that people look up to her. This represents the idea of fearlessness, showing a direct link to the album title. The use of this mise en scene element causes the artist to seem ordinary however possessing a talent making her successful, creating an extraordinary element, fulfilling Dyer's star theory. Her naturalistic look appeals to the female audience as well as hints of red lipstick and underwear that appeals to male members of the audience. This colour connotes the idea of love and passion, which are themes within her lyrics, causing the artist to be promoted successfully to the audience as they are provided with more in depth information.

Typography/Style of language

Lana Del Rey's name is written at the very top of the album in the centre in a larger and bold font in white, that stands out on the blue background. This shows that the artist's name is the most important element within the advert, as the audience are able to view the artist's name as the font is easy to read and grabs attention. This successfully promotes the artist as through this, the artist's name is promoted to the wider public. The album name is written in the same font, with the same blue colour from the sky and is located on the artist's white shirt, causing it to become simpler to read. This causes promotion further, as the use of bold writing shows the importance of the album. Next, only her most well known songs are listed on the bottom of the album. This promotes individual (and most popular) songs as well as the album, which excites the audience and causes the audience to become more recognisable as only her successful work is listed. This is written in italics, which adds a feminine spin and also a handwritten style. This causes the advert to become more personal. Next, in the left hand corner the amazon website is included, this creates synergy and creates more ways of the audience to purchase the artist's products as she provides a website, giving the audience easy access to purchase the album. Lastly, the release date is printed slightly larger, which promotes the release of the album and causes this to become memorable and a focal point of the advert, as fans are given a date of album release.

Choice of image

The choice of imaging causes the artist to become the focal point of the page. This is caused by the use of cinematography as mid shot is aimed directly at her as she looks down to the audience, slightly. This highlights that she is the most important element of the advert and album. This also introduces her new self to the audience as she formally produced music through her real name. This also introduced her new genre of music to the audience the music industry. Next, the background is blurred however she still appears strong and vivid, highlighting that her appearance within the music industry matter as well as her involvement with in the album. Her appearance within the image is very pristine due to her white shirt, styled pin curls and natural 60s make up. This naturalistic look in conventional to the indie genre and also appeals to ranging target audiences as she would inspire women and attract men. 

Colours

The colours used within this magazine advert are all vibrate and link in with the theme of the music. The typography used also blends well with the choice of image as the scenery of a blue sky causes the artist's name in white font to stand out and become vivid. This also links to the album name printed in the same blue, however place on the artist's white shirt. This causes important elements of the album to stand out and to be promoted to the audience. The colour blue represents the idea of proffession and intelligence, promoting the artist in a positive way to the audience. The advert also contains elements of the colour red through the artist's lipstick and underwear, which connotes the idea of love and passion, introducing the audience to the themes within the artist's music.

Design and layout

The magazine advert is very simplistic and minimal. First, the text is all placed in locations that cause them to appear vividly for example, the blue, capitalised album name on the artist's white shirt. This causes all of the text to stand out on the advert and promotes the artist and album successfully to the audience. Next, the artist is represented through a mid shot, looking down at the audience with a stern expression. This causes her to become the main focus of the advert and highlights her importance within the production of the album. She is represented as being independent and fearless, linking to the title of the album. Lastly, the background featured within the music video is very simplistic and natural, linking to the indie genre. The background is blurred and includes a sky, trees and a part of a vintage car. This background does not draw attention away from the artist, which again highlights that she is the main focus of the whole album, which successfully promotes her music to a wider audience,

Connotations

There are many connotations that can be analysed from this magazine advert. Firstly, most of the text such as the album name is written in blue which is a calming colour and represents her music as most of her songs are slow and ghostly. Blue also connotes the idea of trust and intelligence, with the inclusion of this, the audience is promoted successfully as she aligns herself with these positive traits, making a statement about herself. As well as this, her name is written it white, standing out from the blue, sky background, causing this to stand out from other elements on the page. The connotations of white are 'purity' and the idea of 'perfection' this relates to the idea that, this is her first ever album since becoming 'Lana Del Rey' and the type of artist she wants to become. The use of colour within this magazine cover intrigues the audience and provides connotations that can explain the indie genre. The blue and white tones also connote her voice as it is calm and effortless and lower. Lastly, the artist's strong posture connotes the idea of strength and independence. This shows her pride due to the album and in her appearance as the highlights that an explicit image is not needed, which promotes her successfully to both males and females and is conventional to the indie genre as her clothing is not overly sexual or promiscuous. 

Representation of the artist

The advert provides the audience with a certain representation of the artist to create a bond between the artist/audience. Firstly, the artist looks away from the camera which represents her as being quite shy/mysterious  which is intriguing, This also creates the look of a less professional picture and relates to the typical indie due to the use of natural elements such as earth and the outside setting. This causes the artist to seem caring due to the use of nature, which also causes her to become more natural than artificial, linking to the sound of the music. This element promotes the artist and album, successfully. There is a direct link to the lung necklace worn and the title of the album 'Lungs' causing the idea of artist intelligence and a tool for the audience to remember the album and artist. The theme of natural elements is evident through out the advert as the artist's make up is quite natural again, and her nails are shorter however painted and prominent relating to young girls and causing a positive appearance to look up to and typical of the indie genre as she is quite simplistic. 

Typography/Style of language

The artist's name is written in bold lettering in bright white, contrasting to the black background. 

This writing is bold and mostly italic, creating a feminine sense however, causing the wording to become apparent to the audience. The artist's name becomes the focal point of the advert as the font and colouring is more vivid and eye catching promoting the album and artist successfully. Next, the use of the monosyllabic 'CD', 'Vinyl' and 'digital' are snappy and simple and get to the point, highlighting the artist's success and causes this to stick in the audience's mind. Lastly, at the bottom the artist's popular newer songs are highlighted, which excites the audience and makes the content of the album more appealing. 

Choice of image

The image used within in magazine advert exploits the idea of indie music, this is because it's quite naturalistic and raw, and it looks as if the artist lays upon grass or flowers. This is traditionally seen in music videos within this music genre, due to the theme of nature. Her pose isn't very provocative, relating again to the genre and appeals to the target audience of teenage females, mostly as well as males due to her more natural appearance. Lastly, the main focus is on the artist, showing that they are the most important element of the cover and their high involvement with the production of the album.  

Colours

The constant use of the colour black connotes a sense of mystery which links to the sound of the artist. This colour is also blank and doesn't divert attention from the audience, highlighting that the artist is the focal point and promotes her further. This colour however, subverts the typical indie stereotype, highlighting even more the idea of a difference from other musical artists and the different themes creates a wider and more diverse audience. The idea of using the colour white again, shows naturalistic features and purity which is conventional to the indie genre and stands out from the black background. This highlights the natural name of 'Lungs' reflecting her true emotions and naturalistic features of the human body highlighting that she wants to open up to the audience. A dark burgundy/red colour is used within the lung image, connoting the themes of love and passion, linking to the artist's love for fans and her music as well as possessing the audience with meaning and emotions that are linked to the artist's music.  

Design and layout

Firstly, the image of the artist connotes naturalistic features due to the nature around in the setting, highlighting that the artist is natural and relatable. Her posture us simplistic yet powerful as the pose is engaging and feminine, relating to the music that the artist creates. This image used is surrounded by a black border which highlights that the artist is the focal point as well as highlighting the connotations of mystery due to the colour black and the lack of eye contact from the artist. The text applied to the advert is very vivid and eye catching, drawing attention to the artist and album name, which is a positive tool to use for promotional purposes. 

Connotations

The use of the iconography of the lungs necklace links to the album name and creates the idea that the artist provides naturalistic features of her body, linking to the indie genre as well as showing strength. This also highlights her music style and different singing techniques due to the inclusion of lungs that her singing voice comes from her lungs, showing her natural and raw talent. The colour black used within the advert connotes the idea of mystery which links to the positioning of the artist and her posture as she doesn't look directly into the camera therefore causes a lack of eye contact. This causes the artist to make less of a direct connection with the artist however, they find that the artist cares about her music and songs created rather than her own image.

To conclude, this research of magazine adverts has provided me with more information on the genre that I am creating a music video for as well as giving me inspiration for how to plan and create my own magazine advert to promote my album and artist. This research has been extremely beneficial as I now possess a deeper knowledge on elements within the indie genre as well as positive ways to promote the artist that I will apply myself. For example, I will take on board the fact that representation of the artist is highly important when selling music, and the idea that highlighting the name of the album and the artist grabs attention, and the idea of the magazine industry and adding websites on the cover creates support and convergence as well as appealing to my target audience.

Research into chosen music artist- Miss Georgiou

The song I will be using for my music video is the RAC remix to Lana Del Rey's 'Blue Jeans'. I chose to use a remix of the song as I find that the original song is slow and dull and would be less likely to excite/intrigue an audience. As well as this, with the beat of the music, Goodwin's theory could be incorporated as there can be an evident link between visuals and music. I chose to use Lana Del Rey as the main artist as I enjoyed the remix to the song and mixing two genres together creates something new/exciting and would appeal to a wider audience also, she is a popular artist. Her music is also deep and meaningful therefore the lyrics can be applied to the music video.

Lana Del Rey (Elizabeth Woolridge Grant) was born in New York on the 21st of June, 1986 is a retro/indie pop vocalist. At the age of 15 Lana was sent to a boarding school in Connecticut and then moved back to New York at the age of 18 to study at a University. Del Rey was previously known as Lizzy Grant in 2009 and then transformed into her present self 'Lana Del Rey' with Video Games in 2011 and signed a joint record deal with Interscope Records and Polydor. As she became more popular and discussed within the media, her record label Interscope announced her first album 'Born to Die' in 2012 which went to number one on the Official UK Album Chart, as well as reaching number one in eight other countries. Next, Del Rey created a 'Paradise EP' soon after, including the song 'Young and Beautiful', used within 'The Great Gatsby' film soundtrack, film and trailer. Her most current album is 'Ultraviolence' in the summer of 2014, and became number one in over ten countries. Lana Del Rey has currently released three albums, eighteen singles and and seventeen music videos. Over seven million albums have been sold worldwide as well as twelve million singles. Del Rey has received many awards such an MTV Music Award for Best Alternative in 2012, UK Music Video Awards for Best Pop Video of 2012, A Brit Award in 2012 for Best International Breakthrough Artist, A Brit Award in 2013 for Best International Newcomer and  A Brit Award in 2013 for International Female Solo Artist.

In Lana's video for her number one hit 'Video Games', there is an evident representation of the artist. This is evident through the use of mise en scene as any clip that she stars in, she has been dressed up stylishly and presents the idea of classic beauty. From this, she is bringing back a vintage vibe to modern day music and is making this her own, thus in a way, creating something new. This promotes her in a positive light and reflects the indie genre. This also gives the audience and inspiration platform, as her target audience are females that idolise her i.e may change their own image to mirror hers.

The indie genre is also represented throughout through the use of cinematography as hand held camera work is used within many clips. This causes the whole music video to look inexpensive  which is conventional of this genre as the music video becomes relatable and reflects a true to life feel. The use of the causes a more authentic outlook, which appeals to the audience as the use of this camera work causes the music video to seem like a old home video. Indie music videos often contain a theme or the idea of a concept, as well as using elements such as this to create a bond with the artist and portray a message to the audience.

The editing also links to my previous point, as a vintage style editing technique is used on some clips. This again, causes the video to look more authentic and promotes the artist's lifestyle. This is conventional to the indie genre as the music video is more diverse and differs from a typical pop/R&B video. This is because the editing gives the video more depth and character, causing it to become more unique and interesting for the audience to watch. Including a unique element such as this causes the music video to appeal to it's target audiences as well as appealing to new audiences as the music video explores new and individual ideas.

Within the Video Games music video, mise en scene is incorporated further through the use of flashing cameras being used as iconography. This highlights the underlying meaning, concept and theme of the whole music video which is the idea of 'personal fame'. This highlights the idea that the artist isn't arrogant due to fame, and exploits the idea that everybody is important, whatever their profession or talent. This causes the video to contain more depth and provides the audience with a concept which is conventional to the indie genre.

Cinematography is explored deeply within the music video as there are constant close ups of Lana Del Rey included. This continuously promotes the artist through the video, which converts to Goodwin's theory. By adding these shots, the audience are able to view their idol as well as connect with her and the song. The artist builds a bond with her audience which is conventional to the indie genre, and almost tells a story, linking to the lyrics 'it's you, it's you, it's all for you'. In some clips, the artist is shown with a serious expression and others she is in more of a positive mood, portraying the initial meaning of the song, and how she's love struck and her life is complete now as she discusses how life is 'only worth living if somebody, is loving you'. This overall invites her target audience of females as she discusses a love story, which is stereotypical of this gender to enjoy. By looking deeply into the camera, the artist builds a connection with the audience and and learn more about her life.

Throughout the music video, a common element of cinematography used is mid shots. This shows continuous recognition of the artist and highlighting that Lana is sharing her emotions with the audience. These close ups occur through out the entire video, as after clips of flashbacks featuring past events, the camera jumps back to Lana, reminding viewers of the artist and her importance. This also causes the audience to look at the artist and have an involvement with the performance and storyline.

Goodwin's theory is explored within the video also, as there are parallels between the lyrics and visuals which is exploited through line 'holds me in his big arms' is played joint with a clip of a male helping his girlfriend into a car after a suspected party or event. This provides the lyrics with a deeper meaning and can show links to the artist's life, possibly highlighting that events such as this have occurred in her life. It is conventional of the indie genre for artists portray past events and memories from their own life to the audience, creating a connection.

This video also contains elements of mise en scene as highlighted previously, Lana is dressed in vintage clothing such as collared dresses and is shown through various close ups as styling her hair in a back combed fashion and wearing make up looks from a previous era such as the 60s with big eyes and nude lips. This takes the audience back to a previous time, and reflects the look of famous models and stars such as Audrey Hepburn. This creates a simply yet vintage look, which targets her female audience as they would want to achieve this look as well as intriguing males within the fan base. This over highlights the idea of reflection and re-branding previous items, and adapting them to the artist, which is extremely conventional of the indie genre.

Another element of mise  en scene is including within the video as the use of setting reflects the genre as a couple and other characters are shown around the beach and around the town creating memories. This highlights the theme of the song and message within the lyrics and exploits the genre as the setting is cheaper and creates a sense of meaning. It isn't luxurious and expensive like in rap or hip hop videos for example, therefore this element is conventional to the music genre. The use of this also relates to teenagers and young adults and appeals to them due to the typical teenage lifestyle included within these clips.

Lastly, elements that are true to life such as memories are explored through the use of editing as the clips appear slower as past events are shown on camera. This highlights their importance and the idea of the indie genre creating a reminiscent mood. This is also in sync include with another editing style within the music video as vintage 'sepia'/black and white' are added, causing the clips to look more authentic to the audience, like home videos, making them bond with the artist as this creates a sense of reality.

Within another of Lana's most popular songs 'Born to Die', there are elements that represent both the artist and the indie genre. This is explained by Dyer's star theory as Lana can be described as being a mixture of extraordinary and extraordinary. This is explored through the use of mise en scene as within the video  continuous clips of Lana wearing expensive clothes are included and highlighting stars from the 60s therefore, she is viewed as being privileged and leading a grand lifestyle however, she shows elements of her life and the idea of falling in love with the wrong man, which many members of her audience could relate to, especially her target audience being females. For example, in clips where she is alone, she wears a pure white dress and flowers in her hair however, when she is seen on camera with the male, she wears leather. This delves into her life and provides the audience with more information about her. Lana can be viewed as connecting with the audience through past experiences and creating the idea of a concept.

Goodwin's theory is followed through the use of a narrative throughout the video, as well as a concept and Lana portrays a woman in love that ends negatively and provides the audience that relationships aren't always positive, which involves her younger audience members. Dyer's theory links into this narrative as the audience can relate to the artist and relate to the concept and narrative she portrays. The artists portrays her own attitudes and values concerning the themes of love/relationships/heartbreak. As a large proportion of the target audience are females, the idea appeals to them the most causing them to agree with their idol's values, therefore connecting and building a relationship with her.

Mise en scene appears deeply within this music video, as whenever Lana is alone she is placed in a church or place of historical/religious features. This shows an element of purity and innocence, exploiting her character. However, when she is ever seen with the male/love interest, they are in and old car together or distressed field. This highlights the idea of her character being ruined through love which links to the lyrics 'sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough' These settings connote Lana's feelings and the audience can easily detect this and learn more about her life story and possibly relate to these events and emotions.

Further highlighting this point, the lighting is high key in the church however low key lighting is used when the couple are together new the middle and ending as signs of bright lighting appeared in the in the beginning. This shows that she would have been happier alone and first, the idea of hope is explored however, soon fades to darker, low lighting. This again explores the idea of a negative relationship and Lana connecting with her audience (influential teenage girls) through this technique.

This video again contains elements of Goodwin's theory as there are constant views of the artist, mostly through cinematography as close ups are used to identify the artist. This introduces the artist to the audience as Lana appears throughout the video. She is represented a unique through presentation due to replicating style of an older time for example, famous Hollywood movie stars for example, a white satin gown and curls in her hair. The use of a diverse image is conventional to the indie genre and promotes the artist in a positive light.

This music video is in the style of a narrative as Lana is in a relationship with a man she knows she should be with. This can be seen through cinematography as he lights a cigarette and she almost looks anxiously yet with a look of appreciation and love. This ties in with the style of concept as this is applied too, as the audience are introduced with an element or emotion from Lana and the idea that love is meant to make you strong (as she is sat on a throne with lions surrounding her) however, actually causes a person to become week, as seen in the zooming out clip at the end of an horrific image of the male carrying her dead body.

Overall, the conventions used in these successful videos from my chosen artists will influence me in creating my own music video. With this information, I am now aware of the aspects that Lana Del Rey includes within her video and how elements such as editing and cinematography can be applied to show conventions of the genre and show the artist in a certain light. I will be using some of these elements within planning and producing my own music video as I have analysed what elements make an indie video conventional, for example, the vintage editing style has become my main inspiration, which I will take on board from these videos.

Lyric analysis- Miss Georgiou

The song that I will for the final music video is 'Blue Jeans' by Lana Del Rey however, the group discussed that the initial song sounded gloomy and 'depressing' and we struggled with ideas therefore we chose an RAC remix, to make the song more upbeat sounding. I then printed out the song lyrics and we read through them as a group. The group analysed the lyrics to find the deeper meaning of the song to gain inspiration for our music video.

After analysing the lyrics in depth, I have found that the hidden meaning is the idea of a failed love story. A woman fell in love with a man and discussed the fact that he intrigued her through the lyrics 'it was like James Dean, for sure' as she links her love interest to a famous actor and an icon in America, known for his 'bad boy' persona/attitude. The relationship went well for a while and she discussed how she'll remember the day they met forever and that they fit well together. We then found that the male loved her but he loved money more. This deeper analysis is exploited through the ending of the second verse:
'Said you had to leave to start your life over,
I was like, "No please, stay here, we don't need no money
we could make it all work.
but he headed out on Sunday, said he'd come home Monday,
I stayed up waitin', anticipatin' and pacin',
but he was chasin' paper'.
The analysis of this can highlight the initial idea as she didn't want her love to leave and he promised he'd make it back to her but he chose money. Overall, after annotations (below) and the exploration of lyrics I found that each line had a deeper meaning/specific reasoning.

To create a sense of narrative, and map out our ideas, we followed the lyrics and created ideas that would link to them and the initial meaning.

To begin, we will include the love interest through through the use of cinematography as a long shot will be used to show him dressed in blue jeans a white shirt. The shots features him walking up to her, linking to the lyrics 'walked into the room you know you made my eyes burn', in which we will feature an extreme close up of the artist's eye looking at him for the first time, and connecting a bond with the audience as she looks into the camera lense. Building a relationship with the audience based on past memories is conventional of the indie genre. The rest of the verse will contain flashbacks of the couple together, in a positive parts of their relationship.

The chorus however, will feature a black and white editing style as the artist is shown in present day. She is shown sorrowfully singing to herself the lyrics 'I will love you till the end of time'. The audience hint that a break up occurred and fell empathy for the artist. The target audience ie females can relate to this and build a bond with the artist.

The second verse will show flashbacks of how happy the couple were previously, with the use of high key lighting and a vintage editing effect, which is conventional to the chosen genre and causes the scene to look authentic. Fast editing will then be used in present day as the artist is walking around the room to 'I stayed up waiting, anticipating and pacing' highlighting the sense of a motif, causing a link between lyrics and visuals. The end of the verse is the part in the narrative where the audience start discover the male's interest and love for money as the start of a poker scene begins with the line 'but you were chasing paper, caught up in the game that was the last I heard' alongside a close up of a full wallet.

The bridge is faster therefore fast editing will be used to build tension before the poker and abuse sequence. The love interest will be part of a poker game, and the artist accidentally distracts him, making him lose. When the group leaves, he trashes the room and hits the artist against the wall. This changes up the whole dynamic of the video and is much more interesting and intriguing.

The artist is then seen once more in the final shot, singing in sadness. There will be a series of close ups used to shows drugs and alcohol. In sync with the final beat of the music, the artist's hand will drop a bottle of alcohol, with panning of pills across the floor, a death will be implied through this sequence, causing the audience upset and uncovers the true message of the video and song

My group annotated the lyrics by firstly, identify the hidden meanings and why the artist wrote each song, as the audience can possibly discover more information about Del Rey. We then focused on certain lyrics and how they can influence our video. For example, 'but I still remember the day we met in December' which influenced me to add in flashback sequences which a sepia/black and white vintage camera style. Also the line, 'blue jeans, white shirt' can be a costume influence for the male. Overall this analysis (added below) will help plan all of my micro elements. I will also discover a target audience from this analysis/lyrics as a love story is presented, which conventionally appeals to teenage females. Overall, this will help me plan the conventions of the chosen song, as I have gone through each verse and chosen out elements that can be converted into something visual. Therefore, I would be creating a narrative to show the story, causing the audience to bond with the artist as pieces of her lifestyle are put on show. This lyric analysis will help present the artist and the indie genre to the audience by using conventions taken from the words.

Research into chosen music genre- Miss Georgiou

For our music video, we have chosen to use the song 'Blue Jeans' by Lana Del Rey with an RAC remix. We chose to mix two styles together to appeal to a wider audience. The genre is indie pop mixed with a house music remix. Indie pop is extremely popular within this genre as more and more indie artists are in the charts for example Ed Sheeran and Paloma Faith. This kind of music is extremely lyrical, making the songs more meaningful and if we wanted to fulfill a narrative or concept structure, we can use the lyrics to influence us. We all also thought that if we added a house remix of the song, it reaches a wider audience and makes the songs more enjoyable as some would say the original song is slow and 'depressing'. Within this post, I will be analysing two songs of the two genres used within our songs; indie and house.

The first song I will be analysing is Ellie Goulding's "How long will I love you" as it is the same style as Lana Del Rey and possesses the love song vibe as well as containing a slow beat, expressing the same ghostly/'depressing' sound as our artist's music.

The codes and conventions that are evident in this indie video are usually low key, with no elements that are extraordinary/expensive. This can be seen through the use of mise en scene within the setting of the town and the studio. The local town is extremely low key and inexpensive, and an 'everyday/casual' location will cause fans to bond with artist further as she becomes more relatable.


The use of these two different settings also provides elements of Dyer's Star Theory to the music video as the artist appears ordinary due to the use of the conventional town setting as well as appearing extraordinary because of the the use of a recording studio which promotes another part of her lifestyle which causes her to have depth and devoted to different parts of her lifestyle and also puts forward the idea that she puts in a lot of hard work as well as showing her fans her talent.



Linking to this, the music video is also filmed with a nokia phone camera, which is evident as it is shown through the video and by the use of the POV/hand held camera work. These elements again cause the artist to become relatable to fans as she uses technology that they use in everyday life. The iconography of the phone cause the video to become more personal as she films the male/love interest with the camera phone. This links to indie videos being diverse and inexpensive and containing a 'home video' element. The camera angles used by this phone also seem more personal and authentic. Overall, this shows codes and conventions of a typical indie video as it highlights a sense of narrative and reflects authentic life experiences and creates something different to other music videos from this genre.

Mise en scene is expressed further, providing the video with a casual vibe that relates to the audience. This can be seen through the use of costume as Ellie Goulding is dressed in casual clothes (a cardigan/jacket  and a beanie). This promotes the indie genre further as she becomes more relatable and ordinary as an artist. This also conforms to the indie genre as artists within this usually wear casual clothes that do not take attention away from the music. The look appeals to the audience as they can relate to this and the artist's everyday attire causes her to possess a 'girl next door' vibe which gives off an effortless look, showing that she doesn't try too hard and that making music is the focal point.






The sceneries within the music video are also shown through the use of cinematography as mid shots are used to show the room at the beginning. The artist is shown sat at the piano which links together the paradox of the star theory as she both ordinary as she is sat in a normal room in a house and is extraordinary due to her talents as an artist. This causes the audience to respect her and look up to her due to the talents that she possesses.


Next, the artist is shown throughout the video due to the use of cinematography as close ups are used to highlight the appearance of the artist. They also show/sell the artist to the audience. This links to Goodwin's theory as the artist appears throughout, promoting herself and her music. This causes her to become the focal point of the music video, promoting her image and crediting herself for the song and the video. This is conventional of the indie genre as artists are usually shown acting within their own videos. The use of this element excites the audience as they get to see their idol throughout the music video.

The instruments within the music video act as pieces of iconography as a piano and a guitar are used within the video including a microphone that the artist uses. These elements are conventional to the indie genre as these types of instruments link to the music that the artist creates, for example an acoustic guitar being the main instrument used within these songs and overall, being a theme within indie music.

The editing style of cross cutting is used to juxtapose between the narrative and performance. This again highlights her ordinary/everyday life and relationships and then her performing and recording in a studio. This allows her fans to see every part of her life. The fans/target audience to this video would be mostly females as this is a love song with meaningful lyrics which is stereotypical. However an extremely small group of this audience would be males as they are typically interested in "attractive", young females. As highlighted, the artist is represented as ordinary/extraordinary and appeals to the target audience as the filmed clips with in the video are relatable as she exposes the idea that she's a 'girl next door' type, gaining a larger audience.


This video also contains a number of elements of Goodwin's theory. The first are the links between lyrics and visuals for example, the line 'how long will I love you? 'as long as stars are above you' in synchronisation with clips portraying memories of a happy and fun relationship. The artist is showing moments of her life to her fans, by using this element which causes a bond between them.


Lastly, this music video includes another aspect of Goodwin's theory as the promotion of brands such Nokia and VW Golf are included which highlights this theory as artists typically promote other products by the use of close ups or having the brand in view within the video for more promotion purposes due to converging with other companies.

The next music video I will be analysing is 'My Love' by Route 94 which is an upbeat house track that possess the same style as the remix I will be selecting.

The first convention of the house genre that is included within this music video is the use of a heat recognition style. The use of this shows the conventions of the genre as bright colours are used, making the video more entertaining to watch and reflecting the club scene. These colours also link to the style to the song as all the maroon colours represent love and all of the colours highlight people's different emotions of the night, which causes fans (ie teenagers/party goers) to relate to these aspects that appear within the song.



Linking to this, mise en scene is featured as the music video contains the conventional setting of a club containing  drinking and dancing and a DJ playing the song. This again reaches the artist's target audience as older teenagers and young adults will relate to this feeling and experience. This location/environment gives of a positive atmosphere that relates to the beat of the song.


Mise en scene is featured again through the use of neon lighting within the club, which is extremely conventional within the house genre. Not only does this reflect the setting, but these colours also add to the beat and sound of the music and causes the club and overall music video more enjoyable and visually pleasing to the audience due to the bright colours and liveliness.


Cinematography is evident further within this music video as panning is used around the club setting to highlight different identities and actions. This again shows the liveliness of the club and is fitted to the song as the camera pans around the populated club to the beat. This also sets the scene for the audience as it is relatable and appeals to teenagers/young adults.




This video also contains elements of Goodwin's theory due to the promotion of the artist. This is evident through the use of cinematography as there are many close ups of the artist and panning around him. This shows that he is the centre of the whole club which highlights his importance within the video and the music industry and further promotes him and familiarises the artist to the audience.


Next, editing styles such as fast editing is used when the music picks up and jump cuts to events that happen around the club. This makes the video look more interesting and changes up the pace and look of the video, so that the visuals are changed up, causing the audience to enjoy what they are watching. The use of this is also conventional of the indie genre. This overall causes the audience to relate to the video and enjoy the layout as the target audience for this video/genre are older teenagers to young adults as the beat/sound creates a 'club life' vibe that the audience that these age categories can relate to. The audience bond with the artist also as he is represented as a typical male, quite ordinary and relatable especially males within the audience.

Next, Goodwin's theory is again covered within this video as there are links to the visuals and music as when the music speeds up, the scenes/editing becomes faster to represent the idea of a party/what occurs in clubs. Linking to the last point, the video becomes easier to follow as well as becoming more enjoyable as the use of this conforms to the house genre as the video sequence fastens up like the music. Linking to this theory, females also wears shorts and vest tops, showing off their bodies and highlighting typical club wear. This allows the audience to relate to the club scene. This shows a clear representation of voyeuristic images of females as they show of their body/wear revealing/short clothing. This is what is typically seen in clubs and causes the video to become even more relatable to the audience.

To conclude, I have found that the research that I have carried out will be extremely beneficial as I am more aware of the elements used within both indie and house genres of music and how to mix them together. These elements will assist me in planning my final music video and what conventions to use during production. I will use these videos as inspirations as they show elements of the genres that I will be using and I now possess the knowledge of what a successful music video should contain.

Target audience results- Miss Miller

Within this post I will be discussing how I approached my target audience. A target audience is a group of people in which an item (such as a song or film) is aimed at. To do this, I created questionnaires and interviewed a number of people. The questionnaire constructed needed to include seven open questions three closed questions to collect specific quantitative/qualitative data and needed to be filled out by forty members of the public to get a variety of responses. I can use these results to identify certain elements that people think are positive or negative within a music video and then apply some of them to my final product. I applied questions within the questionnaire that would help me pin point the types of elements my audience would want to see incorporated and will help produce a popular and well constructed music video. Below is is a copy of the questionnaire questions followed by the gathered results in pie chart form.

This question was created to find the gender of most of our target audience. These results show that more females were asked which links to our chosen artist (Lana Del Rey) as her target audience are largely made up of females as her songs incorporate the element of love, which women stereotypically prefer, therefore this group would become our target audience too, therefore gaining their opinion would work out positively for us. Males are still involved, which shows unbiased results and still gains their perspective as young, good looking females can be a smaller part of Lana's target audience.

Our next question asked what the member of the public's ages were, to discover what age range our target audience would fall under which we found to be 17-22. We applied this question to pin point an age range for our target audience. It is also evident that 99% of the answers came from the 11-22 age range therefore, we should take these ages into account as well as possibly making the video enjoyable for the 23-28  age group (2%) age groups also, to entertain 100% of the target audience an overall appeals to a wider audience. From this, we can discuss this through the production of the music video as we would need to confer want we apply this to music video for example, the level of explicity as we can discuss the use of this within our indie video as a large amount of our target audience are of a more mature age.

This question was created to gain our target audience's opinion on our chosen artist and as a way of discovering whether or not they like them. I believe that a question like this is important to have added to the questionnaire as we can identify if people will bond with our artist and if there's any real evidence to use her music within our music video. The results clearly show that our chosen target audience would like our chosen artist from half of the results being answered 'yes' therefore we can take a larger inspiration from Lana Del Rey's videos as her style is appreciated by many therefore, we could possibly adapt to this, fulfilling what half of our target audience want to see. Only 10% of the answers were a strict no. From these results we gained confidence in our ideas and believed that if she is a well liked and established artist, we can deliver this within our music video, gaining more attention and appreciation. However, as a group, we could change the minds of people that prefer not to listen to this artist, as we will mix the chosen song with a house remix and by creating a successful music video, showing the artist in a positive light which can overall make these people warm to our artist more, therefore we will take these opinion into consideration. 

As a group we had a few ideas in mind for example the use of a love story and how it effects our artist's life and were in need of discovering if the public would appreciate them and find them positive aspects to include within a music video. We wanted to create a narrative, and from this evidence we have found that the public believe that this can be delivered well within music videos and create an artist/audience bond, which is a positive tool as there would be a lack of point to a music video of the audience cared very little about the artist. However, most of the audience thought that adding in the idea of a concept to this would be interesting and cause a connection with the artist, therefore the group will take this on board and discuss this. Other answers included the themes of performance and the idea of a mixture, therefore the music video can be a narrative and clips of the artist singing with an ideology throughout thus creating a concept. All of these answers will be discussed however a narrative will be incorporated as this can be a positive tool in providing the audience with deeper knowledge on the artist and creating a connection.

As discussed in the last question, the group wanted to incorporate a love story and we wanted to identify whether this aspect was something that our target audience would want to see . From choosing the song and analysing the lyrics, the group discussed that this idea may be a constructive element to incorporate however, we needed the answers from the questionnaire to prove this. As Lana's audience are mostly women, as are 68% of this group, they answered yes. Which validated our idea and highlighted successful tools such as love stories and themes within music videos. The group will also take on the constructive comments on board such as showing more of the artist and touching upon the artist's true emotions and experiences to show her past relationships, which will provide the audience will what they want to see and create a bond between them and the artist.

In one of our first group meetings, we discussed that we wanted to use Lana Del Rey's music however use a remix as it would provide the audience with a more upbeat and entertaining sound and visuals. However, the group needed to be satisfied that our choices were clear and that our target audience would enjoy the song for the music video if the remix was applied. As Lana Del Rey plays indie music, all of us didn't connect with the original song, as we thought that it was too slow and an enjoyable music video couldn't be made from this. Therefore, we found the RAC remix of the chosen song 'Blue Jeans', which mixes Indie and House genres together thus appealing to 73% therefore, the group will be more confident that our ideas are appreciated and appeal to our audience so that we can make a successful music video that they will enjoy.

Evidently from the last question, we found that a large amount of people enjoyed indie and house music however, the group needed to know if these could be mixed to fit our chosen remix. I thought that this would be a valuable question to use as we have chosen not to use the song alone but to use a remix. I think that it is important to see how an audience would respond to that. Luckily over half of the answers believed that mixing to genres (in our case indie and house) would be a positive idea. However, 30% of the answers were 'other' therefore they were not completely against the idea therefore, if we choose a successful remix and make a successful video for it, they may prefer this new product. Overall, the answers gathered provides the group with confidence and lets us know that our initial idea can be put forward. 

When creating a music video it is important to discover what your audience want to see incorporated and to gain direct ideas from your target audience on different types of elements they'd prefer to see added. Conventions that the audience prefer to see should be discussed within planning and included within the production of the final music video. I will look at including the three most popular answers to appeal to a wider audience. Luckily, a narrative of the artist's life and a love story are aspects that are enjoyed and are conventional within the indie genre. The use of a performance is also touched upon therefore we should look at including this however, should not make this the main aim as only 10% of the audience wanted this included. Saying this, 10% of the audience answered 'other' therefore wanting to see different conventions to these, providing us with the knowledge that we can add more conventions than this to create a stronger music video and appealing to even more audience members.

It is equally important to discover what elements the audience deem negative and what they wouldn't want to see in a music video. As we are creating a narrative, which reflects what the audience want to see, we have also found that it should not be confusing and difficult to follow therefore, we will make this interesting but not overly complicated. As well as this, dependent on the audience's age range and the idea of a love story, there should be a lack in explicit clips which I think is a positive aspect as personally, I dislike explicit actions within music videos. Linking to this, lack of alcohol and drug use will make the video more available to a wider audience as it would be less likely to be placed after the 9pm watershed. As a group, we will take all of these comments into consideration and apply them within production.

Lastly, the group needed to know answers to questions such as this to identify the characterisation that the audience would be interested in. It is conventional of both the indie and house genre to promote the artist and we gained the same response from the audience. Therefore, we will discuss making the artist thee main focus of the video through elements such as close ups and the narrative of the video so that the audience can follow the artist's journey, causing the audience to become more interested in her lifestyle thus creating a deeper bond. A majority of the answers also hinted at the use of male and female characters which implies the adaptation of a love story or relationship which the group wanted to create from the beginning. 

I then used this questionnaire to create vox pops, asking five people of mixed genders these questions. These were used to gain data and more evidence and allowed us to obtain opinions and in depth reasons for their decisions as they were given the option (mostly with open questions) to express their point of view concerning the questions asked. Overall, vox pops are necessary to have as I will gain a more in depth response as they aren't limited in their speech, and there is no time frame therefore, the can speak as detailed and for as long as they prefer. It can also be said that, questionnaires can be planned however, unstructured interviews such as these interviews reflect true answers as they are unpredictable and aren't planned therefore the participants are free to speak their mind which will make answers more reliable and useful. These interviews are included below.

Following this, the group researched into youth subcultures. Subcultures are a group of people who are integrated through a common item such as music. These can be considered groups that prefer to go against the mainstream and social norms. We then identified all of the sub cultures and their views and chose the one that applies to us the most which is Grant McCracken's theory. He believes that in the post-modernist society, it is full of diversity, creativity and dynamism. And by analysing the array of values, it cannot be said that all subcultures come from one big culture. Therefore all styles of music are different, and cannot be the same as the values within other genres.This appeals to us as we are analysing different genres and merging them, therefore we need to identify all subcultures within indie and house and although our results allow us to merge these genres, and this is something that our audience would like to see, we need to appreciate that the genres aren't the same therefore we need to discover the conventions of both and discuss how they can be inflicted within the final product. The indie and house genre add to this by raising the idea of a mainstream as it can be said that indie music can typically go against it however, Ed Sheeran, an indie artist is extremely popular and an artist that is high in the charts, linking to house music, a commercial genre. Therefore, it can be argued that a mainstream does not exist on some levels. I will use this overall theory within my music video as it should contain diverse and creative elements therefore, I will look at other diverse music video and analyse what makes the different and individual.

Overall, I believe that this research proved extremely helpful as we were able to view first hand, what our audience would want incorporated. The questionnaire is a positive way to gain data as we were able to ask our audience specific questions that linked to our ideas we had for our music video and if the audience agreed or disagreed. Then, the interviews provided us with greater detail and knowledge as members of the public were able to discuss their ideas thoroughly.