Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 3

Q3.) What have you learned from your audience feedback? 

 During our planning stages, we focused on our target audience to make sure we knew where to aim and what direction to go in during the process of creating our music video. We started by creating a prezi to create an overall idea of what we wanted to aim for as an audience. Here we looked at the idea of what sort of age range our target audience would be, including the gender, sexuality and ethnicity our target audience may be with regards of looking at our artist and their genre of music. After obtaining this information, we were then able to branch off within our prezi to further evaluate what our target audience may include; this focused on the interests and likes of the target audience; i.e. typically liked brands, food brands, social media they would use frequently etc. 

We decided to focus on popular films that may be like within our supposed target audience due to the idea we had of including a film element in our video with the idea of our chosen song being called 'Poltergeist' - a key example film to include being the classic 80's film 'Poltergeist'. We decided to focus on also looking at hobbies and common places of interest within our target audience as this could prove useful with when looking at what location to use to film our music video. We also created a questionnaire to give to a small sample of people to discover key information to include within the idea of our target audience and what their interests was due to the fact this could provide key information for our ancillary texts when we would focus on creating our marketing for our artist; some of these questions included what their preferred music genre was and who their favourite artists were. 

We also took into account what type of elements of music video they preferred (i.e. performance, narrative & conceptual). Our results showed us how our audience preferred a narrative story line within music videos our a performance based music video. We took these into account with when beginning to plan out storyboards.We also discovered most of our sample preferred rock/alternative music which was a positive aspect for us due to our artist being an indie/rock singer. Our research helped influence our initial ideas due to the research we initially gathered, proving effective for our artists of the same genre. 

 Throughout our filming and editing we kept our target audience in consideration. We focused on creating an indie styled music video but we created an interested for our target audience by focusing our music video largely on a narrative aspect and we were able to show this through a conceptual way, something that wasn't particularity taken into interest within the results of our questionnaire but we believe we were able to incorporate a conceptual aspect successfully, so our target audience will enjoy it. One of the things we changed from our original idea was to set our video with our actress in front of a green screen rather than going to some of the locations we had discovered from our research.

 However, we believe that with the use of our narrative and conceptual element, and the use of editing in overlays, we were bale to create an interesting and intriguing music video that will still capture our chosen target audiences question. With completing our music video and ancillary texts, I believe some of our most successful elements have been the synergy created between our digipak and magazine advert; we were able to focus o creating these two pieces of marketing to be overall successful. The idea of linking in all elements from our music video to synergise all together will prove a high sense of professionalism across our target audience and the music industry. I believe the most effective piece of our music video would be how we have incorporated the use of editing an overlay within our music video to help create a conceptual element in our music video, which can be scene as slightly different compared to other indie music videos. The fact we were also able to use a brand new original song that has not been released yet has also been used to our favour to create an entire new image for this upcoming artist.

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 2 from Holly F

Evaluation Question 1

Q.) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

With using an original song, our artist has only had access to releasing music on Sound Cloud. While Sound Cloud is a popular music streaming site for other artists without a lot of recognition within the music industry, it still limits the availability they have with an audience due to the site not being as popular and famous such as others like Spotify or YouTube. So with uploading our music video onto YouTube, this allows us to broadcast our artist on a larger scale. With being on YouTube, our music video is available to millions of users that can come along and discover it within suggested videos or sue to adverts seen about the artist and searching on YouTube has proved to be the easiest way to find music videos. YouTube will be beneficial for our artist to become more popular within the music industry due to the fact of how a mainstream site such as this allow people to have the recognition they deserve for their work. The fact it is a free streaming site for music videos makes it that much more popular and intriguing for people to go online for.

Our advert can be seen to challenge real media products due to how we have taken genre stereotypes into account and used them to our advantage. For example, with using Photoshop, we were able to create an edit of smoke appearing to cover the artists face. We believe this is effective due to the fact that while we have decided to show our artist on the poster, something not typically focused on within indie artists magazine adverts, we have changed it into a way where we have left a sense of mystery; we were able to it in the theme of the album and the single ‘Poltergeist’ to the advert by creating a mysterious, supernatural effect. With also using a continuous style showing to have patterned across form our digipak to our advert, the advert can be broadcasted and advertised into other multiple ways and not just only a magazine. It can be advertised on social media sites or as a YouTube advert with clips form the music video shown to help engross a new audience.

With our music video, our genre is predominately indie/rock based and we have been able to adhere to the stereotype of the indie genre conventions with the idea of focusing on a narrative music video. Most indie artists follow through with this style of music video to tell a story; a clear example of this can be seen within Florence and The Machine, where they were able to create a whole conceptual, narrative music video series surrounding their entire album; each video being able to link in with the lyrics of each song. We focused on creating this within our music video as well by telling a story of a toxic relationship within an LGBT couple, but the main focus of telling a story within the video was to adhere to a stereotypical indie genre convention. 

Other ways we were able to adhere to the indie genre within our music video would be focusing on the costume; this being the key item of clothing that is memorable to our key audience being the denim jacket, due to many indie genre stars – such as The Smiths – would do something like this as a key factor of their style. With most mainstream music videos, they focus on including a large variety of different locations, a common factor noticeable within the music industry recently being these music videos being filmed in locations such as exotic beaches. 

For our video, we focus on our location not being shown as the focus of the entire video is on our actress who is only standing in front of a green screen. Other music videos filmed like this or in a similar can be seen to be done by Coldplay with ‘The Scientist’ where the music video is focused predominantly on the leader singer but uses a real life situation and location for the background, rather than a green screen which we chose in our case.

In ways we have challenged the conventions of the indie genre can be seen with how we have used a female artist; while there are commonly known to be quite a few female indie singers, it is still the case that the genre is mostly male dominated, as such with other music genres. With using a female artist, this allows us to be able to go against the mainstream music video idea of sexualising a women’s body within a music video, which is commonly seen in pop music videos. With using a simple close up of our artist singing into the camera in a continuous way with editing in other footage, can be seen to challenge the stereotype of music videos with displaying our actress as a normal ‘heartbroken’ girl, rather than a sexualised object which can mostly be the case within the media. The idea of showing the representation of a gay couple within a music video can also be shown to challenge the concept of music videos as there are not many famous music videos which focus on the storyline of a LGBT couple; Macklemore and Troye Sivan can be named as one of the few famous mainstream artists that have been known to show this representation within their music videos. Even with the representation of homosexual characters in music videos, it is also known that not many of these couples with music videos show female and female relationship storylines. One famous indie singer known to have done this, and can be said to be famous for her music videos because of this, is Hayley Kiyoko who has involved multiple lesbian relationships or feelings within her videos, often portraying herself within her narratives.

With looking at our Digipak’s, in many ways we have conformed to the typically accepted ‘norms’ that this packing is predominately distributed as. One of these factors being how most artists will carry out a common theme throughout the whole of the digipak. For example, using a photo-shoot to cover the front, back and inside cover of the digipak. An example of this can be seen with Katy Perry’s ‘Teenage Dream’ where she has used multiple images from the same photo-shoot to carry out a theme for her digipak. The idea of using specific and similar images helps create a sense of repletion and familiarity for the audience, allowing the digipak and artist to become more memorable in a way that will be easier for the audience to access the artist; for example, if the same packing style was used for the artists advertisements, they would be easier to recognise.  

Overall, I believe our ancillary texts have been successful with the idea of conforming to the indie music genre. With the inspiration of other artists of the same category, we have been able to create an overall product conforms to this aesthetically pleasing idea that has been created surrounding the indie genre while creating our own unique twist with regards to linking our ancillary texts to the theme of our artists song being about ghosts and the supernatural element in some ways. To push our digipak further, I would prefer to edit it and see how we can improve it and allow it to become more unique and unlike most, creating a new and interesting element that we have already begun working on originally. 

Final Video

Ancillary Texts

Ancillary Texts from Holly F

Production Schedule

Original Proposal

The plan is to film a music video which successfully represents the narrative side of the song which the artist has conveyed through the use of lyrics. Alongside this, myself and Chloe have planned to incorporate several conceptual segments in order to convey the themes and motifs around the song, and this will be carried out predominantly using props and costume.

Schedule

• Initial dates for filming: 

• Prep: Tuesday 15th November 2016

• Final deadline for filming:

Tuesday 15th November 2016: Prep Day

Time: 13.50pm-4pm 

Location: My garden

Actor(s): Kate Sweatman 

Props/Costume: White background, black paint, glitter, bikini top and makeup. 

Equipment needed: Camera, tripod, white lights.

This is the very first day of the filming process and the aim is to begin filming for the conceptual parts of the music video. Within the conceptual section, our actor Kate will be standing in front of a white background, appearing nude lip syncing whilst having paint artistically thrown at her. 

We first started off by getting our actor ready for the shoot by doing her makeup and her hair to ensure that she looks the part. We focused on a dark eye makeup look but added some glitter to her eyes to make her look more relaxing. 

After finishing her makeup, she then got dressed in a bikini top so she would appear nude from the shot we would be filming. Once outside where we had set up, we had our actor sit down and focus the camera to make sure we would film the right shot, we did a practise run through of the song to make sure the first actual take could go to plan as well as possible.


Wednesday 7th December 2016: Location and Practise Shots

Time: 2-5pm

Location: St Mary's Island 

Actor(s): Holly Fagg

Props/Costume: camera, tri-pod

With travelling to our new location of St Mary's Island, we were able to walk past the docks and achieve a good view of the river and with the time of day it was, a good view of the sky being close to sunset.

Wednesday 16ty December 2016: Final Filming Day for Music Video

Time: 3-4pm

Location: Media Studio

Actor(s): Holly Fagg

Props/Costume: green screen, tri-pod, camera

The plan for this filming day is to complete the filming of the lip syncing for the performance element of our music video. As shown by our storyboards, we will film our actor Holly lip syncing the lyrics to the song Poltergeist into the camera therefore enabling us to cut and change which part of the lyrics we incorporate into the music video if need be. As shooting each try only takes around 3 minutes we aim to keep filming the lip syncing part until we get it to the standard we are happy with.

Location Research

For our music video, it will be split into two parts with looking at the idea of the conceptual side and the narrative side. For the narrative side of our video, we want to show a couple stuck in a forest and arguing and having a fight of sorts while in this environment. A forest will allow a mysterious and haunting atmosphere for our video which will relate back to the theme of the supernatural and poltergeists.

1st Location

One location idea we had for this part of the music video was Mote Park, Maidstone. Mote Park allows a large cover of forest for us to shoot in, but also allows other features that could be used to our advantage. For example, within Mote Park there is the Volunteers Memorial Pavilion which was built in 1801 and has been boarded up for many years. It can be used a background prop to help give a creepy atmosphere.

2nd Location

Another location idea we had was to use another forest area such as Riverside Country Park. The park allows some forest cover we could use for the narrative side of the video and it is also a closer location to use rather than Maidstone. However, we have already used this location before for our AS Media project so it would seem unprofessional to reuse this location and it would seem as if we are lazy and unable to think of anywhere else to film and to be able to 'think outside the box'.

3rd Location

Another closer location that we could use could be Capstone Country Park which does allow a large coverage of forest for us to use and it is also another closer location for us to be able to reach.

Final Decision 

In the end, we decided to go with the first location idea of Mote Park because of how large the park is, it will give us chance to find the perfect spots to film and with knowing how large the park is, we will most likely be able to find a spot to film that will be away from others within the park which will help minimise the chances of filming being interrupted. This location will also be the best to use due to the other features this park has like the Volunteers Pavilion.


                                                   https://goo.gl/maps/xihuoDFNAG52

For the conceptual side of the music video, the basic shots we will be using is close ups of our chosen singer from the chest upwards to give off the idea that she is naked without having to actually show anything that would be deemed explicit; this imagery of the chest upwards will allow the idea of how vulnerable the singer is during the conceptual side of the music video.

For the conceptual side of the video, we also plan to use many props within this side; some of these props will be paint, glitter, water (etc) so we will need a location that will allow us to be able to make a mess easily without any trouble.  We have been inspired with PVRIS' 'You and I' video which gave us the idea for this part of our own music video - to be able to do this we will need a white background as well for when we film our singer.

One idea we had for this would be to use my own back garden because with having a large wall to set up the white backdrop to use. With having a decking as well, it will be easy to clean if there is a slight mess made but with being able to use the large wall and decking to set out, we can use a tarp to lay across the decking to catch any mess.

Prop's & Costume List

Props needed:

For our first initial idea for our music video decided to focus on a more conceptual side for our music video, while this idea wasn't used in the final product, props were a large necessity within this idea.

Black Paint - we will be using this within the conceptual side of our music video to try and achieve a supernatural elect; the bleach paint can represent a sort of 'gooey/sticky' substance which can be seen as a typical trait within horror movies to do with ghosts of possessions; relating back to the theme of poltergeist. The paint can symbolise negativity and releasing all of this 'darkness' that our actress is suppressing/dealing with. A prime example of where this sort of thing has been used before is Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' where we can see the camera pan over to a close up of one zombie with 'black goo' (which can also be seen as old blood) to be oozing out of his mouth; other examples being the exorcism scene within 'The Conjuring' however we will not be focusing on making our music video horror-like.


For our final music video idea outcome, we focused more on a narrative. While we used multiple clips to show a story between the two actors, we focused on using an overlay edit we had discovered through the internet showing the impressions of the clips being shown to look like old video tapes, staying with the theme of the supernatural and the classic film 'Poltergeist'.

To do this we needed to focus on the assistance of a green screen for our actress to sit in front of to help create a clear background for our performance. A tripod was essential to help keep the camera still and central with our actress in a clear shot for the whole music video.

Costume:

For our actresses costume, we decided to focus on an indie/alternative look. Wearing a denim jacket, this is able to display to the audience the indie style of the music and the artist due to the vintage aesthetic connotations associated with this sort of clothing style; for example, it can be linked to The Smiths iconic style. Under neath the jacket, she is wearing a simple black top with strange designs which can be seen to be described as 'edgy'; this can be linked into the rock/alternative style fashion. Black eyeliner was a key focus for our actress' face due to it being key and vital to create emphasis on her eyes due to the constant eye contact with the camera. I believe this outfit adheres to the stereotypes of an indie artist, allowing our music video to prove more effective overall.

Storyboards

Once we had our initial idea for our music video the next step was to plan the filming process shot by shot. We did this in the form of storyboards and planned out what actions would be carried out within each shot, what camera shot/angle would be used and at what part of the song it would happen. The idea behind this was to make the filming process go as according to plan and so as not to waste any time. By knowing which shots we needed to film at different points the filming process could be planned accordingly. It also means we can make sure every part of the music video is filmed so we don't get to the editing process and realise certain parts have been missed out.

Initial Ideas

With looking at our ideas for our music video, we decided to record us discussing what we wanted to do and try to aim and achieve. During the week, we met up with leader singer Tia Avey to figure out what ideas she had for the music video of her song.

Lip Sync Testing

With the fact that lip syncing will prove to be important within the editing stage of our music video, Chloe and I thought it would be best to practise lip syncing by practising it beforehand. With using Tia, this will allow us to test what it would be like to film with her later on due to her starring in our music video for her band's song.

One of the negatives of this test proves to be how her song 'Poltergeist' had not been finished mixing yet so we were unable to test that song with lip syncing. We then decided to use one of our other song choices which happened to be Heathens by Twenty One Pilots. We chose to use this song for the lip syncing because it was an easy song for Tia to learn quickly so we would be able to film the lip syncing as quickly as possible. It also doesn't help that the singer is a male so it doesn't line up properly to be exact.

However this was our first try at lip syncing and while there were a few negatives, this allows us to learn from our mistakes and practise again before we start filming for our music video.

Andrew Goodwin's Theory of Music Videos

Andrew Goodwin came up with a theory of what people expect and want to see in music videos. The theory identifies five elements that are crucial for a successful music video:

• Thought beats- seeing the beat
• A relationship between the narrative and the performance
• The star's trademark
• Multiple close-ups of the main artist
• Technical aspects

Thought Beats- Seeing the beat

With looking at the idea of 'cutting' during editing, Goodwin argued that there should be a relationship between the song and the editing. Cuts should be made in time to the beat, and in some cases, during each chorus of the song images and colours are repeated to emphasize the repetition of the tune or beat. 

A good example of this is the music video for Just One Yesterday by Fall Out Boy - just before the chorus (0:37 - 0:50), it is visibly noticeable how the beat and editing are in time with each other. They are timed perfectly and flow with the narrative of the video which shows how the song has been taken into consideration during the editing stage of the music video. The overall effect of this is extremely successful in creating a clean finish to the product. Music videos which don't use this technique tend to have a "jumpy" feel to them and this can make it difficult for the audience to watch and pay attention to what's going on. 

A Relationship Between the Narrative and the Performance

The performance within the music video is needed to give the audience clarification over ambiguous meanings the lyrics may have on their own.

The music video for Lonely Girl by Tonight Alive represents this element extremely well as it features such a strong narrative for the performance to be based on, showing the emotion of both the character and the lead singer. The video itself follows one particular character from the very beginning to the end in an almost story like manner which significantly raises the chances of the audience watching the entire video. By using this story telling technique, the performance within the music video creates a solid interpretation of the song lyrics, which is exactly what Goodwin identified as being what audience's wanted to see.

The Star's Trademark

Successful artists will usually have their own style or movement which is unique to them. Goodwin argued that this was crucial for the audience to see as it allows them to identify with the artist, as well as the artist using it as a marketing ploy in the future.

Within the indie/alternative community, a good example of this element of Goodwin's theory is Melanie Martinez. A young singer who starred on the Voice is known for her 'strange' and unique style. It is shown within her fashion, tattoo's, lyrics and videos.  The music video for Alphabet Boy shows the audience a clear example of how she perceives her style of music - channeling it through the idea of a mad, childlike world of her own.

Multiple close-ups of the main artist

The idea behind this element is that the multiple close ups of the artists create a sense of "closeness" between the artists and the audience. If the artist is female, it's quite common for many of these close-ups to be sexualised which can create a fetishisation. With male artists, it can be used in a sexualised way as well, as if the male singer is 'wooing' the female target audience due to these extreme close ups. An example of this can be seen in DNCE's Cake By The Ocean - the multiple shots of eye contact with the camera during these close ups helps shows this.

Technical aspects

Effective editing, mise-en-scene and the appropriate lighting/colour to create the right mood is essential, according to Goodwin's theory, in order to create a music video with a professional finish.



How could we incorporate some of these elements in our music video?

With now deciding that for our music video, we want to focus more on the narrative and conceptual side rather than performance, we should take into consideration how important the narrative should be to interest the audience and how we can use the conceptual side to our advantage. The conceptual side will allow us to make a connection to the lyrics and narrative as Goodwin shows this to be an important factor if we wish to make a successful music video. Transparence's song 'Poltergeist' is about a toxic relationship that is shown to be breaking down and detaching yourself from this previous partner, the themes of Goodwin's theory could be seen as crucial to include as we will be able to use them to our advantage and benefits.

Institutional Research

Band Biography

Transparence

Transparence are an alternative rock duo from Kent, UK that formed in early 2016 after lead singer Tia Avey decided to try out being apart of a band again after a failed project before with an old band mate.

The band is made up of leader singer Tia Avey and guitarist Reiltin Bennett who met online due to a love for the same style of music, after discovering the two living in the same county, the two became close very fast and formed the band in early 2016. While having other commitments such as school to think about, the band has not been able to progress as far as they wished.

However, during April 2016, they were able to go to a recording studio in Canterbury and with the help of Sarah Kelly (bassist) and Adam Daly (drums) they duo were able to record their first song Poltergeist. The song has not been performed live yet but the duo hope to progress enough during the rest of 2016 with being able to record a full EP to release to the public. Kelly and Daly are yet to be announced as official members of the band but for now are just a part of the recording process.

The bands first live gig as a duo was at Sunpier House, Chatham later that same month where they performed a cover of PVRIS' 'Holy'. The band made a reappearance at Sunpier in July where they performed 'Fat' by BONES and 'Only Love' by PVRIS.


Fat by BONES cover




Only Love by PVRIS cover







The band are currently re-mixing 'Poltergeist' before they continue to work on any new music but are organizing more gigs within the near future.

Potential Actors

For our music video, with considering potential actors, we have decided to use the band as we want to create a narrative, conceptual video where we can involve the band to also add a creative performance element as well.

Our first decision was to use the lead singer to be a part of the video which would have been Tia Avey - who has an alternative style which would be an advantage to our music video. However due to complications she was unable to perform for the music video.






Another actor we had looked at to star in our video was Kate Sweatman, who had a similar alternative style, mostly seen with her her 'half and half' dyed hair style but due to time schedules and her being unable to learnt he song she was unfit for the video.

 

Finally, due to scheduling, we decided to use myself for the video due to being apart of the production group and a potential actor for the music video. The other member of my group, Chloe, practiced taking some screenshots and discovered they had the desired effect that we needed and it was also a positive that I knew the song also. 

Similarly to with Kate, I took some screen test shots of Holly and found that they gave the desired effect. However, these screen test shots were taken in a more natural environment rather than in front of a  white background and I found this to be beneficial in the sense that it allowed us to view Holly's presence in front of the camera as she would appear in the actual music video. 
As Holly is also heavily involved in the production side of the music video she will be available to film on every date proposed. This enables us as a group to be more flexible and stable in our filming dates, therefore meaning more attention can go into the smaller details of the music video rather than the overall organisation of the placement of actors. 

My Record Logo

For my record label, I have decided to call it Kalon Records. Kalon means 'a beauty that is more than skin deep' which can give my record label a poetic outlook with the idea of focusing more on the music than on the imagery of the band due to this being an alternative record label.

Logo 1:

For my first logo, I decided to try and stick with an alternative indie design by using an aesthetic approach by using a black and white drawing of a teenage girls hair style which is double buns - this is known to be an alternative style which could be used to my advantage to attract a teenage audience which would suit my main artist's target audience. I used a font called 'Bad Stories' which allowed my to create a unique style that gave my logo an 'edgy' look which I though could be used to my advantage.


Logo 2: 

With my second logo, I used the same font but used a simple black and white background with a square pattern. While the logo is more simple compared to my first one, it does seem quite bland and boring and my not be as eye catching as the first.

 Logo 3:

For my thrid logo I used a simple outline drawing of a grav stone, to once again relate back to the idea of an alternatvie aesthetic look and used a different font called 'The Morgue' to give this logo a more creative look. This logo is a simple design as well but is still unique and interesting compared to the scond logo but not as extravagant as the first. Which is why I chose this one to be the logo for my record label .

Record Label: Research

Fueled By Ramen

Fueled by Ramen is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group with distribution from one of the company's main labels, Atlantic Records. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida, is now based in New York City. The logo is very simple being black and white with bold writing to make the words stand out more with the use of block writing. With making the word 'Fueled' bigger and a more unique shape compared to the rest of the words give it a more creative style which fits in with the style of the record label due to the different variety or artists and genres it has. 

Rise Records

Rise Records is an American, Oregon-based, record label. Rise was founded in 1991 by Craig Ericson in Nevada City, California. He released a small number of 7" records before putting the label on hiatus to attend college. Ericson didn't release anything further until 1999, after moving to Portland, Oregon. The label has a distribution deal with Alternative Distribution Alliance, the indie distributor owned by Warner Music Group and directly in Europe and Australia with Warner Music and BMG. The logo is similar to FBR with the fact that it is in black and white and has a letter larger than the others. However the font used gives it a slight retro and vintage look, giving off the idea that the record label is quite alternative.

Capital Records 

Capitol Records is an American record label part of the Capitol Music Group and a wholly owned division of the Universal Music Group. The label was founded as the first West Coast-based record label in the United States in 1942 by three industry insiders,Johnny Mercer, Buddy DeSylva, and Glenn Wallichs. In 1955 the label was acquired by British music conglomerate EMI as its North American subsidiary. Capitol's circular Los Angeles headquarter building (Capitol Records Building) is a recognized landmark of California - allowing the logo to be quite simple and recognisable with using a famous landmark' it also allows the logo to look quite professional  compared to the other two logos but also keeps us with the black and white theme.

Who is our Target Audience?

Questionnaire 

In order to work out who our target audience are and what they expect to see within an indie music video, I have put together an online questionnaire consisting of both open and closed questions. The first two questions aim to identify the gender and age of the audience, with the next seven questions delving in deeper to the genre of music they listen to and their expectations of that genre in regards to their music videos.

We sent the link for the questionnaire (https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/T8S7H2Z) to 10 people who are a range of ages. When we receive the results I will analyse them in order to truly work out who our target audience is and what they would expect to see from an indie music video such as ours will be. This should hopefully enhance the quality of our music video as once we know the audience's expectations we can cater for this, either by adhering to their expectations or by catching their attention through subverting their expectations.

Mood Boards

Genre Representation Mood Board:

I have created this mood board to show an idea of how to represent the genre we have chosen; many common themes of the 'Indie' genre.

Character Mood Board:

With developing the idea for our music video, one of the main things we focused one as thinking of the sort of persona we wanted the protagonist/singer within our video to show. With wanting a black and white theme for our music video and the theme of the song, we felt it best to have someone who had the characteristics to fit into the Indie genre as the idea of adhering to the conventions of an Indie music artist  as a professional impact in the industry. We believe our character should have conventions such as dark colours - to fit in with the theme of the song 'Poltergeist'; this will include dressing in dark colours with clothing such as leather jackets and skinny jeans and big combat styled boots such as Doc Martens.

Our Song Choice

Analysis of Music Videos: Indie Genre

History of Indie Music

'Indie' is an abbreviation of 'Independent' Music.  In the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1960s, the major record companies had so much power that independent labels struggled to become established.
 Several British producers and artists launched independent labels as outlets for their work and artists they liked, but the majority failed and were swallowed up by the majors. 
Independent labels have a long history of promoting developments in popular music, stretching back to the post-war period in the United States, with labels such as Sun Records, King Records, and StaxDuring the punk rock era, the number of independent labels grew. The UK Indie Chart was first compiled in 1980, and independent distribution became better organised from the late 1970s on wards.     
       

Bastille

Bastille are a British Indie Rock band formed in 2010 but first started off as a solo project by singer Dan Smith but then later on decided to form a band. From then on till the present day, Bastille is now a four-piece consisting of Chris Wood, Will Farquarson and Kyle Simmons. The name of the band comes from Bastille Day - which is celebrated on 14th July which is also Dan Smith's birthday. After an independently released debut single and a self-released EP, the band signed to Virgin Records. 

'Things We've Lost in the Fire' (2013)


The song is the sixth single by Bastille from the debut album 'Bad Blood'. The song was first released as a 7-inch record single and as a digital download on 23rd August 2013. It received radio airplay on both BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 - two of the most popular British national stations.

The music video was shot in Kėdainiai, Lithuania. It was directed by Naor Aloni and released 13th July 2013. The music video is more of a narrative, symbolic video rather than performance based. It contains more cinematic shots which contain symbolic meanings to do with the story line of the video - this could have been done to create a visual aesthetic to go along with the style of the band and the song.

Florence and the Machine

They are a British indie rock band that formed in London in 2007; consisting of lead singer Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers and a collaboration of other artists. The bands music recieved praise across the media but especially from the BBC which ended up leading to a huge part of the bands rise to fame while promoting them as part of BBC Introducing. Their debut album 'Lungs' was released 6th July 2009. The bands sound has been described as a combination of various genres of the years - including rock and soul.

'What Kind of Man' (2015)

The song was released on 12th February 2015 as the albums lead single with the video being directed by Vincent Haycock and choreographed by Ryan Heffington. The video can be said to against the typical conventions of an indie music video due to most being either a narrative or performance based video while the bands video consists of a conceptual narrative with some performance due to the conceptual dance within the video. The video is a short film and is part of a series of other short films, all consisting of songs from their latest album 'How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful' (2015) and are all listed as 'chapters'. This video includes dialougue about the unifying power of tragedy in a relationship between a couple as they drive down a country road. 

Arctic Monkeys

They are a British indie rock band formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. The band consists of Alex Turner, Matt Helders, Jamie Cook and Nick O'Malley - former band memebr Andy Nicholson left the band in 2006 shortly after their debut album was released. This band were heralded as one of the first bands to come to public attention via the internet - some have suggested they represented the possibility of a change in the way in which new bands are promoted and marketed nowadays. 

'Do I Wanna Know?'  (2013) 

The song is from their fifth studio album AM (2013). The song was released as a single on 18th June 2013. The video was directed by David Wilson with animation agency Blinkink. The video is an animated conceptual video which can be seen to adhere to the stereotypes of indie music due to the visual images used. The video begins with a black background and simple visuals of white sound waves - which is similar to the bands album AM cover art; which also leads to the logo they are most known by. 

Analysis of Music Videos: Heavy Metal Genre

History of Heavy Metal Music

Heavy Metal was developed in the late 1960's and early 1970's in the UK and USA. Bands that created heavy metal developed a 'thick', massive sound characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are sometimes associated with masculinity, aggression and machismo.

Some of the first heavy metal bands ( Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple) attracted large audiences were made fun of by critics which typically seen throughout the entire history of this genre. The band Judas Priest helped change the genres evolution by discarding much of its blues influence in the mid 1970's and Motorhead introduced a punk rock sensibility - by the end of the 1970's, heavy metal fans became known as 'metal heads' or 'headbangers'. 

Heavy Metal Music Conventions

Similar to Rock music, Heavy Metal music is typically released in bands due to the use of many instruments; one of the most iconic instruments being an electric guitar which is one of the most vital parts of heavy metal music - alongside the singers vocals. Electric guitars allow musicians to create loud distorted sounds and sometimes, singers within heavy metal bands vocals usually include shouting and screaming as well as just loud singing.

The looks and styles within these sorts of bands usually have dark clothing, sometimes leather, and men with long hair - due to this genre being mostly a male musician genre. However, some bands such as Slipknot, have their own unique style where they then become known for their look. With this band, they are more stereo typically known for their elaborate and 'haunting' masks that they where on stage. 


Slipknot

Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Iowa and was founded in September 1995 by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray. The band went through many lineup changes in its early years before they settled on nine members for more than a decade; these members being Corey Taylor, Mick Thomson, Jim Root, Paul Gray, Craig Jones, Sid Wilson, Shawn Crahan, Chris Fehn and Joey Jordison.
 The band rose to success following the release o their debut album in 1999. The band is known for it's attention grabbing image, aggressive style of music and energetic and chaotic live shows. The bands early performances included extreme acts such as stage dives from high balconies and band members setting each other on fire.
 They refrain from these acts now due to receiving lawsuits and to avoid harming other people. Along with their energetic performances, Slipknot often use elaborate stage set ups that use pyrotechnics, elevated stage areas, hydraulic drum risers and computer screens.

'Duality' (2009)

The song was released as the first single from the bands album Vol 3: (The Subliminal Verses) in 2004. The music video was listed as Roadrunner Records' greatest video of all time. The video was shot on location at a fans house in Des Moines, Iowa which was due for renovation, the aftermath of which resuted in the family asking the band to replace an extensive list of objects and fittings which were damaged and destroyed during the video shoot - showing the bands nature of their energetic and unpredictable live performances.
The video starts with a large crowd of fans running towards the camera which is clearly behind a window. As the song switches in intensity the video cuts to shots inside the house of the band performing in very close quarters with the fans.The video constantly switches between clips of the band performing and fans destroying the house and the surrounding environment. 
With the use of cutting from shots of the fans within the video to the band performing, it shows the stereotype of heavy metal music videos, where they focus on more performance base videos rather than narrative videos. 

Iron Maiden

They are an English Heavy Metal band that formed in 1975 by Bassist and song writer Steve Harris. The band's discography has grown to thirty-eight albums, including sixteen studio albums, eleven live albums, four EPs, and seven compilations. They are considered to be one of the most successful Heavy Metal bands in history. Current members of the band include Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson, Nicko McBrain and Janick Gers. 

'The Number of the Beast' 1982

The music video is also performance based, moving from the leader singer singing by himself to the whole band performing on stage as well as clips of old films being mixed in within these shots. This follows the stereotype of heavy metal music videos.