Detailed Analysis of Target Audience

  The target audience for my music video in the Indie genre, is young people aged between 15 and 24, of both sexes. Therefore they will mainly be students, perhaps with part-time jobs. Indie music is particularly popular with young people because they feel they can relate to the story that the lyrics and video promote. Indie videos are often very emotional and expressive of the singer’s feelings. This would appeal to a younger generation because teenagers often feel like no-one understands them; wherein the video and lyrics would affect them emotionally and make them feel like someone understands them/their situation.

  Another area of media which is popular with this target audience is rom-com films. This is because young people feel they can relate to the story of the protagonist, while keeping it light with the comedy aspect. Another very popular genre of music with young people is Pop music, because the videos are light-hearted and up-beat, often with a good beat so the young people are uplifted and can dance to the song.

  The uses and gratifications theory in relation to the Indie genre, is that the young people within my target audience would listen to the music/ watch the videos is for

·        escapism- to forget about their own troubles for a time; to think about other people’s

·        entertainment- to get enjoyment from the narrative/ routine within the video

·        Identification- to relate to the people in the video; particularly if the video is a narrative.

  Richard Dyer’s Utopian Solutions theory relates to the identification aspect because so many young people feel they can relate to the people in the video, and they aspire to look like the thin, beautiful people they see in the videos. Particularly within teenage girls, the target audience feel that if they look/ behave in the way the people featured in the videos do, then their lives will somehow drastically change for the better.

Analysing a Second Music Video

Eliza Doolittle- Pack Up

Eliza Doolittle’s ‘Pack Up’ is her second major music videos, and is an upbeat song teamed with a happy video, with the main feature being Eliza lip syncing the lyrics. The message of the lyrics and the video is to not care about what people say, and to throw all your troubles away. 

  Eliza Doolittle is a crossover Indie/Pop singer originally from London. From her debut single ‘Skinny Genes’, the audience knows already that her videos are usually bright and fun; not quite pop, not quite Indie style. Her songs are about not taking life too seriously and having fun instead. Her real name is Eliza Caird, but changed it to Eliza Doolittle when she first began producing records. It is not unusual for artists to change their name, but it is more unusual for Indie artists to do so, as most keep their original name. For example Pop star Lady GaGa’s real name is Stefani Germanotta, but stars such as Katy Perry have kept their original names.

  The genre of video is mainly a dance performance, but there are some narrative parts when it shows Eliza in a hot, sunny country travelling on a bus, a moped, and walking along a dusty road. The video was filmed and set in Jamaica, and all the clothing is very casual, as in most indie videos. She has one costume change, from shorts and a t shirt, to a pale blue playsuit. Both are very laid back outfits, and match with her relaxed hair, link with the casual Indie theme. A lot of the other people in the video look like native Jamaicans, and are wearing everyday comfortable-looking clothing, apart from Lloyd Wade, the gospel singer/songwriter who sings the hook, and the men in the band on the stage at the dance featured in the video. They’re dressed in shirts, ties and smart trousers to distinguish that they are different from the dancers, as they’re the band.

  The target audience for this video and Eliza Doolittle’s music in general is young people and teenagers, and because the video is so upbeat and catchy, it definitely appeals to this audience. The lyrics also appeal to this audience as they could be relating to the problems young people today have. For example one lyric is “I don’t care what the people may say, what the people may say about me,” which is relevant to young people today because there are so many rumours and whisperings going on in schools and within peer groups. This song tries to get the audience to take its advice and not to listen to the whisperings, and to “pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and bury them beneath the sea.” which is intertexuality; stealing a line from the World War 1 marching song "Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile" The other lyrics in Eliza Doolittle's song include “I like to tiptoe round the sh*t going down.” Which is saying she doesn’t get involved in any arguments that are going on, which is a very positive attribute, one that Eliza Doolittle thinks we should all take on.

   The editing to this video varies between slow between scenes, and quick when the video goes on to the dance, and it cuts between the different band players, and a long shot of the dancers. Camera tracking is used to follow Eliza as she walks or drives along on the moped, and a pan is used right at the end of the video as she walks away from the suitcase where she has “packed up” her troubles.


YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTIqd9pNxnw&noredirect=1

Analysing a Music Video

 

Ed Sheeran- The A Team   

The video for Ed Sheeran’s ‘The A Team’ focuses on the story of a young girl who has turned to a life of prostitution and drugs. The video is filmed in black and white in order to give the video a gritty realism like film noir or French new wall, and tells the story of a day in the life of the girl, from waking up on a bench, to begging for money, to prostitution, to buying drugs, to going back to her unpleasant-looking, small flat.

 As this is Ed Sheeran’s debut single, the audience knows very little of about him, and his style of music and videos. As with many Indie/Acoustic artists, the name of the singer, is just his name, and is not elaborated, unlike many other genres of music, such as Rock or Rap. Ed Sheeran does not actually feature in the video, and the main character is a young girl, and we see in the video, what she goes through in an average day; from what the audience can tell from the greyscale filming, the girl is wearing a hooded top and jeans, her hair is long and lank and she has large black eyes. This definitely suits the genre of the video, as she looks unkempt and drugged-up, which adds to the effect of the video and how it portrays this lifestyle stereotypically.

  The genre of the video is a narrative of the girl’s life, and tells the story of one of her days. The music style is Indie/Acoustic, because the only audible instrument is an acoustic guitar, and the style of music is Indie. Indie music is a rapidly growing part of today’s popular music scene, and there are more Indie artists today than ever before. This is partly why I chose Ben Mitchell to focus on as my project, because he plays the guitar himself, and is a self-typed Indie/Acoustic artist. Therefore, I feel he will appeal greatly to my target audience of young people and teenagers.

 In the video, the editing and cutting is very slow, to tie in with the slow pace of the music, and perhaps the slow, groggy feeling of the girl in the video’s unfulfilling life. The cutting and camera work are edited in time to the music, to each time the scene changes on a beat, more emphasis is added than if the shot changed without the correlating music.

 The lyrics of the song explain her story; how her life is going downhill. The lyrics tie in with the music video greatly, as they describe her activities within the video. For example, one line says “go mad for a couple grams” referring to her drug addiction, which is backed up when the girl buys and then takes drugs. Another lyric relating to the video is “sell love to another man” which is referring to her being a prostitute. I think that this video is trying to relate to the younger generation,

  The setting of this video, from what you can assume, is a city. She starts off in a park, then travels into the city in order to beg and ‘Sell love to another man’ as the lyrics state. The scenes are very naturalistic, with just everyday, commonplace props, which add to the realism of the video. In fact, it could be classed as a fly-on-the-wall documentary of this girl’s life. The black and white of the video suggests a very basic type of video, linking again with her very basic, unsatisfactory life.

Concept for my Music Video

Here is a copy of the lyrics by my friend and Indie singer/songwriter Ben Mitchell. This is the song that I am to create a music video for, for my A2 media project.




  I decided to use an original song and unsigned artist for my project, because then I won't have to write a letter to the artist to ask for copyright permission, and also, because then Ben will benefit too, as he will have a professional-looking music video at the end, as well as a CD cover/digipak and a website. Therefore we are both benefiting from this project.
  The name of the song is Lost at Sea, and is metaphorically speaking of the sea, but is referring to the fact that Ben is lost in his life, and doesnt know "which way to go". Because Ben falls under the Indie/ Acoustic genre, I shall try to include some of the codes and conventions that are common in indie music videos. for example, a video in black and white is frequently seen in this type of music, because it portrays the gritty realism of the lyrics and visuals. But at the same time, I will try to challenge these codes and conventions in order to keep my music video interesting and different to those already in the music business today.  
  The concept I designed for the music video is for Ben to be singing in a crowded public place with no one really taking any notice of him, when a girl comes along and either gets his attention or drops something. Ben will then 'follow' the girl as she constantly evades him, always on the very edge of his touch. The video will end at the beach, so the lyrics "I am lost at sea" will become literal, as he loses his way, and still does not reach the girl. I have asked my friend, Lucy to play the role of the mysterious girl, as she is an aspiring actress. Lucy's character will be a very dream-like and curious, as Ben can't help but follow her. I will aim to make the whole music video seem as etheral and trance-like as possile, using different shot types and angles in order to accomplish this.
  I have decided to make my video in black and white, as it is common in the indie genre, and it adds to the realism of the video. Also, dreams that are dreamt in black and white reflect the sadder emotions of the dreamer. The song is slightly sadder, as Ben does not know how to escape from this place where he is lost (like The WasteLand by T.S Eliot), which fits in with the slightly sadder feelings which can be portrayed through black and white.
  Because images and shots can construct meaning, I shall use this to my advantage wherein I will use the camera to create meanings in my music video, particularly regarding Lucy. In order to make her more dream-like, I will not show her face very much, and use the notion of looking where her reflections is visible in water for example, or she can be seen through something else.

A2 Media Brief

For my Media A2 coursework, I have chosen to create a music video with subsidiary products including a website homepage for my chosen unsigned artist, and a cover for the music video’s release on CD. My chosen singer is Ben Mitchell, who has consented to let me film him as the subject for my coursework. My target audience will be teenagers and young people aged 20-25. The type of artist that my chosen singer is, is Indie/Acoustic, such as current artists like Eliza Doolittle and Ed Sheeran.