Research into Chosen Artist

In this post I will talk about my chosen artist. I will describe why i and my group have chosen him, i will also give his biography. I will then analyse tow of his music videos by the micro elements, camera framing, editing and misenscene, and say how it represents him also.

Calvin Harris is the chosen artists for our music video. I am interested in this artists as Calvin Harris creates amazing music in my opinion and taste. Calvin's videos are also great, they are interesting and original, and they almost always represent the dance genre through conventions, like women 'voyeurism' and performances and narratives. Calvin Harris is one of the well known Dance artists, and we have intended to go with the dance genre as it has a large audience and it is our target audience for our questionnaire. Dance is now basically mainstream as many mainstream artists are starting to make dance music, and the subculture theory that we are using is CCCS which is all subcultures come from the mainstream, and the idea of dance music now being mainstream it enforces the theory.

Calvin Harris is the stage name of Adam Richard Wiles. Adam or (Calvin) is a Dance artist, he creates Dance music and dance videos. He is well known, for example his video 'Feel so Close' has over 47 million views, and he was featured in Rhianna's video 'We Found Love' which has over 200 million views. Calvin is signed to Columbia Records which is a Sony Music Entertainment label. Calvin was born in 1986 in Scotland, and he said he was a fan of football, and he said that if he would of had curly hair, he would of been into football so instead he became a music artist and producer. His song that we will be using for our video is from his new album which is being released in October 2012 called '18 Months'. His new album consists of a few big collaborations, including Rhianna, Kelis, Kylie Minogue and of course Example which features in the song we are analysing  His albums have been successful, his debut album 'I Created Disco' reached the top tens in the UK ranking to number 8. His following album 'Ready For The Weekend' reached top album in the UK album charts and Dance album in 2009. His single with Example, 'Well be Coming Back' (the song we are using) reached top of the charts in a few countries, like Belgium and Scotland.

His Debut album 'I Created Disco' Rankings

'Well be Coming Back' Single ratings

'Ready for the Weekend album ranking chart'

Video Analysis 1

I will analyse Calvin Harris’s video ’Feel So Close’. I will analyse the video by its micro elements, camera framing, editing and misenscene. I will talk about the artist Calvin Harris and how he is represented in the video, I will also apply dyers star theory on the artist. I will then apply Goodwins theory to the video and the target audience. The video Is promotion for love and relationships, it presents the happy lifestyle which is a convention of dance music videos. Calvin In the video seems to be involved in a relationship within the video also. The style of the video is mainly performance, which is a convention of dance music, however you could say it is a mini narrative as people find love in the video, and concept, as its love, relationships and happiness.

Firstly I will talk about the Camera framing, at the start of the video there are 4 camera shots which show the same thing, people turning on or turning up their radio/stereo which is a prop used (part of misenscene). On shot in particular is the close up of a young adult turning up his stereo. The four camera shots are all used and showed closely together to combine and emphasise the idea of how important music is to people. The camera shots are then complimented shortly after by shots of the people with the radios and their actions. The hand held follow, long shot of a group of what looks to be teens jumping/dancing in happiness to Calvin Harris's song. This shot promotes the happy lifestyle that is a convention within dance videos, they are also dancing/jumping, which is a performance, another convention in the dance genre. This shot is one of many within the video which promotes the idea of music making people happy. The shots and video relates to the target audience, as in the shot they are teens or young adults, which are the target audience also. Another thing which relates to the audience is the setting, a group of teens with no supervision walking somewhere in a desert/rocky location, (part of the misenscene), this relates to the audience as teens like to be independent in stuff they do, like here they are not with adults, and by themselves; almost defiant which teens are. The teens are on their own in this location, with only themselves and a radio to keep them entertained, this could be the concept of the video, which is love, dancing and music, which is all you need for happiness. Close ups are used regularly in this video to show the emotion of happiness through facial expression mainly.

The editing in the video is a convention within the dance genre. Fast paced editing is used, and cross cutting is used to show different scenes and perspectives within the video in a short time, to make the audience connect with all the actors and scenes in the video. Fast paced editing is used compliment the music which is also faced paced as it is dance music, fast paced cuts is used before the first drop in the video, this is used to excite the viewers by showing them that the drop is near and it is complimenting the pace of the song, and this relates to Goodwins theory of the links between visuals (video) and the music. The fast paced editing and music can also relate to the target audience too, as they like to live fast, usually meaning drinking alcohol and doing drugs, partying a lot too.

Calvin's Mature shirt

The Misenescene consists of Setting, Costume, Actors, Lighting and Props. I have already talked about setting, actors and props previously. The lighting is natural lighting, as the video is filmed mostly outside, the natural lighting gives the video a positive vibe, relating to the whole music, 'dancing and love gives happiness' concept in the video.  With costumes there are a few different ones in the video, however they are all casual, relating again to the laid back happy atmosphere. However different costumes can reflect different cultures and ages, in the video we see teens, adults and elderly adults. The teens wear casual clothing, jeans and t-shirts, adults are similar, however Calvin who is the adult in the video wears a casual shirt, a slightly more mature approach, and it could reflect his personality through his clothes, that he is also laid back and casual about things. There is an elderly in the video who appear to be a cow boy, he wears mostly all denim, and with the different age groups in the video, it could relate to age groups in the audience, therefore there are a with age group in the video, appealing to a wide age group audience maybe. There are different age groups in the video, and the concept of the video is that all age groups find love or share with the opposite sex, and this is the concept of love and happiness is for everyone and all ages, and ultimately that happiness is too; music, dance and love is happiness.

older man denim costume

Teens costumes; tshirts

Calvin Harris is represented as a normal, adult within the video. He seems to be in a relationship with the woman who he sits down next to, and the lyrics support the idea "your love surrounds me like a waterfall", he sings to her while looks directly at her. As he seems normal and is in a relationship, both things that can relate to the target audience, making them connect with him, and this relates to Dyers Star theory, of the artist being ordinary like his audience so they can connect, and yet being extraordinary as he is a number one selling artist. Calvin seems in this video to be mature and romantic by the way he acts and with his singing to the woman he loves in the video, and this is different to when he was in his older video, 'The Girls'. In his older video 'The Girls' he seems less mature than in this video. In his older video it consists of him in a all white large room, with similar looking women but with different hair colour, dancing, and then himself singing the lyrics. His lyrics consist of him telling us that "he gets all the girls" and that he is "over subscribed with relationships" this saying that he cheats on other girls and disrespects them, a immature thing to do. In this video he seems more faithful to this one woman, making him look more mature. This change is another relation to Dyers Star theory, of coming back in his new album different, it provokes interest by the audience as there is a change. Also since his older video he has got a haircut and looks more groomed, which makes him appealing to the audience, another part of Dyers theory of stars being appealing to the audience.

Video Analysis 2

The next video of Calvin Harris's that I will analyse is 'Acceptable in The 80's'. I will analyse the video talking about the micro elements, Camera Framing, Editing and Misenscene. I will also talk about how the artist is represented in the video, and apply Dyers Star Theory. I will apply Goodwins theory also, and talk about the target audience for the video. This video is consists of cuts between different scenes which represent the 80s period. Calvin Harris is seen in the video singing and dancing with DJ headphones on, also there is a woman who dances in the video which is regularly shown.

A camera shot that I would like to talk about is near the beginning of the video, it is the close up expression shot of Harris's face and behind him is a orange background. The Camera shot shows us connotations of the 80's, with the loud multicolours used in the period, and the ridiculousness of the era, and Calvin Harris's costume and setting expresses the 80s idea. Harris is wearing a pair of ridiculous glasses which is covered in tin foil balls, and it looks like he cant even look out of them, this firstly represents the ridiculous idea of the 80s, where things where unnecessary and outrageous. Harris's facial expression is a dopey and funny one, which represents the videos style which is almost stupid, as his facial expression is the same. The audience for this video would definitely be people that where born in the 80's or where young in that era, as it has all the representations of the genre and relates to the audience as they consumed media similar to that in the video as it was their time period. Therefore the target audience would be 20 to 35 year olds. However the idea of the 80s is different and breaks off the mainstream of today, attracting the young 'hipster' or 'vintage' audience, which just want to be different and not mainstream, their ages are from 16 to 23, both genres.

Woman dancing, Notion of Looking

The video does have conventions of the Dance music video genre, for example a performance is apparent in the video as the woman and Calvin Harris is dancing/singing. In Calvin Harris's videos he usually merges a narrative in the performance. In this video there is a narrative of characteristics from the 80s, for example we see parts of an animal being dissected and used in products that humans are consuming, which is a characteristic of the 80s. The narrative basically is saying how we humans were inconsiderate of what we were consuming back in the 80s, and it has a whole stupid theme to it with the actors acting in a daft manner, like Harris's dance moves and actors facial expressions. In almost every Calvin Harris video there are notions of looking to women, women dancing in the videos are usually attractive also to interest male viewers, and this is part of Goodwins theory.

More women dancing

These 5 pictures below are took from a scene of extracting a substance from the animal in the video, which is then later used as a hair product, this is examples of what i was talking about in my the last paragraph, characteristics of the 80s, and the obliviousness of people who were consuming parts of animals through animal testing.

Dissecting of the Animal

Gooey Substance from animal injected into pot

Then used as a Hair product

That oblivious idea i talked about, the woman smiling even though she's having animal intestines rubbed into her hair

Close up of the action

Dyers star theory can be applied for this video to Calvin Harris. A star is a constructed image that interests the audience, giving them a role model and someone they can relate to. In this video we see Calvin acting quite silly and thick, you could relate him to Napoleon Dynamite. His silliness entices the audience as he is not a mean or serious person, connecting to the audience easily as his personality seems fun and friendly, a part of the star theory, being able to connect and become a role model to the audience makes you a 'star'. Also there is the paradox that I can talk about which goes along the lines of  'A star must be present and absent' a star must be present and absent enough to interest the audience of their private life. Here Calvin expresses his personality as being friendly and outgoing, and its not always the case for him in his music videos, and the change of personality can interest the audience as he is changing, interesting the audience to how he acts in real life. An example of what i have explained would be that this video was made a few years before his newer video 'Feel So Close' (which was my first video of his that I analysed), and in between then Calvin seems different to before, the changing personality interests the audience as it is a change; before he was silly, and now he seems more sensitive and romantic, in 'Feel so Close' for example. And his costume can also connote the change, in this video he is wearing multi-colourful clothing, like a tracksuit, its loud and expressive colours, could be seen as immature, and in 'Feel so Close' he is wearing a shirt and jeans, with more mature colours like dark green, which is the colour of his shirt.

Calvin in his immature clothing

A more mature calvin in his dark green shirt

In summary, Calvin Harris has changed his image from being immature and silly, to being more cool and mature through time, and this conforms to the star theory of changing after a while, or in-between albums, this interests and attracts the audience as it is a change.

Summary

By researching into our chosen artist for the song we are going to make a video for we can see how he makes his videos and the codes and conventions within them, therefore we can include these into our video to make it relate to the dance genre and the artist himself. He has changed from being geeky and silly to a more cool and mature persona in the videos I have analysed, so we could do a video based on the narrative similar to the one in 'Feel so Close', something mature to do with a relationship. Things that he uses like fast paced editing and cuts from scenes would be used in out video too. Therefore this helps us for the making of our video.

Copyright

Copyright is a law created by most governments. It is the law that gives the holder of original content which could be artwork, a song or a film exclusive rights. The rights the creator has is for example, if a book publisher steals the script for a novel you have created and publishes it without your permission, copyright law enables you to sue that publisher. Within the music industry it would be the same, if another artists releases a single which is yours without permission, then you can sue them. The copyright law basically credits the creator for his or hers work, and it secures the work to their name, so it cant be used by anyone else unless authorized by the creator. This right is important as peoples work can be accessed very easily over the internet and can be stolen.

For our video we need permission to use Calvin Harris's song, 'Well be Coming Back' through copyright as if we were to use the track without copyright permission, we could be in serious trouble and we could get sued and pay a fine. The application for copyright of the song was as follows, we went onto the Song BMG website, as our artist is signed by them. We then went to the 'Contuct Us' page we found the UK landline number which was +44 207 361 8000 we rang this number and got through to a man called Tom, he then gave us his email address which was 'Tom.clough@Sonymusicuk.com' we then sent an email to this address asking permission for the song.

Below is the screenshot of our group member Spencer e-mailing Tom for copyright.

Research into chosen music genre

Within this post i will talkk about the chosen music genre which we will create a music video of. I will explain why we have chosen this genre and what we will apply to the video by researching about the genre and its conventions. I will also talk bout 2 different artists that are similar to Calvin Harris and the dance genre. I will analyse one of their videos each and talk about the codes and conventions within them and the style, and apply Goodwins theory. I will analyse the artist her/himself and also their audience.

Our group has all decided we will be doing a dance video. The dance genre is enjoyed by everyone in the group, and we know a good deal of the music and the videos within the genre. The Dance genre interests me a lot as it is my favorite genre and I love its music. The videos also interest me, as they usually include beautiful women or a interesting narrative. Beautiful women are usually shown within dance videos, usually taking part in a dance which is another convention; a performance. Voyeurism is usually displayed within the videos too, which is the notion of looking at women, shown in Benny Benassi's videos and Flo Ridas for example. The narratives within the dance videos has inspired use to produce a narrative on a dance song from Calvin Harris. Calvin Harris displays the conventions of Dance in his videos thoroughly, he uses Voyeurism, performances and narratives. The two artists that I will analyse in this post which are from the dance genre will be Kid Cudi and David Guetta.

First Artist; Kid Cudi

The artists i have chosen to analyse are similar to Calvin Harris and the genre we chose to use in our video. One artist I have chosen to analyse is Kid Cudi. His music is similar to Calvin Harris's as its dance music, and his videos also relate, for example Goodwins theory of Voyeurism of women is both displayed in their videos. The other artist I will analyse is Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer also creates dance music and dance videos, hers also relates to the genre as she uses a performance (usually herself) within her videos which is a convention of the genre.

The first video i will analyse from my chosen artist is Kid Kud is video called 'Day 'n' Night'. Within this video we see Kid Cudi playing the role of a shop customer assistant, and temporary manager as his manager has left him with the responsibility for the night. Kid Cudi then seems to consume a drug, as he comes in from going out of the fire exit coughing and there is smoke coming out of his mouth. This then becomes apparent later as he starts to see attractive women appear in the shop, and this is the Notion of looking theory I was talking about earlier. I will analyse the video through Camera Framing, Editing and Misenscene.

At the start of the video we see a establishing shot of the store where he video is filmed, shortly after we are shown a medium two-shot of Cudi and the store manager arguing, the manager is telling Cudi off as if he is the antagonist in the video, she then gives him the keys and the managerial position for the night and tells him its his "last chance" and he cant "mess it up". The manager is telling us that Cudi could be unreliable and unprofessional in his job, and she is treating him like an infant. She has power of him and the props also show this as Cudi is holding a mop, and she is wearing a 'manager' badge. Cudi is shown as the employee here and is being contradicted by his manager. This can relate to the target audience as they would find themselves in this situation often, or at least once regularly, as they are young and inexperienced, or even mischievous. The job he is doing can also relate to what the audience does also, a customer assistant, or moping floors in supermarkets is common for the audience, something they can relate to. The target audience would be teens to young adults (14 to 25), mostly aimed at the male genre as women and voyeurism is displayed a lot in the video.

The codes and conventions for this music video which is a dance video would be apparent to be a performance mainly however it is merged with short narrative. The performance is carried out by Cudi himself, dancing and rapping to the lyrics with women in lingerie in the shop where he is working, this scene cuts back and forth to the narrative, involving both performance and narrative which are both filmed in the same place which is the setting of the video which is the shop. A performance in a dance video like dancing or singing or combined for example is a convention of the genre's , music videos, and this makes it recognisable that it is a dance video. The performances of the video as I said are from kid Cudi however women in lingerie dancing seductively are seen mostly in the video, and notions of looking or voyeurism is used (Goodwins Theory) when Cudi looks at a girl he likes in a magazine, then appears in front of him, and when he clicks the pen and makes the women's clothes disappear leaving them with their underwear only.

Throughout the video the editing style is kept quite fast. Editing styles in dance videos are usually fast paced editing, to accompany the fast tempo of the music, and this relation between visuals and music in part of Goodwins theory which is seen in this music video. There are little pieces of slow motion editing, which is used to emphasise the view of the women, for example when the police woman enters the shop. However fast cuts between shots are mainly used and cuts which fast forward the action is used which is called an ellipsis, like when the police woman strips and dances in front of Cudi her dance is segmented and cut to fast forward the action, which accompanies the fast music again. The whole fast theme can relate to the audience too, young people who live fast without taking proper care of them serfs like drinking and taking drugs, which this video promotes.

The artist, Kid Cudi has a negative representation in the video. He is represented as a untrustworthy and unreliable person. He is seen to consume drugs, most probably marigiuanna in the video. Sleeping at work and not doing his job properly makes him look nihilistic, not caring, not doing his job for a purpose. The only thing that he shows interest in is drugs and women in the video, dancing with women and being attracted to them. He could be seen as a stereotype of the target audience of the video, young men not being serious about things, women are the most important things to them and are not involved in any work, also drinking and doing drugs can relate to young men, as displayed in the video.

Second Artist; Michael Gray

The video that I will analyse for Michael Gray will be his new video featuring 'Roll Deep' called, Cant 'Wait for The Weekend'. This song is from his older version called 'The Weekend'. I will talk about the codes and conventions of this music video. I will be looking at Camera Framing, Editing and Misenscene.

Firstly this music video is aimed at the full time working audience, which would be from the ages of 18 to 30 from both genres, in particular people who would work in an office. The video is aimed at this audience as it relates to the audience because the video has scenes which do relate. The conventions of this music video are everything to do with partying and having a good time, it emphasises this idea and makes it look like people are just look forward too 'The Weekend'. This idea of working and waiting for the weekend is emphasised in this video.

As I said this video promotes the idea of working for weekend and how important and anticipated the weekend is. An example of this would be the zoom in medium shot of a clock on the wall in the workplace, the shot shows the clock ticking down to 6 oclock, which is the finishing time of this workplace. The sound also enforces this idea, there is an emphasised dietetic sound of a clock ticking, and nothing else, this connotes the waiting for the weekend idea, as they workers wait for the clock to count down to the time that they can go and party. Also when the song starts to play we hear the lyrics; 'I cant wait for the week to wizz by, I'm stuck in a dead end job working full time' this also backs up the idea of people waiting for the weekend, and it relates back to the target audience as they would be waiting for the weekend too as I said this video is aimed at them as they would have a similar job too. And 'I cant wait for the weekend' I played thoroughly throughout the video, this enforces the idea of the target audience being exited for the weekend and living for the party, this is what dance audiences wait for and this video relates to the audience and it can connect to them, and this is a convention of the genre.

The main camera shots in this video would be camera shots which include people, mainly women, and this connotes the idea of voyeurism which conforms to Goodwins theory again as he said in music videos there are notions of looking at women, and this is a code and convention to dance music as almost every video contains women performing. A common camera shot used in the video would have to be close up expression shots on peoples faces throughout the video, this is done to show the happy expressions of smiling laughing and having dun as this is a convention of dance music, having fun and enjoying life, and close up expression shots are conventional in dance videos.

The editing styles of the video are also conventional, as parts in the song where the beat is fast we see fast cutting, this conforms to Goodwins theory of the visuals relating to the music. Also it is a convention of the genre, the genre has a whole fast theme to it, the music is usually fast tempo, the editing styles are fast and this connotes the theme of 'living fast' and enjoying life while you are young, and this relates back to the audience as they would be living life fast and be making sure they are having a good time by partying at the weekends like this song and video promotes.

Misenscene consists of setting, costume, actors, lighting and props. And in this video the misenscene is used to reflect the them of the dance genre to be happy, party and enjoy life, as this is a convention of dance music. To start I will talk about the stetting and lighting, at the start of the video the setting is in a workplace where lighting is artificial, and colours are dull, like greys and blacks, however when the music starts when works finished, it switches to a scene where it is a sunny day with natural lighting where people are partying by a swimming pool and a large house. The cut from the bad and depressing office setting to the natural pool party setting can connote that when the weekend begins, its fun and life is good, and this relates to the idea of dance conventions to be living a happy life and partying as the setting and lighting is much more appealing and it reflects a vibrant atmosphere. The costumes of the video change when the music starts, at the star of the video Michael Gray is in the office and the costumes here are formal and boring, reflecting work, when the music starts and the 'weekend begins' we see casual clothing that would be worn to a party, and this reflects partying and the conventions of dance music again.

The artist Michael Gray has a neutral representation in this video, as he is not seen talking in the video, as he does the beat for the song and not the vocals, but we can see that he is influenced by women, as we usually see a few around him, as the scene in the office, his is sitting at the end of the table which has about 5 good looking women sitting around, this could connote that he is a 'lady's man' and outgoing. I have said that he has a neutral representation as it is neither good or bad, he is just having a good time at the party in the video, as he is the DJ he is on the turntable, and he likes the company of women.

The style of the music video would be mainly performance based, as the artists are rapping/singing along to the lyrics in the video, and we see women dancing and people dancing at the party, however it has a concept to it, and that is to 'work for the weekend' basically living for that time where we can party and "let go" as I have explained earlier.

Summary

By looking at other artists that create music dedicated to our chosen genre of Dance, I have learnt the codes and conventions of the genre and these would be used in our video to make it conform to the conventions in the genre. Things like fast paces editing at times, notions of looking at women and night life would have to be included in our video to represent the dance genre. The dance genre usually has performances in its videos, so we would have to make a performance in our video too. Therefore the research into our chosen genre has helped me us with the making/planning of our video.

Evaluation

In this post I will evaluate on the answers we received from our target audience by the vox pops and the questionnaire. I will talk bout how the answers will shape our music video, by this meaning involving things in our music video that our audience has answered/requested for. Near the end of the post i will also talk about the subculture theory that we will use and how our video will conform to this theory.

A target audience is the group of people that a product or Music video for example appeals to and 'aims' at. The group of people or target audience would have similar characteristics and interests, for example they would probably all like the same bran of clothing, and another example of this is Odd Future fans, as Tyler the Creator speaks about and wears 'Supreme' clothing, his fans also wear it, the groups of people are also called 'Subcultures'. A music video and its target audience would mean that the video must have certain generics or assets in them which appeal to that audience. For example again, Odd Future make crazy and immature videos, appealing to their teenage audience, which is their Target audience. Therefore we must make our video which is attractive to our target audience, they must like it, and from the research questionnaire, a dance video with common conventions would be great for our target audience.

The research we carried out was vast, first we looked at music videos and what they consist of, we then looked at different genres and their conventions, different artists, the questionnaire and Vox pops. The research has given us information about the task we need to carry out, for example we have found out about common conventions of music videos of certain genres, like in dance for example, they would usually either use a narrative or a performance, sometimes involving the two, therefore we would include that in our video so it would conform to the conventions of dance and the answers we got from our target audience, however in the pie chart below we got a balanced result of all answers which was; narrative, performance and concept, so we will have to try to combine all of these, and we have an idea for the narrative of or music video and it contains a concept also, which connotes the idea or concept of not leaving your partner because of financial issues, love should not be compromised by money. The questionnaires has helped us understand what our target audience likes and their interests, we have decided to make a dance video with the results we have received. The Vox Pops has also given use primary research of what our audience likes which is mostly dance, and we have acted upon that by choosing to make a dance video. To further expand on our answers, in the interviews from the Vox Pops a candidate said they would want to see originality in music videos  so we would have to come up with a story line which can be seen as original and slightly different, while still conforming to the conventions of dance music videos. Another candidate said that they would like to see more good looking boys, so our artist will have to be groomed and looking well in the video.

We decided to survey 40 people as it is a good number to work with, with this number we would get a good number of responses which is needed for finding out different interests and preferences. We also had 4 people in our group, so we each surveyed 10 people of our target audience. The questions we asked and the results we received has helped us on the decision of our music video. One question is 'What is your favorite Genre?' here we received dance as the most popular result, and this gives us the impression that most of our audience likes this genre, therefore we will make a dance video. Another question is 'what do you expect to see in a music video?' and here the most results was a Narrative, therefore we will make a narrative based music video. We also asked our audience 'What would you like to see more of in music videos' and the most answered questions were more good-looking boys and girls. A question that I would reconsider would be the 'Favorite music video?' question, because we received Avicii - Levels as the most answered, and we decided to do a Calvin Harris video, as most people know him as we asked, and he was the second favorite, behind Avicci by 2 answers. However we could take this answer as a positive, as Avicci's video is a Narrative and it is in the dance genre as we will be doing a dance video. The graphs from the questions I talked about in this paragraph are in my results post and below.

My music video will relate to the CCCS subculture theory, of subcultures coming from the mainstream, as we believe dance is basically now mainstream, as dance songs are very popular on the main radio stations. The Dance videos usually always promote the happy, party lifestyle as well in their videos, which is a mainstream way of life, live it and chill out, it also relates to our dance target audience. Also, mainstream artists which used to do Pop music, have now gone into the dance genre, like Cheryl Cole for example, also bringing her massive audience into the genre, making it mainstream therefore our music video will follow the CCCS theory as Dance is now basically mainstream music.

Vox Pops

Our group decided to interview people within our target audience. By interviewing them and recording it on a camera we could get a personal response of our questionnaires, it is also a piece of evidence. By doing Vox Pops we have gathered information about our target audience, and also gathered primary research for the task of making our video. The interviews has been beneficial for our research, as the candidates has said that they like the genre we are going to do for a music video. Carrying out these vox pops has help us in our planning as we know what are audience are interested in, we found out that are target audience like the music channel MTV dance, this is a channel that we would aspire for our music video to be shown on which proves we are targeting the correct demographic for the dance genre. Another key thing we learnt from this was the style of music video our demographic most liked this was narrative based videos therefore it will be a good idea for us to design a narrative based video. Therefore the questions we asked has helped us decide on what our music video will be based on considering; genre, style and what it would include, for example a answer that come up was for better looking people to be displayed in future music videos, therefore the actors in our video would have to be good looking and well groomed. One interviewee said that they would like to see more originality in music videos, so we would have to come up with a good idea for a original narrative however still conforming to the dance music video genre. And another said "more development of the story line, so we would have to make a prominent story line for our video.

Questionnaire results

We have decided to use Pie Charts and Bar charts to display the answers we have got back from the questionnaires. The charts has helped us evaluate the answers i an easy way, this information is going to help us in the making of our music video as we will build our video around what the candidates have said.

Charts:

Questionnaire

For part of our Planning, our group has come up with a questionnaire based on Music and Music videos. We have asked 40 people, 20 boys and 20 girls, and with the results we will receive, we will get an over view of the candidates or 'audience' taste and preferences within music and music videos videos. Questionnaires are an easy way of finding out what your target audience likes, and you can also target a specific audience, for example we have asked people within the age of 13 to 24, which is our target audience for the genre and video we are going to make, which is a dance video. We have surveyed 40 people as we are a 4 man group, therefore we surveyed 10 people each, and we felt that 40 people would be a good size to receive a broad choice of questions. With the answers, we have created pie charts to display the data an recognize certain patters or data that stands out, for example many people said they liked MTV Dance.

Our Questionnaire

1           1.What gender are you?

       MALE             FEMALE

       2. How old are you?

13-16   17-20   21-24  Other

       3. What is your favourite music channel?
        ________________________

4. What is your favourite music genre?
 ________________________

5. What is your favourite type of music video?
PERFORMANCE   NARRATIVE    CONCEPT

6. What do you expect to see in a music video?
DANCING  SINGING  STORY  OTHER 

7. What is your favourite music video?
_____________________________

8. What would you like to see more of in music videos?
___________________________________________________________________

9. What type of location would you like to see in a music video?
EXOTIC  DARK  URBAN  BRIGHT  INDOORS  OUTDOORS  OTHER

10. Have you ever heard of Calvin Harris?

YES        NO

Record Lables

In this post I will talk about Major Record labels and Independent Record Labels. I will compare them and say what both contribute and offer to the music industry. I will share my opinion on the music the labels and the music they share to the industry and if I think that its fair for the music industry to be dominated by 4 record labels. I will also share my opinion on mainstream music.

Record labels produce music which cater for different audiences, however there are major record labels and independent record labels. Major record labels cater to a massive percent of the population, producing one or many genres in music. Independent music labels cater to niche audiences, which are much smaller than major record labels audience, creating original or small bands music for example. Three of the major record labels in the UK at this time would be EMI, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. The major record labels would have subsidiary labels, this is to narrow genres, artists and audience interests, for example they would put similar artists or similar genres within a subsidiary label. 

Examples of subsidiary labels with genres of music or specific artists in them from the major record labels are as follows. EMI have Parlophone for example, this label was founded in 1896, which specialized in jazz music, however in the 50s, they signed the Beetles and evolved into pop/rock. Sony Music Entertainment have Columbia Records, they have signed allot of artists, founded in 1888, they first focused on RnB and Urban Music, however with the economic crisis, labels sign anyone who they think would make money for them, making them a commercial label, artists like Calvin Harris and Beyonce. Universal music group have Def Jam records, started in 1983, they have a 'various' range of artists, however most people would recognize the rap genre and artists that play for them, like Rick Ross, Pusha T, Ludacris and DJ Khaled.

Within the major record labels they also have links within other media, like TV/Film/Magazines etc. With Sony, they have a range of other links within media as they are an Oligopoly, and they also have business within the financial industry, banks etc. They have a range of electronic products, which use synergy to advertise their artists with their products, for example, in Sony's film Bad Boys, Will smith (who is a sony artist) did the sound track for the film. Universal have done many films, for example King Kong and Jurassic Park. Major record labels are commercial labels, driven for profit only. Independent record labels are not, they also cater to a niche audience, which is usually driven by probably 3 to 10 people, its usually original music or a label for local small bands.

Independents

Independent records cater to niche audiences, much smaller than the commercial audiences that major labels cater to. Examples of UK labels would be, Dancing Turtle Records, Erased Tapes Records and Burning Shed records. They produce more 'organic' music rather than the mainstream music.

Erased Tapes records was founded in 2007 by Robert Raths. They have released 8 albums and 2 music videos. Their genre and styles consist of many. an Artist to mention would be Nils Frahm and his song which is also a music video has been released and has over 80 thousand views on YouTube  His song 'Said and Done' which consists of a solo piano performance which has got reviews saying its 'beautiful'.

Dancing Turtle Records was founded in 2005, the independant label has rasied awarness for the human rights and raised funds for charity. An artist for them would be Amycanbe. Her music is italian indie-folk, and she has videos released on youtube.

Burning Shed records was founded in 2001. They lean towards the rock genre with their artists and bands they sign. A band that the have would be Porcupine Tree for example. it was founded by Tom Bowness and Peter Chilvers in association with duplication company manager and former Noisebox Records boss, Pete Morgan.


I feel that the music industry should not be dominated by just four labels as there are many other genres and styles of music that needs to be broadcasted. And the music is all mainstream, commercial music which is seen to be repetitive and standardized. I feel it gives the music industry a bad name and its not loyal, as labels will sign anyone (which could mean their music is not great) as long as it makes sales, for example Justin Bieber. I believe that Bieber's music is not by any means good, and he makes sales as he is an icon that young girls look up to and adore, and the girls are dominating the industry as Bieber relies on his cute image rather than the music he makes to make sales. The music industry should make music, and it shouldn't be a fashion or a image that appeals to people, people should just enjoy music, and i feel that sometimes music videos ruin music, as people view them for the video and not the music, for example if attractive women were involved, more men would watch it for this reason only sometimes.

Independent labels are not as successful as major record labels, as they do not have the power or money to advertise for example, or sign big or good artists / bands. The labels are usually new also, successful major record labels have been around since the 1900's, and it seems that the major labels have been successful as they have gotten older. Independent labels offer more organic music, and original music, rather than the similar mainstream music which major record labels supply.

Summary

In summary I feel that the music industry is now a commercial industry which is dominated by labels just trying to make profit, and not focusing on making good or proper music. The music industry is dominated by four major record labels which all make mainstream music which is similar to each other, and music is now becoming standardised as it is all sounding the same or and consisting of the same things. I feel that the reason for music becoming standardised and becoming mainstream is due to the younger audience, the younger audience from ages (8 to 15) don't really know what good music is, and they only enjoy music as the thrive upon the artist  as they appeal to them, like Justin Bieber for example, he does not make the best or talented music, he is just a role model or a icon for the younger audience (mainly girls) to look up to. Therefore the younger audience dominate other audiences as the look up to artists that appeal to them only, not taking in consideration about music and how it needs to be enjoyed, and then their parents buy them the album of their chosen aspiration model of their choice which in this case would mainly be Justin Bieber. So what I am saying is that music needs to be enjoyed for what it is, its music! Music videos could be the reason for music becoming mainstream and standardised as the artists can be moulded and appealing to the audience as I talked about, Music is a heard asset, it shouldn't be made visual, it should be enjoyed as being listened to. Therefore again, the music charts are being dominated by the standardised music made by the star image artists, not letting other music which could be seen as much more enjoyable to the ear into the charts, so I feel that the music industry being dominated by four record labels producing the same music is a con, destroying the name of 'music'.

Cencorship

Cencorship on Eminem

In this post i will talk about the censorship of music, and here i will talk about Eminem and his Music. Censorship can be lyrical, either changing or excluding certain lyrics from broadcast, this is also known as a radio edit. Also banning album artwork, and even banning artists from being on air on radio stations, it could be because of moral reasons, racial/religious or offensive, inappropriate content. The company who censors music on radio stations and television are called OFCOM, (The office of communications). However the content of music on the internet cannot be censored as the internet cannot be fully controlled, unless a law is made, like the banning of 'two girls one cup' video. I will give different perspectives of people, music channels, radios and parents on Eminems censored music, with my opinion on each perspective at the end of the paragraphs.

Eminem himself

Eminems views on censorship and the banning of music is different from the people who are against him. Eminem says that music is 'just entertainment', and that lyrics cannot influence a child or someone to commit a crime of reenact a scene from a video or from lyrics, unless they were 'crazy' or mentally disabled in the first place. He then goes on to say the parents of the child that has committed a crime and blamed Eminem for influencing him should of supervised their child better. He also says that children these days much more smart in making decisions, and he says that they will make their own.

Eminems Fan (for)

Eminems fan had to say that he agrees with Eminem's statement for his music and censorship. He says that his fans wouldn't reenact or blame him for any bad actions they make unless of corse they were crazy. He Then had to say that music shouldn't be censored and neither Eminem's as music is supposed to be original and different, if everything was censored then we would be consuming the same music.

Eminems Fan (against)

This fan says she likes his music and is a fan, however there is a line and sometimes he crosses it. She especially brought up the fact of Eminem ''dissing' other artists, as it is not fair as he should keep himself to himself and leave others alone, as it creates feuds between fans of different artists, however i feel this could sometimes be a good thing as it would bring certain subcultures together, like lady Gaga's fans would come together and not tolerate the insults.

Parents

The parents are obviously against Eminem. The parents go to say that the props and actions within the video and what the lyrics generate can influence their child to replicate, as Eminem is a role model for them. However i believe that this is a deeper problem which needs to be resolved or prevented by the parents, the parents must understand and control their child, control as helping them make decisions which are not the wrong ones. The parents dont want lyrics like '

MTV

The Music Television company and its channels decide not to show Eminems Videos as they do believe that Eminem can make people emulate his actions within music videos and he is such a big star and an idol. They also wouldn't as they have a massive audience which can consist of young ages, which inappropriate content shouldn't be shown to them. I agree with MTV as they are a massive company and they could possibly be taken off air from complaints if they were to play Eminems music, and its not good for their young audience.

Channel AKA

Channel AKA decide to broadcast Eminems music and they feel okay, as this channel is a niche channel, which is aimed a specific audience which is the rap audience and its not that much of a popular channel. I feel fine about AKA showing Eminems material, as they do not broadcast to a massive audience and they are very  specific, by just broadcasting rap music. However children could access the channel if they have Sky, or other satellite TV which many families do, but the parents could put a lock on the channel.

Shady Records

This is Eminems Record Label, and his managers say that they don't care what they broadcast because they are still making profit. This is okay for them but they should be more considerate as some of Eminems content is very offensive.

Kiss Radio

Kiss is an English radio station, which broadcasts from London, Severn Estuary, East Anglia, London. It is also a DAB radio station, which can be listened on Freeview, Sky and Talk Talk TV. As Kiss is broadcasted in London and can be accessed from anywhere in the UK with Internet and special radios, It has a large audience. After researching on a site, 2,352,000 people listen to the radio; an average of 5.2 hours per head was listened in the period of June 2012.

Kiss do not play most of Eminem’s music, however they have played some of his new album with Royce da’ 5’9, called Bad Meets Evil. However when Eminem’s music would be played on this radio they would chose a song that is not that offending, and they would sensor or change lyrics that would offend, for example in Fast Lane, they would cut out certain verses and they would replace swear words with sound effects.

I would not blame Kiss for censoring or not playing Eminem songs as they could be very offending to people, and of Corse for younger listeners it would not be appropriate. The 2,352,000 of people who listen to Kiss on the website I found, are over 15. 2 million over 15 year olds listen to this radio station, therefore they would defiantly be a good number of under 15 year olds listening, therefore Kiss have no choice to censor or not play his songs, as they have a reputation and a business to contain. Parents and the media would criticize and complain to the station, which could jeopardize its position. As Eminem says ‘Its music, its just entertainment’ and he goes on to say that it’s the listeners (children’s) choice to follow these lyrics or re-enact these in real life. And he says that if the children do, then the parents are to blame for not supervising them properly. Also he says that the people who commit crimes saying Eminem influenced them were mentally unstable in the first place. I believe in Eminem’s statement, however the media and parents would put the blame straight on the radio station which would of broadcast his music, as it is easy to access it if they did.

Conclusion

In conclusion i believe that Eminems Music should be concored on major broadcasters, like the radio and MTV music channels. The main concern I have is the young children, Eminems music has graphic content, ranging from murder to swearing, and young people should not be exposed to this. However i feel that his music could be broadcasted to anyone older than 16 as they are more mature and less fragile. I also agree on Eminems opinion, of music is just lyrics and entertainment, and it cannot influence someone to commit crime, as if they do, the parents should be more strict. From the research I have carried out upon censorship within music videos and lyrics we can apply this to our music video to make sure It wont be overly inappropriate or bad in the case of it having to be cencored massively or banned. 

Analysis Of A Star

Analysis of a star

In this piece I will analyse an artist or ‘star’. The Person I will analyse is Miley Cyrus. Miley Cyrus achieved her fame from playing the role of Miley Stewart or Hannah Montana from the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana. Miley recorded music for the soundtracks for the Hanna Montana episodes and film. Her music was released by Walt Disney Records. The success of the her being Hannah Montana made her a teen idol or a ‘star’. Miley then went to pursue her solo career and signed to Hollywood Records In 2007. Cyrus signed to Hollywood Records to pursue a solo career. She then performed her Best of Both Worlds tour the same year. The tour then turned into a high-grossing concert film which was called She embarked upon the Best of Both Worlds Tour the same year, in which she performed as both herself and in character as Hannah Montana. The tour was eventually turned into a high-grossing concert film titled Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008). In July 2008, Cyrus released her first solo album, Breakout (2008), which was commercially successful.

Through out the time Miley Cyrus was playing the role of Hannah Montana she was perceived as an innocent girl. The songs she sang for the soundtrack was also innocent and girly. At the time, Miley started Hannah Montana she was twelve, her fans where also around that age or even younger, and you would expect a twelve year old girl to be innocent at that age, and she was. When Miley Cyrus then rleased her album and went on tour this is where we could start to see a change. 

During the teen choice awards in 2010, Miley shocked the world with her actions on stage. While singing 'party in the usa' on stage on the teen choice awards, a little ice cream push cart came along with a pole on it, Miley then stood on the cart and produced actions with the pole that would relate to pole dancing. The actions there shocked the world as she was only sixteen and people were shocked as they were not used to this type of Miley.

Throughout her albums and time, Miley Cyrus has changed, with her music and with her style (clothes etc.) With her first album, 'Break Out' we see a happy innocent teenager. Her songs within her first album are also innocent. During 2009 and 2010, she released 2 albums. In 2010 Miley released 'Cant Be Tamed', and withing the artwork of the albums, we can see that she has changed. In breakout we see a happy normal teen singer, in cant be tamed we see a more of a sexual reference with Miley, we can see most of her stomach and she is pulling her belt down to her crouch region. The title Also shows a change, 'Cant be Tamed' here she connotes that she is a rebel and will not be controlled, she would do what she wants, a fathers nightmare.

 

Within her videos we can also see a change. With her Breakout album, she sang '7 things'. In the music video it is a common video for a rock/pop song, a performance, of her singing to the camera most of the time with her band behind her. The song is about a previous relation ship, and it contains the words 'love', it has high key lighting and presents a feel good mood. She wears clothes that does not reveal as much as in 'Cant Be Tamed' and are less sexually attractive.

Within 'Cant be Tamed' is where we see the new Miley. Within the video the lighting is much more low key than the other video I talked about, and the clothes she wears are also black, this both connotes that she has a darker personality, maybe moody and it generates ideas of being  a rebel. This can connote to her audience, as they are the same age which is where they become defiant and independent. The clothes she wears and her actions/dancing in the video are sexually referenced, compared to her old video where she dint wear revealing clothes or acted almost 

seductively. In the video she is half woman and half exotic bird. The animal references in the video also relate to my idea that she has grown up and is a sort of sex icon, as she is now ready to 'mate'.

Miley cyrus confoms to Richard Dyers 'Star' theory. Richard had a theory with 2 paradoxes, the 'Star' must simultaniously be ordinary yet extraordinary, as she wears things common to her audience which are the same age as her, however she is a music artist and can sing very well, this makes the audience look up to her as they can relate and have an idol. The second is that she must be present yet absent to genreate interest and suspence for the audience, so they want her to keep coming back and exited for that. Miley has done that and she has also changed from her album Breakout (2008) and Cant Be Tamed (2010).

In conclusion, Miley Cyrus has changed as she got older. She has become more of a sex icon, and as she has grown up, her fans have too, so they can both relate; like wearing the same clothes for example. Miley changed her style and image as she grew up however she is an example of Richard Dyers 'Star' theory, she has come back from her older album with a new image, to keep her audience interested and make more money.