Task 12 - Target Audience

U2 have been hugely successful with their target audience by evolving with the times. They were distinctly different to the other boy bands of the early part of this century but they still managed to produce alternative rock tracks and sustain a great reputation. By contrast, bands such as Boyzone and Take That (who were seen as similar type of artists to U2) were pushing closer towards Pop than Rock. The view of the music industry was that this would leave U2 without a large target audience, because teenagers growing up tended to prefer the new 'Pop boy band' image (especially girls 8-14). However U2 have adapted the songs so that their previous target audience would still continue to listen to their music.

A lot of people still listening to U2 from the 90s still liked the new music they were bringing out post 2000 even if it was not quite the same sound as past hits. At the same time they are still picking up new fans who started listening to newer albums such as “All That You Can't Leave Behind”  (2000) which has the track ‘Beautiful Day’ which was a smash hit and won 3 Grammy awards. 

Task 11 - Inspirational Director (Nigel Dick)

Nigel Dick

My inspiration for my music video is Nigel Dick due to his great success in his work and the fact he has worked with some of the most famous artists across the globe. He works with a wide range of artists ranging across multiple genres and still keeps his own unique style of production. This is one of the main characteristics I would like to have as a director.

The award winning, British born, film-maker Nigel Dick has directed over 350 music videos and more than 25 documentaries and feature films. He has won 3 MTV awards, 2 Billboard Awards and 3 MVPA awards. His videos have been nominated for a further twenty- one MTV awards, twenty-six Much Music Awards, two CMT Awards, a Grammy and won one Brit Award. His many personal nominations include a Cable Ace Award. He was awarded a second Lifetime Achievement Award by the MVPA (Music Video Producers Association) in May 2012 and is one of the most well know directors across the music industry. 

Task 11 - Inspirational Director (Mark Romanek)

Mark Romanek who was born September 18, 1959 is an American filmmaker whose directing work includes feature films, music videos and commercials. Romanek's music videos have won 20 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Direction for Jay-Z's "99 Problems", and he has won three Grammy Awards for Best Short Film  Music Video, which is more than any other director. Romanek's 2002 music video for Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" has been hailed by many critics and fans alike as the most personal and moving music video ever made. The song expresses self-loathing and the futility of worldly accomplishments; this content took on a new poignancy when sung by Cash near the end of his life, quietly performing in his memorabilia-filled home, with shots of the flood-ravaged "House of Cash" museum and archival shots of a younger, cockier Cash edited in. The video was nominated for seven VMAs, winning one for cinematography and also won Romanek his third Grammy. Another reason why I believe that Romanek is personally an inspiration to me is due to his work with U2. He was the director behind their hit songs “Summer nights” and “Invisible” and as this is the same artist that I have chosen my song for, I feel personally inspired by his work.

Task 10: Research into the record company

Mother Records

Mother Records was a record label founded by the band U2 in 1983 and distributed by parent company Island Records. I have decided to research into this label as they were founded by the most popular band within the music genre I have decided to work in (Irish rock).

The label was registered on 19 October 1983, and subsequently launched on 1 August 1984 by U2. Its debut single was In Tua Nua's "Coming Thru". In 1990, the label was reorganised into an independent record company. Debut artists for the revamped label were The Golden Horde, An Emotional Fish and Engine Alley. The Golden Horde's album released on Mother Records The Golden Horde, was voted joint No1 record with U2's Achtung Baby in the prestigious Hot Press Music Awards of 1991. Engine Alley's debut album 'A Sonic Holiday,' produced by Steve Lillywhite, followed in 1992. Also at this time, The Sugarcubes joined the Mother label roster.

After leaving The Sugarcubes, Björk stayed with Mother for her solo releases Debut, Post, Telegram and Homogenic. Other artists to join the label's roster were Longpigs, Gil Scott-Heron, Alicia Bridges, Tanita Tikaram, Lena Fiagbe, Audioweb, and Adam Clayton's and Larry Mullen's "Theme From Mission: Impossible".

In 1997, the U2 PopMart Mix of M's "Pop Muzik" was released for Mother Records and was under license to Island Records on U2 releases.

The label ceased operations in 2000. Yet according to the Irish Companies Registration Office (CRO) it was dissolved only on 14 October 2011 and was registered at their former accountant's former office.

Task 9 - Analysis of Digipak (Coldplay - Viva La Vida)

Coldplay released their fourth album 'Viva La Vida '(or death and all his friends) on 11th June 2008. The album was a huge success, both critically and commercially, winning best rock album Grammy in 2009 as well as a nomination for album of the year and being the best selling album album of 2008. However, the success did not stop there as by 2011 the album had sold more than 10 million copies.

Viva La Vida is the Spanish for "Live The Life" or "Long Live Life." This refers to many themes of love, death and life that run throughout the album. This also links to the front cover of the digipak, which is very conventional featuring the title of the digipak and an image which gives identity with the album, featuring the artwork from Eugene Delecroix's 1830 "Liberty Leading The People." The historic painting depicts the french revolution of July  and a Lady leading the revolution holding a gun in her left hand and the French flag aloft in her right. She is the personification of freedom and liberty, leading the people over the fallen bodies. These themes of liberty and freedom are also explored in the songs of the album. The front cover does not contain the name or image of any of the group. This is conventional for a 'Super Band' such as Coldplay with a huge fan base to not need to create an image for new fans because that image is already heavily engraved with their brand.

The back of the album is also very conventional for a digipak with a simple song list, branding and necessary other things such as bar-code. The font and colours used for the text are formal and contain themes of royalty and wealth due to the gold colouring. This links to the front because in more modern times an archaic painting would be something owned by a higher class person and accompanied by gold in framing or decoration. The black background helps to continue the formal theme which is used because Coldplay have a very wide audience for their music and therefore need to tailor their digipak, and by avoiding bright colours and keeping to a more neutral theme they can appeal to all ages and genders.

The inside cover features four action shots of the band members in black and white. This is used to represent the band in an artistic style that represents their melodic style within the genre. The right inside cover features a very similar style to the back with the plain flat black background and the gold text featuring the artist name and album name.

Task 9 - Analysis of digipak (Kendrick Lamar - To pimp a butterfly)

The front sleeve of Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' shows the aftermath of a black revolution on the White House Lawn. The image is shot in striking monochrome with the quality of a vintage Polaroid, and it features a large group of mostly shirtless black men and children – plus one baby, cradled by Lamar himself and, possibly, one woman – arranged in a victory tableau on the lawn in front of the White House. This image possibly challenges the degree of equality of black society in America and Lamar expresses these political views in other songs on his album such as 'Blacker the Berry' and has followed on from other artists such as Marvin Gaye and Bessie Smith.

The back cover of 'To Pimp a Butterfly' shows the tracks listed in Kendrick's handwriting which exaggerates to the audience that it his own genius creation. Also, the simple black on white colouring gives it an urban feel and I believe has a good effect. 

The lone image of the butterfly links with the title 'To Pimp a Butterfly' which itself is a riff on Harper Lee’s classic novel T'o Kill a Mockingbird'. Also, butterflies symbolise hope, which could be used to show Kendrick's hope for equal rights for black people.  

Task 9 - Analysis of Digipak (The Killers - 'Sam's Town')

The band's name, The Killers,  connotes violence therefore referring to their genre which is rock, as they are stereo-typically shown as quite aggressive, which at times matches their music. The font used in the digipack is very bold, black capitals to attract the attention go the audience. The target audience for this CD cover would be both genders but mainly males aged 17+ due to the rugged look, which emphasises their genre. 

Front Cover:

The dominant image on the front cover is of what appears to be a run-down barn/house due to the peeling white paint, and broken window. On the left is a ram which is sitting down and on the right a woman in a bikini with heels. It seems as if the album has a country theme, where the group are out in the desert. This then links to the name of their album, which is called ‘Sam's Town’- it could maybe symbolise their hometown, and where they are from. This then ahas the effect of adding a personal touch to the album.

Back Cover:

The actual band is featured on the back of the CD, where the track list is. They are shown from a long shot, therefore displaying their outfits; each band member is wearing a similar outfit, with jeans and a jacket or shirt. They are all quite casual outfits, with a rugged style to match their genre of rock. The colours are mostly dark which again matches their rock genre. The main singer set forward in the photograph directly addressing the audience, therefore emphasising his dominant stance, being the leader of the band. They are standing side by side which then highlights their unity as a band. Their facial expressions are quite serious and plain, hiding any emotions. Their facial expressions tend to be minimal, as they do not associate something ‘happy’ with their rebellious, sometimes aggressive music. In addition to this there is also copyright details, links to the band's website and a bar code on the side. These small details will be vital when ensuring my digipak looks realistic come the end of production.

Disk:

One of the most striking images on the digipak is that of the goat. Its horns perfectly follow the curve of the CD. It is quite unusual for a CD to have purely a picture without a band name on it, but this is what the band have chosen to do.It gives them a unique identity.

Task 8 - Prelim photography task

Realism - "The quality of being very much like real life : the quality of seeming to be real"

 Surrealism - "A 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images"

Task 7 - Taylor Swift Music Video Analysis

Mise-en-scene:

• Lighting is consistently dark in the background but light is focussed on Taylor and her friends' faces to give them a bigger star image appeal.
• Location is in various well known places such as Tower Bridge in London which references typical science-fiction locations in media texts (an urban city)

• The costumes and make up are all dark colours so it is as if they are trying to blend in with their environment; they match the vengeful elements of the song. Dark colours fit well with the image they are trying to create. The colours used are all bold making them stand out. They are trying to create an element of being bad, tough and strong.
• As well as this, (with the exception of one character), all of the characters' costumes look similar which indicates that they are all on the same team

• Despite their dark costumes, they all have feminine qualities, e.g. Taylor applying her lipstick at the beginning

• There is lots of emphasis on the sound of Taylor's heels clicking on the ground as she and her friends are training
• The characters all have a weapon of some sort which does not reflect the pop genre of the song but matches the narrative of the video

• At the beginning, one of the female characters has a cigar which is a prop commonly used by men in power. This makes Lena Dunham's character seem powerful and enforces the female empowerment message of the video.

Editing:

• Lots of Computer Generated Imagery is added to complete the music video and give it the effect of a Hollywood blockbuster film, e.g. explosions in the background 

• The use of slow motion has been skilfully deployed throughout and mainly on Taylor's screen time to prolong the amount of time she appears. It also succeeds in creating an action-adventure effect for the audience.
• Taylor is always in the shot, even when the focus is on someone else. For example, when she is kicked out of the window, the audience is able to see her face in the reflection of the glass. This puts emphasis on Taylor and her image. 

• The triumph of editing makes the characters vivid and realistic throughout, even though their screen time is relatively short. 

Camerawork

• Establishes a shot of a city to introduce the genre of the film as well as the location.

• Constant close ups of Taylor and the other characters' faces to introduce both their image and their characters
• Taylor is almost always in the shot as this promotes her artistry to her fans. It also puts emphasis on the fact that she is the undoubted star of this video.

• Tracking shots at the beginning of her body which objectifies her body under the 'male gaze'. This illustrates Godwin's theory of music videos as it comes under the category of voyeurism .

Genre

• Like action-adventure films, it is quite a glossy video with a big budget and is reliant upon high quality editing and special effects.
• The production is atypical for a music video since it closely resembles a film instead of a more traditional music video.
• However there are performance elements which bring it back to its pop genre such as lip sinking of the lyrics to the song.

• As well as this, there is a discreet emphasis on her costume and make up which is common for pop genre videos.
• Like with most pop genre videos, the artist herself gets the maximum amount of screen time which is apparent throughout the video with roughly 2 minutes and 50 seconds screen time, while her other characters have only up to 15 seconds each.

Audience effect

• The audience (especially teenage girls and young adults) will feel somewhat empowered after watching the girls be the superheroes for once.

• Also the audience is made to feel part of the team since they are introduced to everyone in the video. This enhances the communication between Taylor and her fans.
• There are moments of tension for the fans to see Taylor's new 'edgier' image that involved violence - something she's never been associated with previously.

• The audience enjoy it as a mini-movie, not just a music video.

Narrative

• The audience can see Taylor and her friends' faces so they know to trust them, whereas you do not see the faces of the opposition in the narrative emphasising that they are bad.

Task 7 - Kendrick Lamar Music Video Analysis

• A lot of slow motion shots and handheld camerawork is used throughout the video with the handheld camera mainly focusing on Lamar adding to the 'star image' which is used for marketing and building his reputation. The slow motion shots reflect life in Compton, such as the shot of the motorbikes (3:12) which shows the unity and outgoing lifestyle the people live, and this contrasts with the more serious, political views in the shot at showing Martin Luther King (3:03).
• Camera movement is used to show the fast tempo of the song, and the hand held camera is bouncing with the beat and the cast trying to give a representation of  Compton locals 
• As the video is set in Compton, it makes the audience see urban life in Compton and the surrounding area, along with the sense of community that Lamar grew up in. As well as this evironment fitting perfectly for his style of music, it also gives the audience an insight into his background raising his personal profile.
• Short shot length also conveys the energetic atmosphere of his style of music and a representation of his life in Compton.

Andrew Goodwin's music video theory

Andrew Goodwin developed a theory based on what he thought made a music video successful. His theory was broken up into 6 key aspects of music videos.

Firstly, he said there could be a relationship between the songs lyrics and the visuals seen in the video. In this aspect, we look at how the lyrics associate with the visuals, how a narrative is formed, if there is a story line that the viewer can follow and if that story line has a clear message to it. An example of this is seen in the music video of the song ‘Love Yourself’ by Justin Bieber. We can follow the story line between a couple and this shows a clear message to the viewer about the struggles in a relationship.

Next, Goodwin stated that there could be a relationship between the music of the song and the visuals seen by the viewer. With this aspect, again we are looking at how the music and visuals of a video create a narrative and a storyline for the viewer and what effect this has. An example of this is in the music video for the advert. ‘We will rock you’  by Britney Spears, Beyonce and Pink. We can clearly see how the rhythm and beat of the song is transferred into a chant and banging an object against the wall in time with the rhythm.

He also stated that that the video needs to be relevant to the genre the song represents. This element looks at what aspects of the video have made its genre clear to the audience right from the very start of the video and song. An example of this is that during the heavy metal video below, there is a lot of stage performance and a big emphasis on masks and dramatic performances.

Next, Goodwin stated that there could be an element of voyeurism. Voyeurism is the objectification of men and women in music videos in order to create a certain appeal for the viewers. Although this often applies far more often to women, it can also be used with men. A great example of this is the music video for ‘Wrecking ball’ by Miley Cyrus. This is where we see a very blank environment with the main focus being on Miley herself with minimal to no clothing on. This has a greater impact on male viewers than it does on female and is used as a way to present the artist to that particular gender.

In addition to this, he also stated that the narrative of the music video was important. Narrative is the account of connected events in a media text, basically meaning the storyline of a product. However, it is not the storyline as in each specific element is a product, but more of a general aspect of the story and how/why each event is connected to move the story along. There are generally two types of narratives in a music video, one being the narrative of the video and the other being the narrative of the song. From this, we can look at how the two narratives work together to make an either contrasting or hybrid narrative.

 Finally, the last element in his theory was based on the ‘Star image’ aspect. This refers to the representation of the ‘characters’ in the video which are often the band members/ artist. They are represented in a way that puts them in the spotlight. It is often the singers that are focussed on as they are the 'voice' of the band and their name is what is recognised by their fans. They are in the spotlight in order to get their image out into the public arena and be seen as ‘stars’ in their fans eyes. as well as gaining further credibility.

Goodwin said that each of these elements make a music video what it is and what makes it a successful product. I will consider each of these features when I come to creating my own music video in order to give it the most professional feel possible.

Task 6 - Analysis of magazine adverts (Plan B)

The lettering is trim and tidy. It is left-aligned and is not superfluously stylish yet it is noticeable and, due to a lack of unnecessary pretentiousness, it is legible and strikingly resonant; the same can be said of the Manic Street Preachers advert below.

Plan B himself resides in the bottom right hand corner clutching an old fashioned microphone. His style of music, suave rap/pop, is unique and the positioning of the chosen image is an extension of this individuality. Donning a dapper suit and clutching an old fashioned microphone, the basic yet stylistic font mirrors this image. However, Plan B is surrounded by black, darkness reflecting his music which has melancholic undertones. His lyrics are ominous or explicit, there is something sinister, hidden, about him. As Plan B is looking to his left, half of his face is not exposed; this again suggests that there are deeper, darker facets to his music and these elements link to his smooth style.

I want to try and replicate the effect this advert has giving a star image to the lead singer promoting their image to the audience.

Task 6 - Analysis of magazine adverts (Kings of Leon)

This advertisement for the Kings of Leon album has  the effect of displaying the key information of the album and its content to the reader: the album title; the band; key tracks and the date of release. The advert has achieved this in a very simple manner by simply displaying the album title and listing the popular singles released prior to the album's release. 

The advert does not overload the reader with too much information as they will not lose interest in the advert. Displaying needless information about the album such as all the tracks, the track times etc. will just put people off from viewing the advert as no one really cares about the track times or track names when no one knows the songs as they have not yet been released.

The picture that the advert has gone with is unique in that it is an amalgam of different faces, including human and bird. This is striking as and makes the album cover distinctive. This will then get peoples attention as the picture itself is strange and people will associate it with Kings of Leon and this album in paticular. The picture has been made much larger than the text and this has been done as the most recognislbe thing would be an image to associate the album with, instead of tracks or the title. Therefore this will get the viewer's attention.

 The text that has been used is clear and the size of the font is right so the advert does not  get dominated by inappropriately large text. The text does not overshadow the album cover picture

Task 6 - Analysis of magazine adverts (Coldplay)

This advertisement for Coldplay's album is used  to display the key information about the album and what can be expected for the customer. The key details include the album title, an image of the band and when it was released. The advert has achieved this in a very simple manner by simply displaying a small image of the album cover. The main point of this advert is the striking bold white text reading 'Coldplay' and the name of the new album 'X&Y'. 

The only imagery used was a simple shot of the band sitting relaxed facing the camera, with the lead singer "Chris Martin" sitting closest to the camera to try and project him as the star performer and make the viewer  focus in on the singer. The text is effective no needless information is being displayed, just enough to keep the viewer engaged with what they are seeing.

Task 5 - Research into the music genre "Rock (specifically Soft Rock)"

Soft rock is a style of light, melodic, radio-friendly Rock music which gained huge commercial success in the 1970s. It employs clean, highly polished production values and arrangements, often led by piano and/or acoustic guitar, aided by bouncy, harmonious bass guitar and with smooth, restrained use of electric guitar. Artists make frequent use of catchy, high-pitched harmonies, simple verse-chorus structures and sentimental lyrics, whilst additional layers of gentle synths and orchestration are not uncommon. 

The style took cues from 1960s Folk Pop, Country Rock and Baroque Pop, with artists such as Carole King, Bread and James Taylor initially pioneering the sound. It remained hugely popular throughout the 1970s and the early 1980s; Elton John, Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, Christopher Cross, America and Air Supply exemplified soft rock's popularity in the US charts during this period. The sound still retains a moderate degree of popularity, with singer/songwriters such as James Blunt and Jack Johnson adopting the style, whilst the influence is evident in UK bands The Feeling, U2,

Coldplay and Keane.