Costume and Props

Matt:

For each of our members we wanted to connote our indie theme through the use of fashion choices and allow our target audience to relate to the band by wearing the same types of clothes. So therefore we chose items for matt and the rest of the group that we felt were in fashion for the indie genre at this moment in time, but also connoted the laid back feel that we wanted to portray. Therefore we decided to dress Matt in a casual denim shirt, paired with chinos and a graphic tee. All of which a member of our target audience is likely to wear on a daily basis. We also added a pair of Vans which is a common brand that the target audience choose to wear themselves.

Kieron:

We also wanted Kieron’s outfit to convey a common indie theme, so we therefore decided to put him in an Aztec print jumper, which is commonly seen throughout the indie genre in music videos and also within daily life for members of our target audience. In order to portray his outgoing personality Kieron has worn bright blue skinny jeans that are a fairly entropic feature of daily fashion, but are redundant when it comes to the indie genre. He is also wearing Vans, which allows the target audience to relate to the band members and for them to feel slightly more involved within the music video.

Abbie:

For Abbie we also wanted to create the casual laid back look, but in a slightly more femine way. We decided that she should wear a denim jacket in order to create a slight sense of contonutity throughout the costumes and as it is also a staple piece of clothing that is seen throughout the indie genre. By wearing a plain white vest and jeans Abbie is conforming to our image of laidback, casual lifestyle, which will really appeal to our target audience. Like the others in the group, Abbie is also wearing Vans.

Beth:

For my outfit we decided that a denim shirt would also be suited. We feel that they are a key part within the indie fashion world and that they connote the indie brand well. We have paired her denim shirt with leggings and a parka jacket in order to slightly differentiate her outfit from the others, but to also keep in with the indie style. She like the rest of the group is wearing Vans, which promotes the fact that the band is very focused on keeping up with the interests of the target audience. 

Audience Profile

Age: 17-22 years old

Gender: Female and Male 

Demographics: C2-E 

Psychographics: Explorers- seeks discovery and Hedonists – people who want to have a good time

Education: College students, University students and young adults 

The people in our target audience will be creative individuals with a laid back outlook on their lifestyle. This laid back attitude is portrayed through their clothing with them having an indie fashion sense. They will enjoy adventures and exploring new ideas through their creativity, which will link in with their social life also. They will have a loyalty to a number of brands, but will also seek unknown brands to be different. The mood board below gives a sense of what our target audience would be into. 

Risk Assessment

Pitch Feedback

Audience Theory

The Cultural Studies Approach to Audiences

This approach was developed within the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (BCCCS) principally by David Morely. According to Morely, audiences aren't just passively affected by media texts - they take an active role in reading the text.

There are three different ways in which a text can be interpreted:

Preferred Reading – the audience recognize the values being offered by the text and accepts them in general, but adapt their reading of the text to fit in with their experiences.

Negotiated Reading – the audience recognize the values in the text as legitimate and accept them in general, but adapt their reading of the text to fit in with their experiences and interest.

Oppositional Reading – the audience understands the values in the text, but disagrees with them and rejects them.

Applying the theory to our music video:

How might audiences read the values expressed in your video and print work in a preferred, negotiated and oppositional way?

I believe our target audience will view our music video in a preferred way as it connotes friendship and having fun with your peers, this is relate able to many of our target audience as they enjoy going out and having fun with friends, and taking part in activities such as camping and road trips which are both featured in our video. Audiences who view our video in a negotiated way, will understand the concept of friendship in the video, and may link this to their friend group and taking part in activities which they enjoy doing. Audiences who read our video in an oppositional way may reject the view of camping and road trips being fun, and may connote friendship in a different sense. Some people can often be intimidated by youngsters in a group such as this one, which may also link with an oppositional reading.

What are you going to do to encourage the target audience to take a preferred reading?

In order to encourage the target audience we are going to use close ups of the youngsters looking happy and having a good time, to connote friendship within the video. Plus we are going to use shots of the youngsters with alcohol as this is also a way in which people feel they are able to have a good time. We are also using actors of similar age ranges to our target audience so that they are able to relate easily to them and also will be able to relate to the activities occurring in the video.

What kind of person might take an oppositional reading?  

Someone who is not the intended target audience may take an oppositional reading to our video as they may not understand the concept and possibly may not see the activities as fun, or as something that a friend group might take part in. Others who may take an oppositional reading may be people who disagree with alcohol consumption, especially among young people, or believe that alcohol is not significant to have a good time. Also as I stated before, someone who may take an oppositional reading is possibly the older generation, who can be intimidated by youngsters in groups. 

Time Management

We have produced a time management plan to enable us to keep track of what needs to be done in order to ensure that we are prepared to film our music video. Here is our time plan for this month. 

Performers and Casting

Permission

This is to show that we have gained permission off the band to use their song in our music video.

Costumes and Props

Pitch

The Pitch on Prezi

Narrative Analysis

Genre Research

Redundancy and Entropy

Overall I believe this music video to be fairly redundant but with a few features of entropy. The scene images that we see throughout the video are redundant as they are city scenes which the majority of the public see on a daily basis, they are nothing out of the ordinary. With the school and kitchen scenes also playing a significant part in this video, this also gives off the redundant idea, as this is a typical everyday scene for children and adults worldwide.

The clothing the stars are featured in also is a redundant feature of the video. The clothes are not extravagant show clothes or anything out of what we typically see people in on a daily basis. The hoodies and baggy jeans are also typical of the clothing which we perceive people in the rap/r&b genre to be wearing.

An entropic feature of the video however, is the subtitles at the start of the video. This type of feature is normally associated with films and TV shows rather than music videos. It is not a dominant ideology that we link to a music video.

Another entropic part of the video is the adult’s heads on the children’s bodies. This links in with the title and lyrics of the song ‘opposite of adults’ but is not a common feature used in any form of media.

Linking on from the entropic ideas, another which is featured in the video, is the visual of a piano being played by one of the characters. This is fairly entropic of the rap/R&B genre as it is more closely linked with rock/indie genres to show their instruments being played within their music video.

The close ups of the lead singer however, is a redundant feature as this is commonly used in most music videos of any genre to highlight the main star. As he is singing throughout the video we are repeatedly shown close ups of him, which continue to perceive his importance in the video.

Music Video Analysis

Here is my first music video analysis. I have analyzed the video 'Crazy In Love' by Beyonce featuring Jay-Z. Beyonce is a world famous pop/r&b artist, with Jay-Z being more integrated into the rap/r&b scene. I have analyzed the following features:

-Shot types
-Camerawork and cinematography
-Mise-en-scene
-Editing
-Intertextuality
-Representation
I have analyzed how all these features are used to make the music video appealing to its target audience.

Functions of music videos

This mood board explores the many functions of music videos. The functions range from making money for the artist and company, to entertain fans and can also connote messages of issues in society at that moment in time such as drugs and alcohol.

Introductory Post

For my A2 media coursework I will be making a promotional package for the release of an album.  This will include:

• A music promo video
• A cover for the album's release on Digipak
• A magazine advertisement for the Digipak

On this blog I will record all of the research, planning and development of my work.