Research into chosen artist.

(Source:Wikipedia)

Jason Mraz is very interesting as an artist as his songs are very experimental in the techniques he uses, such as changes tempo of the lyrics and the beat often. He also maintains a constant theme throughout the whole song-which allows for a narrative to be created within the video. One could say that his music is easy listening and can target many different audiences. The idea of attracting mass audiences with a niche style intrigues me as to the limits we can push his music within the video, but fundamentally not change his style in music. As an artist in the mainstream attraction he doesn't break many conventions and expectations from the audience which allows for the audience to understand the audience better which ultimately betters the bond between artist and audience.

Jason was born in Virginia, 23.06.1977. The Genres he covers are broad but he specifically is known for pop-rock soul music. The song that we will be focusing on is I won't give up, arguably his best song. As you can see in the text box above it was a contender for the best love song at the Teen Choice Awards, despite not winning it was acknowledged by its target audience to be a good song that the audience enjoy consuming. Below you can see his sales for each of his songs in recent years. 

I'm yours by Jason Mraz was the song that established him as popular artist. The lyrics 'I'm yours' which is found in the chorus is a connotation of Love, allowing the song to target its target audience- mainly females aged 16-36 who do not live within a city. Mraz is portrayed as a free-loving person who appears cool to the audience-these hones into the Star image motif from Goodwin’s theory. The mise en scene of this video includes multiple locations, costumes and props, also the lighting used is natural throughout.

The most frequent outfit worn by Mraz is a t-shirt, shorts and a straw hat which makes him look normal-Paradox 2 of Dyer’s theory appearing ordinary to the audience giving a better chance for a relationship to be made between artist and audience. The outfits worn by Mraz can connote exploration which can be a reference to the style of music he provides as he is an alternative artist, and throughout the song the many locations can connote the journey of Mraz to creating his music, allowing the audience to feel more intimate with him and again create a strong connection to him. The range of props come from Sunglasses and back pack worn and the methods of transport he uses. Each has their own meanings to the audience, for instance the surf board he appears on suggests to the audience that he is in tune with nature and has cool pass time in exotic locations which can allow Mraz to gain more support from fans that enjoy the artist appearing extraordinary and also fun. He also is implied to have travelled in a private jet which can help attract a more exclusive target audience. Mraz through this video tries to gain as many fans as possible, which is good for an artist as it makes their products more likely to sell which makes Mraz as a product better.

Mraz through this song is able to successfully address his target audience and form strong lasting bonds with them. This is typical of Mraz as within other music videos he uses the same techniques stated above to lure the audience into feeling comfortable and intimate to him.

Target audience research

Questionnaire

Explain why questionnaires are important when considering a target audience.

To cater to a target audience efficiently you must first understand the needs and wants of the audience to give a brief outline of the type of product they are wanting. This understanding can also identify where a niche in the industry may lie. The more a production team understand the audience the more successful the product should be.

Questionnaires are also quick to complete and therefore have more chance from a member of the audience completing one, allowing a large range of sources to be included in your investigation to give your findings more credible as it is more representative of the wider audience, the more people that complete it.

The Data accumulated from questionnaires are often quantitive data, which means they are easy to analyse and compare to other results, which makes concluding what the audience want easier.

Explain why you surveyed 40 people in total and how you shared this in your group.

We used 40 people for our questionnaire, as it will allow multiple views and ideas from the audience to be voiced, which will allow us the ability to understand them more. We also used 40 because we are in a group of four people and 40 questionnaires being given out through 4 people, becomes very manageable. This is how we shared the burden of the questionnaire, four people with 10 questionnaires to give out each.

Pie charts/bar charts. (Questionnaire results)

Explain why decided to create pie charts/ bar charts.

We wanted to use Pie charts because not only does it allow a combination of all results to be centralised in one simple place, but it also is very nice to use, it becomes apparent which option of each of our questions was the most popular amongst our audience allowing us to fixate on providing what is wanted and it also speeds up the time period taken to analyse the results as we are able to group all the results rather than look at them individually which becomes time consuming.

Vox pops interviews

Explain why your group decided to undertake this as a part of your research.

We decided to use Vox pops for our research, as we believe that questionnaires can be too restrictive for the audience to give a reflective answer for how they feel about the topic, we also believe that a vox pop allows the answers given to be a fair reflection of views of the audience which will be rich in detail. We have found in the past that questionnaires and other ways of collecting data are very time consuming and do not always have a range of questions big enough to give the same level of understanding as a vox pop does.

Include a short summary to explain how it went and briefly how it will assist you with planning your music video.

The vox pop from filming to editing was a smooth and swift process. the filming of our samples took all  of half a day and the editing the raw footage together took just one hour after we decided the relevant answers to reflect the average view. Because the Vox pop was straight from the audiences point of view we are now able to correctly provide them with a product that they would enjoy consuming. For instance the common genre our sample enjoyed was alternative and therefore we chose to focus on that as a potential genre for our product.

Research- Music Channels.

A music channel is a place where the audience can access the music videos of new or old music from their favorite artists. It is common for a music channel to have a specific genre that it plays, this is to attract as many of their target audience as possible in the hope to increase the channel's viewing ratings and grow the size of the channel. Music channels are also very beneficial to the artist as the audience can form a relationship with the artist with the videos that the channel show, and therefore boost their popularity it is often vital for a musician to appear on these channels.

The Target audience for Kerrang is 14-16 year old and the genre of music it plays is Rock and soft rock- which is a reletively niche audience.Artists such as FallOut Boy, Linkin Park, Green day and Paramore are common artists to appear on the channel. The logo for Kerrang appeals to an edgy audience with a Blurred effect on the writing, also the colour red represents danger and the perceived dangerous lifestyle of the genre, which is a common code of the genre. Artists of this genre often can benefit just as much as genres that appeal to a mass audience as it is easier to monopolize the industry as there are less competitors. 

The target audience is 12-24 for MTV as they try to keep their target audience broad and commercial. MTV’s genre varies from each subsidiary, but mainly focuses on popular chart music and RnB. Typical artists found on MTV are Rhianna, Ed Sheeran, Olly Murs and Calvin Harris. MTV has Used its branding in association with Renault, the Clio model of the Renault range.The MTV Logo is black and white, with spray painted affects for the TV to suggest it is targeting a younger audience, which connotes that the music they supply is relevant to the needs of the industry.

The Target audience for VH1 is 25-35- an older target audience, this can be more profitable than a younger audience as they will have more disposable income to consume the products.The type of music VH1 plays is a variety of mainstream music, to appeal to mass market, VH1 also caters for niche audiences through the use of “100 greatest….” which makes sure that VH1 ticks all the boxes for the needs of their audience.The logo is a cube like with a different colour to connote the different types of genre it plays. And the artists the audience expect to see on the channel are Madonna, Elton John, Celine Dion and Cher.

Box has a target audience of 14-20 because it only plays relevant and up to date tracks that are in the charts.

The type of music: Urban, indie and pop to cover all aspects of the mainstream tree. Artists that feature on box are Justin Bieber, Rita Ora and Connor Maynard. Box is an example of a subsidiary for Kiss. The logo is plain and simply making it more memorable.

Scuzz plays rock, heavy metal and metal.which makes the target audience a niche audience, which spreads across a wide range of age. Artists the a common to scuzz are you me at six and  slipknot, Scuzz is a subsidiary label for  the Vault. The logo for scuzz is metallic as if it is similar to the type of music it plays.

Why do you think MTV is broken down into different channels (base, hits, dance,rock, classical)?

-MTV has many subsidiaries in order to target more niche audiences as well as their ability to penetrate the mainstream audience. It allows MTV to tailor the music they play to a select audience or a select genre. For instance MTV dance will only play dance styled music, as another subsidiary will focus on playing the other styles.

Why do you think there is a variety of a music channel?

-There are a variety of music channels to cater to all fans from any music genre and also to give the fans a selection of what they listen too rather than only listening to the playlist of one channel. Variety in the industry keeps the fans happy and allows the industry to continue to grow.

Why do you think music channels are important in appealing to a target audience?

-Music channels are important in the appeal of target audience because it is here that the audience are able to form a relationship to the artist as music channels is the place in which the audience are able to watch the music videos and gain a better understanding of the artist. If the channel isn’t relevant to the wants of the audience then many fans may lose interest in the channel, there is no point a music channel putting rock anthems on a pop channel as this may cause some people to stop listening or watching the channel.

What have you learnt from analysing music channels and how will it help you with your own production?
-From analyzing music channels I have learnt how the same product can be marketed in different ways to attract different audiences.I have also learnt that it is easy to stray from targeting your target market and target a similar market- which is not always good as it can cause a loss in support of existing fans. 

Do you think music videos should be censored?

Censorship is the regulation of music and film. The purpose of censorship is to protect the audience. Censorship protects the audience against inappropriate lyrics, connotation messages of violence, drugs, sexual behavior and offensive imagery. Ofcom is the leading association in charge of categorizing what product is available for the audience. Ofcom are liable for any offence taken from the video and therefore are very thorough in what they perceive to be offensive, as the organization cannot risk a product being placed in a position for the audience to complain. For instance not putting a song with repetitive swearing in, like Eamon-F*ck you right back, on a child’s TV channel. Also this song was unable to feature on the radio as if all of the swearing or offensive messages were edited out through the use of a beep the song would not provide a level of satisfaction to the audience and would defeat the purpose of a music video. But if it was left it would have widely offended masses of people, therefore it was agreed that the song wouldn’t be played.

Rihanna –we found love, has also been banned from TV, however unlike the first song mentioned it was banned from adult based TV channels e.g. MTV. To be censorship towards songs appearing on a channel with an older target audience is more lenient than when it is appearing on child’s TV, this is because the audience is expected to be able to cope better with the stresses of offensive material. This suggests how outlandish Rihanna’s video is; there is a strong fixation of drug taking throughout along with sexual behavior. Both the drug taking and sexual suggestions are explicit and the way they are shown and there is a feel that it is fun. This alters the way the audience perceives these actions; it puts a spin of coolness on them- this can be seen as an aspect of hegemony. An argument for the video against censorship is that it does show both sides of the effects when taking drugs, despite its bias view towards taking drugs, (in favor of).

Eminem is an artist that has frequent battles with censorship as his material is seen to be offensive to many people. Eminem’s songs have always been controversial in lyrics or through the music video. Eminem would argue that his music is an expression of his emotions and conveys to his fans the suffering that he has had to overcome to become the person he is today and that. If everybody adheres to censorship requirements, then the audience and fans will be consuming the same product; the only difference will be the artist performing it.  The standardisation of music would erase the purpose of music being a form of personal emotion and art, I think Eminem can side with the idea that when powerful and controlling organisations, like Ofcom, dictate the outcome it can be very restrictive. 

A Fan of Eminem would share the opinion the reason Eminem is so popular is that he talks about topics other artists wouldn’t. This freedom of topic and themes makes him unique and un-controlled, allowing his music to be more exciting and makes the direction of his music less predictable. Less predictability in new releases creates a sense of excitement when he releases new music.  Eminem’s diversity in tackling disturbing topics like ‘Stan” talk about themes of depression, suicide and murder allowing Eminem to establish a Niche in the industry as he knows other artists are unlikely to venture into this style of rap because of the stigma that follows. Fans would also argue that this image of Eminem being insulting towards other artists and society is not all that he does. Songs like Fack, which is a more humorous and vulgar, shows a different side to Eminem’s music style and can, show how he does not expect his music to be taken literally. Fans like that Eminem is not censor abiding, so what he produces is dictated by him therefore the connection made is genuine and not fictitious.

Eminem has mass controversy surrounding his songs with relation to the youth. Eminem never instructs children to commit any crimes if anything his hypothetical characters of the lyrics and videos show children how not to behave.  His style of music is curing but that is only because of the way he was brought up his entry into music for being in the ghettos, however, he states it is the responsibility of the parents to monitor the songs their children listen to. Songs produced from Shady Records have been wrongly accused of manipulating children into poor life decisions or goading the children into violence-Eminem would argue that if a child is going to get into a fight it is because they wanted to, if a child used a knife to harm somebody they would have done that regardless of what his songs say.

Shady Records, the music label Eminem is signed to and happens to also be his own label, would argue that he can take his music in whatever direction he wants to and he should be able to retain the ability to decide on the lyrics and topics included in the song.Shady Records mean that Eminem can do whatever he wants with his music as long as it stays profitable and does not cause the label to lose money. the label will always side with Eminem as it is owned by him.

MTV, Radio One and Kiss 100 will not play any of Eminem's early career songs, and have only just started playing the less explicit songs. the reason for this is that these three stations all appeal to a mass market audience in which Eminem may not appeal to. Another reason for Eminem not being played is that young children can have access to the service that these three provide and therefore not all material from Eminem will be age appropriate.MTV specifically did not want to play Eminem's songs because of the themes of Violence and death in the videos, which was more likely to offend people than it was to excite people.

The argument of Eminem's music has also spread to the parents of children, some parents are happy with the music he produces and others dislike him as an artist entirely. The argument of supporting parents is that they decide on the music the children listen to and can restrict the child from listening to the music if it becomes unfriendly for children. They also argue that it is good for the children to see Eminem's world and culture to learn that everybody is different and has had a different upbringing which can also prepare the child for the horrors of life rather than keeping the child protected and deceived. The argument against this view is that children can find other ways to listen to music if the want to, making the parental restriction hard to enforce. they would also argue that the children are not old enough to face the injustice of the world as they may not fully understand it. Some parents against Eminem would also argue that children are easily mislead and so it is down to the artist to be responsible for such actions that could cause the child to imitate.

The debate of Eminem and the examples of Rihanna and Eamon show how censorship is controlled to protect the audience, because of this, censorship can be seen to be effective and needed in the industry, however it is clear that the restraints of censorship are too restrictive which could detrimental to the industry, there also needs to be a place where censored music can  be played to be fair to all artists of the industry as some can benefit from having clean lyrics but not necessarily be the better artist.
From this research into censorship we have greatened our understanding on what we can include in our video and what we can not include. For example, we know not to swear within our product or have any mouthing of swear words, we also have learnt that provocative clothing is frowned upon and may lead to our product being banned on some music channels/websites which we would not want to happen as it could make our product less appealing to our target audience and a potential audience.

Analysis of a music video.

Music videos are vital to the popularity of artist; first and foremost a music video raises awareness for the artist allowing the audience to identify the artist. This then allows a music video the ability to create an image for the artist- the image is usually distinctive and unique making the artist stand out. With this identification of the artist and their image relationships can then be created with the target audience- potentially boosting sales of records and concert tickets. However, these all benefit the artist but a music video in a literal explanation is an illustration of the connotations and themes hidden within the song, this can be an insight into the artist’s life or hegemony. To analyse a music video there are three vital micro elements to consider; Cinematography, Editing and the Mise en scene. Cinematography is broken down into three factors; camera positions, camera angles and camera movements. Analysis of editing should hone in on transitions, cuts and computer generated images (CGI). Like the other two Micro elements the mise en scene also breaks down into contributors (S.C.A.L.P); Setting and iconography, Costumes, Actors (facial expressions, body language and positioning), Lighting and colour and finally Props.

The target audience has a large significance in the direction and design that the music video follows. The music video is used to provide the audience more interaction with the artist and in some case can provide the audience more than the song can, for instance in Green day's song "Basket case" the music video is set in a mental institution which clearly outlines one of the themes of the song to the audience, insanity, it also establishes who the artist is to the audience, improving the audience's awareness of the artist. If an artist is targeting a younger audience they may use CGI or animation, like Fall Out Boy did in their song "Carpal Tunnel of Love" although the target audience was early 20's, the principle still worked.

The song ‘Over’ by Drake is an interesting song to analyse with its release early in his career, and therefore limited connection and relationship. Drake is a rap artist that appeals to a target audience of ages of 13-28, predominantly males, however drake does not isolate the female audience. Common codes and conventions of this genre are money, wealth, sex, drugs and hardship growing up. Drake breaks the expectations of the genre as none of these appear in the video.

The overuse of cinematography in this video amends this issue of a low relationship between himself and the audience. The two most pivotal shots for creating a relationship are the close up and the dual shot. The Close up in this case was also used as the establishing shot for the video, Drake is sitting on a bed looking into the camera lens, this shot portrays Drake’s emotion and shows that he is ready to share his story with the audience, the use of this shot allows a relationship to be formed between Drake’s target audience and himself as it links Drake to his music, it also allows Drake’s audience to form a relationship with his audience as it allows his audience to feel connected to Drake’s personal life as he appears to be open in sharing it to his audience giving a feel of exclusivity to the audience. This niche gives Drake, the product and business, the ability to compete with industry leaders such as Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Jay-Z as the relationship forming will be more intimate and friendly. The dual shot was seen in a sequence of the video were two different images of Drake appearing in the frame and once, one larger than the other. This shot reinforces who the artist is and also adds to the narrative of the music video by illustrating that Drake is thinking on has something on his mind to share with the audience. The dual shot builds a relationship with the audience as it shows how Drake is creative, which from the audiences point of view will been seen as he has the ability to produce fresh and exciting material and therefore worthy to be supported. Another supporting shot is the low angle shot. Drake is dancing whilst the lyrics of the song are projected on the wall behind him. The camera shot connotes Drake as a new artist with raising popularity and the shadow connotes the formation of Drake’s image. This shot ties into the Paradox 1 from Richard Dyer’s theory (being ordinary and extraordinary), as it allows the audience into his life and emotions he is perceived as ordinary, but through the shadow effect he is perceived to be extraordinary.

For editing there were two interesting techniques used the time lapse and the fade. The time lapse shows Drake in a stationary position on the left of the frame with a crowd of people walking at a sped up rate on the right. This shot can be interpreted to be a connotation of the industry with the crowd resembling the artists already in the industry changing their appearance to stay relevant or how the artists come and go, by Drake remaining still it connotes that he can remain with the same image and maintain a position in the industry. This informs the audience that his products will be able to sell as he can meet the needs of his target audience, which is 13-28 year olds, unlike his competitors, this links into the star image theory suggested by Dyer also. The fade is used when Drake changes location, it helps the audience follow the song and identifies the song has moved onto Drake explaining another aspect of his life. This attracts the audience because it has a level intimacy again like the close up shots, forming a close relationship with the audience, giving them the sense that they know Drake on a personal level rather than supporting him as an artist.

As far as mise en scene are concerned there are three key points; Location, Lighting and colour. The key location of the video is Drake’s bedroom, by being in a bedroom the song is made personal to Drake’s life which allows the target audience to relate to the song in a situational way, as everyone in his target audience at some point in their day will have access to a bed/bedroom. Also the location isolates Drake from society as he is on his, which portrays Drake to be Angry which is a common stereotype of the rap genre. The lighting that is used in this video is Low key with a top light to highlight the artist, the purpose for this is to show the audience who the artist is with the hope that they can form a bond to him. This draws attention to Drake and allows the audience to notice him more, it can also connote how Drake is now about to be introduced to the spotlight of fame and this is a promise to the audience that he is worth their support. The music video is successful as it allows the audience to form a relationship to Drake which is vital as he is a new artist; it is also successful as he keeps his attraction to his target audience rather than trying to appeal to audiences of other genres. Drake does not use obvious genre characteristics within this video, which gives an insight to Drake as an artist being revolutionary and challenging expectations of audience.

The second song that had an intriguing music video was ‘Duality’ by Slipknot. Slipknot is a band that caters to the rock genre and specialise in the metal sub-genre of rock. The target audience for Slipknot are males aged 14-40, because the style they play is niche they are able to appeal to a wide age range. Codes and conventions expected to appear in the video are violence, darkness, loud instruments and dirtiness of artists and of the locations used.

For cinematography camera shots and camera movement were the two main points to forming a relationship between the audience and the artist. The camera movement is seen early in the video where the shot frame is unsteady, as the shot is unsteady it suggests that they way the shot is filmed was through a hand held camera held by one of the band members. This camera shot/movement enables a connection between the band and the audience as the audience are placed in the position of the band and see what the band see as if they are experiencing the same thing the band is. A low to high shot is also used within the video frequently. An example of this is when the guitarist is in the middle of a crowd of fans. The use of a low to high shot connotes Slipknot’s domination and popularity within their genre. This attracts their target audience through more relation of Dyer’s star image theory in the explanation of Paradox 1- Slipknot are shown to have an extraordinary control of the rock genre which encourages their fans to support them.

The Editing of this video is straight cuts throughout. The cuts match the beat of the song and therefore are fast in nature. The fast cuts parallel to the fast beats of the music excite and entertain the target audience as it is what the target audience have come to expect from Slipknot- this demonstrates that Slipknot understands their audience -with a greater understanding of their audience comes a stronger relationship built and maintained placing the band in a more stable position. Another aspect of editing that helps Slipknot’s relationship with the audience is the use of a slow motion effect. The use of slow motion brings attention to a band member  this allows the a relationship to be formed as a member of the band is seen as the music plays and also the audience sees the member for a longer period as time is slowed and therefore have more exposure to the band.

The Mise en scene of this video includes a stereotypical location and the costumes the band wear. The location of the video is a decaying house, this is a common code from the genre with the audience expect to see. The target audience are more likely to respond positively to this method and maintain their support of the Slipknot movement. The costume is a pivotal aspect of Slipknot as a brand. Slipknot is memorable because they use Halloweenesq masks in their performance which is unique even in their genre. The use of masks creates an image that the fans become familiar with and expect to see it in most aspects of Slipknot’s product which is tribute to the strength of the relationship between band and audience.

Like Drake ‘Over’ this video is an example of a good music video in terms of the relationship between audience and artist. Slipknot seems to provide their fans with what they want to see and demonstrate a sound understanding of their target audience. This video is especially good because it has familiarities of the conventions of the genre, which is unlike Drake. This is an example of how using conventions can be just as effective as it is to challenge them.

The third and final music video is from Flo Rida, ‘Club can’t handle me’. The song appeals to an audience of ages 12-36 of both genders and is placed in the dance music genre. The age gap of Flo Rida can be so large because it appeals to an older audience through the theme of being in a club and can appeal to a younger audience because it is not explicit therefore does not need to be censored allowing children to have access to it, it also plays part in the popular film ‘Step Up 3D’.

The Cinematography in this video is effective in its attempts to position the audience with the artist. A long shot inside of a club is used which shows a crowd of people with Flo Rida in the middle. This shot can attract the audience as it shows an interaction between the artist and their audience, fans enjoying seeing that their support to the artist is valued. Close ups are also used in this video. The close ups of Flo Rida show his emotions and it is an insight into his thoughts for the audience. This method allows the audience to form an attachment to the artist as they can share the same emotions as the artist is expressing.

The style of editing does not challenge the expectations of the genre but it is still as effective, the main edits used are fades and cuts. The fades allow the audience to be moved from location to location and follow the narrative easier. The change in locations connotes the journey of the artist to fame and success the audience appreciate this as they feel included in his ascendency. The straight cuts are also used as a method to change location, however by using a cut instead of a fade the locations can change a lot quicker. The quick changes can allow for as many examples of Flo Rida’s music being enjoyed by members of his audience i.e. people in the club dancing. By the use of many examples the audience are more likely to share the opinion that his music is enjoyable and he is a good artist.

The mise en scene can allow for Flo Rida to create an image for the audience to perceive him as. Flo Rida uses two Lamborghini cars in his establishing shots as props to connote wealth and give the perception of luxury. This suggest to the audience that Flo Rida is successful and has expensive taste which can be further applied to Dyer’s theory as it shows Flo Rida to be extraordinary. Another aspect of the mise en scene that makes the video more effective is the location. The main location of the video is in a night club, a generic convention of the dance genre. Night clubs are also the place in which the audience can have access to this style of music. By the location being in a nightclub, a place that the audience can relate to, Flo Rida can draw another similarity to the audience in which could encourage the attraction of more fans. This is a better tact than to use a location in which the audience can not relate, for instance a millionaire suit in a Pitbull music video. Like the other two video this video accesses its target market efficiently and effectively. It includes the audience in the narrative through dance and through the sharing emotions especially with the artist. This video adheres to the conventions of the genre and shows how by not challenging expectations can be still good as long as it has a personal and relatable feel to it.

Each of the videos above target their audience in different ways to best suite the needs of the target audience which demonstrates a good understanding of the product they need to provide. for example Slipknot use a range of handheld shots which includes their audience into the narrative, in which is a need for the audience of the rock genre. Drake's isolation through being the only character within his video makes a potential relationship between the audience and himself intimate. This is further reinforced with Drake being represented as angry, which is clever as audiences seem to react more positively to artists who display their emotion as the audience can relate to the felling. Also by Drake being angry the audience feel a sense of exclusivity as they are  receiving an insight into drakes feelings, in which other audiences for other artists do not achieve, this can potentially increase the perceived value of the relationship between artist and audience from the audiences prospective.         Flo-Rida relates to his audience in a different way to the other two artists. Flo Rida's approach to the audience is by having a location that the target audience are familiar, in this case it is a nightclub. Because the location is familiar the audience feel at ease when watching the video allowing them to feel included in the narrative, the performance etc, this allows for the audience to fully understand the connotations and the expressions used within the video.

From this research into music videos I think I can now understand the way an audience reacts to some codes and conventions, for instance the locations we use are going to be more important to our artist rather than being general locations, as I have learnt that the audience are more receptive when they believe they are sharing something with the artist. Being a british artist using a location such as Covent Garden will capture the essence of city life in Britain and will allow of such relationships to be formed. I have also identified that the audience enjoy consuming a product in which emotion is shown within, wether it be happy, sad, angry or complacent and therefore I would want to include some shots which are inclusive of the artist's emotion, perhaps through the multiple use of close up shot throughout.

Analysis of a star -Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montanna.

Miley Cyrus is my case study for how artists change throughout their career, Miley Cyrus is especially good as she changes in such quick succession to the start of her career- by the end of this essay I would like to argue to see if the changes were too soon and have become counterproductive. From the beginning of her career she has been stereotyped as a pop artist, that creates gimmicky songs with catchy tunes, this is partially through her route to fame as she appeared on a children's t.v program on the Disney channel, 'Hannah Montana' aged 11. Through her appearances on the Disney channel Cyrus developed a fan base that developed into her target audience-Young females that had a likening for America or lived in America. She also simultaneously targeted those who live in the city and those who live in the country through the characters dual heritage in the show for the best part of her career to date she has maintained the same target audience. Because of the prior relationship before she was a singer Cyrus had a good understanding of the wants and needs of her audience. She was able to provide the audience with what they wanted which strengthened the relationship between herself and the target audience and improved her popularity. Cyrus now late teens has outgrown the stereotype and the age group of her fans and has tried to re-market herself to a new audience. This new audience is more diverse and socially rebellious as seen in the video 'Can't be tamed'. Cyrus' new image also has characteristics that can conform to the conventions of the punk genre in the 80's and 90's with the dark colors and low key lighting.

The pop genre that Cyrus initially was placed in is a very demanding genre through mass audiences with a vast range of needs and wants, which could make Cyrus' attempt to attract the whole market very difficult. Also, the pop genre is very competitive with new artists entering every year replacing the  older artists that are no longer relevant to the audiences demands. What we can see with Cyrus changing her image is an attempt to become more niche and cater to a small market segment more effectively, a risky alteration that could have bettered the relationship between herself and her audience. My opinion is that the switch to a niche audience was an incorrect decision as shown in her sales and chart rankings, the song "Party in the USA" was ranked number two,in the most successful Miley Cyrus songs by the website top 10 charts and the song "Can't be tamed" was ranked number 2 by the same website for most unsuccessful. Also her album sales also represent this with her first album "Hannah Montana" selling over 3 million copies in the US and her most recent album "Can't be tamed" sold 500,000 copies. these figures show that whilst Cyrus was situated in the pop genre she outsold herself 6:1 to when she was in the pop rock/punk genre. We can also conclude that her change of genre was a wrong decision as seen in her most recent album. Cyrus loses all sense of being a role model in which was arguably the best aspect of her in the pop genre. She lost this as she wears "skimpy" outfits that leaves little to the imagination, some parents would question letting there child watch the videos because of this as it is not a good message to portray to the younger audiences.

An important thing to consider when comparing the changes in image of an artist is the values of the time. I will be comparing three videos one from 2006, one from 2009 and the other from 2011,despite only being 5 years apart  between the first and the last song  society and what was deemed acceptable varied greatly. In 2006, females were seen to be pure and innocent, especially in the music industry. Therefore the image of Cyrus being a school girl fitted with the "social norm". In 2009, still conforming to the expectations of society, Cyrus continued the pure image through the choice outfits i.e covering the majority of her body with everyday clothes and they were not provocative and by having know reports in the media to have a boyfriend or accept that she had any interest in males, this can link to her country Texan routes in which played a large part in her image, key aspects of the Texan image were religious, not-conformist and a closely knitted family  By this time there had been a break through in the industry in which females were becoming objectified, and the number of females showing more parts of their body increased. An example of this is Rihanna and her song 'Disturbia', in which there were many challenges of conventions and sexual suggestion. the break out of Rihanna's sexuality contrasted against Cyrus's pure image and made her look even more angelical and innocent. This pure image was supported by the parents of her fans as she was seen as a role model, having said that society was shifting towards a more tolerant level of feminine symbolism. By 2009, society had become frequently exposed to the growing number of females who would reveal body parts. Cyrus jumped on the hypothetical bandwagon completely radicalizing her image. Her new image was not revolutionary as a stand alone image as many artists had the same image, what made Cyrus different is that she had changed the furthest out of all the artists, from a pure innocent child to a overexposed, barely dressed women. The final change saw Cyrus neglect her responsibility as a child's role model, outraging parents of fans to the extent of losing fans because they were banned from watching her.

The first video of Cyrus’ career is ‘the best of both worlds’. The song is stereotypical of the pop genre, with a high percentage of performance in the video. The video has a feel as if she is performing live to a live audience, showing a level of extraordinary skills that can reflect Paradox 1 of Richard Dyer’s Star theory. Also by being a young female, Cyrus fits into the expectation s of the audience in the genre. The song feels as if it is marketed solely towards children, with the karaoke esq feel to the lyrics and the way that they are performed. This target audience can also explain for the image that Cyrus wants to be perceived as. She is marketed as if she is a school girl with a country / western background; this method allows the audience to relate to her as she is perceived as ordinary, by attending school like the audience do.  Cyrus’ target audience is reinforced by the route taken to release her track. Cyrus has an alter ego, Hannah Montana [another aspect of Cyrus that the fans can perceive to be extraordinary], in which appears on the Disney channel show, Hannah Montana. The song features as the theme tune to the programme and as only children are expected to see the show her image was constructed to fit the market. Characteristics of her Image are being; Sweet, kind, cute, young, humorous, witty and relatable all of which are expected of a young female. within this video there is a strong sense of the notion of looking as it is entirely performance based- therefore Cyrus knows the audience will be looking at her. As she at the time of this song was a new artist she would have wanted the video to establish her as the artist to form a bond between the herself and her audience to encourage sales of other products; such as her t.v show. But also create a cloak of fame around her making Cyrus look extraordinary in the audiences point of view.

The Second significant music video to the change of Cyrus’ image is ‘The climb’. Cyrus in this video looks mid-teens rather than the early teens of her first song; she appears in the video in jeans, a t-shirt, a guitar and minimal make-up. By the time of release Cyrus’ existing fans had grown up since her first album, in order for her fans to maintain their interest they need to still be able to relate to her therefore she changes her image. An example of this is the new maturity of her audience doesn’t want to support a child artist they want to watch someone who is relevant to them; therefore Cyrus wears more adult clothes and sings about more serious matters. The video from the first song to the second looks more professionally developed, than the homemade feel of the first. Cyrus’. From this video the new image created consists of; Maturity whilst still being youthful, independent/ self-reliant, talented, still sweet but more serious in her topics she talks about. From this song we can see the effects of Cyrus’ absence from the audience as her style returns more developed but still very similar, this fits into the paradox 2 of Dyer’s theory- the artist needs to be absent but also present to the audience. The message of the song is to work hard and keep trying; it’s not about when you achieve something it is more about the journey you take to get there. This change from the first song seemed to be beneficial as many of her fans wanted to consume more products that she provided as she seemed more relevant as an artist in her themes of the songs.

The third music video I will talk about is ‘Can’t be tamed’. This video revolutionises Cyrus’ image changing her from a child artist to an edgy artist that appeals to a target audience of young adults. In this video Cyrus takes on another alter ego of “the rare Cyrus bird”. This video is a lot darker than any of its predecessors, it is part of her transformation as an artist, the change of image signifies to change in audience that she wants to cater towards. from this video the target audience is seen to be older than the audience in the first two songs,  which could be females aged 18-24 with the possibility of attracting a small male audience as well from the sexiness in clothing and facial expression from the artist and the actors in the video. This change of image is a good example of Dyer's theory paradox 2. Cyrus was absent from producing music for a year or so, in which she had the time to develop new material and a new image to attract a new potentially bigger market. however this change proved to have negative effects on the popularity of Cyrus as her fans believed the change to be too extreme in contrast to the image they have grown to know and support.

Through a short period of 10 years Cyrus has changed her image 3 times, which is fast for a pop artist and is very risky bearing in mind that the pop genre is focused on making money and staying popular. the first image of Cyrus seemed to be a fan favourite, the second image improved in popularity with Cyrus able to attract an older audience- who have more disposable income potentially to buy her products. Both changes seemed to work in her favour, the final change was one change too far with Cyrus potentially having to change her image to something less radical to recall the support from the fans that use to support her.

Richard Dyer, a social analyst, suggested a theory of how a star creates an image known as "Dyers theory". He states that an Artist is not a real person but a created image using the media i.e music video, album artwork etc. If we accepted this theory to be accurate we would assume that despite appearing normal in her early music Cyrus was really a product of the genre, applying conventions when needed to construct an image that her target audience will relate to and consume her products. Dyer further develops this and states that there are two paradoxes that tan artist will use to create an appearance; Paradox 1 says that the artist appears ordinary and extraordinary simultaneously. Cyrus appears ordinary in the "Best of both worlds" as she is wearing school clothes in which a high proportion of her audience also wear, making Cyrus appear familiar bettering the chance of a lasting relationship. The second paradox explains that an needs to be present and absent to develop an image, the absent aspect of this paradox suggests that when an artist is absent they return with new material, for instance Eminem returning with the number 1 album "Recovery" in 2009 following the lack of popularity with his album "Curtain call" in 2006 . Paradox two can be related to Cyrus when there was a gap between "The Climb" and "Can't be tamed" in which she was absent for a year developing a new image, punk rock image and shifting her genre to a more rock lead style which could be considered alternative.