Research into chosen music genre - Miss Miller

I have chosen to produce a music video from the indie/pop genre, because i really love the style of the artists from this genre. I really like that most indie/pop music videos have a good narrative along side the performance element of the song. This can be seen strongly in my favourite artist's music videos Ed Sheeran, who is from this genre, he tells a story through his lyrics and video, which is enjoyable and engaging to watch. It important to establish a genre before you pick an artist because you need to pick a genre that you enjoy and understand and can relate to.

Similar, to our chosen artist is Ed Sheeran like mentioned before. He is more indie then pop but still shows conventions from both in his music videos. 

One of the codes and conventions of indie\pop is having a narrative alongside the performance in the video and these are generally themed around love and relationships. His song 'Drunk' is about someone who is unable to cope with their relationship ending and drink to try to forget about it, but still remember the pain and have flashbacks of the relationship whether they are drunk or sober. Many of the audience would have shared a similar experience to this one and therefore can find the song highly relatable. The narrative will therefore help to engage and maintain the audiences attention and they are captivated by the narrative. This will benefit Ed as he tries to get his personality across in his music and the song shows a really vulnerable side to him which his fans will appreciate seeing as it makes him more of a 'real' person. It's conventional for this in indie/pop are most of these artists seem more bothered about portraying a story instead of selling a product.

Another convention used by Ed in the music video is the use of low budget settings. The various settings are shown through out the video by a variety of different shots. At the start of the video there is a long shot showing a messy sofa with a cat sitting on it, there's also photos on the wall behind the sofa. Another setting that is seen in the video is seen through mid shot, this shows a cat sitting on a cooker, which is highly unhygienic, and a very messy and dirty looking kitchen in the background. Both of these settings are easily and cheaply available to film in which is common in indie/pop music as they are generally low budget productions and more about the music than showing off wealth and status. Some other settings in the song include a cheap looking bar, the décor all looks cheap and Ed is not particularly dressed up showing that the bar is not very exclusive. And an ally the Ed is getting chucked out the bar into. Again both of these would cost the production very little to use for filming.

Mes-en-scene is used in the video, in particular setting and props. A mid shot shows the iconography of cat, the cat is acting as Ed's conscious and guiding him in what he is doing. The cat is displaying some of Ed's demons. The mid shot shows, the cat pouncing at a photographer who just took a photo of Ed. This highlights that Ed doesn't always want to be in the spot light and sometimes doesn't want his photo be taken. This makes the audience feel like they can relate to Ed because it shows quite a vulnerable side to him and shows him as an ordinary person. This benefits Ed as his music is mostly about allowing his audience to get to know him and enjoying his music.
Also Ed's hair, costume and make up is shown again through a mid shot showing Ed laying on a bed in a blue scruffy jumper with a pale pasty looking face and messy hair. This mirrors the story line that Ed is in a rut as he cant forget his past girlfriend, therefore his life is quite messy at the moment like his appearance. This makes the audience feel like they know Ed on more personal level as it shows his real emotions. His emotions are also highlighted throughout the video shown through Ed's facial expressions. A mid shot shows Ed looking disappointed and frustrated, he is looking down at the floor which suggests he is upset and cant bring himself to look directly into the camera, which artists normally doing when trying to create an intimate feel with the audience.

A common camera shot used in the video is a high angled shot, this shows the camera looking down on a close up of Ed's face, he looks rather upset like he had been crying. The use of this shot makes Ed appear vulnerable and as if he needs help as the shot looks down on him. This benefits the audience because again as mentioned before showing the vulnerable side of Ed allows fans to feel like they are getting to know him on a more personal level. Which benefits Ed because his mainly about people enjoying and understanding his songs and concepts.

A editing technique that we can see in the video is filters when Ed is having flashbacks and memories of his relationship. This is used to show the audience that this part is a memory, and the brightness of the filter shows that is was a positive time in his life. Whereas now his at a darker stage. This allows the audience to further feel like they are getting to know Ed and some of what he has been through in his life. Again this is good for Ed as an artist and he wants people to relate and get to know him through his music 

Another editing technique used in the video is montage editing, showing Ed at his flat with the cat and some girls, they are having fun and mucking around. However I believe this montage editing is mirroring Ed's frustration in the video that he is no longer with the ex girlfriend and his head is spinning therefore the quickly changing frames in the montage mirror this. This benefits the audience as the montage helps them to connect the lyrics and concept to an actual storyline, which helps them to engage with the video and maintains attention.

Ed's target audience for this video is roughly 15-40 year olds, most likely I believe they will mostly be women. This is because these people would enjoy the themes that are included in Ed's music videos such as relationships, and around this age have also most likely encountered some relationship trouble before. This video also shows Ed as quite a troubled person with some demos that he doesn't like to let out and it is imply he use to have a drinking problem "ill be drunk again" Also when it says "open bottles of beer but never champagne" this supports the fact that he is troubled and upset as it is suggests that he is never celebrating with champagne but just drinking beer for the sake of it.

Goodwin's theory can be supported in the video, as there is a link between the lyrics and the visuals. This is seen when it says "ill be drunk again, ill be drunk again" along side this we see Ed downing quite a few shots. This implies to the audience that Ed is drinking excessively and trying to block something out. Also from this we could assume that he is trying to not think about his break up and ex partner. This helps the audience because it gives them a story to associate with the lyrics and therefore they can follow the song better and have a great understanding of what Ed is singing about.

Another artist that is also from the indie/pop genre is Lana del ray, her song summer time sadness is also from this genre. Similarly to Ed's video the video uses cheap settings which is a convention in indie/pop music videos. At the start of the song we see a low angled shot showing a female standing at the top of a hill with trees around her, so this is a field/forest setting. Indie/pop music video uses cheaper setting as they are normally low budget productions and have more focus on the music rather then having an extravagant production.

Another convention that we can see in the video is having a strong focus on Lana's talent of singing, this is shown by a variety of shots showing her singing into the camera. This mid shot show her looking into the camera looking quite sad and singing, this intensifies the song and engages the audience as they feel like they are getting directly addressed by her. This gives the song a more personal feel to the audience, making them connect with the song better and have a deeper understand of the lyrics and what she was feeling when she wrote the song. Allowing the audience to do this benefits Lana because she wants her music to show off her talent and display to her audience who she really is.

Mes-en-scene, specifically costume, hair and make up can be seen through a mid shot showing her to be looking natural, her hair is wavy and she is wearing natural make up, the only noticeable part of her makeup is her dark eye liner. She is also wearing a white dress, this could be used to show her vulnerability and innocence, as she is singing about love and the video shows a girl committing suicide, therefore it could show how she was innocent in love and didn't no how to deal with it.
Also, the lighting and colouring throughout is as if the screen is flickering, therefore giving the effect that is was filmed on an old video camera. The lighting is quite natural but can be dark in some places, giving the idea to the audience that she is trying to hide away in the dark lighting, and cover herself by this. Also the orange/kaki coloured filter that flickers around the top left hand corner of the screen gives the impression of a flash back, this is common within pop/indie music videos. This can be supported because at the start of the video we see her fall from a high edge, therefore the rest of the song would be a flashback as she committed suicide. This lighting and colouring could appear quite ghostly to the audience and this engages them and maintains their attention as they want to know what's happening.
A shot that is used quite a lot by Lana In the video is a mid shot of a silhouette of Lana from the side singing, this creates a massive emphasis on the lyrics that she is singing and creates intensity as it draws all of the attention singly onto her and what she is saying. This helps the audience to refocus their attention on to her on her own and there is nothing else of the screen which could distract them.
Lana's target audience for her music is most likely about 18-30 year olds, I think this because the theme of the song is quite complex therefore would be quite hard for a younger child to understand, but her music is also quite current which means older people may not enjoy it as much. However, the song is quite a slow pace therefore it could maybe appeal to a slightly older audience.

To conclude, this research has helped me to create my music video as it has shown me some of the key features that I need to include in a indie/pop music video, such as a low budget setting and filters when showing flashbacks. I like these ideas because it could easily link in with the theme of my music video that I have been discussing with my group