Indie Artist - This is an invented artist and our idea of what her promotion campaign would be.

Lola will be a typical girl who is from London, she will have the hippie style look with long blonde natural, maybe a bit curly hair and a white floaty dress. She will have the hippie style to reach out to her target audience, which are late teenage girls who would maybe want to look like and idolise her.

This is the type of outfit that Lola will wear,

the dress won't be revealing.

This headband could 

add to the hippy style.

         

Below are ideas of what could be on her Album cover photo and what she will look like, the idea of her looking like this is to show her not being fake and media constructed in a way like all the other mainstream artists.

Cover Songs

Lola's music has an urban style with a hippy feel. She is a bit like a female Ed Sheeran. Her break-out cover songs will be Newton Faulkner's 'Dream Catch Me' and Kate Nash's 'Foundations' check out the original videos below. 

 

Music Video Story Board

These shots are just a few shot ideas of what the music video for 'Dream Catch Me' will look like.  

This is an example of a press release for Lola.

Aurora

Our task this week was to create an imaginary band and plan a launch campaign. My band is a girl band called Aurora. It will be predominantly pop genre but with an urban (London) feel.

The target market will be mainly teenage girls but there looks may attract a male audience too.

Members: 
Ebony Jones - She is going to be the diva of the group, her style will be very urban owning the popular printed trousers and high tops. She will have similar outfits to Cher Lloyd, Ebony will have black hair and she may even have an undercut.








Zoe Scott - She will be the sexy one in the band, Zoe will have a similar styles to Katy Perry and Jessie J. Her typical outfit will include a bralet and denim shorts. Her hair at the start of her career her hair will be long and blonde but after a while she will have a drastic hair cut which will likely be covered by gossip magazines.

Grace Lowe -  Grace will be the sweet one, she will often be seen wearing girly dresses much like Selena Gomez or Ariana Grande, but she will have a festival chic twist like an early Florence Welch. Grace will have blazing long red hair which is often compared to her fiery temper which comes out once in a while. 









Influencing Artists: 
Stooshe and Little Mix are a new breed of girl bands and Aurora will share aspects of there style in music and fashion.

 

 

First Song Release
Aurora's first song will be called Northern Lights and there music video will have images of the Aurora Borealis glimmering in the background with them dancing in the foreground.


Press Release  Ideas

• Aurora to take part in new Robert Pattinson movie
• Zoe dating Niall Horan - they were seen cuddling together in a dark cinema!!!!!!

Lana Del Rey

Stars, Celebrities and Personalities

The information on this post has come from the book Media Institutions and Audiences by Nick Lacey.


Stars = actors or actresses in films.












Celebrities = anyone famous who has achieved something.

Personalities = are only famous for being famous.

The birth of the film star originates from early Hollywood where producers refused to name the performers in case they demanded more money and often the film technicians would play parts. This all changed in 1910 where Carl Laemmle offered a pay rise from $25 to $1000 to the 'Biograph Girl' so Florence Lawrence became the first film star. To build up her fame Laemmle planted a story in St Louis that the Biograph girl had died in an accident the next day his company reported that it was a lie invented by their enemies. When Lawrence visited St Louis she was mobbed by fans.

The creation of a star requires the mass media. In order to create a star persona, details of their own lives need to be circulated within the public domain. The details do not have to be true, simply of interest to the audience. What we know of stars is their persona, but humans are far more complex than a star persona can allow.

Coverage of stars tends to come from magazines and film programmes but due to the internet you can find out all the information of about a celebrity in minutes. The way in which a publication presents a star is now very controlled. If a magazine criticises a star it is likely that the publication will be denied access to them in the future and in recent years stars have insisted on having the final say on what appears in the article. Magazine and newspaper coverage are the lifeblood of the celebrity, keeping the individual in the public eye.

Personalities tend to inhabit gossip magazines and rely upon nothing except the fact that they are being celebrated in such publications. They are postmodern celebrities.

Indie Music

Green Day - Basket Case
The music video is performance based but set in a mental institution which adds a narrative element. Their is a strange colour balance with green and bright blue eyes. The fast paced cutting mirrors the fast pace cutting. The video is post modern which has been influenced by films such as One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Arctic Monkeys - I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor
It appears to a recording of a performance but it has a retro feel, like the simple text text and old cameras. The band appears to be rejecting the evolved idea of a music video and are just there to play music.

Ed Sheeran - The A Team
The video was made with a budget of £20. It is in black and white and is fairly gritty and serious. It is about prostitution, drugs and homelessness. During the video you only see the artist Ed Sheeran for about 2 seconds. This video is not however made for just an Indie market but it has a very large target market.

Adele - Chasing Pavements
The video is in slow motion and unlike many music videos Adele is not the main focus. There is a mix of narrative and performance.

Conventions of "Indie" Music Promotion

Rihanna Presentation

This is our presentation on the progression of Rihanna's career.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krdFz3X-hLs&feature=player_embedded

The History of Music Video's - The Noughties

Blink 182 - All The Small Things (2000)
This shows a parody of typical music videos.

Christina Aguilera - Beautiful (2002)
The video shows a strong independent woman, speaking to many niche markets and tells them they're beautiful.

Christina Aguilera - Dirrty (2002)
In this video she has completely changed. There is provocative dancing and lyrics with girls fighting in skimpy clothes.

The History of Music Video's - The 90's

Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U (1990)
The main shot throughout this video is a close-up of Sinead O'Connor singing to the camera which adds a depressing feature to the video it also makes the main focus the words of the song you don't get distracted from listening to it . However it is a boring music video and not very effective at keeping the audience engaged throughout it.

Extreme - More Than Words (1991)
At the start of the video we see half of the band leave and they go and watch this suggests that it's not their usual kind of music, these members don't look very interested and later on in the music video wee see them waving lighters almost mocking the fact that it is a cheesy romantic song. The video has more cinematic pans and slow fades which set the mood of  the song as being very calm and subdued it is focused more on the song rather than a fancy pyrotechnics to make it more exciting and enjoyable.  The black and white used to be artistic but also adds to the reserved approach of the video.

I like the black and white effect and we may use this for the shots of our band. I also like the way the camera zooms in as it pans and would like to try and include this somehow in the music video.

The History of Music Video's - The 80's

MTV was created in 1981. So it meant that singers and band should try and make their music videos more engaging to their audience as they had more chances to watch it rather than once a week on Top Of The Pops.

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean + Beat it (1982)

Dance now becomes a very important part of music videos.

In Beat It there is a storyline before the song has even started and he is seen saving the day again.

I like the idea of having a storyline before the song begins it means that fans of the song are more likely to watch the music video to see whats different. Maybe a dance routine would be fun to do if we make a second music video.

Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer (1986)

This Video includes a very effective stop motion effect as you end up watching the film not listening to the music.

 

I think that stop motion would be a fun and interesting technique to try but very time consuming. It might be good to try and have a section of our music video  in stop motion.

Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (1987)

The music video adheres to some of the conventions for Film Noir and it seems as if film genres are becoming more popular with in music videos.

The History of Music Video's - The 70's

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)
This music video is performance based yet still has an artistic quality. It starts with a mid-shot of the four band members with a spotlight so you can only see their faces. There is also a smoke machine used to create an eerie effect and the camera zooms in slowly. A close-up of the lead singer is placed over this image as if faded in to each other, this technique is repeated alot throughout the video. As the song changes so does the scene and the camera zooms out from a close-up on the piano keys to include two members of the band. The lead singer is still the main focus of most shots. As the song changes again there is a kaleidoscope effect which adds drama to the video. The video then reverts to the typical scene of the whole band playing on stage.

I like the zooms in from the band to an instrument and the reverse I believe that tey would be effective shots in our music video.
 

The History of Music - The 60's

The Beatles - Hard Day's Night (1964)
The video is the opening credits to a film which shows The Beatles being chased buy a mob of screaming girls down a road towards the camera we see two members fall over and anothe laughing which implies that they are care free and can make the audience relate more to them as many viewers will not have had the experience of being chased by hundreds of girls, though many may wish that they have. The variety of shots has increased since the 50s and we see many pans, long shots, mid-shots and close ups of the band running around a train station as they try to out wit the mob of fans. Aswell as this footage there are shots of an unknown man who buys a carton of milk and tries to open it and ends up spilling the milk over himself before he throws it away. We do not yet know the relevance of this comical shot but can only assume it is something to do with the movie this may encourage the viewers of the music video to go and and buy a copy of the film. The video is no-longer performance but not yet a narrative piece.

The band are now part of something other than standing on a stage and singing they are almost part of the narrative this may be useful when it comes around to making our music video.

The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever (1967)
This music video is more of an art film. The editing and camera shots are now much more complex for example the camera pans around the band making a full circle, and the use of colour creates a psychodelic quality.

The panning around the band is something that I would like to include in our music video though I believe it may be very tricky to pull off.

The History of Music Videos - The 50s

 Bill Haley & His Comets - Rock Around the Clock (1953)
 Music videos from the 50's are all performance based like this one. It starts with a mid shot of the lead singer Bill Haley to show that he is the dominant band member, he is smiling and clicking along in time with the music this sets the mood that it will be a cheerful song. After he starts singing the camera zooms out slowly to include the whole band but the singer is at the front in the centre confirming he is the most important member of the group. The musicians are all wearing similar suits with bow ties this shows the importance of a dress code that the band should look clean and wholesome so thy will be welcomed in to peoples homes via television. There are then close ups of teenage girls in the audience clapping and enjoying themselves this implies that young girls are the target audience for the band and if your a teenage girl you should be enjoying it too. After this there is a mid-shot of the guitarist performing a solo but Haley is also in the frame suggesting that the musicians should have some recognition but not a lot as the lead singer is the one is  most recognised. The camera then zooms in on the guitar but quickly returns to a mid-shot of Haley once he starts singing. You can see the camera panning slightly from side to side as Haley rocks trying to keep him in the centre of the frame. The band swaying makes you feel as if you want to sway too. When the muscicians rock back and forth it makes he video more lively and entertaining. Then there is a close up of the bass drum with the band's logo possibly so people will recognise it when buying records. We then see the audience clapping, they are still enjoying the song hinting that we should be too. Finally there is a long shot of the band as the song approaches its end and a quick zoom that tightens in on Bill Haley as the song ends showing once more that he is the leader of the band. 

 

In our music video if we decide to have performance based scenes it would be good to include the zooms in and out of the band and the close-ups of the instruments and musicians.

Elvis Presley - Hound Dog (1956)
The filming is very simplistic and it starts with a zoom out immediatly when the song starts. Elvis is infront of the band and the centre similarly to Bill Haley showing he is the most significant member of the band. There is a close up of Elvis' face and like the filming of Haley it pans left to right as Elvis dances to keep him in the centre of the shot. As the song progresses we can hear girls screaming in the background suggesting to other girls watching that Elvis is something to be screamed over. There is a mid-shot of the guitarist when he plays his solo but we can see the camera panning to the right and Elvis shuffling in to the shot, showing that although the guitarist is goood you should be keeping your attention on Elvis as he is the one who is famous. Like Rock Around The Clock there are close ups of teenage girls clapping and screaming in the audice implying that teenage girls should fawn over Elvis and that they are also the main target market. During the video we notice Elvis rearranging his microphone this hints to the audience that it is live instead of being structured in a studio it also conveys a sense that Elvis is human and makes his persona seem more digestable. When the song slows down you can hear the audience laughing at Elvis' dancing but we see he is laughing along suggesting that he is not superficial and can have a good time. The final shot is a long shot of the band which zooms in on Elvis showing just like Haley is the most important band member.

I like the fact the music video has long shots of the band this could be something to consider when making our music video as well as the screaming fans.

Elvis Presley - Don't Be Cruel
During the 50's Elvis' Pelvis was the subject of much controversy, his dance moves were seen as threats to the innocence of teenagers and in the USA his hips were banned from T.V so he could only be filmed from the waist up. The music video consists of a constant close up/mid-shot of Elvis with three backing singers behind him there is no sign of a band. The backing singers are all wearing the same suits but Elvis is wearing a sparkly waistcoat  making him the focus of our attention and suggesting that he dares to be different. Like his previous video we can hear girls screaming from the audience implying he is to be adored. Unlike the other endings of the music video where they zoom in on the lead singer instead Elvis runs out of shot followed by his backing singers.

 

Something to note for our music video is the importance of costume.

Music Video Conventions