Here are 3 artists we are mainly focusing on Ed Sheeran, Frank Turner and Joshua Radin, from all these images and albums front covers between the three of the you can see they all vary in there own way but they all are portraying similar messages that they are a bit messy and love to just strum away on there guitar which you can tell by the clothes they are wearing. But they can clean up when they want to and pull off wearing a suit which is shown in the picture of Frank Turner. Main things that are carried consistently across the genre is the messy, I don't care that much attitude you can see all 3 of these artists showing this off in pictures above. Acoustic guitars are carried consistently across the genre as well purely because its the main instrument used within this particular genre therefore it is always going to be used. Sight lines within images above there is at least one picture from each artists where they are looking directly at the audience to connect with them and they feel more involved by doing this.
All three music videos have there own separate narratives but there all from the same genre. They all three relate together by the lyrics of the song matching and relating to what is happening within the music video also another key reference to the genre is in all three videos there is an acoustic guitar included and the artists is playing it. Having a narrative along side a mini performance helps for audience enjoyment as when we did our audience research we found out it was most popular to have a mini performance running alongside a narrative in this particular genre.
Here is Ed Sheerans music video of You Need Me, I don't Need You as it is based around a man signaling sign language to match the lyrics of the song. There is a lot of cuts to many other things within the music video which also match the lyrics but that is later on. To start with its just the man doing his sign language jumping to Ed Sheeran himself but you only see very short clips of him so the audience know its him but don't actually get a clear shot of him until the end of the video this is to keep the audience glued in and waiting. There is also a lot of change in background of just shades of blacks and whites this is because if it was just a plain background it would be such a boring video.
This is a video that is not the normally for this sort of genre so Ed Sheeran is giving the audience the latest video for this certain genre which they will look to follow. Because the man who is doing all the sign language has to do it so fast in the parts of the song it sort of looks like he is dancing therefore later on in the clip they start of by bringing one dancer in and then a few more just to keep the audience entertained and not get bored with just one person dancing. Many things like standing on the pedal and blowing the speaker and showing a couch after singing the line 'plus i live on a couch' so these are direct links between the lyrics and showing items that are included within the lyrics which is giving the audience a better understanding of the song as its linking the words with the items they really our. So they don't just think about what's being said they actually get to see parts.
There is also a link the his debut album as they show + win white with a black background, its a very short shot but its just linking back to his album to gain more popularity and promoting it for the audience that don't own it or know it but when they see it they will remember the video. Right at the end it is a slow title shot of the camera moving up and showing Ed's body and face off and then dissolving into the darkness. He does this as throughout the video there were short snip shot to him playing but you never saw him properly so he is giving the audience what they want at the end as its showing off himself. The audience want to see him as Ed is the person they want to be following or looking up to and its hard to do that if you don't get to see him within the music video.
Edward Christopher "Ed" Sheeran was born on 17th February 1992 and is an English singer, songweiter who is currently signed to Asylum/Atlantic Records. Sheeran broke through commercially in June 2011, when his debut single "The A Team' debuted at number 3 on the UK chart.
He is a messy teenager from West Yorkshire who likes to make his own music and get high with friends. The image he is creating as a star is very laid back, not really bothered about the political and economic climate as it doesn't bother him therefore he has no interest in it. His interests are mainly just dossing around and playing his guitar, possible before he became a huge star he would have place a few bars gigs and done some busking. As a person he is a lovely guy but as a star he is appearing as someone who isn't bothered about much.
He gives the impression he likes to get high and you get this message from listening to his music as he talks about getting high within his lyrics. You can tell he is a messy teenagers with a serious talent who doesn't care about all situations going on by his dress sense. Obviously he is fairly intelligent but he doesn't care about school his main focus use to be get high and play his guitar now its to please to get and play gigs. Many teenagers love this image as they think smoking weed is cool as its illegal unlike if it was legal it wouldn't have the same hype about it.
Clothing and Style- Very messy, standard jeans, hoodies, t shirts and trainers. There normally very dull and a bit ragged clothes as you can see from the picture shown above but there is also an image of him in a suit which also shows to us that he can clean up quite well if he wants to but he wants to make it look like he hasn't made much of an effort and just got out of bed. His hair is all over the place to match the style of a messy teenager.
Props- Within many picture and even if you saw Ed Sheeran out on the street the only prop you would ever see that he is associated with would be an acoustic guitar. He tends to only use very basic props within his live gigs as he wants the main focus on him and his guitar not other flashing things all going on in the background.
From the pictures above there are two where his sight lines are looking directly at the camera to connect with the audience. But within the other 4 he is looking away from the camera so the main focus is on something else for example in the picture where he is wearing a suit because he's got a cheeky smile and is looking to the right like he is hiding in his suit. The audience don't get the strong connection as his sight lines are not looking directly at them but they still have some connection but the main focus isn't on his eyes its on what he is doing instead.
He's not really the sort of artists to pull many big poses unless he is probably told to like the image above of him in a suit. The other 5 picture don't show him posing in any really way to gain audience attention, he is more of the sort of guy that had a brilliant reputation built up already around him he doesn't really need to pull off fancy poses to get noticed as he isn't that sort of artists. He likes chilled environment not one when everything is hectic.
The main reference we tend to include in our music video is the idea of having a narrative running along side a small performance of the artists as when we did our audience research we found out having both happening in the video was most popular. Another reason we think it is a good idea as many other artists have done it such as 'Frank Turner' and 'Joshua Radin' so if we include this into our music video its not only what the audience want it is also a reference to the genre acoustic indie.
The other main reference we want to include is the lyric matching the actions of the video as personally I believe if you hear the lyrics of a slow song and the video is also complementing it, it allows the audience to gain a greater perception of the video as they can hear it and see it. This is a good way of creating the look of your artists as the audience will see him and how he reacts within the video and then this can also determines or help to build/change his star image.
We will also stick to the main idea of clothing but might slight aim for the younger crowd by making the artists wear a designer polo by 'Fred Perry' or 'Lyle & Scott' as the fans that will recognise the designer polo will be flattered by it as they own clothing from the same brand so this is a good way of getting more loyal fans just by showing off our artists in a designer polo.
A common reference I have come across when watching acoustic indie music video is that the artists is normally cutting from the narrative to them playing there acoustic guitar like 'Joshua Radin' I'd rather be with you and 'Frank Turner' photosynthesis. There is also often a girl involved if the song is quite a slow one this is also showed in Joshua Radin' I'd rather be with you and 'Ed Sheerans' the a team.
The lyrics are a huge part of acoustic indie music as lots of artists are portraying there lyrics and feelings more so than a rock band which sometimes is more based on the riff of the song. In the music videos of acoustic indie artists they trying to link in the lyrics as much as possible to the narrative that is going on at the same time so the audience gets to not only hear what they are saying about situations but they also get to picture it in there head. As our lyrics are about how he wants to hold onto his girl as it feels like he's living in a day dream, everything is so good.
A very cheesy common reference is the artists laying in a field playing his acoustic guitar singing, dreaming about a girl he wants or has lost. We are going to try and avoid this as it wont be as interesting and we could end up losing fans because whenever you think of acoustic indie you think of someone just laying in a field playing therefore we will not use this reference in out music video.
When the artist is singing in the music video they very rarely will use a microphone and they have slow cutting rates to mate the pace of the song and they use a lot of long shots. lots of acoustic indie artists film there songs in city's therefore we are thinking of filming part of our video in cambridge as it is a very beautiful city and will match our songs nicely.
Clothing- Normally you see shirts and jeans or just plain tops and jeans being warn within the music videos of acoustic artists as they are not trying to show off they are just trying to gain the main focus to the music and there acoustic guitar.
This information will affect our production because we will only try to include the certain references that only some audience members will expect to see and when the few notice this they will feel flattered by this. Plus avoiding the stereotypical video of a man playing in a field dreaming of a girl will help our music video appeal to the people that are wanting to be different but in a normal way so not listening to the mainstream but still listening and watching good music.
These are some possible locations we may include within our music video as there very pretty areas and they will match the nature of our song. There in Cambridge.
Here are two songs that are very similar to ours. The first video is Matchbox Twenty - 3Am and its has a lot of freeze frames and black and white shots used throughout the video to add emphasis on certain parts of the video. It is quite like our song as the lyrics of our song is about chasing a girl and the lyrics of 3Am is about being up that late and lonely. There is a lot of long shots used to show the lead singer move around and how he feels and there telling the audience that basically there not the only ones out there that is alone.
The second video is a bit more like our video as its about he explaining how he would rather be with this certain girl. In this video there is a familiar actress which will create greater appeal to the audience for this song. This is a narrative but cutting back to him with his acoustic guitar and when we did our audience research we found out that most the people that listen to this genre list a narrative along side a mini performance. The cutting rate is very slow to go along side the soft nature of the song.
From looking at these two music videos I think we should take the idea of having a mini performance of some description along side a narrative within our music video, with a slow cutting rate as our song is very soft and we would like to locate it in a pretty area due to the softness of the song, possible Cambridge. We may use the idea of flicking from colour to black and white as lots of acoustic indie artists do it.
His name is Sam, he is 19 and studying politics at Sheffield university. During his own time he likes to create his own music and sometimes plays small gigs in local pubs, he attends many small gigs usually on a sunday night. He's up to date with technology and owns a apple macbook. He follows an indie fashion, you could usually find him wearing skinny jeans, pointy black leather shoes, and a checked shirt with a top button done up, when the weather is particularly hot he wears his ray bans. The phone he owns is an Iphone as he is in touch with his music and likes it to be portable. He smokes roll ups because he cant afford regular cigarettes. His favourite artists are Ed Sheeran, Frank Turner, Kasabian, Joseph Arthur. He doesn't have a car as he is a poor student and his girlfriend is a student as well studying English. He is mainly interested in music but has a slight interest in photography and the latest indie fashion.
1. The album front cover of a hand holding a grenade is shown within the first 3 seconds of the grenade being squeezed and then it cuts into the video properly as the drums start.
2. The album from cover is also shown as the skin on the drums to help promote the album.
3. Inside the booklet that is inside the digipack it contains the lyrics of all the songs on the album therefore you can read the lyrics to sing along to the music video.
4. The album is called american idiot and in the video they have a background of an american flag but its green, this is a brilliant link from the artists name to the title of the album as they have basically mixed the two together.
5. On the back cover of the didgpack is have the website of the record company www.repisderecords which is also shown in the music video, this is advertising the record company which will help them in the future.
Acoustic Indie distinguishes itself from mainstream music video by filming in low key lighting and sometimes making it look like it was made in the 70's like Beady Eye did with Millionaire which is not completely acoustic indie but it relates to it.
Ed Sheeran- The A Team was filmed in black and which to give the upset and down impression, The cuts are quite slow and some are not positioned well, this gives the impression its unprofessional and the video was made very cheaply.
Its very common in acoustic indie that the lyrics match the video just like Frank Turner- Photosynthesis which is a happier song and the video is based around the kids not sitting down, not shutting up and not growing up which is portrayed very well within this music video. Joshua Radin- I'd Rather Be With You his lyrics also link in with the music video as its him wanting to be with a girl and it cuts between where she is and him playing his acoustic guitar in different places. So acoustic indie is normally a sad slow song with a slow cutting rate and normally has quite dark lighting in certain parts of the video.
Age: 15-25
Gender: Both but slightly more geared to females.
Class: Middle
Interests: Fashion, Passionate about music and normally play themselves, sometimes drug use.
Beliefs And Values: There pretty nice people normally and believe in right and wrong but they some let certain things slide like use of cannabis as lots of acoustic indie fans like to get high and play there guitar. But then lots of them will exaggerate other things like being rude or doing something wrong they will react to being much worse than it is. They like to be unique and different.
Attitude: They study hard and are generally nice chilled out people. They like to find new music to try and be different so they listen to lots of bands that are really small and slowly upcoming as they don't want to be in the mainstream crowd, they like to be slightly unique to a degree.
What The Spend There Money On: Fashion, instruments, gigs, sometimes drugs, cigarettes.
Explain clearly what a digipack is A Digipack is a physical product which includes: A front cover, back cover, cd, inlay there is also extras included in a digipack this helps the audience get more intouch with the artist for example An extra DVD that includes a interview with the artist and also live performances there could also be a booklet that gives more information on the artist. Give an example of how intertextuality could be used in the marketing of your digipack An example of intertextuality we could use in marketing our video is that our artist could use Facebook or Blackberry Messenger on his phone during the video. The audience we are targetting is in the 16-25 age bracket which means they are interested in technology. Give an example of how intertextuality could be used in the marketing of your video An example of intertextuality we could use in our digipack is the blackberry barcode, a large percentage of our tragte market have blackberry phones, this also attracts our target audience as they can scan the barcode using their phones and instantaneously get extra information about the artist. What did Goodwin say were the 3 possible relationships between lyrics and visuals in a music video ? Goodwin states that there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals these include: Illustrating, Contradicting and Amplifying. Give an example of how you could develop star image for your artist using star iconography Our genre is the Indie-Acoustic genre a icon of the genre is a acoustic guitar therefore we will feature a acoustic guitar in our video as the audience expects to see this icon in our video as this is what they are used to. What demands does the record company make on the video and why ? The record company wants the music and genre to be categoriseable, they do not want to offend the target audience, they also want the artist to stay in the same category i.e if the artist appeals to a female audience don't give away that the artist is married or in a relationship. What usually features in a video in addition to narrative and why ? Features in the video that are usually usedin addition to narrative are: The performance, there are also complex fragments in a non-linear order this leaves the audience wanting to see more of the artist. How could you use the elements of 6 and 7 in your digipack and how would it complement the video ? 6 - The artist needs to stay within the genre to maintain target audience. 7 - we need to keep the audience captivated the target audience needs to enjoy watching the video. What 'extras' could be in the digipack in addition to video and music tracks ? Extras we could use in the digipack are: Blackberry barcode as this links to our target audience. We could also include a mini biography so the audience gets to know the artist more.We can also include behind the scenes of the video and the artist on tour. An additional video on how the music video was made can also be included to captivate the audience. How do your plans match to the chosen demographics and psychographic of your audience ?
We have picked a song that is written and played by our friend Miles. It is acoustic indie so we are now starting to looking into artist that are similar to his nature. Frank Turner aged 29 and from Meonstoke Winchester he's one of the most recognised acoustic artists around, he originally started out playing in the band Million Dead until the band split in 2005 and all the member went there separate ways.
As you can see here with most acoustic artists they normally have a picture of them with there guitar in a chilled out area sometimes a rough background and other times just plain ones. Franks slight lines in both these images he is looking away at something this is telling us that in the second image he's not to bothered that a picture is being taken as he wants to portray himself as a relaxed individual. The first picture he is quite clearly looking away to gain a bit of attention to his face and the outfit that he is wearing. The two fingers on the strings off the guitar is quite a discreet way to hold the guitar up instead of hold the the guitar in his hands the main focus in the first picture is his face and suit. Unlike the second image the guitar is just as important as him in that image.
This is Franks latest album which was released 6th June 201. The title of it 'England keep my bones' shows he is very pound to be British. The crossed bones in the middle related to the title of the album but also links in with the sort of pirate look if you also look at the front that has been used this links in with the pirate look as well. The green and gold in a very old colour mix so the message Frank is trying to give across to the audience is that this album looks like something you would find back in the 1500s is albums were around then.
This is Frank Turner - Photosynthesis it is him playing at a school and playing in a dark room but the main story is him playing in front of kids and then letting them have a little go to help him make a music video. The lyrics link in well with the video as its all about growing up and the story within the video is school kids learning and playing with instruments. The chorus in the song is 'I wont sit down, I wont shut up, most of all i wont grow up' which represents kids very well as they don't stop moving and making noises so the lyrics relate with the video. Towards the end of the song the is a verse 'I'll play, you sing, the prefect way for the evening to begin' in the video he gets all the kids sat down or stood up in a photo picture and as he plays they sing which also is a brilliant relation between the lyrics and the video.
Camera work within the video there are a lot of long shots to show everything that is going on as lots of the school kids are included. There are lots of close up on Franks, the children's faces and the instruments these close ups are done on the children's faces to show how sweet they are as the song is a very happy sing along song. The close ups on the instruments to show the variety of things the children get to play around with and finally the close ups on Franks faces are done to show him singing the song and having a good time. There are other shots but mainly long shots and close ups.
The cuts are very soft and quite slow as they need to match the pace of the song which is quite up tempo for an acoustic songs but its not over the top it has some slow parts in but to gain audience appeal to this sort of song as its quite a jolly song they need to have the cuts quite soft and not rushed.
So for our video we need to make sure our cuts are not to quick and if we can relate the lyrics to the video as well as Frank has done here I believe our video will be very successful.
