Analysis of star image of artists similar to mine

Kings of Leon

 The rock band 'Kings of Leon' are portrayed as young, care free and stylish through their clothes, positions of their bodies and facial expressions. All four of the men are leaning against the wall and are wearing shirts/jackets of some sort. This style gives them a cool, carefree vibe and makes them seem as if they are just like any other group of guys, which makes them relatable. As they are all looking in different directions and are positioned differently against the wall, this reflects how they are all different and are not copying each others actions. They are each their own person and are not artificial. This is reinforced by the fact that they all have different hairstyles, making them all have something special to themselves. This helps their star image as this gives their fans something to like about them, other than their songs. In the second image, they are all standing dominantly above the camera and are again wearing stylish clothes. The band was formed through family as they are related and became known on their own by meeting people who gave them opportunities. Therefore, they are an organic band.

Tokyo Police Club

This indie rock band are conveyed as quite hipster and slightly geeky, but their photos give them an overall quite cool image. Again, this makes them seem like just any other group of men, making them better to relate to and appeal to people. Similarly, they are also wearing clothes which are fashionable ad thus, fans would want to dress like them and be like them. Additionally, as they are all just standing by the river casually, this makes them seem as if they don't care about their image and are just there to make music. This is also the case with the second image as they are walking together and laughing, just enjoying themselves. This connotes how they are an organic band as they do not care about how they look and are just happy to be making music.Moreover, as they are not posing, this reinforces their organic identity. The band was formed naturally when they started playing songs in a basement. They were then noticed and asked to perform at festivals, after which they were signed to Toronto record label, Paper Bag Records. Therefore, as they became known on their own, this makes them organic, and means that their fans appealed to them for their music and not for their looks.

5 Seconds of Summer

 This youthful band, 5 Seconds of Summer are fairly new and decided to form a band after becoming friends at school. They started making YouTube videos and signed a publishing deal with Sony ATV Music Publishing. As they came together themselves and started making music together for fun on YouTube, this makes them an organic band. Their organic image is reinforced by how they look. Every single one of them is different. The guitarist on the far right is the one who stands out the most with his bold hair colours. This is an aspect of him which is unique to him, making his fans appeal to him more as they see that he is different and not a stereotypical boy. Similarly, with the drummer, he always wears a bandanna and this gives him something for the fans to use as a way to connect to him. Generally, they wear completely different costumes and this makes them original, making their fans love them more. Additionally, this is reinforced by their faces in these pictures. They are smiling and making quirky expressions, which only makes their star image more positive as they do not act fake and are just being themselves.

Shot-by-shot list

Tips for your music video

A music video should have a beginning, middle and an end, with a plot to help pull it together. The plot could be related to the lyrics or the emotion which is evoked by the song. However, in music videos where that is not the case, song performance tends to be 95% of the music video.

1. Be creative


You can be creative with every aspect of creating and promoting your band video, from sourcing funding to casting, special effects, obtaining and social media engagement.




2. Crew

The crew needs to understand the fundamentals of what you are doing, and essentially, how to operate the equipment they will be using. Make sure that you review what you are shooting again and again. Keep your crew motivated and focused, and make sure that when you say, "Action!" everyone is focused on what they are supposed to be doing. Drive it into your crew to appear on time as shooting can only commence once the last person involved gets there. The smaller your crew, the easier it will be to travel from location to location, and the less likely you are to be held up.

3. Concept, themes and style

Medium and format are important considerations. Be careful when using black and white footage. There should be an artistic reason why you are using black and white footage, though it can be easily contrived. For example, black and white footage can be used for studio shots. The medium and format are used to help distinguish between the scenes and perhaps you can look to the lyrics to decide what scene to put where.


4. Locations 

Always have a choice of locations. Choose a location that fits with the style of the song and video. Ensure if you need permission to film there and where necessary, get permission to film there. When you film your video, take some reference pictures as these may help with story-boarding and any set design. Consider any lighting you may need and whether electricity is available for you to use, otherwise you will have to provide your own.




5. Gear

In order to help with your budget, daylight lighting can be helpful as you can make the most of any natural lighting. Playback can come from an iPod and dock, or speakers, whatever is loud enough for everyone to hear. You will want to make lip syncing as easy for yourselves as possible. Recording the video will be likely to take several takes and other considerations regarding gear will be the required aspect ratio of the video frame, how clear or grainy the shot will be, will it be shot at night, if it is outdoors then weather will also be a consideration. Make sure that you educate yourself in how to use your gear and in how to choose the right camera, tripods, lighting, software etc.

6. Stars

Fans want to see the stars in the video, so make sure you devote enough screen time to the stars of the video. They should spend a good amount of time at the forefront and it is worth getting the band members to wear their own clothes in order to cut down on expenses.







7. Scenes

Keep is simple, but offer variety and remember that most modern music videos have some nice incidental shots.

1. Location
2. Band relaxing
3. Band performing
4. Individual band member shots (especially the lead singers)

Combine these shots with some performance shots. Often such performance shots are located in unusual situations This is done in order to help them stick in the mind of the viewers and fans. Performance shots should be located at key points of the song, commonly getting more emphasis during the chorus.

For example,
1. Shoot the main parts of the video in two or three key sequences.
2. Have the band wear two or three outfits, two or three different locations OR use something inspired by the lyrics.
3. Use studio shots, live and incidental as some filter shots
4. Try something simple, such as the singer wandering around "in character", thoughtfully looking around at scenery or local life.

8. Edit timing

Make sure that the edit points and the changes from shot to shot are timed to be synchronous to the music, for example, at the end of a line or in a section. Make larger thematic changes align with section changes. This multiplies the effectiveness of the edit. Ensure that the pace of your editing increases as the intensity of your music also picks up on pace. Use the editing to emphasize the beat, the rhythm, the lyrics, the emotions and energy, and the sectional changes in the music.


9. Test screenings

Make sure that you do some test screenings where the sole purpose is to gather information and reactions so that you can tweak your video with the use of any feedback that you receive from your audience. Ask how the video made the audience feel, ask if it evolved, added to, or increased the depth of feeling when listening to the audio alone. This feedback is vital for improving the finished product as it guides you to what your audience wants.

Mood board of street photography influencing my shot ideas for my music video

I chose these pictures for my mood board as they really represent the other side of London that not many people see. These influenced my shots as it is as if the camera in each photo is following someone on their journey. I also really like the pictures of the sky as it looks like a time-lapse of the clouds moving, which also portrays a journey of the clouds. Thinking into it more deeply, the pictures of the clouds convey how the world is constantly moving around us and we have to keep moving just as the clouds do. As the narrative of my music video is about a band who go on a journey to find each other to perform and the song also signifies the journey and the games that they have had to play to get to where they are, I would therefore like to include similar shots to these in my music video to help establish this journey and convey how just like the clouds, my band keeps moving and does not give up on their dreams.

Artist's music video's similar to mine

The first 5 seconds of  The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony" music video is similar to ours as we will also include shots of our artists feet/legs as they are walking. This is effective as it allows the audience to know that the artist is going on some sort of journey. Additionally, it intrigues the audience as they want to follow the artist on their journey. The pan up from the feet to the body and face is also quite exciting as the audiences anticipate over who the artist is. Especially in our case, they guess which band member it is, and follow them on their journey's to find each other. This would be mainly achievable with a youthful target audience as when they are young, they are more easily-fascinated and want to know more. Additionally, as The Verve are an alternative rock band, I want to use some of the same shots as they use to make our music video clear that it is an alternative rock band as well. Therefore, this music video helps me envision how I want mine to be.

One Direction's "One Thing" depicts youthful boys wandering around London. Obviously, due to the raving fans in their video, they have quite a positive star image. However, the boy band are also quite synthetic as their music video mainly focuses on their fans loving them and this makes it obvious that they are aware of how crazy their fans are about them, thus making it seem as if they make music for the publicity. Therefore, to make my band more organic and not self-evolved, I will not involve any fans in the music video as the band ventures around London town. This will portray them as making music for themselves as it is what they love to do, and it will also hopefully give them a positive star image. One Direction's music genre is contemporary pop/rock, which is not the genre I want for my band. Therefore, I will not be using similar shots for my music video.

Lastly, Kiesza's "Hideaway" music video is very similar to The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony" as they both involve the artist walking through the street, lip syncing to the words of their songs. However, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" includes cuts throughout the video with more takes, whereas "Hideaway" is filmed in one take with no cuts. Filming my music video with a band in one take around town would probably not be possible as we would be going to many different places, therefore we would be shooting different takes with cuts. Furthermore, "Hideaway" involves a lot of dancing, highlighting the artist's club/dance genre. Therefore, for our video we will make it key not to involve dancing to make it clear that the song is not a part of this genre, but of the alternative rock genre.

Target audience for music video

We asked 150 people between the ages of 13-80 if they liked or listened to alternative rock music. Out of the 150, 81 replied and 62 said they did, 19 said they did not, and the rest did not answer the question. We analysed the results and found that the younger they were, the more they enjoyed it. Most people between the ages 16-25 liked it, 26+ did not like it, very few under 16 year old's who answered the question liked it. When we asked the people who said they did not like rock music and they informed us that rock music is not for their time and that they have more traditional tastes in music.

This graph shows the demographics of our results. It clearly depicts that the majority audience of alternative rock is of the 16-25. However, as there are a few between the ages of 10-15 who like the genre, our target audience would be those between the ages of 15-25.

We also found that there was a slight difference between the sexes of those who answered the question, most of those who said they liked it were male. This could be because many of the artists present within the genre are male themselves, and other men can relate to them. Although, it is male dominated, there are still a reasonable amount of females who appeal to the genre. However, bands such as, 'Paramore' have female-led singers so this makes the genre appeal to both. Overall, as the genre is male dominated, I would have a male-led group as my artists.

This graph depicts how the majority of the people who said they liked our genre were of the white ethnicity. This could be linked to how most artists within the rock genre are white, thus they can relate to them. In contrast, most artists within the Hip hop genre are black, and a majority of their audience is black. Therefore, my artists would be white to conform to the conventions of rock music.

This graph portrays the regional identity of my target audience. As shown, the majority of people who appeal to rock music are from the South of England, in the London area. This could convey how most people who like the genre are from a middle-class background, as the region is a more expensive place to live, compared to the other areas. Most rock artists could also be from this region, and this could be why people from this region appeal, as they can form a personal identity with the artist.

Finally, this graph shows how the majority of the audience who appeal to rock music are students. This means they are younger and are under the age of 26 and are still in education, in school, college or university. Therefore, our conclusive target audience would be white students, from South England, and mainly males. From this, we will be making our band fall into all of those categories, so that the audience can form a personal identity to them and appeal to their music and star image.

Feedback on final idea for music video

This group of girls thought that it was inspiring how although each of the members of the band are scattered and do not live near each other, music is the one thing that brings them together. Therefore we will ensure to make this clear in our video.

This group stated how they would like to see how we incorporate the band travelling on the public transport into the video as they feel that it really shows off London and their urban nature. They also think that it is quite exciting how the band will be included in the hustle and bustle of London. Therefore we shall be including our band members travelling on trains to show their journey.

These girls said that they think the idea is really creative and that they would definitely watch it as it is something that they have never seen before, thus making the band organic.

This boy states that he thinks it is a very creative idea having four people from across London meeting together to be in a band and that he would be very interested in watching it.

Overall, after listening to this feedback, we concluded that as they all appeal to the video, our target audience would be between the ages of 15-25.