Research for the A2 Music Video

Research for the A2 Independent Music Video

My music video for the A2 Coursework is going to be situated within and inspired by the 'Indie' genre, slightly transforming it from the original genre of the song and the artist; which is contemporary R&B. I would like to stray away from the original genre of the artist as I don't feel as if it would be appropriate for the narrative that I wish to translate to my audience.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF AN R&B MUSIC VIDEO

My music video for the A2 Coursework is going to be situated within the 'Indie' genre, slightly transforming it from the original genre of the song and the artist; which is contemporary R&B. Typically, in an R&B music video, the codes and conventions are strictly suited to that genre; barely drawing parallels between others. The R&B genre is usually associated with sensual lyrics, accompanied by provocative visuals in order to successfully pertain to it's genre. Because of the nature of the lyrics (which are usually targeted at teenage girls and women), male artists such as Chris Brown and Usher are usually shown in music videos as being topless; this is because the music industry would want to attract a larger female demographic considering that this is their primary target audience. The music videos are filmed in certain settings, such as the beach, a night-club, or the artists own home; this is a convention of an R&B video as more often than not, this is the "go-to" location.

• Apparel for male R&B artists isn't too extravagant and is a subdued version of the hip-hop genre, for example, hip-hop artists usually don excessive amounts of gold chains and other jewellery, but in the R&B genre, this is kept to a minimum. 
• Tattoos are also shown to be prevalent in R&B music videos, thus making it an expected code of the genre.
• As far as characters that are shown in the music video goes, the narrative usually follows two protagonists: the male artist and a female companion. Usually, the male artist is shown to be serenading a female actor, thus reinforcing the strong relationship between the visuals and the lyrics. 
• Camera shot types range from extreme close-up shots, mid-shots and tracking shots. Extreme close-up camera shots are utilised to display the element of performance, such as lip-synching, and emotion as observed by the artist in order to form a relationship between artist and audience. Tracking shots aren't necessarily included in all R&B music videos, however, they make it easier for the audience to follow the narrative and ensure that the narrative is kept succinct. 

In comparison, female R&B artists are usually seen in music videos to be wearing minimal, provocative clothing in order to appeal to the male demographic. Because of this, female artists are more often than not seen as an object of desire are are blatantly objectified; this would be to suit the music industry demand, particularly concerning the genre of R&B.

The hair and makeup of the female artist is one of the most predominant features that is shown in an R&B video; used primarily to exemplify the sex appeal that the artists are notoriously supposed to have.

As a general rule of R&B videos, the notion of 'sexuality' is heavily acted upon and is used as an overarching influence in order to appease certain demographics. Sexuality is the most common influence for R&B videos and songs of which it is heavily reinforced through particular codes and conventions such as clothing, or a lack thereof, and makeup.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF AN INDIE ROCK MUSIC VIDEO 

In an Indie Rock music video, mis-en-scene is imperative as it's main purpose is to sustain a clear, succinct narrative that the audience can easily identify. This may be achieved through a limited amount of props or anything that correlates or offers iconography pertaining to the band. Typically, the mis-en-scene of an Indie Rock video features gritty, low-key lighting that is used effectively to invoke certain moods and responses from the audience. High-key lighting will only truly be prevalent in a music video where there is a sub-genre being represented, such as Indie-Pop; stemming from Indie Rock. Below are examples of an Indie Pop video (note the high-key lighting, vibrant colours) and an Indie Rock/Grunge video (note the low-key lighting, sombre/dark tones).

Indie Rock videos are laden with performance elements, such as lip-synching or a wide-angle camera shot capturing all band members performing the song through mime. Camera shots are also a very important feature of an Indie Rock video, most of the time wide-angled and extreme close up camera shots are utilised to make the band members known to the audience and therefore solidifying the strong relationship between the artist and the respective audience demographic. This idea of utilising specific camera shots allows for the integration of Richard Dyer's Star Theory, whereby audience members are so connected with a member of a band (usually the lead singer) that they imitate the actions, clothing or beliefs of the artist. There are three elements to Dyer's Star Theory:

• A construction - whereby the star is manipulated through the music industry and is dehumanised in order to relate to certain audiences; they are stripped of all human attributes and are "constructed" in a way in which the music industry can benefit from. 
• A commodity - similar to "construction", a star as a "commodity" simply means that the industry or label that the star is signed to, will use them as a way of making profit; this will be again, manipulated by the industry as they follow trends in other areas of the media that they know will work and attract the most audience attention. 
• An ideology - this pertains more so to the audience interaction, in which the star is used to promote an ideology, or represent certain social groups/causes that will in turn gain audience interest, and therefore results in a highly established and devoted fan-base whereby the audience of the certain artist will start to believe in the values and morals upheld by the star.

Location is an important aspect of an Indie Rock video as it typically features an urban environment such as dark streets or the city - I will specifically use The 1975's music video for 'Somebody Else' as inspiration for my setting as it features a dark, melancholia-inducing street.

Editing is also a key feature in Indie videos. Camera shots tend to be quick-cut rather than slow and smooth; this is with the intention that the editing and quick cuts mimic the up-beat tempo of the music.

Artist iconography that pertain to the band is somewhat important as it allows the audience to visually connect, and identify with the band. For example, The 1975 are associated with three rectangular shapes that feature on tours and even on album covers. Imagery associated with Indie Rock bands are that of guitars, drums, a vocalist, bassist and pianist (in some bands).




ARTIST PROFILE


Stephen Wrabel, most commonly known by his stage name 'Wrabel', is an American singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles that confidently prides himself on his virtuoso skills and ability to play numerous instruments ranging from the piano to acoustic guitar. After attending Berklee College of Music for a year, Wrabel left Boston and headed to LA to further pursue his music career in songwriting.

After spending time in LA, Wrabel was eventually signed to Pulse Recording under the occupation as a songwriter; this was the artists first major breakthrough into the music industry. Soon after this, in 2012, he was signed to Island Def Jam wherein he released his first single, "11 Blocks", which was supported and promoted by well-known artist, Kesha.

Currently, Wrabel is signed to various labels such as Island Records, Universal and numerous international labels such as Digital Distribution Turkey, Universal Music Spain and Digital Distribution Panama.

Having been assigned to so many international and national labels, Wrabel has released two albums, 'Sideways' and 'Ten Feet Tall'. Wrabel gained recognition from Dutch DJ Afrojack, who was so impressed by Wrabel's brooding piano ballad of 'Ten Feet Tall', the two artists ended up collaborating with each other under a co-sign. Afrojack released various remixes of 'Ten Feet Tall', this in turn increased publicity surrounding Wrabel's image and gradually increased his popularity, nationally and internationally.







AUDIENCE RESEARCH SURROUNDING ARTIST

Statistics concerning The Weeknd (YouGov.co.uk)

According to Twitter research, Wrabel has a 54% male following, with the majority race being within the Caucasian demog
raphic (77%). As for his female following, there is notably less with only 46% of his followers being female. Considering that the artist is so low-key, audience research is significantly limited, however, I was able to compare artists of a similar genre to Wrabel so I could gather an average of the demographics such as age, political stance, gender and interests. A similar artist to Wrabel in terms of genre would be that of The Weeknd, who is known for his brooding R&B tunes, much like Wrabel. A comparison that I can make from the two sets of research is that the female demographic is relatively larger than the demographic for male listeners of The Weeknd in comparison to Wrabel.

Abel Tesfaye, The Weeknd

Analytics from Twitter concerning Wrabel (zoomph.com)

Another interesting comparison of a similar artist in the contemporary R&B genre is Beyonce. Drawing similarities in audience demographic in terms of the gender that takes the most interest in listening to their music, the female demographic certainly reigns supreme in this category. By having these comparisons readily available from reliable websites, I can tailor the way in which I create my music video to fit to each demographic equally.


Considering that I've already established a solid narrative, comprising of a mixture of boys and girls, this will be easy for me to achieve as it relates more to an open audience, as to leave more scope for audiences to infer the narrative and story of my music video.

Statistics concerning Beyonce (YouGov.co.uk)

AUDIENCE PROFILE: Primary & Secondary target audience

My music video will pertain to a male and female primary audience demographic, sitting comfortably within the age range of 17-20 year olds. The reason I have my audience target age so high is because of the nature of the video; the visuals will entail age-restrictive content such as consuming alcohol and smoking, therefore it would be inappropriate to advertise "illicit" activities to a younger demographic. The secondary audience will be audience members who are actively engaged with the Indie Rock genre, whereas when advertising the song, which is a synth/R&B track, the secondary audience would be viewers are interested with the respective genre of R&B.