Research into chosen music artist - Miss Georgiou

The music artist I have chosen is Ed Sheeran. I really like Ed Sheeran as he appears to be an unconventional pop artist with an indie/folk feel and sound. He is always creating great deep but simple music that always tops the charts. His music really reflects who is, he doesn't hold back making Ed come across as real, truthful and relatable to the audience. His songs show sad depictions of young love or earnest ruminations on teen pregnancy and leaving home. And his image is that of the good bloke-next-door, calm and peaceful in the face.

Artist Profile

Ed Sheeran (born 17th february 1991)is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Hebden Bridge, raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he moved to London in 2008 to pursue a musical career.

In early 2011, Sheeran released an independent extended play, No. 5 Collaborations Project, which caught the attention of both Elton John and Jamie Foxx. He then signed to Asylum Records. His debut album, +, containing the singles "The A Team" and "Lego House", was certified quintuple platinum in the United Kingdom. In 2012, he won two Brit Awards for Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act. "The A Team" won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

+ debuted a top of the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales exceeding 102,000copies, selling 42,000 copies on the US Billboard 200, peaking at number 5.  The album is the highest debut for a British artist's first studio album in the US since Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream.

In 2012 Ed Sheeran experienced success in the United States.  He made a guest appearance on Taylor Swift's fourth studio album Red. He has previously written songs for One Direction. In 2013 "The A Team" was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2013 Grammy Awards and he performed the song in duet with Elton John during the ceremony. 

In 2013 he spent most of his time touring North America as the opening act for Swift's The Red Tour. His second studio album titled x; read as "multiply", was released worldwide on 23 June 2014, charting at number one in the UK and US. He was also nominated for Best New Artist at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. - Adapted from Wikipedia.

X became the fastest selling artist album of 2014 so far up on its release last month, with more than 182,000 sales during its first week on sale.  Today it becomes the longest running Number 1 of the year to date. According to the Official Charts Company’s sales data X has sold over 367,000 copies in the UK to date.

 

Music video analysis'

You need me I don't need you - Ed Sheeran

The target audience for this music video is 15-25. This is because the music video focuses on young people by using extras at this age range to perform throughout the music video mainly through urban dance such as, street dance and break dancing and contemporary dance (ballet). Which is associated mainly with young people. It can be argued that the concept is based on youth as the lyrics talk about striving to achieve your dreams and to achieve in the entertainment industry.
For example, 'I won't stop till my name's in lights,
At stadium heights with Damien Rice,
On red carpets, now I'm on Arabian Nights
Because I'm young and all my brother's gonna give me advice,'
This shows that Ed Sheeran is the same as his target audience, being very young himself (23) Which depicts Ed as a role model for young people, someone to recieve motivation and advice from to reach the 'bright lights' and success. This is something which is generally associated with adolescence. As adolensce is the typical time in which an individual is planning and dreaming for success in the future.

                           (Streetdancing and young people)

Mise-en-scene

In this video mise-en-scene is very dull with an urban theme. Through low-key lighting, colour codes, isolate artifical location, iconography and costume.
  The low-key lighting shown in the music video also uses a chiaroscuro effect. Which creates a sense of mystery and anticipation for the audience. It makes the music video have more depth and makes the music video appear as more intense - allowing the message in the song to be taken more seriously.

                (Low-key lighting & Chiaroscuro)

The colour coding is black and white, which is very simple. Again I feel this was done so the audience focus more on the music itself, what Ed is rapping about and the dancers/extras. The black and white makes the video appear simple just like Ed's message and emphasises the song title you need me, I don't need you. Very straightforward and uncomplicated.

Iconography used also heightens who the music video is aimed at and the music industry itself. For example, the boombox. A boombox is commonly shown in music videos to give a more cool feel to the song. It reinforces who the audience are, young people that care about music. The iconography makes the video much more appealing and allows us to focus on why that prop was shown and to gain a deeper visual understanding of the lyrics. Because when the boombox is used the lyrics quoted previously above are sung. The shot of the boombox is shown twice this was used to show that Ed Sheeran is talking about being successful in the music industry, this is symbolised by the boombox.

                      (Booombox Iconography)

The extras/backing dancers are dressed fashionably wearing what a typical young person would wear. Which is young, hip and in trend. This makes those characthers relatable to the target audience (young people) as they are dressed like one of them.
 The clothing which Ed Sheeran is shown in is black and fades in with the background making us focus on Ed sheeran himself rather than his clothing/material possesions which are sometimes glamourised in sections of the music industry. It allows us to focus on the person Ed Sheeran rather than the star.

               (Trendy clothing for younger boys)

Cinematography

                  (Close-up of Ed Sheeran guitar)

This close up of Ed Sheeran and his guitar was used for mystery and to show his other musical talents to the audience. The close up is shown right at the beginning. As you can't see his face it makes the video more mysterious and towards the end of the video when Ed Sheeran is shown it is clear that it's him. It shows how talented he is and that he can rap, sing, play the guitar and write his own music.'I sing and write my own tune and I write my own verse

Hell, don't need another word-smith to make my tune sellCall yourself a singer-writer - you’re just bluffing'. It sounds as if Ed Sheeran is showing off about his talents. I feel that the guitar was shown to show his other musical talents and the close up was used for additional mystery to the dark setting.

                         (Long shot of extra)

 This longshot of the boy shown throughout the video in the opening scene establishes the isolated location. This makes the video more intense to show one person under a spotlight in the dark. As it makes the audience focus on what's going to happen next, increasing suspense and anticipation for the music video. It also lets the audience know what the setting will be like throughout the whole music video. It establishes an isolated location.

                        (Midshot of Ed Sheeran)

The midshot lets the audience know that Ed Sheeran is the most important person in this music video and the creator of the song.This midshot is used at the end of the music video, is the last shot shown to the audience and the most memorable. It is the clearest shot in the whole video which reveals Ed Sheeran's identity. This was done to create a lasting image of how Ed Sheeran looks in our minds due to us really wanting to see his identity, as it's hardly shown. It also makes Ed Sheeran look very important and powerful by the way he is positioned and standing.

Style of the music video

The music video style is very simple and the lighting reflects that. It appears to be a very relaxed but fast paced music video by the setting, calmness in his voice and simplicity of the lyrics.

Artist representation

The artist was represented not as a star but as a mystery. This was due to Ed Sheeran being shown clearly only once. This was done to not put him on a pedestal above his target audience and to not appear self-centered or into himself. But to look real and not be a product, as Ed even sing's in this song 'I won't be a product of my genre' Showing that he doesn't really want his image to sell him but he wants his music to produce the sells. He is a star but not a conventional one. Ed was represented as a mystery to seem relate able.

Goodwin's theory

Goodwin's theory can be identified in this music video. This is with the relationship between visuals and lyrics, relationship between visuals and music and genre conventions.

The relationship between lyrics and visuals is often amplified throughout this music video. For example, when Ed sings about him being a choir boy 'I’m still a choir boy in a Fenchurch tee' a shot of a choir boy is shown, you can identify it is a choir boy through his costume. Also, when Ed sings about him not going to the Brit School 'I will blast and I didn’t go to Brit School' a replica of the school building is shown. This gives the audience a visual aspect of the song and gives us a deeper understanding on what Ed Sheeran is saying in his lyrics. Making us focus more on his lyrical content. 

                    (Brit school building)

There is also a relationship between the visuals and music which is again amplified. The visuals start to get quicker, the shots get more rapid when Ed starts to speed up his verses. This allows a better connection between the song and music video it also continues to keep the audience entertained as its pleasing for the eye. And satisifies audience anticipation and adrenaline as there are two things for the audience to keep up with visuals and music. The relationship between visuals and music is amplified through a matching pace. (2:31-3.39mins)

In this music video it stays true to the conventions of a typical indie music video. Firstly, the setting is typical. In indie music videos the location tends to be in an isolated area usually in a studio,city, park or tunnel. Which are quite low-budget and can be accessed easily. They also tend to be locations that can create a lot of mystery. The location is kept simple to focus more on the artist and their performance. Ed Sheeran's stay true to the conventions by it being set in a studio, being mysterious and simple.
  Another convention is that there are usually additional characters in the narrative of the video and they portray their part through their appearance/acting. The costumes typically give the extras different looks, making it easier to distinguish each character from one another and to understand the narrative of the music video better. This music video follows this by using many different characthers, extras and dancers to explain the narrative rather than Ed Sheeran himself. The costumes help us to know who each person is i.e. the boy dressed in an all white robe and wings, is identified him as a choir boy. Which explains the narrative of the song more clearly to the audience.


                        (Choir boy character)

Dyers star theory

Using dyers star theory to apply to this music video or even Ed Sheeran is difficult. As Ed Sheeran does not appear as a star with him hardly being in his music videos, his life not being in the public eye and appearing as a very real person.
  Dyer does say however that a star constructs themselves to look real and relatable for financial gain and to increase sales. But It can also be argued that Ed Sheeran hasn't change as Dyer says a star starts off as a real person with individual charactertics, and then becomes manufactured and consturcted by the record label appearance and music wise. But Ed still refers to his indivual characteristics(hair colour) 'With vo5 wax for my ginger hair' So maybe Ed Sheeran is not a star and is just a pop performer according to Dyer's theory. As Ed Sheeran even states in this song 'See, I’m real, I do it all, it’s all me, I’m not fake' 

However, I do believe that Ed Sheeran has a USP of being real, true, British with depth in his music. His look is also very unique. I believe that this may of been used in order to differentiate him from other artists. In order to gain finance/money.

To conclude with the star theory. I personally feel that Ed Sheeran does not fit into Dyers star theory as Ed sheerans image despite the rise in popularity, success and fame he remains the same and he stays true to his roots and himself. His music still has the same feel and truthfulness to it. This may be due to Ed working in a popular industry but with Indie. A cool, laidback genre not caring to much about showing anything else to their fans other than the music.

(The only thing which has changed is the tattoos, that couldn't have been for fame could it?)

The A Team - Ed Sheeran

The target audience for this music video is between the ages 17 to mid 30s. The reason I believe its this age range is due to the nature of this song/music video. The narrative of the song is about prostitution, homelessness and drugs. Topics that are generally known more about by the older youth and older adults. 

Mise-en-scene

The low-key lighting used in the video create an intense atmosphere for the audience to watch. The atmosphere looks unpleasant, gloomy and dull. Allowing us to put ourselves in the characters postition of how dark her life is. It sets the tone for the whole video which is a sad one. The low-key lighting sets a deep and intense atmosphere in the music video.



The colour codes of black and white which is used again in this music video, shows simplicity to the world and to the girls complex life. It allows the audience to follow the simplicity of Ed Sheerans lyrics while allowing us to understand the complexity of the young woman's life. The use of black and white makes the video more calming and easy on the eyes. Allowing us to focus more on the narrative and woman rather than her surroundings and bright attractions that could've be seen in London. e.g. Bright red buses and telephone boxes. It allows us to see the dingy perspective and not so pleasant side of London. The black and white is used to make the complex story more simple.

The costume and appearance of the young female character portray her as homeless, a prostitute and unkept. This is shown through her clothing and make-up. It can be seen that this character is wearing tights with many holes in them, has greasy unkept hair and not very trendy clothing. This make's her out to be poor, homeless and not neat. The character is shown as a prostitute through her revealing clothing and heels as she looks cheap (hoop earrings and messy make-up). Her costume and appearance displays her as a homeless woman and prostitute.



Iconography really sets a scene and fills in the narrative without the audience even realising. The sleeping bag shows us that the women is homeless in the first opening scene and shows us that she's cold referring to Ed's lyrics 'its too cold outside, for angels to fly' this informs us that she is the angel Ed Sheeran is singing about. The sleeping bag has a big impact and helps connect all the meanings and codes of the song together.
 The iconography of the drugs inform us of the hardship that this young lady is going through and struggling with. This is shown so the audience sympathise with her and understand her mental state and what she is going through. It makes the audience feel upset for the situation that this young lady is in and the way her life has ended up. It also shows the negative sides of life, showing the reality of many people's lives and allowing us, the audience to carry the weight of this young woman by feeling sorry for her. The drugs are also educating people of how your life could end up. Making Ed appear as a very good role model. The drugs shown help us to know what hardship this character is going through. 
   

Cinematography

In this music video the close up shots used are to create empathy for the characther so the audience sympathise with her and feel her pain. The two close ups below focus on the womens eyes, allowing us to feel her pain. Her eyes look watery and sad, the blank expression on her face making her to appear aloof. The pale complexion of her skin and tatterred make-up makes us feel sorry for her as we can see that she is not in a good state emotionally and pyshically. The close up shots allow us to see the pain in her eyes. Allowing the audience to sympathise with the female character.

Midshots are also used in this music video. The first midshot is used to display the character as 'facing the world'. Meaning that it shows that it is her against the world by the way she looks inferior in the shot with her back being faced towards the camera and the background taking up the frame. Allows us to feel as though this women has little power and can't cope with her life/ the world she lives in. It looks as if she's cared to face her world.

The second midshot shows the women standing arm stretched out and her back turned while she is looking up towards the sky. The positioning of her body towards the camera shows a sign of sacrifice. It looks like she is offering her life to the sky (heavens) wanting to be taken away from a world that is too difficult for her to handle. It can also be seen as her wanting to die and be removed from the pain she has to go through everyday. It shows a sign of release and her body language portrays sacrifice.

Artist representation

In this music video Ed Sheeran is hardly represented. When he is featured in this music video he's portrayed as a by passer who buys a magazine from the woman. Ed is portrayed as a good guy by helping a homeless woman. To the audience this allows them to feel that Ed Sheeran is a helpful, sweet guy who cares about the lives of others. He is displayed as someone who cares about members of the public. 

Music video style 

The music video style is very unique and is focused around a charatcher which is not ed sheeran, in order to send a very powerful message to the audience.

The style of the video is very sad and informs the audience of what goes on in the world. The music videos message is sent very clearly to the audience (relate to  colour code of black and white). 

This music video Is a narrative, informative and interesting one. 

Goodwins theory 

In this music video there are aspects of Goodwins theory which are shown to the audience. Firstly there is a link between he lyrics and visuals. Ed Sheeran sings about how 'it's too cold for angels to fly' his reference to angels is also shown visually. By using the character to represent an angel. And the setting also shows 'angel station' and a halo above the characters head. It heightens the meaning of the lyrics and puts more emphasis on the concept  of this women being an angel. This allows the audience to have a wide imagination of what Ed Sheerans lyrics mean. 

There is also a reference of looking, objectification of the female characters body. This is shown when she is in bed with a man. It displays how the woman has low self-esteem and is desperate, due to her selling her body for sex. It also puts more emphasis on the hurt that she's going through, showing the audience that she has little worth. This is because after this panning of the woman's thighs is done, she still looks confidently into the camera with sadness in her eyes. Displaying to the audience that she has little respect for herself and is being treated as an object - merely for sexual pleasure. As her body was shown to the audience before we really knew her character/persona. 

Lastly, by using Goodwins theory we can identify voyeurstiric treatment of the female body. As the woman's body was shown on the camera (panning movement) as if someone were scrolling their eyes up her body in a sexual manner. 

Dyers theory 

Dyers star theory is not very applicable for Ed Sheerans music video. As generally in his music videos, or the two music videos I analysed he is not the center of attention. Making it hard for him to be seen as a star that is a product. As Ed Sheeran has been very true and honest in his music videos. So it is hard for me to believe that he has been constructed by his institution for financial gain.

 However, I do believe that certain characteristics that Ed Sheeran displays in his music videos are much more appealing to an audience and therefore sell. For example, kindness, relatability and truth. All positive characteristics that Ed give off in his music videos. This was identified here by Ed being the one who gave the female character money.  

Overall, I believe that Ed Sheeran does not have an artificial image - this may be due to the genre which he is in. Big I feel he stays true t himself but displays cultural beliefs which help build and strengthen his fan base. His personality and character are also very appealing to the audience and can be considered to all be done for financial gain. But I fail to believe that this artist image is an artificial one. 

In conclusion, this research into Ed Sheerans profile and two music videos has allowed me to understand Ed's vision as an artist. Which is to inspire and entertain. This inspiration is done through deep song lyrics as well as very deep visuals - music video. This has allowed me to make sure that when I plan my video I aim to make it inspirational, informative and have a lot of depth, codes and connotations in the video with reference to the lyrics. Which will bring the song alive. 

  It has helped me to understand what Ed Sheeran commonly includes in his music videos which is, a black and white colour theme, other characters to represent the narrative other than just Ed doing a performance . And to understand the entertainment he offers to audience. This will be a great help in producing the best music video possible to Ed Sheerans song 'runaway'. 

Target audience results - Miss Miller

This research was carried out to find out what certain concepts appeal to our target audience, so I can ensure that they will enjoy the music video that I will create. The research was carried out to gain more ideas of what to include in the music video, to decide if the artist we are doing will appeal to our target market and what elements of an Indie music video attract and entertain our target audience. The reason why we had forty people participate in this questionnaire was in order to allow the data to be more representative and valid. Collecting information from a wider audience is more likely to produce quantitative and representative results. These results will help me to plan what content is going to be shown in the music video. Also, when it comes down to creating a storyboard I would have gained more ideas, making the storyboard task easier.  

The first question was asked to find out our audience's gender. This chart clearly displays that their are more males (62%) than females (38%) But the ratio between them is not too different. This will allow me to know what gender we will target our music video at, which will be males due to the data. But I will make sure that the music video is suitable for both sexes and is universal for both genders to enjoy. This question has been useful as it has helped us decide on the gender of our audience. Which will allow us to make the music video more conventional to males. Which will allow them to be more entertained by the music video. 

This question was asked to find out if our audience even enjoy the genre of the music video which we will be producing. The pie chart shows me that most of our audience like indie music, which is great as it means that the genre we are doing has a demand in the market. So this has been a confirmation to continue to make our music video/song choice Indie. These results shown tell us that we are likely to benefit from making our music video in this genre.  

It also proves that our questionnaire was not biased and that everyone we asked had different tastes and likes in music. But from these results I will take on the fact that the difference of 55% and 45% aren't great. So this issue can be solved by adapting the indie genre by adding conventions from other genres such as, pop - fast editing, bright colours etc. to make sure the music video is targeted at a variety of individuals. 

As Ed Sheeran is the artist we will be producing a music video for, it was important to find out if our audience are fans of him and his music. The data displays that 60% of the audience are fans and 40% are not. This allowed me to find out if Ed Sheeran is admired by many and if it would be worth while for us to do his song. However, we found out that he has a large fan base. Due to his popularity it would prove successful to make a music video for Ed's song 'Runaway'. This has also given me a sign of not to subvert what Ed Sheeran usually gives to his audience. As his fans blatantly like what he is doing. So we should ensure that our music video is something which can be easily connected with Ed sheeran's previous music videos and current artistry. 

This question was done to find out our audiences age range. And If the questionnaire was aimed at the right target audience which was planned to be 16-25 and we see that out of the 40people 80% of the individuals that we questioned were aged 16-25. This has allowed us to make sure that our results are valid and catered to our target audience. This question was done to inform me if the majority of the individuals questioned were the target audience age of a typical indie music video. With this question it will also allow us to  be confident in including alcohol references, violent imagery and forms of abuse to portray our chosen song in a deeper manner. So we now know that our target audience are suitable for this content.

In the indie genre a typical convention is a narrative based music video. With these results it has proved to me that an indie music video is more liked by people, with the results being (89%). These results mean that I will put more time and effort in producing a quality narrative in order to satisfy the audience. And increase the amount of viewers for the music video, which will increase the popularity of the music video and artist; Benefiting the institution.

But, this does not mean that we will not satisfy the needs of the 11% which enjoy performance based music videos. We will include aspects of performance for example, lip singing. In order to make our music video enjoyable for all.

This pie chart allows me to see what typical conventions that appeals to the audience. With the highest being narrative at 40% and the lowest being other at 5%. These results show me that the audience enjoy narrative based music videos, which is also shown in the pie chart above. This is great as it will allow us to follow the convention of an indie music video while satisfying the audience. The portrayal of love at 35% shows us that a theme of love should be shown to the audience as it appeals to them. This was also great news as the song runaway gives a hint of romance and a love interest. As it talks about running away with someone. So a female used as another character to portray a relationship will entertain our audience.   

From the 10% of both simplicity and performance displays to us that these two elements would not be beneficial to focus on our include. I will then try to make sure that the music video is not to simple or budget as it could look to the audience as cheap, unprofessional and maybe not give a sense of realism. But I will still use a low-budget location which looks great to the audience and fits in with genre conventions. The performance being at 10% confirms that we shouldn't focus on the performance side as that is not what the audience want to see. 

In this pie chart we can identify that most people feel that cinematography (38%). This means that we should make sure that we include quality cinematography such as, close ups, long shots, mid shots, panning and more. This may be liked as it adds dimension to the music video. This has informed me that cinematography should be an aspect that we plan properly and spend time on a it's what our audience like. Mise-en-scene 32% will also be focused on greatly by using conventions in the indie genre such as, low-key lighting, isolated setting for mystery and suspense and props such as instruments (guitar). This will increase the entertainment factor for our audience as well a following vital genre conventions. Editing will also be focussed on through fast editing, a time lapse and more. Satisfying all of our audience.

This allowed us to find out what music genre our audience prefer and allowed us to see their different tastes in music. I am glad to say that Indie was the highest at 58% as it confirmed that our audience enjoy the indie genre. Therefore, our music video would be enjoyable and successful to our target audience. This has allowed me to also find out that the second popular genre for this music video is R&B. So I will try to include elements of R&B into my music video. Ed Sheeran has a R&B feel/beat incorporated into the song runaway so it will be easy to portray R&B conventions into the music video. Other genres that the audience enjoy such as rock,rap and pop will be ignored. As you can't target a wide audience with every song. So it is better to focus on one or two genres to make sure that the video lives up to those genre conventions/expectations. Than to focus on all 5 genres listed in the pie chart, for the music video to then look unclear. 

The setting that was most expected to see in a music video was a simple setting. This shows that simple setting will be beneficial and liked by our audience. And will also allow the budget for this music video to stay low which is great. It is then followed by an isolated setting at 20%, forest and fields 15% and estate buildings at 12%. These all follow the conventions of an indie music video. So I will make sure that I will contain all thee conventions to make sure that the audience are not put off by not seeing it. And enjoy the music video much more. 

Lastly, many people felt that the lighting makes a music video interesting. So we will then aim to make a music video more appealing by containing a range of lighting techniques such as low-key lighting, chiaroscuro effect and day lighting. In order to add to the mood of the music video and effect the audiences emotions. Which will make the audience more entertained and want to continue watching it.  

To conclude, from this research I have found out that the audience enjoy the indie conventions and are fans of Ed Sheeran and the indie genre. Therefore, the audience will appreciate the music video that my group and I will create. As the characteristics and elements in the music video, will be targeted directly at them. Making the music video overall more enjoyable and fun for the audience to watch. 

  I will incorporate my results into my music video by satisfying the audience with what elements they enjoy seeing, the setting most people like to see etc. Giving the majority what they like, as well as satisfying the minority tastes. If I were to carry out this research again I would most likely make the results more specific. And find out the responses for the answer 'other' to help develop our ideas for our music video.

  Vox pops

    

    

    

(The change in voice's doing the questioning, was due to me sometimes having to record the video) 

    

   

    

Diversity of music videos - Miss Miller

A music video is diverse when the video itself does not conform with genre characteristics and conventions. It is when the music video is very different from the majority of music videos in that genre due to extreme creativity and originality. Unique and diverse music videos can often appear to be odd or weird to an audience. But this doesn't mean the video will be unsuccessful.

Chris Cunningham and Michael Gondry are two music video directors that produce very unique material for an artist. They create music videos that do not conform to the stereotypical genre characteristics.

   Chris Cunningham is a British video artist, he has directed many unique music videos. Some being Madonna - Frozen  which became an international hit and won the award for Best Special Effects at the 1998 MTV Music Video Awards. He has also directed videos for Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy" and "Windowlicker" are perhaps his best known.  His video for Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker" was nominated for the "Best Video" award at the Brit Awards 2000.

The Madonna - Frozen video is very different to the other music videos Madonna has. The mood of this video is very Gothic and depressing. Where as, Madonna's other videos are usually more upbeat and fun. 

Firstly, the mise-scene in this video, the costume and make up, lighting, setting and colour codes all work together to produce something mysterious and eerie. Madonna is shown wearing all black, black hair, black nail polish, dark lipstick with a dark isolated background. The lighting is low-key and uses the chiaroscuro effect. This allowed shadows to form and for the overall video to look scary and witch like. As witches are associated with the colour black and the contrast between this black, her pale skin and bright eyes make her look ill and demonic. The isolated background may have been used to emphasise her loneliness and puts greater focus on her being hurt and in pain, which is stated in the lyrics 'If I lose you... my heart will be broken'

  

           Mid shot of Madonna, dark costume and low key lighting.

                        Isolated location with a lonely Madonna 

 There is also a lot of close-ups of Madonna's hands to focus on the unknown signs and tattoos on her body. This may relate to the video being based on the idea of Morrigan an old centric Goddess. As Madonna use to practice Kabbalah, so Morrigan has been said to be the inspiration for the video. Morrigan was sometimes describes as a good and evil goddess, so I believe that the video may play off that. Showing that Madonna is also good (from previous music videos) but has a dark side to her artist image or personality.

                        Her hands in the video 

Furthermore, we can identify a lot of editing manipulation to make the video more interesting and appealing to the audience this is shown at 0:52-58 where the fabric turns into a crow. We also see something similar when the fabric turns into a dog like animal later on in the video. This editing creates mystery and amazement to the audience. And allow the audience to gain that eerie feel from the music video.
 When Madonna is flying/floating in the air it shows her to belong to a higher power making her seem supernatural or even superior. Which can relate to her status or even power in the music industry.

I believe that Cunningham created a music video tailored to Madonna and her religious interests. However, I feel that Gondry produced a very eerie and mysterious video to the audience. And allowed the audience to see the dark side of Madonna. But I feel that some people will think Madonna is satanic by watching this video and may feel put off by this to continue to be a Madonna fan. As it is very different from her previous music videos. Furthermore, this video produced something creative and mystical for the audience. Allowing her to stand out from the typical pop videos.

This may be odd to be put on music channels as it is very different and extremely unique for a video. But as stated I feel that it will allow the artist to stand out from the very competitive music industry.

Cunningham's other works such as Aphex Twin - come to daddy shows similar characteristics to Frozen - Madonna. Such as, low-key lighting, thriller like feel as suspense is created. And an isolated locations. This leads me to believe that Cunningham likes creating a narrative with his videos with also a unique twist with suspense and mystery.

                    Isolated opening scene - eery atmosphere

                      Artist face edited onto little children (creepy)

Michael Gondry is a French film director screenwriter, and producer. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. He has directed many music videos from Kylie Minogue - Come into my world (2002) to The hardest button to button by the white stripes (2003).

Kylie Mingoue - come into my world music video  is very unconventional. Through the mis-en-scene, costume, Kylie is  shown wearing very casual clothing, looking like an average person not a celebrity  This goes against a typical pop video as the artists are usually very fashionable and stylish, however Kylie looks very casual and not very into her appearance.
   Furthermore, the mise-en-scene, setting is a very typical normal everyday setting where it would be unlikely to spot a celebrity or see this type of setting in a generic pop music video. It's unglamorous and dull; this may have been done to allow the audience who are the 'average people' to relate to the video or her 'world'.

    
    Kylie wearing casual clothing in a casual town setting, extras paying no attention to her

Lastly, as there is repetition of 'come into my world' and a repetitive panning of the camera/shots. Showing her doing the same thing but doubling. It puts more of the focus on Kylie Minogue which allows her to promote herself and create motifs. With the panning of the camera in almost like a circle motion. Emphasises the come into my world showing that that little area she's in is her world. Which obviously depicts a different side of Kyle, making her be viewed by the audience differently.

 
                      Clones of Kylie and circle shaped panning (her world)

I feel that this music video was good as it showed Kylie in a different light. Made her seem like a relatable person for the audience and put all the focus on Kylie. This most likely helped build her fan base and helped her to promote herself by keeping the attention on her. It also shows more of a subtle side of Kylie instead of all the gimmicky dance routines and typical conventions in a pop video. For music channels I feel that this video would have stood out on music channels as its unique and different making it stay in the audience's mind.


Gondry directing 'the hardest button to button by the white stripes' also displays unique aspects in the music video. This video quality looked very amateurish and gave it a very casual video look. With the same theme flowing throughout the whole video which was the cloning of the music equipment and artists. The mise-en-scene, setting was very plain, dull and empty and allowed the attention to be on the artist and their music. This is good as it will increase their fans making the audience interested in their music more. Also, the music video visuals match the beat of the music. Making the video more euphoric and entertaining.





                       Cloning and movement of drums and drummer  

To summarise, Gondry's work is very simple but eccentric. It stay's in the viewers mind and increases the brand image of the artist as it allows the artist to be viewed as more alternative than mainstream. Making the artist to be viewed as more talented and skilled, as they are doing something different. Also, we can see that Gondry pays more attention to the mise-en-scene than any other micro-elements and manipulates that to make the video more unique and diverse.

Cunningham and Gondry are similar and different. They are similar as both Gondry and Cunningham aim to create a unique video they both do this by focusing more on the mise-en-scene than other forms of micro-elements. They both manipulate visuals to create an impact for the artists music video. They both use forms of cloning and doubling of characters to produce something unique.

  However they are different as I feel Cunningham is more extreme in the directing of videos. I feel that Cunningham pushes boundaries and makes videos more extreme. Whereas, Gondry uses simplistic ways which are not too risky in loosing fans or boring your audience. I feel that Cunningham takes a bigger risk in being unconventional.

 An artist may choose to create a diverse music video to c„reate memorable videos that are individual and stay in the audiences mind. Which make the audience want to buy the music the artist sells. It also gives the artist an intellectual appeal as it shows a smart creative side. Delivering this to the audience will give them a different perspective of you and to show that you are not a one-dimensional artist. Mainly I think its so the artist can express their deep weird inner creativity more visually than audio music alone. Furthermore, an artist can create a niche audience, a relatively small audience with unique characteristics. Lastly, it can heighten the meaning of the song. Showing the abstract side of the video to allow the audio song to make more sense to the audience. 
 However, diverse music videos can be negative as there would be a relatively small audience as its not genre conventional. Meaning that you could lose out on sales just for being 'creative'. Also the audience may not understand what you were trying to put across even if the artist themselves thought it expressed their artistry. So there could be no relationship or bond between the artist and audience. Another negative is that the audience could find the video weird or even bizarre. This could lead to criticisms of the music video via other forms of media/the internet. Causing the artist to lose fans as they didn't like your music video. I feel that one of the worst things that can happen is that the artist receives negative publicity as it will mean the artist may need to think about what they are giving to their audience. As publicity can really affect an artist career and lead them to lose their whole fan base.
  But on the other hand, negative publicity could mean that your fan base get closer to you and support you more. Meaning that you still have those good sales and positive image.

As the music industry is ever changing artists need to do drastic things in order to keep their fans and the media entertained. This is what can be achieved through a diverse music video.

I feel that Gondry's style of production will suit my chosen genre better as Gondry doesn't take as much of a risk of creating diverse music videos as much as Cunningham. As our genre is pop I would want to make the production both conventional and unconventional and I feel Gondry does that well. Such as, the cloning of the artist is done very well and fits in with the lyrics. Gondry also uses bright lighting and I feel that will fit in my music video as I would want the mood of the video to be a good one and not scary or suspenseful like Cunningham's.
  However, I feel like Gondry's production is too repetitive as Kylie Minogue - come into my world is shown walking round in circles doing the same thing for the whole time. And the hardest button to button - the white stripes is also very repetitive; The singer and drummer just moving to dull locations. I feel that the song we are doing 'Ed Sheeran - Runaway' will not fit in well with this as the song is narrative based and will need a range of camera shots and scenes to explain the lyrics fully. To keep the audience interested and entertained. But overall, I feel that Gondry's style of production will be best suited towards my music video than Cunningham's.

Applying for music copyright - Miss Georgiou

The copyright law of the UK is Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 which is the legal protection of literary work, dramatic work, musical work, artistic work, films, sounds recordings, broadcasts, and typographical arrangement of published additions. This right is given to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material.

 For musical & artistic works the 1988 Act and amendment establishes that copyright in most works lasts until 70 years after the death of the creator if known, otherwise 70 years after the work was created or published (fifty years for computer-generated works). However, for sound recordings copyright lasts for 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last remaining author of the work dies, or the work is made available to the public, by authorised release, performance, broadcast, etc.

We had to apply for copyright to not go against the copyright laws and to get permission from their record label before using their the artists original musical works. As we found out by researching copyright information, that we need this permission in order for us to create a music video without any legal issues. 

One of our group members for the creation of the music video emailed Ed Sheeran's record label (Atlantic records) went on their website and found their contact information. The email shown below is the email that was sent to Atlantic records to ask for their permission.

My group and I are still awaiting a response from Atlantic Records, however, we are still going to continue with planning and filming our music video. But we understand that the record label is probably busy and receive a high amount of emails. We have only emailed them one time.