Research Into Music Video Institutions

Music Video Institutions 

• Music video institutions are companies who help produce and fund music videos for their signed artists or bands. My target audience of teenagers commonly watch music videos everyday in order to keep up to date with new music or under the radar bands so we can discuss the video's socially with others. 
• Typically, new music videos are posted on to YouTube in order to start trends on the website which the target audience then share and copy the link onto social networking sites, such as; http://www.facebook.com/ and http://www.twitter.com/. The number of times that a particular music video is shared is representative of the video's popularity and success in appealing to the target audience. 
• Justin Bieber's debut music video for his single 'Baby' was posted on http://www.youtube.com/ on 19th February 2010 and has since had 722,077,183 views and 1,144,231 likes which clearly conveys the music video's popularity. YouTube also includes one click links to facebook, twitter, google mail and a link to buy the music video on http://www.itunes.com/ which shows the convergence of online media and the power it has.  

The main music video institutions are EMI Music, Sony Music ,Universal Music Group = Warner Music Group

EMI Music

• One of the world’s leading music companies; home to some of the most successful and wellknown recording artists. Through their own companies and network of licensees, EMI are able to serve their artists, consumers and partners all over the world.
• EMI Music brings artists and fans together by driving action and creating value wherever music is to beexperienced.
• Their record labels include Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol, Capitol Latin, Capitol RecordsNashville, EMI Classics, EMI CMG, EMI Records Nashville, Manhattan, Parlophone, Virgin Classics and VirginRecords.
• Artists that are signed to EMI include Lily Allen, Bat For Lashes, The Beatles, Beastie Boys, LukeBryan, Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Gorillaz, David Guetta, Iron Maiden, Norah Jones, Lady Antebellum, MassiveAttack, Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry, Pink Floyd, Corinne Bailey Rae, Sir Simon Rattle, Snoop Dogg, Tinie Tempah,Thirty Seconds To Mars, KT Tunstall, Keith Urban and Robbie Williams.
• EMI Music provides EMI’s list of artists – as well as independent labels and artists – with a global menu ofcommercial services and seamless access to expanding range of revenue streams and business models,including digital and physical distribution, sales, press and promotion, marketing, licensing, synch, brandpartnerships, live recordings and merchandising.

Sony Music Entertainment Inc

• Provides music labels and recordings of artists and international superstars.
• SonyMusic Entertainment Inc, was formerly known as Sony BMG Music Entertainment and changed its name to SonyMusic Entertainment Inc, in October 2008.
• The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in NewYork.
• It offers hip hop, country, classical, gospel, pop and rock archival recordings and labels.
• Sony Music is one of the world’s most well known music companies, as it includes ownership and distributionover music companies such as Arista Records, Columbia Records, Epic Records, J Records, Jive Records, RCAVictor Records, RCA Records, Legacy Recordings, Sonic Wave America and others.
• Sony Music’s featured artists include Avril Lavigne, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Foo Fighters, FosterThe People, Glee, Jackie Evancho, Pitbull, Sade, Shakira, Willow Smith and many others.
• Sony Music has a worldwide distrbution access for music artists who went to be well-known around the globe,this consists of artisst promoting their music in different countries around the world to attract a good fan-base thatwill mainly stick behind them throughout their career.

Universal Music Group

• (UMG) is the world’s largest music content company with market leading positions, inrecorded music, music publishing and merchandising.
• The recorded music business discovers and develops recording artists and then markets and promotes tehirmusic across a wide array of formats and platforms.
• Universal Music Group’s publishing company, UniversalMusic Publishing Group, discovers and develops songwriters, in which they own and administer copyrights tomusical compositions for use in recordings , public performances and related uses such as films andadvertisements (through television, radio, posters, billboard and many more).
• UMG’s merchandising company,Bravado, sells artist and music branded products by multiple sales point such as fashion retail, live performancesand the internet.
• Artists that are signed to UMG throughout the world include North American Artists such as Akon, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, Busta Rhymes, Mariah Carey, JustinBieber, Nicki Minaj, Nelly, Jennifer Lopez, LMFAO and many more. European Artists include Duffy, BryanAdams, Adele, Taio Cruz, Cheryl Cole, Mumford and Sons, Florence + The Machine and many more. AsianPacific Artists include Vanessa Amorosi, Sa Dingding, Karen Mok, Will Pan, Alan Tam, Jacky Cheung, BernardFanning and many more.

Warner Music Group

• Home to a collection of the bestknown record labels in the music industry, which includes Asylum, Atlantic, Cordless, East West, Elektra,Nonesuch, Reprise, Rhino, Roadrunner, Rykodisc, Sire, Warner Bros and Word, as well as Warner/ChappellMusic, one of the world’s leading music publisher, with a catalogue of more than one million copyrightsworldwide.
• WMG comprises an array of businesses aimed at helping artists achieve long-term creative and financialsuccess by providing consumers with the highest quality music content available.
• WMG is engaged in the recorded music business (including artist services) and the music publishing business.
• Warner Music Group’s artists include James Blunt, Paramore, T.I, EmmyLou Harris, Kid Rock, Plan B, JoshGroban, B.o.B, Estelle, Bruno Mars, Janelle Monae and many more.
• These artists have become extremely successful through the guidance of Warner Music Group, in which most of these artists have published their music to a worldwide audience.

Internet Research: Conventions of a Music Video

KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL MUSIC VIDEO:

The main purpose of a music video is to promote a single or album released by an artist/band. If or when the music video is affective and appealing, the video is used as a marketing tool to gain album purchases, downloads, fans and popularity.As a result of a successful music video the artist/band will gain financial investment from their record label.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSIC VIDEO'S:

Over time; music video's have become arguably less related to the songs themselves; some video's of the 21st century are not at all relatable to the song's title or the lyrical messages within them.  However, many artists still see a music video as a companion of the same importance as the song itself; one noteable music video that supports this is Taylor Swift's 2008 single 'LoveStory' which follows the same concept throughout the video from the lyrics; "it's a love story baby just say yes". The video follow's two protagonists in a romantic setting which is typically a video that is aimed at a target audience of teenage girls who dream about falln in love, similar to the events in the video. In my opinion, music video's should at least have some importance and relevance to the overall message of the song.

TYPICAL NORMS OF A MUSIC VIDEO:

• Appearences from the artist/ band
• Live performance from the artist/ band
• Development of a narrative to make an impact on the audience
• Relevant video and lyrical meanings 
• Typical and relevant costume related to the video's target audience: nice clothes and make-up in relation to a female target audience who aspire to be like the artsist
• Dance routines are very common in music videos of specific genres, mainly pop. It's also common that the artist(s) act in the video as characters as the narrative unfolds.

Conlucsion: 

• There are no real set guidelines to a music video.
• Trends within specific genres occur
• Diverse 
• Individual taste

Summary of Focus Group Research

I conducted focus group research on teenagers of my target audience. In terms of music video's, i found that a teenage related costume and bright colours help to make the music video more eye-catching and appealing. Members of the focus group seemed to prefer the technique of fast paced editing as apposed to slow paced; this is arguably because it relates to a teenagers fast paced lifestyle, we therefore ensured to make most of our video fast paced to add further appeal to the target audience. Findings from the focus group also highlighted that a variety of different locations are needed to keep the music video interesting; although the settings used need to relate to the teenage target audience and the narrative of the video. Special effects also seem to be favoured, such as; animation, text overlay and references to social networking sites which gives a fun, teenage related appeal to the music video. Finally teen related props seem to have a good influence on the success of the music video, such as; mobile phone's, speaker's and iPod's; all of these items are in coherence with 21st century teenage culture. Also, the findings showed a different variety of locations are needed to keep the music video interesting; although the settings used need to relate to the teenage target audience and the narrative of the video. Special effects also seem to be favoured, such as; animation, text overlay and references to social networking sites which gives a fun, teenage related appeal to the music video. Finally teen related props seem to have a good influence on the success of the music video, such as; mobile phone's, speaker's and iPod's; all of these items are in coherence with 21st century teenage culture. 

In terms of album cover's i found that the type of camerawork preferred by members of my teenage focus group was a close up shot showing the artist's face so the consumer can identify with the artist. Also, a successful album cover appears to need a bold, eye-catching title to stand out from the product. The font style also needs to be appealing to the target audience of teenagers depending on the album genre.

In terms of album advert's i found that members of my focus group like a mid shot image of the band featured in the center of the advert or an image of the album cover itself; i took this into consideration when producing my ancillary product using an image of the band in the advert. Also, a successful album advert needs to include a one liner crtical review from another established newspaper or magazine that would feature the advert. The feature of weblinks, to the band's site is also a major convention of album adverts as it allows the reader to find out more about the band after seeing the advert in the magazine. Also, a typical feature is a release date as this tells the reader when they can purchase the album or download it online; i have incorporated all of these preferences when producing my own album advert.

The focus group research has allowed to personally find out what members of my teenage target audience expect and prefer in each of my products and has enhanced the success and appeal of my promotional package as a whole.

Focus Group Research Six: 'Florence & The Machine - Ceremonials' Album Advert

1. Works well in this album cover?

• Stylish typography "CEREMONIALS" written in a eye-catching regal kind of font.
• Mirror image; typical of Florence's unconventional style which is reflected on the album cover
• The release date of album appears on the cover which helps the teenage target audience to identify with when the album is set to be released and is a conventional feature of typical magazine album adverts.
• The weblink enables fans of the band to gain more information about tour dates, merchandise and music videos which is a typical convention of album advertisements.
• The record company label is placed in the terminal optical area of the page in the bottom right corner as it is not the most significant item however it does allow readers to access more albums from different artists in the same 'Island' label.
• A brand identity is established through using the same typography for the artists' name as on her debut album cover; this is conventional as the artist can be easily identified trough the use of continuation. 
• The artist; Florence is wearing make up and her costume is a silver, sparkly dress - this emphasises the singer's femininity and enables the female teenage target audience to copy her style. 
• Mid shot image related to the album title 'Ceremonials' as she looks glamorous and dressed up

2. What does not work well?

• Slightly boring - not much of a narrative, doesn't look very happy.
• Florence isn't really showing any emotion as her eyes are closed 
• The message behind the cover is quite ambiguous and difficult to understand. 

3. Does it make you want to buy the album?

• No as the cover isn't very eye-catching and can be further criticised for not showing a clear narrative.
• Wouldn't buy the album based only on the front cover; prefer to listen to the songs first.

Focus Group Research Five: 'Klaxons - Surfing The Void' Album Advert

1. Works well in this album advertisement?

• Very unconventional image of a cat in an astronaut costume; this could be related to the album title 'Surfing The Void' as the 'Void' may be meant as anything the target audience wishes it to be and the cat is just one possibility. This choice of "random" use of mid shot image would appeal to fan's of the band as the 'Klaxons' music is quite unconventional and is almost psychedelic and so the image fits the band's musical and visual style.  
• The typography of the band name 'KLAXONS' is written in an archaic font style (possibly anglo saxon). Also, this choice font is a continuation of the band's name on the previous album which helps to form a sort of brand identity; this further allows the band's albums to be easily identified by the teenage target audience. 
• There is use of an effective colour scheme as the bright yellow in the terminal optical area of the page is eye-catching and stands out from the album advertisement.
• The use of the cat dressed in an orange astronaut costume is effective as it is not something the teenage target audience will see every day on an album cover. This is possibly the appeal of the band as they use random, thought provoking visuals to compliment their unconventional musical style. 
• There is a one line critical review at the bottom of the page from an established music magazine industry; NME. This is conventional of most album advertisements that feature in music magazines as they allow the teenage target audience reader to make a judgement about the appeal of the album through a review from an established industrial music magazine as the reader is aware of the style of music the magazine advertises and whether it will be appealing to them. The choice of informal, colloquial language further relates the album advertisement to it's teenage target audience; "comeback, anticipated & pop" are all used to ultimately sell the album to the teenage target audience who are knowledgeable of the music industry. 
• The phrase, "Out Now" is also employed to allow the teenage target audience reader to be aware that they can now purchase the album and is a conventional feature of all album advertisements in visual and print media to establish a release date. 

2. What does not work well?

• If the teenage target audience reader were unaware of the band's style then the use of image on the album advert would not make any sense to the reader which would cause a loss of appeal. However, as the album advertisement is printed in a well established music magazine (Q), the teenage reader are most probably familiar with the band and their musical and visual style. 
• A lack of information to promote the physical release of the album as it does not detail any of the tracks featured on the album. 
• The composition of the album advertisement is quite unconventional of most layouts as the mid shot image of the album is taking up three quarters of the advert. This compromises the significance of the band itself and the album title as usually the name of the band is placed in the primary optical area of the page in the centre and is the first feature seen on the advert which is more typical and enables the reader to identify with which band's album they are reading about. 

3. Does it make you want to buy the album?

• No as it doesn't really advertise the album concept or the tracks featured, however the use of a cool, funky poster may attract some musically intelligible teenage readers who are keen to find out bout genre breaking new music. 

Focus Group Research Four: Album Cover Analysis 'Olly Murs - In Case You Didn't Know'

1. What works well in this album cover?

• The typography (font and letter) style appears like a stencil in a sketchbook which is related to the teenage target audience.
• The artists' name appears in the primary optical area of the page in the center which creates a good cover composition which is a conventional layout of most conventional pop album cover's.
• Eye-catching & bright colour scheme which would stand out in a music shop; also the use of vibrant colours on the cover is similar to the artists visual imnagery in his music video's.
• The house style of 'Olly Murs' shows continuation as it is featured on all of the artists' single and album covers which creates a type of brand image.
• The use of mise-en-scene through costume is easily relateable to the teenage target audience of males who see 'Olly' as having a good style who choose to dress similarly in chino's and shirts. The image also appeals to the female teenage target audience who have a crush on the the artist.

2. What does not work well?

• The text seems to take up most of the album covers' composition and draws the attention away from the actual imaghe of the artist which should be the most important item on the cover.
• The artist 'Olly' appears insignificant to the overall layout of the page as it seems as though he has just been squished in.

3. Does it make you want to buy the album?

• No - slightly irrelvant to music itself as it's just a man sitting down which has no importance to the album concept.

Focus Group Research Three: Album Cover Analysis 'Rihanna - Talk That Talk'

1. What works well in this album cover?

• Close up shot showing the female singer wearing lipstick and eyeliner to show her femininity and relate to a teenage target audience.
• Text of logo "R" adds to the front cover's effect and the style is in a newspaper print and so relates to the title of 'Talk That Talk'.
• Rihanna's facial expression appears to be feisty, provocative and the licking of the lips is used to attract the male teenage audience.
• The font is nice and eye-catching as it's shiny and glittery and could be related to a female arge audience.
• The use of the tatoo is a clever, unconventional way of promoting the album although it could be improved by being written in a larger font.
• Mise en scene of silver rings are used to relate to the female teenage target audience as he style and music fit in with her target audience.

2. What does not work well?

• Slightly bland album cover; no real detail just a picture of a crazy looking woman
• The choice of costume is poor as she looks as though she is wearing a cow printed top which has nothing to do with the album concept or title.

3. Does it make you want to buy the album?

• No, not on the basis of only the album cover as the image isn't really related to the album title.
• The cover doesn't look very welcoming and appears quite "odd" rather than typically controversial.
• No as Rihanna looks angry, annoying and appears as rude.

Focus Group Research Two: Sean Kingston 'Party All Night'

1. What stands out to you from the music video?

• Comic book font showing song lyrics relating to teenagers 
• Teenager related costume - hi tops/ baseball jackets - youth fashion 
• Good use of location - house party - related to teens 

2. What do you think works well?

• Circular narrative - wake at 10 then party then sleep at 10 - constant teen partying 
• Slow motion effect - freeze time at party to break up narrative and emphasises the drama
• Link to 'The Inbetweeners Movie'; song featured in the film - increases the songs popularity as film and song are both related to a teenage target audience 

3. What could be improved with this music video?

• Better colour scheme as mostly dark and yellow - more silver and gold 

4. Does the music video appeal to you as a teenager?

• Yes - teenagers like to sleep all day and party all night

Focus Group Research One: Cher Lloyd 'Swagger Jagger'

I gathered a small group of teenage students that would be my target audience to find their views on existing music videos, album covers and album poster adverts. I have conducted this "Focus Group" research in order to help me to create a relateble, apealing and conventional product for my main tasks.


1. What stands out to you from the music video?

• The colours and costume stand out as they are bright and eye-catching
• The video is fast paced and can be related to teenagers. 
• Cher's costume is fitting to the song as it says "Swagger Jagger" 

2. What do you think works well?

• Different locations to relate to different parts in the song; club area with teens partying. 
• Special effects through animation to relate to a young audience but sometimes over exaggerated. 
• Many teen related props and costume - mobile phone's, speakers, hi tops, chinos & hoodies 
• Use of social networking sites in the song - "you can't stop you tubing me, tweeting me"- relatable to modern teenage audience 

3. What could be improved with this music video?

• More of a narrative story related to the song as it seems slightly random. 
• The ending as Cher's just walking down the street on her own after partying with loads of teens; this emphasises the fact that the events in the video are not real and is represented through a dream. 
• The video could be more grown up as it seems quite childish just dancing and partying

4. Does the music video appeal to you as a teenager?

• No - childish animation,  minimal narrative 

Target Audience Research Questionnaire & Analysis

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.


From producing my questionaire I have found that the target audience demographic is a mixtue of both males and females. The average age of my target audience is beween 16-18 years old and therefore our aduiovisual main task must appeal to this age category. Thirdly, I asked the question; what genre of music do you listen to most? The responses recieved conclude that the most popular genre of music is Indie with 66.7% which was closely followed by 60% for both Pop and R 'n' B music. These three genres of music have connotations with teenagers and for example; teenagers who are into Indie music are identified as a subculture through their choice of clothing (check shirts and chinos) and interests; going to music festivals. The emergnence and combinaion of club/ dance/ electonic; bass pounding music has in the last year formed Dubstep which recieved 46.7%. This style of music is clearly associated with teenagers who enjoy clubbing and partying at the weekend. The fourth question that i asked was; do you read any music magazines? Suprisingly, 86.7% of the responses given were no; this was not the result i was expecting to get from the teenage demographic as myself being a teenager am subscribed to NME magazine and Q magazine. I then asked the target demographic what music channells do you want? The two most popular were Kiss and Viva with both having 50%. This result is conventional as the music that is played on these channell's is mainly Pop, R'n'B and Dance music which would therefore agree with the results of which music genre the target audience preferred. The third and fourth most popular were Chart Show TV and 4 Music with 42.9% of the vote; these channells also follow the conventions of the type of music to be aimed at the teenage audience of Pop and R'n'B. The joint least popular music channel's were Magic, Kerrang! and Scuzz. Magic is aimed at an adult demographic as they play "easy listening" and classical music which is not associated as popular with most of the teenage demographic. On the other hand, Kerrang! and Scuzz mainly play heavy rock and metal music and would be less appealing to the general teenage demographic and would only be popular with certain types of people who identify themselves as subcultures by dressing in a certian way and having certain interests. The sixth question i asked was how often do you watch music channells. The top response was Monthly with 40% which shockingly suggests that some of the teenage demographic do not bother keeping up to date with new music which seems suprising to me. The seventh question i asked was to do with the technical aspect of our main task; producing i music video. I asked what length of music video do you prefer and 80% of the results gained were 3-4 minutes long. When producing my music video; i have taken this preference into account as if a music video is worth producing then i also believe that it should be of a conventional length and be worth watching as a mini - movie. The eighth question i asked was which radio station my target demographic of teenagers listen to; both Radio One and Kiss recieved 33.3% of the vote. I was unsurprised by this as these radio stations play the most up to date, mainstream and chart friendly music which teenagers like myself are interested in. Heart radio also recieved 26.7% of the vote which also plays mainstream music as well as songs from previous era's, such as; the nineties and the eighties and has become a popular radio station with teenagers. The ninth question that i asked my target audience to answer was "What attracts you to CD covers?". I asked this question in order to increase the appeal of my own CD cover when producing my ancillary task. Some of the responses that i recieved included; "bright colours, band name, a good image, a good design, band logo's and a catchy title. When producing my own album cover i will take these responses into account in an attempt to meet the preferences and increase the appeal of my product to the target audience. The final question that i asked was; "What do you expect to see from a music video?" I asked this question in order to increase the appeal of my own music video when producing my audiovisual main task. Some of the responses i recieved included;  "dancing, catchy music, good lyrics, relevance, a story related to the song, the band playing in a set location, great camerawork and production value". The response that i found most helpful was "a story related to the song"; therefore when producing my music video i will create a developing narrative that fits the song's lyrics and is interesting and entertaining for my target audience of teenagers to watch.

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Album Cover Analysis Three: Example - 'Playing In The Shadows'

The title of the album ‘Playing In The Shadows’ is clearly represented in the image on the album cover as half of the artists face is shadowed with a white background and the other half is bright on a black background. This could be suggested to represent the artist trying to convey two seperate personalities or how since he has become well known in the music industry he has come from out of the shadows of being unknown to being recognisable artist. The artists; name 'example' is printed under the image of the artist's face and follows a sort of brand logo that  features on all of examples albums. Through using the same text style and font colour, 'example' creates a sort of continuity that enables the teenage target audience to identify with his music as it is easily located. The layout of the album cover is highly conventional as the image is placed directly in the center and the artist's name and the album name are placed underneath. The artist,, 'example's target audience is the teenage demographic as he sings about falling in love, partying and his music video's feature live concerts. These are emotions and activities that the teenge listener would be able to relate to as they are notable, common conventions of the teenage lifestyle. In terms of camerawork, the image is a mid close-up focusing on the artist's face which allows the teenage audience to identify with what the artist looks like if they were to see them on a television programme or in a music magazie. In the bottom right corner of the album cover their is a "parental advisory" logo which details that the album may contain sexual references or offendable language; this warning features on all albums that contain innapropriate language, although  these are still targeted to the teenage demographic.

Album Cover Analysis Two: Cobra Starship 'Good Girls Go Bad'

This single cover can be easily related to the teenage target audience and gives a negative representation of young people in the music industry. The name of the band ‘Cobra Starship’ is printed in a large, bold font that stands out on the cover and is placed in the bottom of the terminal optical area; this emphasises the importance of the band’s name in the overall effect of the single cover.

The supernatural/ animalistic font used is relatable to the ‘Cobra’ name of the band as the writing looks as though it is scratched and embossed into the cover. The image on the cover is of the lead singer of the band lying on a toilet floor; most probably after a night out partying; this image is therefore representative of teenagers that are constantly partying, drinking and generally having a good time.

The decision to have the location of the image in a toilet is relatable to house parties or nights out where teenagers are portrayed as constantly drinking and consequently being sick which is seen through the toile basin and the loo rolls. This further proposes that teenagers are unable to handle their alcohol and this image is a portrayal of the state drinking get’s modern teenagers into. It also appears as if the female in the image is sitting on the toilet whilst drawing on the lead singer in permanent marker; this is representative of party chaos that often ensues within teenage parties.

From following the “rule of thirds” the lead singer’s face is seen in the centre of the image conflicting with the neon green female shoe; making the album cover accessible to both genders; male and female. The costume worn by the lead singer on the floor is of casual party wear – a check shirt and patterned t - shirt which is a costume that is relatable to the teenage target audience. The overall layout of the cover is conventional in it’s layout and typical image used to relate to teenagers.

Album Cover Analysis One: Rizzle Kicks 'Stereo Typical'

The title of the album ‘Stereo Typical’ is challenging social stereotypes; presumably adults misconceptions about teenagers. This is related to the teenage target audience who also suffer then same negative stereotypes that they are unintelligent, useless and a burden to society. The title is split in to two as “Stereo” is relative to the music industry as this is the item music is sometimes played out of. Also, the background of the title is written on a page of the type of notebook students use – this further relates it to the teenage target audience. 

The image used is a mid shot which shows both members casually sitting down; this connotes a relaxed sense to the teenage target audience. The costume chosen also gives  a carefree and relaxed attitude to the album cover as the singer’s are wearing plain grey hoodies with minimal white t shirts – this type of clothing is often associated with lazy and stereotypical teenagers. This casual implication is also furthered by the vacant look on the artists’ faces; which is possibly used as a portrayal that teenagers are unfairly misjudged as unintelligent layabouts by challenging the stereotype. 

Following the principle of thirds theory; both singer’s faces are placed directly in the centre of the cover which emphasises their importance on the album cover. The use of a plain background of white gives the idea of a “blank canvas” for the artists to use their imagination by creating songs that are relatable to the average teenager. 

The overall layout of this album cover is conventional as it firstly gives the name of the band and then the album title, below this is an image of both singer’s in the band which is the first item from the cover that is seen by the viewer from the “route of the eye”. 

Music Video Analysis Three - "Lady GaGa & Beyonce - Telephone"

This pop video/ short film is 9 minutes and 31 seconds the song only starts at 2 minutes 53 seconds; giving a long prequel; typical of Lady GaGa's outlandish, contraversial, unconventional pop videos challenging society.

The mise en scene used establishes the location/ setting of an all female prison; the other characters costume is skimpy underwear - this is typical of Lady Gaga's raunchy music video's. Lady Gaga's opening costume sees her with coke cans in her hair whils wearing ciarette glasses - this representation defies the social norms of conventional pop video's but follow's conventions of Lady GaGa's own strange pop videos. She is later seen dressed in "caution" tape whilst in her prison cell - this is most likely targeted at the modern youth audience who are perhaps to scared to defy the norms of society and be themselves; this video could therefore inspire them to grow confidence and become more of an individual. Gaga is constantly seen in extremely strong make up which emphasises her femininity and exentuates her sexualiy through the video. The props used in the video includes a car named the "pussy wagon" which could be aimed at sexually interesed teenagers and relates to the audience of hit Channel 4 TV show "The Inbeweeners" which sees four sexually frustated boys name their car the "minge mobile", "clunge magnet" and going on "pussy patrole" which is linked to teenage adolesence. The driver of the "pussy waggon"s costume consists of a  latex body suit; this is highly unconventional of the normal costumes chosen in pop videos but typical of costumes in GaGa videos. Another prop used in the video is a "crsuifix" which is placed over Lady GaGa's nipples over a see through top giving the impression that religion is close to Gaga's heart/ important to her life; however viewers of an older age may find this contraversial and feel the use of the crusifix as innapropriate. The second location used in the video is a bedroom/ motel - this is a popular choice of location used in pop video's; during this scene GaGa is dressed in a formal jacket covered with jewells which is covered by the American flag; this emphasises that GaGa is patriotic and loves her home country.

The first sound used in the video is of female prisoners talking through dialogue, this is later followed by an ambient kissing sound - emphasising the sexuality of the video and relating it to te target audience of teenagers. A voice over is used on "intercom" which is a typical feature of a prison location. The song begins later which is use of non diegeic and digeic music as the audience are hearin the song and throughout the video the characters dance to the music. There is further dialogue in the video when the prison guards, Beyonce and Lady Gaga are talking and ambient sounds of drawers being opened and closed and keys rattling; these fixtures are all typically found in prison cells.There is further ambience of high heel footsteps which gives a sense of femininy and suggests the person is coming close because of the loude footsteps: sound perspective. Offensive language is used in the video as dialogue to appeal to the teenage target audience as the youth have been sugessted to use this type of language; therefore the youth can identify with the language used in the pop video.

Various types of camerawork are used throughout the video; a mid shot/ close up is used of Lady GaGa this emphasises tha she is the protgaonis of the music video. There is also a two shot used in the car showing both Beyonce' and Lady GaGa emphasisig their importance as the two main characters in the video. An extablishig shot linked with a pan is used to show the setting of their car going down the road and establish the video's location. There is also a pan/ tracking shot following Beyonce' walking into the diner - justifying her importance in the video which is followed by an over the shoulder shot from Beonce's point of view; this allows the teenage audience to directly see from Beyonce's perspective. Later there is a close up on the excentrically dressed GaGa weaing a hat made of telephones; this is a typical costume for GaGa to choose after she wore a meat dress to an award ceremony.

Various editing echniques are used througout the pop video; subtitle headings are used to entitle the name of the song and what the video is about; this familiarises the ouh audience with the particular video. Later, there are jump cuts to multiple different scenes; this emphasises the business of the video and the story behind the song - this fast paced action could be a metaphor of te teeanage audience's hectic lifestlye so they can relate with the video. CCTV style camera shots are made to look like he characters are under constant surviellance as they are in prison; this is typically unconventional of most pop videos but conventioal of GaGa's video's. There is also use of a reverse zoom shot showing the phone cable, this emphasis on telephone's is the primary focus of the video and the title of the song. There is also use of a flashing camera to give the impression that photo's are being taken as a snapshot image to go with the rest of the video with CCTV cameras. Subtitles are later used in the video during the diner scene to show the speech from Gaga to Beyonce'; this editing technique is conventional of pop music videos. A multiple split screen of Beyonce and Gaga enables the video what both artists are doing at the same time to conventionally send a message to the audience. Jump cuts are also used to show everyone eating in the diner to show the business of the location which also emphasis the fast paced editing of the video. 

Music Video Analysis Two: "Jessie J - Who's Laughing Now"

Mise en scene is used from the opening of he conventional music video; the "popular girls" are seen dressed in bright pink clothing which gives the impression that they are self concious and are representative of teenage girls at a younger age. The way the girls look at the younger Jessie J also emphasises that they are typical bullies; looking down their noses at people who don't follow trends and stand out - giving the impression that they are posh and spoilt. The younger Jessie J appears to be "rebelling" against social norms and trends by dressing in her own way and having a uique hairstyle. The black baseball jacket could give the impression to the posh girls that she is an "emo"; causig her to become an outkast. The location used in the video is of a girl's school; aimed at a conventional target audience of tenagers/ students/ parents as the pop video gives an anti bullying message relatig to people of the target audience that may have/ be experiencing bullying and give them the courage to speak out.

Various stlyes of camerawork are used throughout the video. An establishing/ pan shot is used to open the video depicting the location; a church/ school - this sets the scene of the video early and is relative to a childhood target audience. There is also use of over the shoulder shots showing what Jessie J sees; emphasising that she is the main character.A sweep zoom with shallow focus is also used to show the protagonist Jessie J as a child rising from her desk which is accompanied with a close up shot to show the emotions on the main character's face - foreshadowing her rebellion against the popular bullies; possibly giving children who are being bullied the confidence to sand up against bullies after watching the video. Zoom in's are regularly used to show the child Jessie J talking; building up her confidence to fight her bullies. To the right is use of a reverse zoom through he medium of a steadicam to show Jessie as a cild's insignificance to the backdrop of Hollywood and how she has grown to be famous.

Ambient sounds are used to open the music video; birds singing connotes a peaceful, normal location. Later on Jessie J begins singing: this is an example of diegeic music. Lyrically the song has been praised as an anti bullying anthem "hey Jessica you look like an alien, with gree skin you don't fit in this playpen" and "you've got teeth just like bugs bunny" - most children have experienced similar playground abuse; making the videp's message relate to the target audience of teenagers and giving them confidence tofigh their bullies.

Various editing techniques are used throuhout the "Who's Laughing Now" pop video. A slow moion shot is used to show Jessie J as a child leaving her school; allowing her to be free of bullies, social norms and follow her own syle and be who she wants to be as an adult - giving confidence to the youth target audience. Trasitions are also used througou the video to show a conrast between a shy, reserved, unhappy Jessie J as a child which is later replaced by a confident, unique, individual celebrity. The technique of tracking is used to follow the child Jessie J as she progresses and grows in confidence; emphasising that she as the protagonist as taken an emotional and physical journey throughout the pop video.  

Music Video Analysis One: One Direction - "What Makes You Beautiful"

The mise en scene used in the music video is aimed at a target demographic of student teenagers. The location used in the video is of a relaxed beach implying the artists are on a “lads holiday” which is typically related to the teenage psychographic who want to get away from student life. The props used also have conotations to the modern youth; transport includes a campervan, this implies that the band are on an escape from realty. Other props used by the band in the video are footballs and guitars; both props have male connotations and are representative of typical teenage boys actions whilst on holiday. The band’s costume is also typical and trendy to teenagers of the 21^st century wearing high street fashion including chinos and checked shirts/ tops. This use of costume style is aimed at the teenage target demographic who are identified in similar ways.  

The sound used in the video includes an immediate ambient sound of waves crashing and birds singing – this creates a representation of a tropical getaway. The digetic sound used includes the actual band singing the song; which is a typical convention of pop music videos. Lyrically the song is aimed at a demographic of teenage females; "that's what makes you beautiful" and "you're insecure, don't know what for" are both examples of conventional lyrics sung by a teenage boyband in order to appeal to the target audience of female teenagers who are fans of the band.  

Various types of camerawork are used in the music video to relate to typical pop video conventions and successfully target an audience of teenagers. The video opens with a pan/ establishing/ point of view shot of the beach location with waves crashing on the rocks. The effect of this camera shot creates a sense of student paradise for the teenage audience to get carried away into and aspire to experience the same. Next, there’s a close up of the band’s lead singer Harry emphasising his importance and popularity which is relatable to mainly teenage girls as the target audience. Over the shoulder shots are used in the video so the viewer perceives what the singer sees. A further pan is used to show all of the members of the band’s faces to highlight the band’s unity. There is a close up on the only female in the video; she appears physically attractive and fun; this beautiful/ perfect female image gives teenage girls a look to aspire to and gives boys a teenage crush. There is also use of a handheld camera which creates an effective shaky, unsteady shot; the use this camera shot can be related to the target audience of teenagers who use handheld camera's whilst on holiday or at parties.

The editing techniques used in the pop video include fade in transitions from the opening of a summer beach giving the appeal of a teenage holiday which is relatable to teenagers who want to go on holiday. Subtitle credits “directed by” are also used as a pop video convention and to give credit to the producers. Slow motion shots are also used to emphasise the band’s relaxed/ unstressed manner; the effect of slow motion shots are to break up the video and to look professional and also fit in with the slow paced parts of the song.