Record Label

The record company that I have chosen is Republic Records. It is an American record company that operates as a division of universal music group. According to Media base, Republic Records was 2012's top charting U.S. label. The label's best selling artists include Ariana Grande, Amy Winehouse, Owl City, and Lorde. I am choosing this record label as it has signed many similar artists to Lana Del Rey who have been successful. An american record will help my artist to reach a wide audience as most artists are successful  in the U.S and there is more choice. 
 

Similar Artists

The genre that Lana Del Rey sings about is indie pop. Here are some artists similar to Lana Del Rey in terms of genre:

Paloma Faith

Paloma is a pop artist but also comes under Indie pop. The make up of Paloma is very simple but her hair and costume is very vibrant. Her hair is done in a retro style. This music video clearly has a narrative that is shown. She's been left for another woman and she doesn't want to know about this other woman or her relationship with her lover. New York is metaphorical for the woman she's been left for, I think New York has been used as she's trying to say this other woman is new and exciting like New York is.

Florence and the Machine

This music video does not have a clear narrative however the lyrics of the song is very strong which may mean that she didn't need to have a narrative in the music video. Also her voice is really strong so people just listen and interpret their own meanings to the song. Florence and the machine also comes under the indie pop genre due to her unusual music videos such as cosmic love and spectrum. Furthermore, her hair and costume adds to the strangeness. at 1.20 in the music video the balloons could be a metaphor of losing things you love, 'sooner or later in life the things you love you lose'

Audience

The most common people that listen to Indie Pop are mostly females in their teenage years going towards young adults. If the artist is female (like Lana Del Rey), it is extremely likely that mostly girls will listen to them (core audience). This is because girls are more likely to relate to the music video and lyrics. Furthermore, it is more common for females to listen to female artists. The audience for this genre and artist is mainstream. In relation to social grades, my target audience will be from grade A to C2 as these people are more likely to listen to pop, indie pop whereas classes D and below are less likely to listen to this genre of music.

The attitude for this type of audience, in my opinion feels like a group of girls who listen to indie pop. I can imagine them getting together to talk about that song they heard on the radio or saw on youtube. I believe that these girls will know the lyrics of the song and will sing along to it whenever they hear it. This is because the lyrics of the songs are open to interpretation.
I have done some audience research for myself. I produced a questionnaire to find out what people are interested in nowadays.

This is what I gathered from my questionnaire:

 

Target Audience

From the research I have concluded that my target audience is Indie, females aged between 18-25 as mostly females can relate to the music video as well as the lyrics. It will get the audience thinking and will allow them to interpret their own story into it. My video will be useful as it will inform them about the artist's life and that life isn't all about conforming and having the same routine everyday. It is fine if you want to go out and enjoy yourself with friends and family. I am also aiming to entertain my target audience so they can watch my music video again and again. (idea of the use and gratification theory)

My artist's song will be consumed through Youtube as audience members mostly spend their time socialising through the internet, online and other social networking sites such as Youtube, whatsapp and twitter. I believe that this has become more dominant than traditional forms of media texts like CD's DVD's etc as people can download music from these digital channels (youtube, spotify) straight onto their phone which means they can listen to the song wherever and whenever they want. Broadcasting my music video on mainstream music channels seems inappropriate for my artist and her audience, but maybe the radio will be better so people can listen to her in the car, when they're shopping and other places which will make them want to watch the music video just by listening to the lyrics of the song as the meaning of the song is open to interpretation. Using digital platforms to distribute will help me appeal to a wider audience as it is quick, easy and people will have easy access.

Lighting

The use of lighting is important for more than one reason, ranging from making it easier to see everything, to portraying a certain mood. For example, if little lighting is used, it would create a dull and sad feeling in the video, which would highlight what the song is about. Then if lots off lighting is used, it gives the impression that what we are watching is a happy and enjoyable moment. This is the 3 point lighting that should be used in a music video. I will be using this technique when filming my maser shot. I want my actress to look exposed in her pictures and her master shot. This is so she looks innocent and angelic.

I like this image as it makes this person look very innocent and heavenly. This is something that i would like to go for when doing my photoshoot. I want my artist to look innocent as i want my audience members to like her and also relate to her.

In terms of performance I want my artist to be confident and not shy when I ask her to do something different. I also want my artist to be well lit in most of the music video. I think that I would like my artist to be well lit throughout the video, so the audience members can clearly see her and get to know the artist. I want her to be natural.










 This music video is a good example of lighting



The lighting in this shot is key due to fade effect being used. At first Beyoncé's face is bright on the left but the right side of her face is more on the shadow side. Also in the next shot the background is lighter than Beyoncé to show her body more.


This screenshot also shows how half of Beyoncé's body is in shadow but her face is well lit. This could be so audience members focus on her face when she is singing. For this shot one key light and a filter light could have been used.


This shot highlights Beyoncé's body through her silhouette. This silhouette was  created by using a back light behind the singer and a key light, which defines her body more. However, it is not clearly defined due to the smoke in the shot which makes it look very misty.


As you can see, in this shot the key light is coming from the right lighting up Jay Z but keeping Beyoncé in the shadow. Jay Z is rapping at this point which could be why the light is directing at him.


In this shot, the light used is very limited and it slowly fades to black. In this shot a one key light or back light is used. This could have been done to make Beyoncé look 'fierce' as shown in this shot.