Lyric Analysis - Miss Miller

There are many different purposes of analysing the lyrics of our chosen song. For example, analysing the lyrics allows us to highlight and distinctively identify hidden connotations that can further be elaborated on within our music video. In doing this, we can create an effective music video that still stays relatable to the meaning of the song and therefore, understandable for the audience. Furthermore, it gives the audience an alternative interpretation of the song that they may not have initially associated it as being like which creates interest and engagement. The lyrics also give us a guide into what emotion we should intend to create for the artist to portray, for example, in 'Hometown Glory' there is a strong theme of nostalgia. To reflect this we have chosen to include scenes of the past showing how happy the artist was with her friends. On other parts of the song, such as the second verse, we can literally demonstrate a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals which further strengthens the audience's understanding. By analysing the lyrics it also demonstrates particular planning techniques such as which elements of mise-en-scene need to be used in such a way to emphasise certain lyrics or moments in the song. In addition, it aids our planning in how we are to represent the artist in a particular way. For example, if the lyrics reflect the artist feeling emotional and negative, a way in which to show her weakness could be through the use of a high angle shot as it makes the artist appear small. By analysing the lyrics we are able to outline where these moments are and plan what we can do to achieve this through the different aspects of the video through the micro elements within.

Here are the annotations in which we made for our chosen song 'Hometown Glory' by Adele:

Overall, there are many different hidden meanings and messages of the song we have chosen to make a video for. From inferring the deeper meanings behind the lyrics, it has outlined that the general hidden meaning/message is that the artist values and maybe wants things to go back to how they were when she was back in her hometown. The artist makes great reference to the people she had met there, remarking them for being the 'wonders of her world', which is clearly understood by the audience from the frequent repetition of the line that states this. Adele wrote this song when she was 16, so this would have been a comfort for her and something that could have particularly been close to her heart. We have annotated our lyrics by thinking more 'outside the box' in order to seek deeper alternative meanings that we could emphasise within our music video. As well as looking for hidden meanings and connotations, we also analysed lyrics that could represent the artist in a particular way. This allows us to think about how we could them illustrate this within our video. Additionally, we have also annotated the lyrics looking for possible ways in  some could demonstrate ideas linked to the style or aspects of the video such as mise-en-scene. By looking for this, it aids us to get an idea where we can change shots or change style which makes it easier for us to identify a place in which to switch due to the fact we are using two styles in our video. We have also looked at the lyrics in a way to identify where the target audience can build a relationship with the artist. When looking for these particular parts, we considered how we will emphasise these parts in our video to ensure that the audience feel involved and engaged.

Our annotations will assist us in planning the different elements of our music video as we are able to incorporate visuals that will coordinate appropriately to the lyrics and link to the connotations in which they happen to suggest.

Firstly, the genre codes and conventions can be illustrated within our video easily from the way in which the lyrics will match the visuals within our video. For example, the way in which the lyrics state 'missing out the cracks in the pavement' allows us an opportunity to visually illustrate this in the video. This is a convention of soul genre music videos as often some lyrics have deeper meaning, likewise with this particular one. By showing it in it's literal form, it allows the audience to think about its deeper and underlying meaning as they notice the way it has been emphasised. This also supports Goodwin's theory, as this is one of the aspects that he found to be included in music videos. Linking the lyrics to the visuals also helps to create correct imagery that is intended for the audience to picture and therefore allows strengthening the familiarity of the artist for the audience. Another convention of soul is that the lyrics have deeper, hidden and meanings that are not initial. For example, this is illustrated in the same lyrics of 'missing out the cracks in the pavement' as it represents the artist as being quite weary but also could suggest them reflecting a feeling of paranoia. If you miss out cracks in the pavement it suggests you for being quite a superstitious person as, it is said that it you stand/walk on pavement cracks you will receive bad luck. The fact the artist has stated this means that the audience can recognise that even though the artist is trying their hardest to avoid bad luck, they are still receiving it, relentless of their efforts. In addition, another convention of the soul genre is the song being based on personal experiences. This is reflected within the lyrics through the frequent use of personal pronouns such as 'I' which reinforces the personal feelings in which the artist is expressing. This personal aspect can be developed in our music video by displaying the artist performing to the camera which will make the more personal aspect more prominent to the audience. By having this, the audience will be able to connect better and build relationship between them as they are more understanding of the artist's true, inner and personal feelings. 

Our annotations will also help us plan the cinematography in which will be included within our video. For example, the last time the artist sings 'round my hometown..' we intend to make a large build up in order to reflect the personal meaning of the hometown to the artist and to also mirror it being the final time in which she sings it. This has inspired us to not just create this climatic ending through the expressions of the artist, but also through the cinematography in order to emphasise this lyric. On the word 'round' we would like to mirror this image by using a panning shot of the artist transitioned into a panning shot of London, making it flow and as swift a transition as possible. This will be quite difficult to achieve successfully, however if we do manage to get the angles/levels and speed of both shots included correct, it should look creative and effective. Using a noticeable visual change in order to show this movement makes it more likely for the audience to take notice and appreciate the effect that has been created. It will make the audience feel more engaged as there wouldn't be shots like it previously shown in the video and also because it is a bit different, it creates interest within the video. It could be more on the unconventional side to the soul genre because it may be quite a quick movement in order to ensure timing is achieved on the lyric that we want. Soul genre music videos tend to take a slower-paced approach and so this contrasts with this, though because it is reflecting particular emotion of the artist, it could still be seen as being conventional because often soul genre music videos have aspects that do reflect the emotions of the artist. The movement of the cinematography here could display deeper meanings such as the fact that the artist may feel that her life is just a vicious circle from this movement - this being the way she feels positive then negative, etc. This also creates a relationship with the audience as they feel sympathetic towards the artist as they get the impression that they are trapped in a situation they cannot seek help for or cannot come to terms with. The planning of cinematography is also assisted by our annotations from the way in which we can use mid shots and long shots of the artist and her friends in her 'hometown'. We can include these shots during the parts of the song where 'wonders of my world' is repeated, as this is where the artist is referring to the people she met in her hometown. The way in which this is emphasised, further reinforces the personal meaning that these people have on the artist, and so, by also emphasising this through the visuals in the video, it will help reflect this to the audience. In the shots, by also displaying the artist as being happy and positive with her friends, will help us to demonstrate how her life has changed now - for the worse. Using a cinematography aspect to emphasise this will be more noticed by the audience as it is naturally the first aspect of the shot that they will acknowledge. Using both mid shots and long shots will prevent these parts of the video from becoming boring as it adds interest within. Furthermore, to enhance the contrast in emotions between the artist in the past to now, we can use close ups/extreme close ups in the scenes to really reflect a true and genuine emotion of how the artist is feeling. This full exposure of the artist will allow the audience to witness the intricate detail of their expressions and so will more likely be able to relate to them and connect with them. 

In addition to cinematography, our annotations will also assist us with planning the editing that will be used within our music video. The most prominent editing technique in which we have chosen to use in our music video is a black and white filter, that has been decided due to the lyrics and their hidden meanings. From looking at the overall mood of the song, it reflects positivity when Adele reflects on her hometown which suggests that her past is associated with happier images as opposed to how she is at present. The artist is asked a question in the first verse, "is there anything I can do for you dear? Is there anyone I could call" which suggests that she is visiting somewhere she is not commonly known for being present in, however, she rejects this as she replies thanking them and saying that she is 'not lost just wandering' - displaying that she is familiar with the place. This obviously has a personal connection with the artist as it is evident that she can see how it has changed. It is as if the 'memories are fresh' for her and when she goes back, that's all she remembers, however it has changed so much since she was back there. This change seems to be negative as she seems to reflect positively on the memories and the people associated to these memories, however slightly differently to the present where conflict is very much reflect in the lyrics. For example, 'you get the people and the government, everybody taking different sides' displays tension within the place that she fondly remembers. It reflects how it has changed from the way it was when it was her actual 'hometown'. The black and white filter will emphasise this reflective nature of looking back at past events as this is what black and white colouring is associated with. The monotone nature of the filter also reflects the negative association of how the place is now, giving it more a sense of unfamiliarity even though the artist still feels that the 'memories are fresh' and that nostalgia is still a very strong theme. The lacking of the brighter colours mirrors the lack of positivity within the artist's life and the way they feel about their 'hometown' now. This is what has made having this particular editing technique appropriate for these parts of the song where the artist is performing, not to mention the fact that it is very conventional to the genre of soul. Adele along with many other soul artists such as Amy Winehouse, use black and white filters in their videos to help reflect specific emotions to their audience in order to make it as clear and distinct as possible. This negative atmosphere that is created as a result makes the audience feel sympathetic towards the artist as they feel more understanding in reference to how the artist feels. A further editing technique that we will be using, besides this one, will be fast-paced editing. In the second verse, the lyric remarks 'I like it in the city when the air is so thick and opaque', where 'thick' and 'opaque' are emphasised. This metaphorical idea suggests that the artist likes it when there is a lot going on and when there is depth and complexity to the setting. By using long shots of London that are past-paced edited, it will help to reflect this 'thickness' of the air especially by complying to the 'city' in which Adele refers to. As well as this, using the word 'opaque' reflects quite a solid but plain view that suggests a lacking of detail. The fast-paced nature of this editing technique allows the shots to be seen more in a blur style rather than displaying every intricate detail of what is being captured. This not only reflects this 'thick' and 'opaque' idea, but also interweaves the complexity of the artist's frantic and hectic lifestyle. With this in mind, we are able to connect two ideas into one - the emotions of the artist and the representation of the artist, which allows a better understanding for the audience. By overlapping these shots with others such as the artist shown in her hometown during the chorus, it helps to show the contrast between the two settings. Additionally, the way that we will be using slow timing of shots on the other contrasting shots, it will help to emphasise this change in emotion of the artist that will be displayed in the lyrics, cinematography and the editing as a whole. Fast-paced editing isn't conventional to the soul genre as slow timing of shots is more the preferred style of speed editing. However, due to the fact that it is being used to convey emotions that the artist expresses aids it for being exposing of the artist's feelings to the audience. This is a convention of the soul genre - being open and emotive to the audience and so, could be seen for being conventional when looking at it from this perspective. 

Mise-en-scene is a very important aspect to any production - this includes music videos. Our annotations have helped to assist us with planning what to display in terms of the following elements within mise-en-scene: setting and iconography, lighting, positioning of characters, facial expressions and body language and costume, hair and makeup. Firstly, I will discuss how the annotations have aided our planning of the setting and iconography within our video. I have already spoken about the lyric that starts the second verse, 'I like it in the city when..', which also is appropriate to take note about here too. This makes the clearest reference to the setting in terms of the lyrics and so, this gives us a good idea of what setting would evidently be successful to use in our video. Using London is ver appropriate due to the fact this is where Adele is referencing to but also the audience will be familiar with this setting and so it will be more relatable to those audiences. As well as this, by recalling this as her hometown, it shows the audience that the artist isn't afraid to open up about their personal feelings and life in general, which makes her conventional as she is expressing a personal experience and a personal meaning to the audience. However, although the artist can be portrayed conventionally here, the setting of London isn't so conventional. This is because most soul genre music video settings are more isolated and private, usually some having the artist as the only individual within it. Although this setting isn't conventional, in order to display that the artist is famous in the present day, we are also including the setting of a stage where the artist will supposedly be performing. This is conventional as it allows the artist to express emotions in a genuine and realistic way in which the audience can recognise from the natural and rawness of the performance in which they give. This will especially be appropriate during the improvised section before the last chorus as the expression of the artist will closely be followed by the audience as it is as if the lack of lyrics make the artist perform as they feel which makes their performance a lot more true and genuine. To reflect the frequent reference to the 'hometown' we are changing it slightly by not making London our artist, Amy's, hometown but somewhere more isolated and low-key in order to comply more closely with a setting conventional to the soul genre. This is why we are thinking to use Theydon Bois which is a small village that will help also reflect the innocence and lack of complexity of the artist's life before she becomes famous - this is our narrative. The audience will also be able to connect with her and the meaning behind the 'hometown' that the artist frequently makes reference to in the lyrics, as more audience members are likely to be living in a setting such as this one, strengthening the relatable nature of the artist. Another element of mise-en-scene is the lighting included within a production. Our annotations have helped to plan ideas for the lighting, for example, the second line of the chorus states that 'memories are fresh'. Taking the word 'fresh' that is used reflects quite a positive and uplifting image as, if something is 'fresh' it seems to only be used in a positive way when making reference to something. The memories being 'fresh' makes the artist feel as if they had never left the hometown in which they are visiting - this idea is additionally reflected in the first lyric of the song, 'I've been walking in the same way as I did' and this can be quite a comforting thought for some audience members. To expose this idea, during the parts of our video where the artist is with friends shown happily in their hometown, it has assisted us in a way that we can choose to use high-key lighting here. The high-key lighting does not only reflect exposure, but also demonstrates a positive and innocent interpretation as it symbolises goodness and purity. Using this type of high-key lighting will help to create and enhance the positive atmosphere that the artist associates with at this time in her life. High-key lighting isn't necessarily conventional to the genre of soul as the content of most soul songs are more depressing and negative and so low-key lighting tend to emphasise this theme. However, we will be using low-key lighting on the performance style shots to reflect the negative outlook in which the artist has for her life at that time. Having both extremes of lighting makes a clear contrast between the emotions of the artist in the two different times of her life easy to achieve and be successful because the lighting is so contrasting. Therefore, the audience are able to acknowledge this a lot more easily and in a way that makes them feel sympathetic for the audience as they would hope for the artist to maybe reflect on the past negatively but show her as feeling positive in the present day, rather than the other way round. Positioning of characters is the next element of mise-en-scene that has been assisted to planning by the annotations in which we have made. The comments Adele makes within the song are fairly general such as 'I like it in the city'. By making her central in the shots gives her more of a narrator role, where she i overviewing her hometown and making comments about what she sees and how she feels. Being central in shot also makes the audience automatically drawn to her as focus naturally takes place in the centre of the screen. It also reflects the idea of everything revolving around her and this idea that she may feel trapped in these emotions that surround her that she cannot break our of. The repetition of 'round' in the lyrics can also visually be supportive of this from making the artist central in the shots as it ensures that attention is on her and that everything around her is being taken note of and acknowledged by her. This is conventional to the genre of soul because it reflects the build up of emotions that surround the artist which is usually the case with soul genre songs as they have hidden meanings and more emotions that are being expressed than the initial, quite obvious ones that are brought to attention at the beginning. Another element of mise-en-scene is the facial expressions and body language displayed throughout. In the lyrics there is a change in structure at the bridge/middle 8 where two lines are repeated to create a four line section. We are using the cleaner version of the song which will not include the only mild swearing of 'sh*t' within in, however the message without the use of swearing is still clear. The mood changes in the song at this point as the lyrics are more aggressive in a way, and so this needs to be reflected in the artist too. The best way to show this is through the facial expressions as it shows rawness and a genuine, personal emotion when the expressions of the artist are clearly displayed in a way that makes them seem real. This also makes the performance that is delivered more connecting with the audience as the emotions are more accurately portrayed, giving a better quality perception and understanding of the emotions. The last point of mise-en-scene is the costume, hair and makeup. Previously, I have spoken about the 'memories are fresh' lyric in the song, which is also notably appropriate to point out here also. When she is singing this lyric, the video will show the artist in the hometown with her friends when they were younger and before she is famous. By dressing the artist and their friends in casual clothing, this not only reflects their youth and innocent perception but also makes them relatable to the audience as the costume is more likely close/similar to something audience members would wear. This also can be used to mirror a contrast between the appearance of the artist in the present as opposed to back then in the past when she was younger. In the performance style shots of the video, the artist will be seen wearing black with red lipstick as this will help to age the artist and how how she is reflecting on her life. She needs to be displayed as being older and more classic in order to comply with the conventions of the soul genre. For example, wearing black symbolises how negative and sad the artist feels about themselves and their life - further reflecting insecurity which is also conventional of the soul genre. Wearing red lipstick demonstrates her passion for what she is singing about and will also help reinforce the personal meaning that she has for the hometown she is singing about and how the people she has met mean so much to her to the extent that they are the 'wonders' of her world. 

Other than mise-en-scene, the music video style has been helped to plan, due to our annotations of the lyrics. The improvisation near the end, just before the last part of the final chorus reflects the way in which the artist performs how she is feeling and reflects how the talent just occurs naturally to her, with the way in which she doesn't have to think about what she is doing. In a more deeper connotation, it also symbolises the lack of direction that she feels she has for her life and ironically could suggest that she is lost. This is ironic because this contrasts to the first verse where she states that she doesn't need any help when in fact she does. The idea that she sees to restrict the positive emotions from influencing her also is reflected here as it is as if she won't let anyone help her or she won't seek help from others. By singing this part during the performance style parts of the video, it makes the emotions of the artist expressed more accurately and allows them to express it in a true and genuine way that the audience can acknowledge and connect with. The narrative style is more shown in the lyrics that relate to the setting such as 'I like it in the city..' and 'I've been walking in the same way as I did..', as well as 'memories are fresh' and 'round my hometown'. During these lyrics, the artist will be shown portraying happy and positive emotions and acting out scenes with the friends that demonstrate how good the friendship and bond is between them. This also links in to the lyrics, 'the people I've met are the wonders of my world' as it illustrates the value that the artist has for these people that she knows. The relationship between the artist and the audience is retrieved through particular lyrics that are included. For example, 'tutting my heel and strutting my feet' has a hidden connotation that could suggest how the artist has been through struggles along the way to where they are now. This can be relatable to the majority of the audience as they would have likely been through hard times or situations that would have been difficult to deal with likewise with the artist. By having this common ground, it makes the artist more relatable and the lyrics and emotions that they express more appreciated as they are mirrored within particular audience members. It is also satisfying that the artist is represented in a way that makes them seem like a normal person and that they can still have the same emotions as any other normal audience member. This builds the relationship between the artist and the audience because it also makes the artist seem quite idolising, as it shows that a normal person with normal feelings and tough boundaries to break through can achieve what they pursue to achieve. This is conventional to the soul genre as most soul genre artists tend to be illustrated in a relatable way as this is an effective way in achieving a artist/audience relationship. It means that the audience can accept the emotions that the artist displays a lot more easily and that they can also take into account the emotions they express. In addition to this, the lyric that remarks 'I love to see everybody in short skirts, shorts and shades. denotes how the artist is fond of the hotter weather and the Summer time in the city. Though, this lyric connotes that she wants everyone to feel happy being themselves and reflecting who they are and also being proud of it. This can help to reflect a slight concept to the video also as this is the message that is being portrayed here - to be yourself and be proud of it. Likewise with a lyric that shortly follows 'I like it in the city when two worlds collide' which reflects how the artist likes peace and doesn't like the idea of conflict. This is comforting for the audience as it is as though the artist is assuring them the confidence they may need to be themselves. It encourages them to act in way that is true to them and genuinely represents themselves. This is fairly conventional to the genre of soul because they can often give advice and confidence to others but ironically lack it within themselves as they mostly demonstrate a lot of insecurity. The audience feel obliged to reflect the advice back onto artist as it makes them feel empathetic towards them. The lyric 'shows that we are united' also welcomes the audience into being involved with the artist and reflects the message that at the end of the day, we are all the same and we are all able to unite in some way because of this. Because of this, the audience feel satisfied and positive in the way that they feel as if the artist is making a more personal reference to them. Targeting the audience is achieved through the help of the annotations we have made. The overall theme throughout making reference to the artist's hometown makes it more relatable across a wider audience. From young generations to old, they can relate because everyone has a hometown, most of which people are fond of and have attached dear memories to them. The fact that this hometown is in London makes it familiar with most people here meaning that they can relate. Having the song not be based around a conventional love story/breakup means that more younger generations can relate and connect to the artist as they would have more likely felt how the artist expresses here, rather than how they would in a love story/breakup themed song. This wide audience range makes it difficult to satisfy all due to the diversity between the audience members, however, the mix of positivity and negativity reflected through the lyrics means that there is a connection to be made that could satisfy everyone.

We will use our annotations in a way to start storyboarding our music video in detail from the points that have been outlined to use particular ideas. For example, by annotating the lyrics and looking over the annotations in which we have made, it is clear which points in the song change in terms of mood for example (the middle 8) and change in terms of content. The second verse is very prominently going to reflect more narrative scenes whereas the rest of the song will have a more one sided balance of performance scenes in order to reflect what is going on with the lyrics and achieve the emotion that is being intendedly displayed. The annotations have helped us think about the way in which we can also represent the artist and in more unique ways rather than just simply facial expressions. We are now able to note that we can use a black and white filter to represent the reflecting of past and also the negative feelings that the artist has. Fast-paced editing is another example of what can be used to display particular ideas that may not originally been initial, like the hectic lifestyle of the artist. With the storyboard, we can now note specific points in which we want to make a change of setting or lighting for example, which will help compliment the lyrics presently being sung at the time.

Planning Editing Styles - Miss Miller

Within a music video, it is essential to include a variety of editing styles to ensure that interest is upheld throughout. This enables the audience to stay engaged and intrigued in what they are watching, also keeping the attention obtained all the way through. Particular editing styles can also help portray an intended emotion, for example a black and white filter can reflect a negative, sombre tone or atmosphere or alternatively, it could symbolise events from/reflecting of the past. Editing ensures that the video makes sense and flows in a way in which the audience can follow and understand. Using a variety of editing techniques prevents the flow of clips from becoming repetitive and uninteresting as variation is applied to the video in a way that prevents attention being taken away from the content. Other editing styles such as jump cut or montage can help to emphasise a particular image(s) as they tend to highlight their presence within the scene. The audience are able to acknowledge this outlining and further understand reasoning as for why something has specifically been reinforced. We have discussed 4 different editing styles that we will be using within our music video - each being fairly different in order to create variation.

Within our music video we will frequently use a black and white filter in the performance scenes. This helps to illustrate that the artist is unhappy during these particular scenes which show her in the present day. Typically, a black and white filter is used to help reflect the past, however, we want to represent the artist in such a way that portrays her as feeling negative and we have found that by using a black and white filter on these particular performance scenes, we are able to achieve this. The monotone nature of the black and white filter results in quite a bland influence on the scene. The lack of resplendent colour symbolises the lack of positivity and goodness within the artist's life at this time. Therefore, this influences the emotion of the scene and represents the artist in a particular depressing and negative way - a representation that we intend to create. By only applying the filter to the performance scenes, a clear contrast is created between those and the narrative ones. During the narrative scenes, the artist is portrayed happily hanging out with their friends when they were younger, which is not only visually contrasting but also in the emotion side to the artist. The black and white filter will be applied to the performance scenes which are when the artist is playing the piano and also when the artist is performing on stage. The use of the black and white filter is conventional to the genre of soul as it is still used to reflect past as it contrasts with the past narrative shots and therefore, even though not in the typical way of demonstrating it, it still does as it shows how happy the artist was in her past. It also creates a sombre mood and atmosphere to the scenes in which the filter is applied, which is conventionally used in soul genre videos in order to create the same effect. The emotion of the artist is mirrored in the filter and this negative, sad emotion is the generally most favourably one used by the artist in soul genre music videos. The black and white filter helps to represent the artist as being depressed, sad and generally negative about the life they lead and the emotion in which they are expressing. Their outlook on life is represented as lacking positivity in any form and also a lacking of hope in which they seek. 


Another editing technique in which we will use in our video is overlapping/layering of shots. This technique will be used to help interlink the different style scenes of the music video as contrasting scenes will be overlapped. For example, we will use this effect to overlap the shots of London streets with the artist performing on the piano and stage which will reflect the success of the artist. Also, it mirrors the complex life of the artist - especially as the london shots will be fast-pace edited. Having these shots overlapped and merged on-top of each other symbolises how the influence of London and fame is having a complex influence on the life of the artist. This editing effect will also be used on the shots of the artist with her friends when she was younger and the performance ones also. This will help to display and emphasise the contrast in emotions that the artist is expressing, demonstrating how much happier she was perceived as being when she was younger. The use of the overlapping of shots isn't necessarily common and conventional within the soul genre, however, it reflects the past in the way in which we are using it which does make it conventional. Most soul genre songs have much underlying emotion and along with the reflection of the past, the editing technique helps to display how the artist is reminiscing on when she was younger and happier. The layering nature of the shots also mirrors the layering and thickening amount of emotions that the artist feels, as well as the extent of them, and so this builds a relationship with the audience as they are able to witness these thoughts at the same time. It also helps us to merge different colours within the video for example, the performance scenes contrast with the narrative scenes in terms of colour and lighting also. This allows us to represent the artist in a particular way. The general representation of the artist that we want to create is associating them with being nostalgic of their childhood. By using this editing technique we are able to demonstrate the artist's feelings and how they are reminiscing on the past which represents them as being quite emotional. As well as this, it causes them to also be represented as attached, as although the past is now gone, she still thinks about it and in a positive way.

Fast timing of shots is a further editing technique that we will be including within our music video. We will be using this on the London scenes to make the city appear to be moving quickly and so, cars, buses, bikes etc will be moving in a fast motion. The reason in which we have chosen to apply the technique to these shots is because it helps to demonstrate the complexity of the artist's life in the present day. As well as this, it further symbolises the quick rise of the artist's fame. The editing technique allows the intricate detail of the scene to be lacked however, it still enables you to see what is going on. This makes it unconventional as a slower timing of shots is more conventional as it is more raw, exposed and demonstrates more detail. However, we're using these edited shots to overlap the normal time ones and so, it won't be going too against the conventions of soul. The fact we are also not using them on the artist performance shots makes it slightly more conventional because if we were to use it on these shots, it would be difficult for the audience to retrieve the emotion in which the artist is expressing. This would be because the fast-paced nature of the technique doesn't allow enough time for the audience to acknowledge the expressed emotion, therefore, this is why we have not chosen to do it on these particular shots. The technique helps to represent the artist as having a hectic lifestyle that has been achieved in a short period of time. It illustrates how much her life has changed since when she was younger, especially as some of the narrative shots of the artist and her friends would have been edited to be timed slower. Because of this vast contrast, it helps to emphasise the hectic lifestyle of the artist and represents them as busy and successful - especially as the shots are of London, which is the capital city and artist's associated with this location are seen as being more successful as they are likely to be more famous than others in low-key small towns.  

A fourth editing technique in which we will be using in our music video is slow timing of shots. This will be used throughout the video in the narrative shots with the artist and their friends and also the performance shots on stage, as well as the artist performing in London. This editing technique allows the more intricate detail of the shots to be captured which enables the emotion that the artist expresses to be perceived a lot more accurately and makes it more easily readable and understandable for the audience. It also allows us to manipulate the technique and develop it in a unique way rather than just simply slowing down a clip. For example, we will be doing this in our video through the way that we will record the artist performing to the camera in London to the track that would have been sped up. When it comes to editing, we will slow down the clip until it reaches a point where it is in time with the original timing of the track. By doing this, it makes the scene quirky and different in the way that the artist is shown to be miming in normal time, however, what is around them is slower than normal speed and acts in a way as if the clip was just simply slowed down. This reflects the way in which the artist feels that nothing is changing in their life and that they feel exempt and different from everyone else around them. This demonstrates a lacking in connection with others around her at this time in her life and so, lack of sociability can lead to depression and sadness, as well as being linked to lacking quality of life - reflected in the way the artist feels. The more simple slow timing of shots in which we will be using is simply slowing down the clips, will be used also throughout including during the narrative scenes where the artist is seen with her friends when they were younger and supposedly in their hometown. The slow timing of shots will take place during the laughing in these scenes and any signs of happiness reflected from the artist. By slowing this down, it emphasises the emotion that is being expressed and further reinforces how much happier the artist was back then before they became famous. This type of editing is conventional to the genre of soul because in soul genre music there is a lot of emotion that needs to be portrayed to the audience, due to the fact that the basis of most of the songs are related to personal experiences. By ensuring that the artist can reflect this emotion across in a clear and accurate way, the audience can feel connected to the artist as they are more likely to feel empathetic towards them. The slow timing of shots allows this to happen as the audience are able to focus more on what is going on in the scene and take more notice of the emotions that are being illustrated. This editing technique helps to represent the artist as overall feeling negative about their life how it is now and makes them feel like an 'outsider' as opposed to other people. They feel like they are going at a different pace to others and that other people don't take notice of her as in some of the London slow-timed shots, the people are seen to be just walking past the artist, demonstrating no acknowledgement of her presence within the scene. She therefore is represented as sad, depressed and negative as a summary, and the slow timing of shots emphasises this representation. 

The target audience are able to build a relationship with our artist through the editing styles in which we have specifically selected. This is through the way they help to reflect different emotions or thoughts and feelings of the artist that may not have been initial without the inout of using these particular techniques. For example, the slow timing of shots helps to emphasise the emotion of the artist whilst the layering of shots illustrates the build up and capacity of feelings in which the artist has. By using techniques such as these, the audience are able to understand and connect with the artist more as they feel that the artist is being more open with them, allowing them to understand the emotions being exposed. The general emotion that the audience can retrieve from the artist is a negative one and so, the audience also feel sympathetic towards the artist. Due to the fact that soul genre songs are based on personal experiences, it makes the artist more relatable to the audience as some situations may reflect similarity within particular audience members. The way in which the editing techniques that we have chosen emphasise these makes it further relatable to the audience as it also symbolises the intense impact it would have had on the artist as well as the audience. Therefore, this makes them feel more connected to the artist and allows a relationship to be created between them and the audience. This planning of editing styles has also helped me ensure that my music video is successful as it helps to illustrate what particular emotions need to be emphasised or reflects where interest is needed to be upheld. It lays out the options of which we will use and where, which, when it comes to editing will save time and ensure that we can use the editing techniques in the appropriate places in order to create the intended effects.

Planning Lighting and Colour - Miss Miller

The lighting and colour within a music video is essential because it can really create a particular vibe or atmosphere demonstrated in a scene. For example, low-key lighting puts a more negative mood on a scene which could change the way the audience interpret it and the representation of the artist. In contrast  to this, high-key lighting can reflect more positive and happy images, emphasising a specific emotion that may be displayed in the scene. The same is applied when making reference to colour. More vibrant and resplendent colours portrayed in the scenes give off a more positive atmosphere rather than darker colours. Particular colours can also display connotations which helps give the artist an accurate representation for example, black connoting depression. Having a variety of different lighting and colour can help distinguish between scenes, for example, some scenes may have a different atmosphere to others, which can be emphasised due to the lighting and colour. Having a variety of different types of lighting and colour also prevents the audience from feeling disengaged as it creates interest within the video. 

One of the colour aspects of the video is demonstrated most prominently through the black and white filter that will be used during the performance style scenes. The reason for using the black and white effect in these particular scenes is that it reflects the negativity of the artist's emotions at this point. We intend to display how she isn't happy with her life because of the people she has lost due to fame and the lacking of normality that she now has present in her life. The use of black and white here being so monotone in colour, suggests that she is lacking the positivity in her life which also mirrors her mindset being negative in the way she believes she will never be able to go back to the way it was before she became famous. This sombre tone is reflected in soul genre music videos as it relates to the negative personal experience in which they are singing about. Using a black and white filter is also used to help portray past in soul genre music videos and so is conventionally used in our video, however in a reversed effect. We are using the black and white filter on the present day shots instead of the past, as we want to illustrate how the artist isn't happy now but was in the past and so by using colour to help display this, we thought it would be successful in a way that the audience could easily identify this. This helps to represent the artist as being sad, depressed and overall negative about the current life she leads. Using a filter helps to do this as it is generally used to impact a whole scene, so instead of just making a particular section in the shot black and white, the extent of the use of filter mirrors the extent of how sad she is represented as being. The black is consistent through it also being the colour of the costumes worn by the artist in these black and white filter scenes. This emphasises the theme of negativity and depression with the impact on the artist which is conventional to the soul genre as making the artist wear black makes it more personal and as if it has had this effect on the artist specifically. It also shows how the negativity is sourcing from herself, but influencing what is around her (her wearing black acts as the source for the black and white filter - therefore, her negative look on her life has stemmed from her own thinking). This here represents the artist as being quite negative overall, with a lacking of hope and content feeling within themselves. 

A further colour aspect that will be featured within the music video is red - which has a high frequency of connotations. The red will be featured as the colour of the lipstick that the artist will be wearing during the performance scenes. The red connotes the love and passion of the topic that the artist is singing about. Because the red is illustrated through the colour of the lipstick, it reflects how fresh and personal it is as it literally shows the content of what is being sung that is being surrounded by love and passion. Red connotations could also be seen as reflecting anger or danger which mirrors the artist's emotions that she is angry that she cannot go back to the way it was before she became famous. As well as this, red lipstick is typically quite a classic makeup attire to represent the glamorous nature of the artist, therefore, demonstrating her fame and talent beneath the naturalistic way in which she is seen more of as in the narrative style scenes. This is conventional to the soul genre because most soul genre songs are linked to passion and personal experience that is portrayed to the audience as best as possible. The red reinforces this idea and will be displayed in a bold way in contrast to the monotone colours reflected from the black and white. It helps represent the artist as being open with their emotions and very expressive with their music as they find this is the best way in order to carry a message and feelings across. 

Other than colour, we have considered the variety of lighting that will be used within our music video. One of these types of lighting will be high-key lighting where the artist is with her friends during the narrative scenes. This will reflect the positivity of their presence and the happiness that she felt at this point in her life. The positive atmosphere created from this also further symbolises the innocence of her life. This emphasises how the artist had no worries or cares at this point in her life and she was clearly happy and content. In addition to this, high-key lighting exposes you and so, it is as if the artist doesn't feel the need to hide away, cover up or feel insecure about anything, which is in contrast to the performance style scenes where she hides herself through excessive use of makeup and by wearing black. This particular use of exposure through high-key lighting is not particularly conventional as soul genre music videos tend to use more low-key lighting in order to stress the negativity and rawness of the topic the artist is singing about. However, because exposure of emotions is reflected in a different way, through the music, this is conventional here. This helps to represent the artist in a way in which the audience can connect with the artist as they are able to clearly identify the contrast between the attitude and the way in which the artist feels in the narrative scenes as opposed to the performance scenes. 


A further type of lighting in which will be used in our music video is backlighting. We will use this during the stage performance scenes within our video in different ways. One of the ways is to simply put the light behind the artist leaving the artist outlined like in the picture to the left. As well as this, we were thinking of using the backlighting behind a screen so a more crisp silhouette of the artist is achieved. Depending on how the lighting looks, we will decide what we will actually use when it comes to filming due to the fact that we want it to look as professional as possible but the limitation of filming in school could result in the lighting not being as impacting as we'd hoped. However, we hope to use it in a successful way as it literally emphasises the presence of the artist and the power they have over the stage - especially being the only individual on it. In a more deeper connotation, it could show how no matter where the artist is, how ever positive the atmosphere is, she will always see the negative. The light acts as being symbolic for positivity and so, the way in which the artist blocks this out reflects the way in which her sadness and depression will overpower the positivity through the way in which she doesn't allow to retrieve the hope in which she is seeking. This use of backlighting is conventional to the genre of soul as it shows the artist in a way where she is expressing herself as feeling overall negative which is based on a personal experience. Additionally, the way in which you are not able to identify the artist from this light makes it conventional because it reflects insecurity and is as if they are hiding the facial expressions at this point, however, body language is emphasised. This helps to represent the artist as being insecure but resilient to feeling positive about her life now, rather than when she was younger when she was more open to positivity and welcomed the positive atmosphere that surrounded her. With this lighting, the darkness is resulted in the artist and the area surrounding the light, therefore demonstrating that around the artist is negativity as well, which is conventional as it shows to have had influence on the artist.


Our final use of lighting in which we have chosen to include within our music video is low-key lighting. This will be used throughout the video where the scenes are not trying to reflect positivity. The scenes that do reflect positivity are the scenes where the artist is with her friends and so, the low-key lighting will not be evident in these particular scenes. The low-key lighting aids to hide the identity of the artist and therefore, reflecting insecurity and a restriction on their appearance which is conventional to the soul genre as most soul genre artists tend to like to hide their identity. The contrast between the performance scenes with the low-key lighting and the more narrative scenes with the high-key lighting also demonstrates the artist's dependancy on the people around her. When she is with her friends she is portrayed as being happy, whereas, when she is alone in the low-key light, this emphasises the lack of people in which surround her. This represent her as being unstable individually and that people that surround her make her stronger. Adding to this, the lyrics of the song actually reinforce this idea as they remark 'the people I've met are the wonders of my world' which illustrates the extent of how much she admires the people from her hometown - in our video, her friends. This is conventional to the genre of soul as the artist is often represented as feeling alone or having a lack of trust for people around them. The way in which the lighting when complimented with the lyrics of the song emphasises this, makes the audience feel more sympathetic towards the artist. Having low-key lighting further demonstrates a more abundant nature of lacking light and therefore, a number of other connotations. For example, it also could symbolise a lacking of hope and life altogether, representing the artist in a way in which they feel trapped. The lack of light could present a lacking of sense of direction, representing the artist as lost in their emotions to the extent that they no longer know what to do to back away from the negativity in which they feel. This represents them as being miss-guided and unsure of what to do to improve their quality of life and to go back to how happy they were before. Therefore, the lighting will automatically help the audience's understanding of the emotions portrayed by the artist and further ensure that a relationship is created. This way, the audience feel sympathetic but also empathetic towards the artist as the lighting reinforces the drastic nature of their emotions. 

The target audience can build a relationship with the artist through the lighting and colours that we have selected for numerous reasons, the most prominent being how it emphasises the emotion the artist is intending to portray. The lack of lighting helps to reinforce the way that the artist feels negative and depressed about the current life in which she leads, demonstrating a clear contrast between how positive she felt when she was younger before fame. By having low-key lighting and monotone colouring in the performance scenes and high-key lighting in the narrative scenes, the audience are able to recognise the clear contrast between the emotions displayed by the artist at the different points displayed. This allows the audience to feel sympathetic towards the artist as they are enabled to see into the way in which they express themselves differently. The variety of lighting and colour displayed in our video will also help the audience build a relationship with the artist because interest will be ensured. With this, it enhances the audience's engagement in the music video and so they pay more attention to the artist and how in which they act within. This particular focus on the artist makes them analyse more intricately what they do and so are more likely to retrieve different emotions and feelings from them. This planning has helped me ensure that we will create a successful music video in regards to lighting and colour because it enables us to prepare what lighting we need to create and he limitations of the lighting we want to create. By knowing these aspects before filming, it ensures that we don't waste any valuable time that could be spent doing something else that is productive. For example, we know that the backlighting may be difficult to achieve to a standard in which we are aiming for due to our particular limitations. However, by planning this we have been able to test out the lighting beforehand to ensure that it will be appropriate for our filming. The planning for lighting and colour has also helped with creating a successful video as it has reassured us that the audience will understand the specific emotions in which the artist will be expressing.

Digipak Analysis - Miss Georgiou

The purpose of a digipak is to supply the fans with a more special edition of an ordinary jewel CD. A Jewel CD is a three-piece plastic case, which usually contains a CD along with the liner notes and back card. A CD is constructed into 4 sides which present most of the detailed information on the front and back covers, which are the parts of the CD that the public would see and is likely to influence them into buying the CD. CD's will also often contain the lyrics of the songs that are included in the album which allow the people who buy the album to learnt the songs making the meaning of the lyrics clearer for them and more understandable which consequently makes them relate to the artist more. Digipak's however, have a few differences to CD's - quality being one of the main ones. As a digipak is meant to be more special and deluxe, it is important that the aspects of it live up to expectations and that the extra money spent on the digipak rather than the CD doesn't go unnoticed. Digipak's contain higher quality images that reflect more meaning and in-depth connotations. As well as this, the audience get a more personal vibe from the way that the artist usually contains a direct note to fans inside which refers to the reader. Fans also get bonus features like bonus tracks that may not have been on the CD, which gives them an exclusive look at the artist's material that some fans may not be able to access. Instead of having 4 sides as a CD does, a digipak has 6, which allows for more information, visual imagery and content such as lyrics to be supplied. This is more likely to attract a potential buyer as it makes them seem as if they have bought something exclusive from the way that the digipak contains extra bonus features, which could also be seen as being a collectors item. The packaging of the digipak is more sustainable in the way that it is harder to break or damage. This is in contrast to the flimsy, plastic cases that hold the jewel CD's which are easily breakable and seems 'cheap'. Because all of the information and the features in the digipak are easily accessible, it makes it more appealing to the audience. I have chosen to analyse is Duffy's 'Rockferry' digipak. Adele did not have a digipak that was easily accessible and so, by analysing a digipak of Duffy's, it is similar in the way that both artists are from the same genre of soul and are generally similar in reference to their style of work. The digipak is shown below:

The digipak of Duffy's is demonstrated as being typically conventional to the genre of soul. The artist is represented as being insecure in the digipak from the distinct aspects that are included within. In-particular, this is from the way that she is not looking at the camera in all the pictures that are featured - especially the front cover where she is clearly looking down. This shows a lack of confidence from her inability to look directly into the camera which you would think would be the only way to connect with the audience, however, by doing this the audience feel sympathetic towards her and makes her relatable, therefore, still managing to create a connection. In another light, she is also represented as being creative and experienced as the artist was 24 years old when the digipak was released which means she would have written the content of the digipak (the songs) before reaching this age. The majority of the songs are based on love in reference to experience with one or more lovers. This is shown distinctively through the song names such as, 'Breaking My Own Heart', 'Oh Boy' and 'Enough Love', which also reflects her experience from a young age meaning that she can relate to older audiences as well as audiences of her age who would have likely gone through the same or a similar situation. There are many connotations of the digipak that reflect particular emotions or hidden meanings. For example, on the front cover, Duffy is shown wearing her cold but also holding it with her hands which would denote as her just being cold. However, the connotation of this would portray her as being quite reserved, restricting and held back and additionally, not feeling confident to be open about feelings though, her feelings are expressed through her music. This makes her more appealing as it demonstrates passion and commitment to something she loves. The general colour of black that is visibly a prominent feature throughout all sides of the digipak connotes depression and sadness. This reflects the content of the songs and the meaning behind them, which gives the audience an idea of what to expect from the songs on the album. The colours black and white illustrate the past and reflects the artist looking back and making reference to her past. The monotone nature of these colours mean that the past may not be referenced by the artist in a positive way - mirrored in some of the neutral and simple-sounding song names such as 'Stop'. The use of the black and white also make certain aspects of the digipak 'stand out' for example, the song names on the back of the digipak are highlighted and noticeable due to the contrast of the black background with the white writing. The design/layout shows the artist positioned roughly central on screen on the front cover. This ensures that all attention of the audience's is drawn to her and that she is the main focus, which is important from the way that this is on the front cover which would be the initial image that the audience would see. Therefore, by having her central, it also allows the audience to immediately recognise who the artist is and enables the name of the artist to be shown clearly in the top left hand corner. When reading something whether that be a magazine or CD cover, naturally we start by looking from left to right. Having the artist's name means that it can be clearly seen by the audience member, but also, doesn't distract attention away from the image as it doesn't interfere with the focus on the image at all (the artist) such as overlapping. Having the name of the album in the bottom left hand corner displays it being secondary information after the name of the artist but still illustrates relevance of being on the front page from the boldness of the writing. The CD's included in the digipak show the artist's name on on the left side and other information on the right side. This demonstrates the importance and identity of the artist and also, if the digipak owner happened to loose the digipak and only had the CD's, they would be able to clearly distinguish who's CD it was. The choice of images used in the digipak all display the artist looking away from the camera and all coloured in black and white. This is appealing and satisfying for the audience as it ensures that all the images in the digpak have a clear link and that the sombre tone is matched consistently throughout. Having the front cover image being a shallow focus of the artist, it emphasises her presence and authority over the digipak. It also enhances the detail of the artist, making the image appear more high quality and special. Even though the artist is looking down, the image still revealed the look of the artist and displays the aspects of her clearly. In one of the other images of the digipak, (top left hand picture) there is some sort of station sign remarking 'Rockferry'. This is the name of the album and so, shows relevance and a particular importance as to why choosing this particular image. By including this image, the sign helps the audience understand what the meaning of the word and the album is, also demonstrating the significance it has on the artist and their life. This appeals to the audience on a more personal level through the way it creates an effect of making the audience feel as if the artist is opening up to them. The typography within the digipak is very effective and conventional, demonstrating different ideas and representations of the artist. The way that the name of the artist is in a handwritten-like font makes her original and creates her own identity. It shows her individual identity as well, which makes her distinct from other artists in the industry. The typography font being handwritten in style, could emphasise the way that she writes her own songs which makes the audience appeal to the artist more as they feel that the content is more personal and relatable. It also makes her seem more open and reflects her personality as being quite creative and stylish from the sophisticated nature of the font displayed. This is conventional to the genre of soul as soul artist's tend to be represented in a way that makes then unique and distinct from others. Having this font only used for the artist's name reinforces the identity of the artist and illustrates a clear difference between the album name, songs and name of artist. The album name being bold could be mirrored in the content, suggesting that the songs are quite 'out there' in the way that they express a lot of raw emotion from the artist and their experiences. This representation of the artist is conventional to the genre of soul from the way that it helps to demonstrate the emotions based on the personal experience of the artist. The style of language within the digipak is very conventional as it complies with the simplicity demonstrated through the promotions of the soul artist. The song names are simple but make clear reference to love, which infers that how the artist could think that love illustrates simplicity. However, by having a simple title for the songs for example, 'Please Stay' , it means that the artist can elaborate on the feelings that the title suggests. Therefore, the audience appeal to the artist from the way that they don't get much from the title, though, just enough to get a glimpse and inference as to what the song is going to express. This is conventional to the soul genre as it illustrates emotion and expresses the first hand experience and elaborated emotions that the artist feels. By having the simplicity of the album name makes it memorable, as more audience members are likely to remember its one word name rather than if it had a longer more elaborated name. As it is not a familiar name, it shows creativity and a clear meaning and relevance to the artist and a glimpse into the life and feelings of them. The digipak promotes the soul genre as being based around and references love - negatively. This is displayed clearly through the song names and also the inferences that can be made from the images used of the artist and the body language of the artist, for example, the way in which the artist is looking down shows insecurity which has been caused or affected by love. The fairly neutral look of emotions demonstrated through her facial expressions are conventional and promotes the genre as demonstrating deeper meaning beneath the initial idea that is illustrated. It therefore, demonstrates the genre of soul as being sombre in tone, negative in reference to love and as having deeper and effective meanings. The digipak promotes the artist as being insecure from the distinct features and aspects of the digipak - the closed body language and lack of eye contact into the camera. The song titled 'I'm Scared' could infer this also from the way in which the artist is obviously feeling restricted from something and from reading the lyrics, it portrays how the artist is scared to live without their love interest. Therefore, this demonstrates a lack of confidence and a further hint of insecurity, as well as being dependant on someone. This is further emphasised through the including of the black and white filter used throughout the digipak. From this, love is illustrated in a negative light as it is suggested that love has caused her to feel in this particular way. However, from the flamboyancy of the typography in the artist's name, it promotes the artist as being creative and innovative, with a unique and distinct identity of their own - this representation is conventional to the soul genre. The digipak attracts the audience from the bonus features that is included within it. For example, there are two CD's in the digipak, rather than one - a normal CD and a deluxe edition. This makes the purchase that the audience has made more exclusive and special to them, giving it also a personal touch. The numerous images included in the digipak also attracts the audience to it, as they are able to see the artist in different ways and angles, making them familiarise themselves more with the artist.

This research has been very helpful when having in mind the type of aspects that we want to include in our digipak and for particular reasons. This research has outlined what needs to be included for different reasons and what would work well in attracting the audience, but also when sticking to the conventionality of  the genre of soul. I think the black and white filter is really effective in the way it influences the mood of the digipak as a whole, demonstrating its relevance and importance of its feature. As well as this, this research has highlighted how important the choice of image is within the digipak. This is the aspect that will initially attract the audience to looking at the digipak, making a decision if they are to purchase it or not. The image can help represent the artist in a particular way that allows the audience to have a glimpse of what the artist may be like and a hint into the content of the digipak. Therefore, we will highly consider what images we choose to use in the digipak carefully, in order to achieve success and create the representation of the artist of which we intend. We want to show our soul artist in a conventional way and so will comply with these particular aspects that are demonstrated in Duffy's digipak in order to do this. 

Planning Artist Image - Miss Miller

An artist representation is essential in a music video because it demonstrates personality and can create a common ground between the artist and the audience. If an artist is represented as being relatable to the audience in some way, it makes them more appealing as the audience feel as if the artist is just an ordinary person like them. As well as this, the artist being shown in a particular way can cause an opinion of the audience's in reference to if they like the artist or not. For example, if the artist is portrayed as being rebellious and arrogant, some audiences may not like this idea and may feel that an artist needs to display positivity and good behaviour. However, some people will like this representation as they feel it makes them different to other artists in the industry. This links to my next point which is that artist representation also defines one artist from another so that they appeal to different target audiences. For example, in the genre of soul, most artists are represented as being insecure and depressed which links to the content of their songs. Most people like this representation as it shows the rawness of their emotions and reflects the meanings behind the songs which could also show the passion the artist has for the music they create. 

There will be three main costume changes throughout the video, which are distinct through the different scenes in which she is present. 

The first costume I will be discussing is the casual wear for the scenes when the artist is with her friends. She will be wearing jeans and a top - keeping it fairly simple to mirror the way that her life was quite simple at the time from the way she had no worries or cares. The casualness of the outfit helps to display the casualness of the narrative where the artist is just hanging out with her friends, having a good time. This will also make her relatable to the audience as the simplicity of her costume will make her seem like an ordinary audience member. We are looking to either use a white top to display innocence of the artist and purity which also reflects her youth. Other than this, we may use a grey top to show how murky and unclear the artist is of the future as they are unaware of what is to come from her life. This acts as a sense of foreboding for her future as, other parts of the video illustrates her unhappiness of the present life she leads. This makes the audience weary of what is to come and maybe creates a slight sense of expectedness but not to the extent where they can fully predict what is going to happen in the rest of the video. We also want the shoes to be white to show that the path she is taking is innocent. By showing that the shoes are slightly dirty on the bottom reflects her journey and the struggles she would have had to face along the way to the career she now has. The makeup on the artist will be natural, as we want to still show her youth and innocence. It also shows that she is less insecure than what she is shown to be in some other scenes of the video - for example, the stage performance scenes. This is from the way she doesn't feel the need to use makeup to cover up or hide any emotions that may not be initial. This is partly unconventional to the soul genre from the way that the artist is shown to be natural and happy, however, is still conventional as it makes her relatable which is one of the main conventions of the soul genre. She is going to have straight hair to comply with the casual look we are going for the artist at this point. This will show her overall, as being relatable at these points in the video.This is therefore conventional to the genre of soul as making the artist being represented as relatable ensures the audience feel engaged and empathetic towards the artist, building a stronger relationship between them. 

As well as having a casual look for the artist, they will also be seen wearing a more contrasting, glamorous look. This will consist of a high neck black dress with black heels, complimented with a sophisticated red lip makeup look and curled hair. This will be worn during the stage performance scenes where the artist is supposedly at a concert of her own performing as if it was real. Therefore, making the artist more made up, it emphasises this and creates a clear contrast to the difference in lifestyle from with her friends to the way she is on stage. This drastic change also reinforces the distinct change from the performance and narrative scenes within the video, creating reassurance of understanding for the audience. This look is conventional to the soul genre as it demonstrates talent and glamour but also insecurity - a main convention of soul artists. The red lip aspect of the look also strengthens its conventionality to the soul genre as red has connotations of passion and love. In our video, passion is more expressed than love due to the way that the lyrics of the song do not initially express love in reference to a relationship but rather passion for the artist's hometown. So, despite the red lip coordinating with the glamorous look we are going for, it also has deeper connotations that comply with the conventions of the soul genre through the way that soul genre songs reflect the themes of love and passion. We are thinking of having a gold eyeshadow look within the makeup look to reflect the glamour of the artist but also the value. This can help to represent the artist as being world-class, talented and extraordinary from the connotations of gold suggesting value and rarity. This is conventional to the genre of soul because soul artists tend to subtly demonstrate the extent of their talents which prevents them from coming across as bigheaded or arrogant. The way in which the makeup look will consist of a lot of makeup, could be inferred that it is a way for the artist to hide imperfections and insecurities, acting as a 'front' or mask, which initially makes her look like a confident individual. Beneath the surface, the artist could actually be hiding more negative emotions which is inferred from other aspects of her look like the colouring of her dress. Having the dress being black connotes depression and sadness which makes the audience feel sympathetic for the artist. Having this connection is important and happens to be conventional because the artist singing about a personal experience needs to be able to be transferred and understood by the audience. Having this connection makes the artist more appealing and genuine to the audience. The way in which the dress is a high neck in style also could infer that the artist feels trapped in the situation of their emotions. In our music video, we intend to make the artist feel as if they miss their lifestyle before they were famous because of the people they have now lost and the lack of normality in their life due to fame. The style of the dress reinforces this idea from the way that the artist now feels trapped in this situation where she can now not escape fame and sticks to the conventionality of the soul genre from the way it links to the personal feelings of the artist. Moreover, having the complementation of wearing the heels as part of the outfit reflects the lack of stability that the artist feels that their life holds. This reinforces our narrative and the feelings behind the song from the artist's point of view which is conventional to the soul genre because of this. The use of these also help to represent the artist as fragile and ungrounded, making her perhaps relatable to some audience members. Having curly hair adds to the glamourousness of the look and helps to distinguish between showing the artist when they were younger and then older and famous. In a more deeper inference, it could also help illustrate the complexity of the artist's new life rather than the simplicity of the life before fame.

The final look in the video is a plain and simple look consisting of the artist wearing completely black (top, skirt, tights and pumps). The makeup look will be natural to create a relatable aspect of the look and also reveals he artist and the emotions they portray. This particular look will be featured during the piano performance scenes in the video. The plainness of the outfit reflects the neutral emotion displayed in this scene which is conventional to the soul genre as soul artists tend to be quite neutral in some parts of the performance scenes in their videos. This ensures relatability for the audience as she is perhaps shown in a more ordinary light and it also demonstrates rawness of the artist as a representation. Having an artist being represented as raw and genuine is conventional to the genre of soul as it shows how natural the talent comes to the artist. Black is the consistent feature throughout this outfit. There are many connotations of black and ones which tend to suggest negativity, for example, depression, sadness and weakness. This therefore, represents the artist's feelings towards the way in which her life is leading at this moment. She is unhappy with the fame she has received and just wants to go back to her hometown and the way it was when she was happier around people she valued. The artist is playing the piano at this point which has numerous black and white keys. The black keys could connote the present day where she is feeling negative at this point in her life, whereas the white keys, suggesting innocence and purity could symbolise the past when she was younger with her friends. Therefore, the artist playing the piano, dressed in all black could represent the artist as a whole being depressed and negative in reference to her emotions. Consequently, the way that she plays the piano could reflect that these emotions are impacting and influencing the way that she reflects on not only her present but also her past and so no matter what time of setting she is referring to, she still manages to find negativity in some way. For example, when she was younger, she obviously saw negativity where she felt that she wanted to seek for 'bigger things' and so grafted to achieve her dream. However, when becoming famous, she find negativity as she realises she has lost the people who have most value to her and that her life can no longer be normal. Having this hidden meaning is conventional to the genre of soul as there are normally more deeper, less obvious meanings and symbols within. This helps the audience connect with the artist more strongly as it adds to the understanding of how the artist is feeling and additionally, the extent of her emotions.

Overall, the theme consistently demonstrated throughout the artist images in which we have created refers to black, which connotes negativity. We have found that the target audience can build a relationship with our artist through this way effectively, as it helps reinforce the intended emotions and makes the audience appeal to the artist as they sympathise with them. As well as this, the artist is seen more raw and real from this, as their performance in the video seems more personal and genuine. By making the artist be shown in this particular way, it makes the audience feel valued and that the artist wants to share their feelings with them, therefore, making the audience feel more special. The way in which we have tried to stick with the conventionality of the soul genre makes the audience feel familiar with their expectations and how the artist will be represented however, the slight differences between the images prevents the artist from appearing repetitive or uninteresting throughout the different scenes within the video. The younger side to the target audience can particularly relate to the first casual look from the way that they may feel as if the artist could fit in with them, which means they could see them as being similar to them. The more older side to the target audience can relate more to the performance side of the video as the artist is shown to be more mature and more emotional which could be more relatable to older audiences as it shows a wider number of experiences that the artist has been through. The emotions conveyed could be relatable to audience members in a similar situation or in a different situation but feeling the same emotions as the artist expresses. This planning of artist image has helped out group ensure that we will create a successful artist image because it has outlined to us which images work best for the genre. It has also highlighted which images can demonstrate hidden, relevant meanings that could either link to lyrics or emotions portrayed within. We have also tried to satisfy all of the members categorised in the target audience, which will hopefully make it more appealing to them from the way that at least one of the images should reflect a relatable nature to them.