There are many different purposes of a magazine album advert. The main one of being in order to promote an artist's album and reach a wider, mass target audience. This is because it attracts the attention of the magazine readers which may not be an initial target audience option. It could further be a purpose for acting as a constant reminder for an upcoming album. This reinforces the audience of new material that the artist is releasing and attracts more sales due to more frequent advertising and acknowledgement, which makes the audience more likely to remember the release. Furthermore, the purpose of magazine advert also allows a link to be created with other advertisements of the album to further create more marketing as well as getting support from other different companies that could increase sales further. Magazine adverts also link in with other any articles within the magazine on that particular artist, which benefits both the magazine and the artist. I have chosen to analyse Adele's '21' album promotion advert and Paloma Faith's album advert. I decided to analyse these adverts as Adele is the artist that we would like to make a video for and Paloma Faith is a successful soul genre artist of today. Adele's '21' Album Advert
Adele's '21' album magazine advert is very conventional to the genre of soul. The artist is represented as being depressed and insecure. This is from the way her facial expression is fairly mutual as if she is hiding something like a feeling or an emotion that is restricting her from being herself. She is looking to the ground in both pictures (the main advert picture and the album cover) which shows a lack of confidence. This could be seen as reflecting insecurity from the way that she feels the need to look down without the confidence of looking directly into the camera. This therefore, is illustrated to the audience too as they are unable to see the artist look directly at them which makes them feel sympathetic towards her. It could also connote the way that she is reflecting back on experiences of her life which is the content of the ones within the album and so, gives the audience a glimpse of the album before purchasing. The colours of the advert are very significant in that the black and white filter mirrors the idea that Adele is reflecting on her past as many moments captured in the past are coloured black and white. Black and white are very dull and simple colours which could infer that her past or whatever she is singing about may be negative. It could also represent the emotion she is attempting to express as black can connote depression. This gives the audience further taste as to what to expect from the songs on the album and this is strengthened by the way the songs are based on personal experiences - which is also conventional to the genre of soul. The use of green in the advert for some of the font, typically connotes jealousy. This slight inference of jealousy could reflect the emotion in one or more of the songs on the album and so, the audience are able to recognise this which could interest them and also be relatable to them if they believe they are in a similar situation to Adele. Having the green on the name of the album '21' and 'available everywhere now' emphasises the album and the message that it is easily accessible. On the other hand, green can also suggest something new and fresh - this could be a message that the advert is trying to portray, that Adele's new album is fresh and natural. A green line also outlines the album which stands out from the contrast to the monotone colour of black and white prominently featured in the advert. This contrast creates a 3D effect as it makes the album seem as if it is slightly more forward and close to the audience than the rest of the advert. The design and layout of the advert is fairly simple but effective. There is a large image that fills the whole of the advert which allows the advert to be more eye-catching, as fans are more likely to notice Adele quicker from the way she takes up the majority of the advert. The same effect would not be created if the advert was filled with mostly writing as it would not attract the audience/reader and would not tempt them to stop and read as naturally, people are visually attracted to something they choose to read. Having the album in the bottom left hand corner shows that the purpose of the advert is still reinforced and that people can still buy it. Furthermore, the way that the images featured on the album are very similar shows the relation between them, however, still ensures interest as it supplies a different, unique image to the advert. The choice of image for the advert is large and shows her positioned on the side of the advert which allows the audience to be able to recognise her, but prevents distraction from the purpose of the advert of showing the album that is being promoted. The way that half of the artist's face is being shown manages to hide her identity, making her seem shady and insecure as it could infer that she doesn't want to expose herself. The typography in the advert is very distinct in the way that the artist's name is in capital letters, in a simple, large and unbolded font. The name of the album '21' is displayed next to the capitalised 'ADELE' which demonstrates the connection between the two clearly. However, they are separated by the fact that 'ADELE' is coloured white, whereas '21' is coloured green. The way that the artist's name has been written in this way gives her an identity as it is distinct and different to any other artist. The simplicity of the font also reflects her emotions and personality that is portrayed in Adele's videos which are illustrated as being quite neutral. 'Available everywhere now' is in smaller print and different font to make sure that it isn't associated with the distinct identity of the artist. The way it is capitalised however, still makes it 'stand out' to the audience, easily readable and shows relevance and significance to the advert as it promotes the release of the album. The style of the language is not lengthy and is actually quite short, snappy and simple. This makes it more attracting to the audience as the message of the advert is delivered quickly, with no effort needed from the audience. This simplicity engages them as, if there was a large amount of text on the advert, a lot of people would not be encouraged to feel the need to read the advert. Having a minimal, simple style of language for the small amount of text displayed on the advert, ensures that all attention of the audience is on Adele and the album. The language does still attract the attention of the audience by supplying key information to engage them and intrigue them about the artist, for example '2 time Grammy Award Winner'. This represents her as being more successful which is attempted to be emphasised here and to purposely be acknowledged by the audience. The advert promotes the soul genre in a way that reflects the content of being about personal, past experience. This is from the black and white filter, as well as the artist's expression from the way she is looking down and not directly into the camera. It also shows the genre as conveying deeper feelings and emotions within the songs of that genre. From the dark colouring and general mood created through this advert, this is displayed. The advert promotes the artist in a sympathetic and relatable way. She is shown being very honest and deep in the way that she is expressing her emotions which are expected to be reflected in the songs on the album. This builds a stronger connection between the artist and the audience because they are able to recognise how she is just an ordinary person going through the same situations that regular audience members would - therefore, this is also a point that attracts the audience. The advert also attracts the audience by including a large image of the artist as it immediately catches the attention of the magazine reader and instantly shows reference to Adele. The audience are also attracted to the advert through the way that there is a limited amount of text. As the target audience is a fairly young one, 16 - 30 years old, they would be attracted to this as younger audiences are found to be more 'lazy' when it comes to reading. Having a small amount of short, snappy text ensures their attention is caught and that they are still able to be engaged in the advert and feel intrigued to the extent in which they feel to go out and purchase the album. Paloma Faith's 'A Perfect Contradiction' Album Advert
Paloma Faith's album advert, whilst being different to Adele's in many ways, is still conventional to the genre of soul. This particular advert of hers is promoting the release of 'A Perfect Contradiction' - her 'new' album (2014). Paloma is represented in the advert as being quite quirky and unique. This is generally from her initial appearance which is fairly bold arguably peculiar. This is from the way that her hair is vibrant and bright which makes her stand out from others. Orange/ginger hair is sometimes shown as being negative or more of a rarity, however, Paloma is shown to very much flaunt this aspect of her. This shows her as being confident and uncaring of what others think and have an opinion of her. It also reassures particular audience members who may feel they can relate to her and may take influence into following her confident attitude. She is also represented as being quite glamorous from the earrings she is wearing, which would often be associated with more flamboyancy. This way that she is represented is very conventional to the genre of soul from the way that she has her own distinct identity that is quirky, unique and different from others in the industry. The flawless and use of quite a lot of makeup could connote a deeper meaning than just making the artist look more attractive. Typically soul artists tend to write songs on negative situations to do with love, heartbreak, etc. This also applies to Paloma Faith, and so, the way that she is shown to have so much makeup on could be a front and in fact could be symbolic for being something to hide her feelings behind. The more makeup that is worn, the less natural emotions that the audience will witness from the artist. This could show a slight 'fakeness' in the way that she shows herself as being a confident woman when in fact there could be unknowing underlying, negative emotions. This is also reflected in the content of her songs, for example 'Only Love Can Hurt Like This' which is featured on the album. This is a song that illustrates the negative aspects of love as she displays how she is 'hurt' from the situation she is in. This is typically conventional to the soul genre as most soul genre songs are based around the negativity of a heartbreak or love. The colours in the advert show significance also. The dark colouring of the clothes that the artist is wearing is overlapped by the album information and reviews. This emphasises the album from the contrast of the colour of the font being white which connotes innocence and purity, unlike the depressing and sad connotation of dark/black. The way that the artist has been brightened and edited to be more vibrant in the way she is displayed makes her boldness stand out more in the advert making her more attention grabbing to a reader. This boldness and brightness of the colours shown on the artist reflect and emphasise her uniqueness as the contrast between her and the dark background and clothing reinforces the idea that she has her own identity and that she is different to other artists. The design/layout of the advert also illustrates particular effects. Having the artist above the album information allows her to be the main focus point and the dominant feature in the advert. This is the main attraction to the audience as this is what is going to grab their attention before going on to read the advert so this is a very important feature of the layout. As an audience we naturally tend to look up or on the upper part of a page when reading something as we assume that this is the primary information/feature of whatever is being read. Therefore, having the image above the information prioritises it for the audience to initially notice the advert from this. The way in which the album is positioned in the middle of the lower half of the advert makes it seem like it is the centre of attention. This is then emphasised as the reviews and information on the album surround it which reinforces its impact and the purpose for the advert - to promote the album and artist. The choice of image for the artist displays her flamboyancy from the way she is looking away from the camera, looking upwards. This gives her more of a natural look as if she doesn't know that the picture is being taken which makes her admirable for the audience as although the picture has been edited she still looks immaculate. The way she is slightly looking up could show her nature of striving to succeed which is complimented in the reference to the way that she will 'cast a spell on America'. However, it could also be seen that the choice of image reflects more stereotypically conventional to the genre of soul. This is from the way that likewise with Adele's album advert, she is looking away from the camera and not directly at it. This could inferably reflect insecurity and a lack of confidence within herself as it seems as though she cannot face looking to the camera (audience) directly. This makes the audience feel sympathetic towards her, especially as she makes herself out to be very confident and open with her feelings. The typography is purposely different for a few parts in the advert. The artist's name is as expected, the largest written text on the advert. This ensures that the audience can associate themselves with her and her identity as soon as they see the advert. The font of which is very sophisticated, stylish and creative which mirrors the way she presents herself and her personality. The way it is also different to any other font on the rest of the advert reinforces the way that she is unlike others in the industry. The reviews are written in italics which emphasises the fact that they are quoted which attracts the audience as it gives them more information on the artist from an outsider's point of view. As well as this, the reviewers which are magazines and newspapers, have their own font too which give them their identity. This enables the audience to acknowledge their identity and recognise who they are more easily as they may associated the font with that particular media title. The style of the language in this advert is more elaborated than in Adele's advert. I believe that is this because Paloma's audience is slightly older, more edging towards a target audience of 16 - late 30's. This type of audience are more likely to take the time to read the advert than the younger audience. Furthermore, as this advert seems to be aimed at Americans, having more elaborated information such as the short reviews, release dates and comments about some of the songs, helps the American audience to understand and familiarise themselves with this artist. With Paloma Faith being British, the Americans may not know as much about her, so by having well known magazines/newspapers making comment on her positively allows them to get a gist of her standard. Moreover, the way that the first little comment under the artist's name says how Paloma will 'cast a spell on America' shows how different and influencing she is. 'Cast a spell' could be associated with witches which are seen to be arguably fantastical creatures. This could therefore represent Paloma as being extraordinary and corrupting in the way that this has been written. The advert promotes the soul genre as being positive. This is from the way that the artist is described as 'soulful' which is used in the advert as a quality and attempts to encourage the audience into buying the album. The advert promotes the artist as being unique and having their own identity. In addition, the advert promotes the artist as being confident in being different to others and to being original. The way that America is referenced shows that although she is a British artist, she is able to sell worldwide and so this advert promotes her as being world class. This advert also attracts the audience by including detail about the content in the album and opinions from other brands which is likely to influence their way of thinking. The advert attracts the audience also from the large, gripping and powerful image that reflects dominance and manages to engage the audience into the advert.
Both of the magazine adverts are conventional to the genre of soul and so, I will use this research to inform my planning of my advert. I have learnt that all the aspects that I have analysed the adverts about are important in making the advert successful in their own way. I have found from this research that the image has got to be one of the most important aspects - not just the positioning and size but also the choice. Both images were particularly chosen to display emotion and express feelings from the artist that could reflect onto the audience. Additionally, the album images and the images displayed in the advert were very similar in reference to colour and the initial look of the artist, which I liked the idea of as it wasn't repetitive but still managed to create a link between the two appropriately. Having this is conventional, especially as the colouring is black and white in the Adele advert which creates the sombre tone to the advert, linking to the content of the album being promoted. I also like the fact that the typography was also very significant in the adverts as they aided to illustrate the personality and identity of the artist in-particular. The different fonts and sizes of the fonts can help to deter where the audience is ideally meant to have drawn their attention to. This is also conventional to the soul genre as emotion is a prominent aspect that is widely attempted to be conveyed in an effective way and so, for my magazine advert, I will ensure to create the same effect and make sure that the emotion I intend to create is illustrated. I will take this on board when creating my own advert and will make sure to carefully choose which fonts to use for each aspect of the writing on the advert to show a separation between the content.
Research was carried out in order to retrieve preferences and information, that would satisfy the target audience successfully. Carrying out a questionnaire meant that we could obtain a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data that would be from a primary, reliable source. Having 3 closed questions retrieved simple quantitative data providing general information such as knowing the audiences age and gender. Whereas, the open questions provided a more elaborated answer resulting in more qualitative, detailed data to analyse. Carrying out research also allowed us to see any trends in characteristics that are generally favoured in soul genre music videos. It also allowed us to see how the audience felt about our chosen artist, Adele, giving us an idea of how well our song would go down with the target audience. The sample size of the research carried out was 40 people. We decided to ask 40 people as it allowed us to reach out to all types of audience. This makes our results more reliable and increases the accuracy as the results that are retrieved are from all types of audience making it more representative, covering all diversities of audience. The results we have managed to get from the research we have carried out will be used when creating our music video as we will take into account what kind of features the audience want and expect to be included. It will also allow us to notice preferences from a wider, mass audience, ensuring that our video will appeal to more than just the target audience. The questionnaire that we carried out is shown below:
The data that was retrieved was stored and presented through the use of pie charts. Using pie charts to story the data allowed the data to be recognised and analysed in an easy and clear way.
The first question that was asked was a closed question - 'what is your age group?'. This allowed us to see what aged audience we were carrying out the research on. As Adele's audience tends to situate between from 16 - 30 years old, a more precise target audience would be 19 - 21 years old. This is because Adele wrote her music around this age range which makes her more relatable to the target audience. The way that the number of 19 - 21 year olds who took part in our research was roughly a third of the 40 people we asked, ensures that the results we got were representable to the target audience. The least amount of people we surveyed were from the age group of 27 - 30 years old. This is appropriate for our research as this is not the main target audience, however, still gives us opinion and data to help satisfy other audiences for example, in this case, the older generation. Therefore, this strengths the satisfaction of our audience as a whole and attracts more people to the video that may not be considered as the 'target' audience. The age will be considered when creating our video as we will take on board the results that we retrieve as a whole from the audience. The questioned that followed was also another closed question which was 'what is your gender?'. This allowed us to see how the balance worked out between how many male and female took the questionnaire. The majority of the audience were female but only slightly more so than male. Adele's target audience in terms of gender does tend to drift towards female. This is because most of the topics of her material links to love and heartbreak, caused by a man. This is more related to women as they feel they can empathise and relate to Adele a lot more easily. The answers that we get as a result from the research makes us ensure that the audience will be satisfied as we will have retrieved results from all audiences.
The third question that was asked happened to be the first open question of the questionnaire - 'what is your preferred style of music video?'. The pie chart clearly shows how the majority of the audience prefer narrative style, followed by performance. The concept style didn't receive as many people opting for it due to the way in which it could be seen as over-complicating a video - especially for a soul genre music video which could be viewed as being fairly simplistic. This enables us to experiment with the music video as we can use both narrative and performance style to satisfy the audience and meet the majority of the audience's needs. We can still include a subtle concept to ensure that the whole audience is satisfied. This makes sure that the video appeals to all types of audience. A narrative will definitely be included in our video from the results that we have received. This may be the main, primary style that we will use due to its high demands of half of the audience who took the questionnaire opting for it. Most people reasoned this option for it being possibly relatable which makes it 'raw' and 'unique' to the audience - this is shown clearly in one of my vox pops that follow the analysis of the pie charts. Performance will also be a main style used in the video due to it receiving roughly a third of the audience opting for it. Performance and narrative style music videos are conventional to the soul genre as it allows the audience to witness the expressions from the artist, however, still manage to seek a difference within the video with the narrative that could include the artist or not. Therefore, the way that the audience have collectively chosen that they prefer narrative and performance style music videos strengthens our video's conventionality to the genre of soul which is something we want to achieve.
Question number four was an open question also - 'What is your favourite editing style, and why?'. Slow-paced editing is clearly the favourite, receiving around a third of the audience opting for it as their favourite editing style. Some audience members thought that the slow-pace editing used could make it more 'emotional', conveying emotions of particular characters or the artist across effectively. About a quarter of people who took part in the questionnaire opted for filters as being their favourite style of editing. This is likely because filters can be used to create a particular mood, for example, a black and white filter could suggest a past event or a sombre tone on the atmosphere of the scene. 'Other' editing styles which the audience have opted for were roughly the same amount as who said jump cut being their favourite. The results shown in this pie chart suggest that sticking strongly to the conventionality of the soul genre is a good option to go for as the research demonstrates how the conventions of the soul genre have been opted for. jump cuts and fast-paced editing are not very conventional to the genre of soul, as they do not illustrate the intended emotion in the same way as slow-pace editing and filters do. Filters and slow-pace editing will be used in our music video as they are not only conventional to the genre of soul, but also appeal to the target audience, ensuring success of the video to proceed. We will most likely use a black and white filter throughout the video to ensure that the sombre tone of the video is maintained throughout. Slow-pace editing will be used on particular parts of the video that we want to demonstrate emphasis on for example, the artist with her friends having a good time. The next question was an open one - 'describe the setting that you would normally see in a soul music video?'. The city, a bar/pub and in an isolated setting tended to receive the same amount of people opting for them. However, the majority of the people who took part in the questionnaire opted for a stage being the setting that they feel they would expect to see in a soul music video. This is most likely because on a stage the artist is in their natural environment which makes their performance a lot more genuine and raw. Soul genre songs can hold a lot of emotion that can be expressed in different unique ways which the artist is able to put their own twist on and their personal feelings on. I think we would use a stage in our video if it looked professional, however, if it looked fake or 'tacky', I don't think that the same effect would be created as it wouldn't look as genuine as it would intend to look. If we are able to create a realistic looking, professional stage, we will use this as a setting in our music video. However, we don't want it to look amateur, so we will not include it if we think that an amateur look would be created. Because the topic of our chosen song 'Hometown Glory' is based around the artist's childhood and the way she mentions the city, this may be a possible setting that we will include as it was still appeal to the audience due to the amount of people who chose to describe the setting they would usually see in a soul genre music video in this way.
Question number six was an open one - 'Explain what sort of theme you would feel you would like to see in a soul music video?'. The majority of the participants chose love and heartbreak (which could be put under the theme of love) when looked at together. However, the pie chart shows that family is the most popular option. This could be because soul music can relate to family and love which could cross into family. Showing this theme in the music video makes it relatable to the target audience as all of the target audience would be able to associate themselves with a family. Having this theme ensures that pretty much all of the audience would appeal to it, making our video more successful. The song we have chosen for our music video isn't really about love or heartbreak and so, having this theme shown in our video maybe wouldn't be appropriate. However, because the song portrays the artist reminiscing about being in their hometown, the theme of family could be shown throughout the video, or even love through the passion she feels for her roots. This would appeal to the target audience as this would cross over two popular themes that the audience want to see in a soul genre music video.
The following open question was 'what is it about Adele that you like?'. As presented i the pie chart, a lot of people answered that her voice was the main aspect of her that they liked - which you would hope as this is her career. Though, slightly more people liked Adele for her relatable nature. This is very conventional to the soul genre as the content of soul songs tend to be based on personal experiences. Therefore, if an artist writes a song about something that an audience member can relate to, it increases the relationship between them and the artist, as well as how likeable the artist becomes. The results from this question will be taken on board when creating our music video as it is a clear convention to ensure that the artist is shown to be relatable. By doing this, we can further ensure that the audience are satisfied and that the video will be conventional to the genre of soul.
The eighth question was an open one too - 'what camera angles do you find most effective in the soul genre music videos and why?'. Although most people said more than one angle, we tried to store the data in a fair and representable way. The most favoured type of shot were close ups. Most people who opted for this gave the reason being that it helped to illustrate the artist's emotions in more intricate detail and also aided to connect the audience and artist a lot better. Close ups are conventional to the soul genre for this reason, as artists often like to show the emotion of the song they are performing clearly so that the audience can familiarise themselves with the emotion intended. This abundantly manages to achieve positive effects on the audience from the way that most of the people who took part in the questionnaire opted for close ups being the most effective. Long shots and mid shots were also very popular within the people's answers. Most stated that this was because of the fact that most soul artists are quite quirky or unique and so, costume can demonstrate this from the particular clothing that they choose to wear. A lot of people see clothing as being symbolistic for a person's personality and that you can tell a lot about someone from what they wear. These type of shots allow this element of mise-en-scene to be shown, as well as another element such as body language and facial expressions. If an artist is performing a song and makes frequent hand gestures or movements that could portray emotion for example, a leg stamp could express anger, this is able to be captured through the use of a long or mid shot and therefore could supply further reason as to why some people opted for these certain shots. We will include these types of shots to please the audience and supply them with content that they find effective and expect to see.
The second-to-last question was a closed question which said - 'what is your favourite Adele song?'. Asking this question enabled us to see whether the song we chose was a good option which it did prove to be. The most favoured song was 'Hometown Glory' narrowly followed by 'Someone Like You'. Using 'Hometown Glory' for our video has given us confidence from the results shown in the pie chart as it is clear that the audience generally like the song. This could be inferably because it was Adele's first song that she ever wrote and one that she wrote at only the age of 16. To the audience, this shows how naturally talented she is from such a young age being able to make such a successful, meaningful single. This song is a little different from the stereotypical love and heartbreak between a relationship which normally acts as the base for nearly every soul genre song. However, the song is still conventional to the genre of soul as, it does refer to the theme of love relating to her hometown and infers that she wants to go back to the way it was. 'Someone Like You' is based around a broken relationship where a man has left the artist and is now married to another woman. The song expresses how the artist feels about the past lover and that she wants to find someone else like him as she can't have him. This could be relatable to some of the people who took part in the questionnaire as breakups occur all the time between many people. The way that Adele has written this song could display distinctly how a person feels which makes them appeal to Adele as it reinforces the fact that she is a normal, ordinary person that experiences the same as every other normal person does.
The final question in the questionnaire was an open one which was 'why do you think Adele is conventional to the soul genre?'. Most people thought that the reason for her being so conventional to the soul genre is from the topics that she sings about. Her topics mostly work across love, heartbreak and family - three generically conventional codes of the soul genre. Other people thought that the way she has many close ups featured in her videos makes her conventional. This is true as it helps to display her emotions and own interpretation of the song, that the audience are able to witness and recognise. Another convention that the participants recognised in relation to Adele was the minimalist instrumentation featured throughout her work. Most of her songs include acoustic instruments such as piano or guitar which allows the listener to pay more attention solely on the artist's voice. This is a convention of the genre of soul as it helps to demonstrate real and raw emotion primarily from the artist's voice. We will ensure that our video reinforces the topic Adele is singing about and also that close ups will be used frequently throughout the video. Furthermore, by including the artist playing the minimalist instrument in the video emphasises the lack of other instruments within the song.
The theory that I have chosen to apply to my questionnaire and music video is Grant McCracken. He believes that the postmodern world is full of diversity, dynamism and creativity. McCracken also says that we look at the array of values and ideologies then we can't say all subcultures come from one culture. This applies to our questionnaire as it shows how different people have different ideas and different opinions on answers. It shows that not everyone thinks the same and that each person has their own individual identity through the way that the vox pops especially show the different elaborated idea of each individual. This will be incorporated within our music video as we will ensure that it is creative by making the video slightly diverse as it will not be showing the typical love/relationship features that a typical soul genre music video would do, instead we will be focusing on friendship issues and the idea of isolation which links in with diverse experiences within society.
Vox Pops
Along with the questionnaire, vox pops were carried out showing 5 people answering the questionnaire that was created for our group:
The purpose for doing this was to make sure that our music video would be more audience considered and that the decisions we make in reference to what is included in the video will be satisfying for the audience. Most of the questions in the questionnaire are open ones and so, the vox pops help to recognise the type of elaborated answers that the participants supply. There is also the enabling of storing qualitative data easily through vox pops as it still stores the lengthy answers the participants would have answered with and also is visual evidence of them answering the questions. Moreover, vox pops also prove that I as an individual retrieved the information in the vox pops as you can hear the questions being asked by myself. Vox pops tend to also retrieve more accurate and genuine results as they feel the need to be honest whilst on camera and in-front of someone, whilst if the participants were to fill out their answers onto paper, they may not feel that as much effort is needed. The vox pops are beneficial as it helps us as a group recognise what the general ideas for the music video should be. They show the individual ideas that each participant suggest and helps to create links between other participants that would have answered similarly. This allows us to see what answers were most common and which ideas should be implemented into music in order for it to achieve as much success as possible.
In conclusion, I found that carrying out the questionnaire was highly useful within my research. This is because the questionnaire allowed us to explore different aspects of the music video and retrieve the best options favoured by the audience. For example, we were able to note the best uses of editing in which we can use in the video that would fully satisfy the target audience. It also allowed us to strengthen our confidence in our song and artist by asking the participants what their favourite song of Adele's was and what they liked about Adele. The way that the results displayed that 'Hometown Glory' was the most favoured, gives us more confidence in using this song for our video as it is clearly liked already. Likewise with the way that the participants positively spoke about what they like about Adele, it reassured us that Adele was a good artist to opt for, especially as one question also referred to her being conventional which was answered in favour of this. The answers retrieved from each question will be taken into account, as, the options the majority of the audience answered with will most likely be included in our music video, for example, being narrative and performance in style. If I was to carry out the research again, I think that I would ask more people the questionnaire so, use a larger sample size. This would increase the repeatability and representativeness of my results giving me more accurate data across a mass audience. I would also include more questions. I would do this because I would be able to find out other aspects of the video that may be needed an audience opinion on, for example, what iconography would they expect to see in a soul genre music video. It would also allow me to find out more detailed and in-depth information by asking more questions for example, asking them to explain a good narrative that would conventionally fit in a music video from the genre of soul. Overall, I believe that the questionnaire and vox pops have had a positive influence on my research as they will aid to ensure that my music video is successful.
The purpose of record labels are to ensure that an artist is promoting themselves to become as successful as possible. They a manage the artist they have signed, and create links with other media successes in a way to help promote the artist and make them become more established and recognised in a successful way. Some artists manage to pursue their career without a record label, however, when reaching a certain stage of success a record label could be necessary. Record labels are able to invest money into an artist, resulting them in releasing better quality products and a more successful reputation and career in the music industry. All of the aspects of artist success and promotion for example the marketing, producing of the record, tour arrangements and distribution of the products the artist creates is all handled by the label.
Currently, there are many numerous UK major record labels that are existent today. Three of which include Island Records, Columbia Records and EMI Records. Island Records
Island Records was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall and Leslie Kong in Jamaica and has been based in the UK since 1962. 'My Boy Lollipop' by Millie Small was the labels first success in the UK which also lead to a world tour as a result. There are a large amount of artists that are managed by this label, whether that be past or present, diversity is still clearly displayed. The label are open to new music and tend to want to build long-term careers in the industry, rather than short lived ones. Some of the past artists they have signed are Mariah Carey, Bob Dylan, Etta James and Amy Winehouse - which whilst being very unique from one another, are very successful individuals in the industry. Some of the current artists they manage are Robbie Williams, Dizzee Rascal, Duffy and Leona Lewis. The artist's they have managed/are managing are very successful and some are widely recognised on a global scale. This label has collectively owned over 45 subsidiary labels, however, only a few of them now are still owned by them. These include labels such as Mercury which has been owned by them since 2014. Mercury manages artists such as Jake Bugg, Fall Out Boy and Paul McCartney all of which have demonstrated success which would have very much have been influenced by the success of Island Records. It is not clear that there are any direct and main links within media, however there would be which is reflected in how successful the artists that they manage are.
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is the oldest surviving brand name in recorded sound and was founded in 1887. There are a large number of artists that are managed by this company for example, Ella Henderson, The Script, One Direction and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) to name a few. Success has been greatly achieved by these artists, likewise with the artists who are managed by Columbia's subsidiary companies. One of their subsidiaries are Kemosabe Records who manage global star, Ke$ha. There are links within media as the parent company of Columbia, Sony Music is also linked to television and so can retrieve contacts through this connection.
EMI Records
EMI Records was founded in 1972 by Sir Joseph Lockwood. Virgin EMI Records are one of the subsidiaries of EMI Records and they manage UK artists such as Elton John and Pixie Lott. These artists have proved to be successful in the industry from the numerous hit singles that they have collectively released. It could be said that EMI Records is not as major as the other labels I have written about above, however, they still produce successful artists that are relevant in today's music industry. There are also links within media as EMI Records have links to TV and magazines too, increasing their contacts within the media.
Independent Record Labels also exist in the industry and they operate one or a few music labels. Regardless of their funds and lacking of what a major record could provide, they can still be successful however just operate from a smaller company base. Traditionally, they produce more unique and organic music rather than manufactured mainstream that is more released from major labels.
Angular Recording Corporation
Angular Recording Corporation is a UK independent record label, originally based in South East London. It was set up by two ex-Goldsmiths college students, Joe Daniel and Joe Margetts, in June 2003. The label was able to finance its debut release in November 2003 due to gaining funds through medical testing. This was published in NME magazine (a successful and popular magazine based around music) 'The New Cross : An Angular Sampler'. Ahead of many major label releases, NME made Angular Recording Corporation the lead review in the magazine. The label manages artists such as Crystal Stilts and Gyratory System. Crystal Stilts are a post punk band who managed to go on tour due to their success to share their material on a broader and wider scale. Gyratory System are a three-piece music band based in London. 'The Sound-Board Breathes' was the band's debut album, which was very much praised by BBC critic, John Doran who stated, 'superb album, sounding like little else released this year' and was rated 8 out of 10 by NME. This shows that even though independent companies may not have other companies that support them or bigger and larger company funds and contacts, the artists that are signed can still achieve success. Some artists managed by the major labels do not always achieve more success than the independent label's artists. Sony Vista Music
Sony Vista Music is a UK independent label that was founded in Kingston upon Hull in 2005. The label does however, have many business connections in Canada and Japan. The general kind of genre that the artists they sign are situated in different types of rock. Artists which they manage include Dropshard and Fonda 500. Dropshard are a progressive rock band founded in 2007. They have released 2 EP's and 2 studio albums which have done well in the industry, especially for a rock band. Fonda 500 are a British band that was founded in the same area as the label was - Kingston upon Hull. Their music was very successful in the industry and even in television from the way some of their material was found on the soundtrack of television programmes such as 'Teachers' on Channel 4 and also on E4's 'Skins'. Altogether the band have released 6 albums, so even with an independent record label, the same amount of content can be created and released, just like a major record label could do.
From a music, as well as an industry point of view I don't think it is right that 4 companies dominate the music industry. This is because not every talent may be able to get recognised, as stated earlier in the blog, independent record labels seem to produce unique and organic artists. Talents like these may not be recognised by major record labels as they may be more focussed on finding artists from a particular more popular genre such as pop to guarantee and ensure of success. This would therefore leave a talent unnoticed that could have pursued in the industry as a success. Furthermore, because of the contacts and accessibility of the major record labels, in a way their artists have an advantage due to the fact that most of their resources are already handed to them. This could mean that they put in less work but still become acknowledged maybe higher than an independent label artist would. Even if an independent label artist was more talented than a major record label artist, this would mean that the major record label could still promote and market them in a way to attempt to make them a success. This creates an imbalance in the industry as an effect due to the fact that major record labels tend to go for new and current artists displaying a more niche idea of genre. In addition, the major record labels have more power in competing against more low-key artists from independent labels. An independent artist promoting their material through YouTube can't get as much promotion as a major record label artist as they do not have as much funding as this. By having the major record labels dominating the industry means that there are going to be more recognised artists from a particular genre than others. For example, mostly pop artists such as Ke$ha are recognised because of the major aspect of their record label and so they have the funding to seek more opportunities and promotions that independent artists may not be able to reach out to. There are less recognised independent label artists as a result of this. Success is judged by how well an artist feels they have done themselves. If an artist releases a single this could be seen as being successful, regardless of how well the single does in the industry. The artist could see themselves wing successful from performing at small concerts/gigs which could (to them) be successful and something to feel proud of. Major record label artists seem to be more greedy when it comes to their aspirations due to the opportunities that are open to them. This can make them more disappointed if these unrealistic 'successes' are not met. Independent record label artists tend to be more realistic and genuine. The independent record label artists however, can still reach great success, even taking over major record label artists in some cases. For example Sony Vista Music expanded their label as far across the world as Japan which enabled them for their artists to be recognised on a wider scale. securing slots are popular and well known mini tours, as well as large festivals. Therefore, for this reason I think that independent record labels are just as successful as major record labels in different ways. Independent record labels offer more diversity into the industry from the different and unique kinds of artists they sign, which is very much lacked from major record labels. They're normally a lot more raw and tend to have more musical talent as they often have arguably worked harder than artists from the major record labels. This can make them appear more talented and dedicated to the industry, in addition, the independent record labels have time and dedication to the artists in which they sign. They tend to have more dedication to developing, naturing and moulding the artist into who they want to be, giving them the opportunity to flaunt their talents in the way they wish to be represented. Independent record labels tend to also welcome the ideas from the artist and offer more choice and support to them whereas, major record labels can be quite demanding and want to create an artist that the artist may not be satisfied as being. The major record labels seem to want to uphold more of a successful and money making reputation and so, can appear sometimes to care less for the artist themselves but more for the money that they can make out of them. The major record label artists can face pressure and appear rushed in a way that the major record labels have so many artists to manage that they may not feel ann evenly distributed and dedicated time to each artist. If an artist appears to be slightly inconsiderate and unsuccessful in view of the major record label, they can be dropped instantly with no leeway for understanding for the artist.
The artist I am going to create a music video for is Adele. Adele as an artist is known very much for her soulful ballads however, does also have material situated in the pop genre too - this alone makes her interesting because it shows her versatility. Her cockney accent abundantly changes into a smooth and soulful voice when she sings, which allows her to express emotion in a distinct and effective way, making her captivating and engaging for the audience to listen to. Having this type of voice is fairly unique and makes her a more outlined artist in the industry, especially because of the contrast between her talking and singing voice. The fact that there are so many artists within the industry means it's important to have a distinct identity and qualities that help you stand out from the rest. I also find that Adele is relatable to a lot of people which probably makes her as likeable as she is. By singing content that people can relate to, it builds a connection between her and the audience. This therefore, ensures that the audience are satisfied and are able to find a way to express their emotions through her songs. The way she presents herself as being genuinely normal and like a regular person which the audience would recognise as being a good trait as they can relate to her. Going with the genre of soul, I wanted to find an artist to choose to do the music video for who was well known for this genre and one I could explore into and develop ideas from. All of Adele's songs have an in-depth meaning to them whether that relate to love or just her personal experiences in general. This enables me to use the emotion she expresses in her songs, to reflect an effective image in my video as the versatility of the ideas can be explored. Other soul artists such as Amy Winehouse also deliver emotion within their songs, however, most of hers have a jazz vibe that isn't present in Adele's which makes Adele more of a definite soul artist. Furthermore, some of Adele's videos are fairly simple such as 'Someone Like You' which shows her walking around London in a constant handheld, flowing camera movement. I wanted to make it my challenge be able to create something fresh and unique and so, choosing Adele seemed like the best option.
Adele
Adele (Adele Laurie Blue Adkins) was born on the 5th of May, 1988 in Tottenham, London. From the age of 4, her passion for singing continued to blossom until she soon became a talented, young singer/songwriter at the age of 16 - writing and composing her first single, 'Hometown Glory'. In 2006, she graduated from The BRIT School and was soon offered a recording contract from XL Recordings (still in 2006) after being noticed on MySpace (even though she had had this account from the end of 2004). XL Recordings were keen to sign her as soon as possible and so, organised a meeting to discuss her signing which Adele attended with a friend for moral support. Once all was discussed and confirmed, her manager, Jonathan Dickens was assigned to her and she soon after met her producer, Jim Abbiss, whom she still works with today. Before, recording her own material with the label, she provided vocals for other works such as 'My Yvonne' by Jame Penate. In October 2007, her breakthrough single 'Hometown Glory' was released. It became such a success that she was named Number One Breakthrough Act of that year in a BBC poll. In addition to this, in the same year, she won a Brit Award for Critics Choice. Her first album '19' was released in 2008 which quickly became a great success becoming certified 4 times platinum in the UK and double platinum in the US. Later in January 2011, Adele's album '21' was released which was another soaring success, helping increase the financial balance of XL Recordings rise from £3 million to £32 million... in only the space of 12 months. Although Adele has many popular and successful songs, the one that she is probably most renowned for 'Someone Like You' from her album '21'. It was released as a single around the same time as the album was released, strategically to boost album sales and give the audience a sense of her material. It's popularity gained it a number one in the UK for a consecutive 5 weeks and also reached the top in numerous other countries such as Ireland, New Zealand, France and Italy. This was her second number one in the US after 'Hometown Glory' was her first. The Official Chart's Company's 60th anniversary released a list of favourite singles of the last 60 years in the UK. This list was created through public voting, which collectively granted Adele's 'Someone Like You' reach the 3rd most favourite single over the past 60 years.
Make You Feel My Love
Adele's version of 'Make You Feel My Love' (originally by Bob Dylan) was released in October 2008. It peaked at number 26 in the UK singles chart, however, had a higher number of sales during 2010 - 2011 due to television, radio and live performances that helped it get the recognition she was hoping for. It then went on to feature in various films such as 'When In Rome' and television programmes such as 'Waterloo Road'. The cover was granted joint 16th longest runner of all time, due to its total of 55 weeks present in the UK Top 75.
Dyer's star theory is used in the video from the particular way in which the artist is represented. Throughout the video Adele is shown to be sad, lonely and could possibly be seen as rejected. The way she seems to constantly continue to watch her phone to see if someone replies to her message could also show her as needy and dependant. As the time shows 4:02am and the fact that everyone else in the hotel/apartment has their curtains closed, it reflects the how much she loves the person she is texting and the extent of her love. Therefore, she is represented as being so in love to the point that she could be called besotted. In this video, the artist cannot really be seen as a product. She doesn't promote anything in-particular or commit anything that would be seen as being influential to others. The video is fairly simple, which also makes it effective and enables the audience to understand the narrative clearly without the risk of influence. Adele is portrayed as being ordinary in this video, not extraordinary. This is because she acts in a way that could be relatable to others, where she is up all night thinking about someone and can't seem to function without them. She is generally illustrated as being a normal, average person where no glamour or hint of fame is demonstrated. The video places fans against hegemony as the artist is shown as being unhappy and discontent which the audience don't want to be and so are not influenced into being this and choose to copy this.
In addition to Dyer's theory, Goodwin's theory is also illustrated in the video. Firstly, the fact that the video sticks to being generically conventional is one reason. It does this by complying with the typical low-key lighting and restriction from bright colours featured in a soul genre music video. Low-key lighting in videos such as this one can either be created through simply the time of day, lights or particular filters. In this video, it seems as if it has been created through the way it has been filmed in the evening time, however, the clock states 4:02am. This dull atmosphere creates more of an emphasis on the negative feelings that the artist expresses. The audience can sympathise with her as they connect with her emotions a lot more easily from the fact that the lighting reinforces the tone and feelings of the artist. This is reflective and conventional to the soul genre as most of the lyrics portray deeper meaning and are related to personal, emotive experiences that mirror deep emotion. Therefore, the audience feel that they are engaged to watch songs from the soul genre from the raw emotion that is retrieved.
Another aspect of Goodwin's theory that is demonstrated in this video is the fact that the record label demands for close ups of artist. Many of these are scattered throughout the video to express Adele's emotions and intricately show the audience the expressions on her face. Due to the personal nature of soul songs, getting the artist's emotions across is vital in creating a connection between the artist and the audience. Without this connection, the video may lack the effectiveness that it intends to create, therefore not making the audience feel as engaged as they could be. The emotions reflect expression that could become relatable to many audience members, depending on the particular individual which is viewing the video. Adele's situation is very common and can be very relatable among a large majority of audience members, which makes them feel as if they are more like Adele. Furthermore, they feel like Adele can empathise with them, which makes her seem more ordinary and more likeable for her rawness. Having close ups in the soul genre music videos are conventional as it helps convey emotions that the song illustrates. Soul songs are generally based on personal experiences that mean a lot personally to the artist and so, with the help of close ups, the artist is able to reflect this onto the audience.
The target audience for Adele at this time would have been around 16 - 30 years old and female. This is because the content of her songs were often based around the theme of love which only a certain number of audience members would have been able to relate to. The maturity of her songs means that under the age of 16 may not understand the content, nor the feelings in which she reflects. The different experiences she sings about may not be familiar or relatable to younger generations which means that they won't be as engaged in the video for this reason. As a result, the video will not be as successful in this sense, so having the target audience at a higher age prevents this risk of becoming disengaging. This target audience also seems to be around the age that soul genre fans are, due to the sophistication of the content within the songs from this genre. Because Adele is also female, what she sings about will be more relatable to other females are they are more likely to come across a situation such as hers or like hers, more than male.
The video is predominantly performance in style, however, within the performance there is also a narrative. This is very conventional to the soul genre as it allows the artist to express the emotions in the song whilst also being able to tell a story, keeping the audience hooked. Additionally, having the artist act in the narrative can also be conventional to the genre of soul as it creates a more personal effect that the audience an empathise with. With this strengthened personal manner, the connection between the artist and the audience is also stronger as the audience feel more included in the artist's life from being familiar with the emotions they portray. The audience appeal to this style of music video as it enables them to see the artist doing what they are comfortable with (performing) whilst reflecting a story that compliments the lyrics and performance which adds diversity and interest. Being able to show this in one scene in reference to this video, makes it unique and creative as the audience still manage to stay engaged even without a change of setting or scenery. The effective use of mise-en-scene is noticeably evident throughout this video.
The first element of mise-en-scene which I am going to discuss is the setting and iconography used within. As demonstrated in the screenshot, the setting is based in a city hotel/apartment. The artist is alone in the room and is clearly the only one awake at this time in the morning. As an audience, we can see this from the shot of her in the room whilst all the other hotel rooms have their curtains shut. We know she is situated in a city from the very first shots of displayed in the video (shown in the second screenshot). Having this at the very start introduces the audience to the setting and clearly 'sets the scene'. Although we can clearly see this is a city, it is also showing a lack of life from the typical buzzing and busy city that you would expect to see. However, a police siren is still sounded at the beginning whilst these shots are being displayed onscreen, which makes it more realistic as a city always has some type of movement and life going on - whatever the time. Apart from this, due to the unexpected quiet nature of the city, it reinforces the time and the extent the artist has gone to in order to receive attention and a reply from the person she has texted which is inferred to be a loved one. This is conventional as a hotel is a relatable place for the artist to be situated and also because of its simplicity, it does not draw the audience away from the serious topic that the artist may be singing about. Virtually all of the audience would have visited a hotel before which makes the audience feel that they are more included as they feel empathetic towards Adele or feel like they could be in one of the other rooms with the curtains closed. It's ironic because most people don't stay in a hotel alone and so the fact that she is alone and that everyone else is asleep, emphasises the fact of this and could possibly reflect the way she feels - alone. This makes the audience feel sympathetic to the artist as she seems so isolated from everyone else and even isolated from the slight illustration of life that is below her as she looks out of the window. Consequently, because the audience feel so involved in the way she is so far from everyone, this makes them feel engaged to watch, to see how she goes about dealing with the situation she is in.
Moving onto iconography (which is part of the same element), I want to particularly talk about the relevance of the phone that is used in the video. This is the way that Adele contacts the inferred loved one by sending them a message. Throughout the video, Adele's attention is distracted by the phone as she can't seem to take her mind off getting a reply. The use of this iconography shows that if anything were to happen to the phone, the artist would have no way of contacting the person she has messaged. Therefore, this shows the importance of the phone being present in the video as the whole video is really based around it. The use of iconography in a way that it can be a focus for the artist is conventional to the soul genre because it emphasises the relevance of it. If the phone was not in the scene it would be difficult to think of what the video would revolve around, seeing as the artist is just longing for a reply to her initial message that she sent on the phone. This could though, be reinforcing the relevance of technology and its value to the generation of today. Even though this was filmed in 2008, mobiles were still depended on like today and so this is something the audience can acknowledge and recognise. This makes her relatable because the way she depends on her phone is likewise with the majority of the audience who are watching.
Another element of mise-en-scene is costume, hair and makeup. The costume that the artist is wearing consists of a plain nightshirt though, she later puts on a hooded cardigan. This obviously shows that she would have tried to go to sleep before staying up and thinking to message someone. The plainness of the nightshirt could connote purity and innocence, representing the artist as being associated with these. As she puts the hooded cardigan on, it is inferred to the audience that she is willing to stay up longer to receive a message back. This reflects her dedication and loyalty to this person which the audience can recognise and appreciate. Because of the relatable nature of the costume, it becomes conventional to the soul genre as many can relate. The audience feel as though they can empathise with the artist as they would have been in her position before.
For the majority of the video, Adele is sat positioned in the middle of her bed. This also places her central in the shots taken of her. It ensures that all of the attention is on herself and that the audience are not distracted in any way. Attracting the focus to her allows the audience to be able to watch how she performs and also expresses the narrative, enabling them to see the facial expressions and/or body language that she may happen to commit. The central area of the screen is where the eyes naturally look to and so, it is appropriate to place the artist here if the attention is solely intended to stay on them. This is conventional to the genre of soul because the emotion is able to be perceived by the audience, strengthening the bond between the audience and artist. At a point in the video, Adele gets up from the bed and looks out of the window. This could be inferred that she is seeking something else to focus on other than thinking of the person she has messaged. Otherwise, it could also mean that emphasis is being created on the fact that the person she has texted is someone out there whilst she is the only one in her room and the only one awake. This reinforces her loneliness and needy nature as it is as if she is longing to find someone out there that will listen to her. The emphasis makes it easier for the audience to understand and interact with the artist.
Lighting is also part of mise-en-scene. There is low-key lighting throughout with the only source of light being from the phone. With this in mind, the light form the phone could symbolise the person who she messaged being the only light in the artist's life, which gives a sense of hope to her. Furthermore, it emphasises the phone's presence even more and the audience are also enabled to see what the artist is doing on the phone. The low-key lighting is conventional to the soul genre as the mood becomes quite dull and deep which is a common mood type for a soul genre music video due to the content within the songs. This means that the audience feel more engaged as they have to pay more attention with low-key lighting as particular things may not be as clear.
Facial expressions and body language is the next element of mise-en-scene. Throughout the video, Adele is fairly neutral in regards to her expression. This makes her appear natural on camera as it shows that her miming is good and in time, as well as being believable making it more realistic. She is holding her arms when she sits on the bed which is quite closed body language and is fairly reserved. This could show that she doesn't want to open up or that she has low self esteem as she doesn't want to give the impression of exposing herself in any way. She shows facial expressions that do reflect the sadness of the song which is conventional to the soul genre because most soul genre songs are sad in some way. In this particular shot, the backlight emphasises the sadness and discontent nature of what Adele is expressing as the light hits the particular parts of the face to illuminate this. The fairly neutral nature of her performance could be seen as being unconventional to the soul genre as it i not displaying as much emphasis on emotion. However, it still shows realism and the rawness that a real performance should provide and so is still classed as being conventional to the soul genre. The audience appeal to this because they are able to see her doing what she loves and expressing that through the way she has taken it so seriously and believable.
There are many various main cinematography techniques illustrated throughout. There are frequent high angle shots which help to display the setting and reinforce the idea that Adele is the only one awake. As shown in the screenshot, the shot displays the artist in her room whilst all the other hotel rooms have their curtains closed, implying that they are asleep. The high angle also makes her appear as being smaller, especially in comparison to the surroundings. Having this not only symbolises that she is the minority who is up at this particular time but also reflects a lack of dominance. The audience having to look down on the artist shows that they are feeling low, lacking a sense of happy emotion. High angle shots are used to reinforce a level of status or authority in soul genre music videos as it tends to help the idea of how low the artist is feeling or trying to convey as being.
Another cinematography technique is handheld movement. The use of this camera movement makes the audience feel as if they are in the scenes and are filming the artist themselves. It could also express the way in which she represents herself in the way that the handheld suggests that she is unstable and alone. This is emphasised in the video through this shot as it compliments the neutral expressions that she portrays. It also allows the audience to feel sympathetic towards her from the way that they feel as if they cannot reach out to relieve her from the situation that she is in. This type of movement also creates diversity and interest within the video as it prevents the repetition of the standard still shots. This is conventional to the genre of soul through the way that the movement portrays the artist's emotions and the deeper meaning to the reason behind using handheld camera movements.
An editing technique commonly used in the video is shot-reverse-shot. In this particular one shown in the screenshots below, Adele is seen in a close up, singing. After this a shot f her from the back is displayed where she is looking out of the window. Following this is a shot back to Adele singing. This type of shot gives another perspective to the video, as the second shot gives the audience a glimpse of what the artist can see out the window. It also allows the audience to see what emotions the artist is conveying whilst they look out of the window. This is conventional to the genre as it allows the audience to see two things at once which also helps to link the performance and the narrative together. For the same reason, this is why it appeals to the audience.
A further editing technique used in Adele's video is the use of a light filter which gives a slight blue tone to the look of the video. This emphasises the sad and depressing emotion that she expresses in the song and video. Due to the fact that blue connotes sadness and being 'down', this filter has been applied to reinforce the nature of the emotions of this video. It also gives the artist a paler look, which matches the neutral tone of her initial emotions. Death is also associated with being pale and so, by giving her this look, it makes her look as if her situation has drained the life out of her. This makes the audience feel weary of her emotions and understand the artist more, maybe in a more sensitive way. This type of editing is very conventional to the soul genre as most topics of soul songs are based on personal experiences relating to negative situations or effects. The coldness of this filter, when complimented with low-key lighting creates a sombre tone that most soul genre music videos have in order to stay conventional to the genre.
Chasing Pavements
'Chasing Pavements' was Adele's second single after 'Hometown Glory'. It became the 27th best selling single of 2008 in the UK, receiving over 280,000 sales. As of October 2011, the single had sold over 1,200,000 copies making it Adele's first top 40 hit on the 'BillBoard Hot 100'. Although it was released over 7 years ago, people still are familiar with the song and it is still played on some radios today - even when the fact is that Adele is hiding from the industry at the moment as she has been working on a new album.
Dyer's star theory is used in the video clearly. The artist is represented as being quite helpless from the way that she is in one of the cars that have been b
obstructed by the car crash. Furthermore, when the two injured are being seen to, she stands there and performs as though the other characters are unaware of her presence. From the way that she doesn't help could present her as being narrator-like, especially as the characters didn't seem to acknowledge her. She is shown as being both ordinary and extraordinary. She is shown as being ordinary from the way that she is in a car waiting because of someone who has crashed ahead of her. This unfortunately is a common type of accident that does affect other drivers, her happening to be in this video but in real life it could be anyone, so she is relatable - which is further reinforced through the way she is dressed casually. Though, she is also shown as extraordinary from the way she doesn't have to get involved or feel the need to. She just stands there and watches over the events which seems to make her seem like she has power and authority. She cannot particularly be viewed as a product and the video places fans against hegemony. She doesn't do anything that could be influenced and so this is the reason why.
Goodwin's theory is used in various ways in the video. For example, the way that there is a link between the music and the visuals. This is shown through the way that in the video there is a plane crash where a couple are on the floor injured and not moving. However, each time Adele sings the chorus, they 'come alive' and begin to dance with one another whilst telling a story of inferably how they met and how their relationship blossomed. Having this occur on the liveliest and upbeat parts of the song emphasises the movements of the dancing and also creates emphasis on the way they 'come alive' as it seems to make it more prominent and magical. Everyone else can see them just injured motionless on the floor, however, at these times in the song they do come alive. Doing it in this way helps to break up the movements slightly but also create an effective performance. As well as this, it makes it conventional as it gives it a unique twist that soul artists tend to do so that their videos are original and are not too typical to the state where it looks similar to something else.
A further way in which Goodwin's theory is used is from the way that there is a high number of close ups of the artist which would have been demanded by the record label. They make sure they include lots of this type of shot so that the audience can familiarise a lot better with the artist meaning that they are more likely to recognise them when seeing them elsewhere. This is important to the label as it helps ensure that Adele's audience is being satisfied and connected with. It is further important to the audience as they feel more close to her and they are also able to pick up on any particular features, characteristics or motifs that she may display across her work. Consequently, this gives her an identity and when the audience see her do a motif (if they do) they can link it to her as it is a unique feature of hers. This is conventional to the soul genre as close ups help to display the emotion that the serious issue wants to address. The emotion is therefore put across to the audience a lot better as they can see the expressions she makes a lot more clearly.
The target audience for Adele is 16 - 30 years old and female. They are female as they can relate to her situation a lot more easily as it is from a woman's perspective, making it more empathetic. Furthermore, the situation she is singing about is that she doesn't know whether to give up on someone or carry on pursuing something with them even if nothing is to come out of it. This is most likely a situation that would not have occurred to someone under the age of 16 which is conventional to the soul genre as most of the songs are based around the theme of love. Also the way she has written this about a persona experience makes her more relatable which is a further convention of the soul genre and appeals to the audience as they can empathise with her better.
The style of the music video is narrative and performance - an equal balance of both. The music video enters a scene of a car crash where there is a man and woman laying on the floor clearly injured as a result. Adele is placed in one of the cars with a man in with her, in which has been obstructed due to the crash. Adele looks out of her window to the man and woman on the floor and sings the song with a fairly mutual expression. This is mirrored by the motionless individuals on the floor and so the emphasis on their lack of movement is evident here. However, when the choruses are sung the man and woman begin to dance and it is clear that they are a couple at this point. Each time they dance, it demonstrates the building of their relationship from when they first met, to the crash. It shows the man picking up a scarf which she had dropped as a meeting point, and then we see him find a letter suggesting that she has cheated but then it seems they got back together again, started building the relationship up again and then the crash occurs. Adele is positioned by a tree when the paramedics are seeing to the couple which makes her like a narrator as the characters do not acknowledge her in the scene. She performs in the parts where the couple are not dancing and so doesn't distract the attention away from either movement.
Mise-en-scene is used effectively in the video. For example, the way that the setting is relatable in the way that it is a public place the audience can associate with. It is shown as being in a regular street that any audience member could come across. It is set in London but actually in fact was filmed in Los Angeles. The popularity of the city means that the audience appeal to the setting as it makes it seem more luxurious. However, the simplistic nature shows it as being fairly basic which means the attention of the audience is not deterred. Therefore, they can solely focus on the performance and the narrative. This is conventional to the genre of soul as it is intended that the attention is upheld in order to put across the seriousness of the emotion that the topic of the song is based around. The audience can familiarise with the setting and focus on the artist which appeals to them because they are able to get the most out of the video as possible.
The costume, hair and makeup is another element of miss-en-scene. As shown in the screenshot, Adele is wearing casual clothing in the video. This fits the narrative that she is simply just someone who has been stopped in her car because of an occurred car crash. It makes her seem more like a regular person which appeals to the audience as they feel they can relate to her more. Presenting her also as being a normal person makes her appeal to the audience because she could be seen as being inspiring. From making her seem like a normal, regular person, likewise to an audience member makes her inspiring for the way she has achieved so much success. This makes the audience believe that they can do the same and that no dream is unreachable to live. Being relatable to the audience also makes her conventional to the soul genre as she appeals to the audience as they feel empathetic towards her. The positioning of the characters are used in a particularly effective way in the video. Adele is seen standing by a tree at the edge of what is going on with the paramedics and the injured individuals. She acts as a narrator here as they do not show any sign of knowing that she is present. She is looking over the scene and what is going on whilst in a way could be observing. This makes her seem fairly dominant, especially in the way that she is not involved and that she doesn't feel the need to get involved. This is conventional to the soul genre as the artist is shown to be the dominating feature in the video. This appeals to the audience as they are able to focus on the artist but also see what is going on in the scene in an equal balance. The lighting used throughout is fairly neutral. This gives the video a realistic vibe and that the audience feel more involved and included from the way that this is. However, before the couple get taken away by paramedics in separate directions, the lighting is positioned aiming upwards which outlines shadows of other couples dancing. This reinforces an idea that because you cannot see the identity of the shadows, it lacks a knowing of identity. It fundamentally shows that generally, people who become injured are just a lot of people under a category of being injured. This shows that at the end of the day, even though the couple had complications in the relationship which was then resolved, they are still striated in the same way which results them in parting ways anyway. The lighting shows the lack of identity and so a lacking of distinction between the individuals featured. This appeals to the audience as they feel sympathetic towards the couple and also helps them to understand the narrative more. As well as this, it is conventional to the genre of soul due to the fact that the lighting has helped emphasise an idea or create a particular emotion. The facial expressions and body language used throughout are effective in different ways. The body language of the couple that dance on the floor is very significant from the way that they show emotion through the way in which they act. The body language shown like in the screenshot helps to display them in their 'good place' in their relationship. It shows how much they love each other and the passion they feel as being this close shows how comfortable they are with one another. This is conventional as this body language helps to display the emotion that is intended and reinforces the conventional theme of love. This appeals to the audience as it gives a twist on showing feelings, creating interest and engagement within the video.
There are many different effective cinematography techniques displayed throughout the video. For example, this aerial shot is featured mostly when the man and woman appear dancing. This type of shot enable to audience to see the narrative that is being portrayed more clearly as the characters are acting on the floor whilst making it look different from the perspective that is shown to the audience. The audience see the narrative unroll as if the man and woman are standing normally upright. This gives a twist on the look of the scene that makes the audience feel engaged from the way they may have never seen anything like it before in reference to the particular way that the narrative is being displayed to them. This is conventional to the genre of soul to include this type of shot as it also creates a representation of status. The audience looking down on the scene makes them seem more superior from the higher angles at which they are based. The characters then appear smaller and therefore represents them as being weaker which mirrors the way in which they are in fact really just laying on the floor motionless.
Eye level shots are also included in the video, like the one screenshotted. This makes the audience feel as if they are in the scene looking at the characters in real life from the level that the scene is shown in. The audience also feel more relatable to the characters as they can roughly see what they would be able to see also. This makes the audience build a relationship between the characters as they feel more involved in the scene. A relationship between the artist and audience is also built as the lyrics create a chilled atmosphere at this point which also makes the audience feel relaxed whilst watching. This is conventional to the genre of soul as the relatable nature of using the eye level shot makes the audience feel more involved which is typically conventional.
One of the editing techniques used in this video is slow timing of shots. This is shown in one part of the video where the artist is walking along a path next to a park. This emphasises the way that the artist is walking away from the situation that she could potentially involve herself in and help the injured couple. It also could show how irony is displayed. This is through the way that even though the lyrics in the chorus remark the way that she is 'chasing pavements' the slowness of her action contrasts to this as 'chasing' is associated with fast movement. The way that Adele is walking so slow allows the audience to also see the intricate detail of the gestures she may make and the features she may continually repeat. This type of editing is very typical of being conventional of soul genre music videos from the way that they display more detail for the audience to witness. It also creates a more relaxed vibe to the video which is what soul genre artists want to create as the topic of the songs may be more complex and so this creates a balance between the two.
The continuity of shots it shown in the editing also within the video, as shown in the screenshots below:
This is clearly shown through the way that the video features various straight cuts of the artist in the same position and situation in a scene. She is shown at different angles and perspectives which are put together to form a continuity of shots. This type of editing allows the audience to witness different perspectives and looks of the artist which makes them build more of a connection with her as they become more familiar with her. It also creates interest within the video and allows the audience to stay engaged which may prove to be difficult if the scene just stuck with on general shot to film the artist. This is conventional to the genre of soul as the audience can stay engaged in the subject that she is singing about.
This research into my chosen artist, Adele, will assist me with planning my own music video as it has outlined the particular ways in which they tend to 'go about' their music videos. I will use different techniques that are displayed in both for example the close ups. I will use this type of shot through the way that they are very effective in easily portraying the emotion of the artist. Moreover, the slow-pace editing used helps to emphasise particular movements which is conventional to the soul genre. Overall in both videos, Adele is quite neutral in emotion which is quite engaging because the audience feel the need to focus on her more because of this. The idea of using lighting to portray emotion is an idea that will very much influence my music video as it tends to create a definite effect.
