applying for music copyright

The copyright law gives a director or producer of certain media pieces, such as music, books and videos, control over how it is used and shared. Therefore, when you buy a music track or watch a music video, the copyright law prevents you from giving a copy to a friend or publishing a music video based on the song on a video platform such as YouTube without permission from the creator. However, it is permissible to copy a piece of media to a certain degree without infringing the work for certain purposes such as for education. The copyright law ensures that if an artist produces something similar to another artist then action would be taken as the success of their music is not completely theirs; copying someones work is known as plagiarism and is illegal. However, you are permitted to request to use an artist's song in your own work; for example, Birdy released a piano cover of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love" but evidently had to seek permission as it was not originally her song. There is the issue that if two artists make a song that is exceedingly similar, then the artist who originally made the song could receive less credit for their own work. Therefore, it is paramount that an artist requests permission with the original creator of a song or video to see if they are happy with certain elements being copied.

The reason why we had to apply for copyright law is so that when we make our music video and publish it on YouTube so the examiners can see it, we want to make sure the record label of Gabrielle Aplin - Parlophone - are comfortable with us keeping the video up. If we do not have permission, the label is eligible to take the 
video down from Youtube due to infringement. If this occurred, someone is lawfully able to take the person who exploited the copyright law to court. Applying for copyright is exceedingly important as it shows the public that the work you have created is in fact not an original authorship, but rather your ideas have been taken from elsewhere. Therefore, my group and I had to apply for permission to use Gabrielle Aplin's song "Salvation". In order to obtain permission, we first had to establish who the copyright owner of the song was; in this case it was the artist's record label "Parlophone". We then had to search up the label and find the correct email of the person to talk to regarding the matter. We found the managing director's mail address, Keith Wozencroft, and explained our situation as A-Level students creating a coursework piece. This way, we have taken the correct measures before creating our music video. As our situation involves educational purposes, it is more likely that copying various elements of the song will be deemed acceptable as it is not for our own personal financial gain. Telling the record label that it is not a commercial purpose is crucial as otherwise we may have had to pay a fee. The screenshot above on the left is a copy of the email that we sent to the record label. We have currently only emailed them once and have not received a response yet.

There have been some cases in the music industry where copyright has been an issue. For example, the well-know song "Ghostbusters" by "Ray Parker Jr." actually bears an uncanny similarity to Huey Lewis and the News' "I Want a New Drug". Huey Lewis had actually been approached by the Ghostbusters producer to write a song for the movie but turned the opportunity down and therefore his song created high suspicion of infringement. However, the law suit filed was supposed to go undiscovered but as Lewis discussed the copyright issue on a TV show, Ray Parker Jr. sued for breaching the confidentiality agreement. This demonstrates the high importance of keeping to the copyright law and always making sure you have permission before using an artist's work.

My group and I are still waiting for a response from the record label as to whether it is acceptable to use Gabrielle Aplin's song; however we have decided to go ahead and make the music video regardless.

research into chosen music genre

Why is the indie genre a good choice for myself?

Personally, the indie genre is a good choice for me, as it can be a lot more expressive than other genres. Particularly in indie music videos, there is a lot of room for ambiguity as conventionally the artist will make a narrative based video, which allows the audience to interpret the meaning of it in their own way. The flexibility of the genre in context to making a music video means that you are not constrained to adhering to strict conventions; for instance, within the dance genre, you have to include dancing, drinking and provocative images, as well as fast pace cuts in the editing for the audience to recognize it is a dance music video. However, with the indie genre, you have the freedom to choose any style of video, whether it be concept, performance or narrative, and within these styles, you can make the video about anything you wish. The indie genre is arguably a lot more artistic than other genres, which is personally appealing ; they tend to put more thought and creativity into their music videos as indie artists like to sharply focus more upon the relationship between the visuals and lyrics/music to create real meaning for the audience. In addition, as the genre tends to rely more on traditional instruments such as the piano or a guitar, rather than computer synthesized sounds, the videos instantaneously become a lot more natural and personal which I find more appealing when watching a music video.

A similar artist to Gabrielle Aplin, my chosen artist, is Nina Nesbitt. The Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist's music video for her song "Stay Out" closely follows the codes and conventions of the indie genre. The establishing shot of the video shows the artist with her instrument - a typical convention of the genre. This shot automatically signifies the genre of the video, alongside the use of a cobbled street town for the setting of the video. It is conventional of the indie genre to use quite small towns to set their videos as they connote intimacy, which is typically featured in the songs. In addition, the indie genre conventionally stick to low-budget videos where the setting is somehow easily accessible as there is more emphasis placed upon the meaning of the lyrics. Furthermore, the location is actually in Scotland as Nina Nesbitt herself is Scottish and therefore setting the video in her home-town makes it a lot more personal and authentic. Goodwin's theory suggests that there are typical genre characteristics in a music video, which "Stay Out" conforms too; however, there are also aspects that are part of the genre iconography. The use of a guitar is iconic of the indie (acoustic) genre and therefore as soon as the audience see the instrument they will know what to expect in the music video if they have never listened to or watched a Nina Nesbitt song. The audience of Nina Nesbitt will be largely females around the age of 16-25.


Moreover, there is iconography of a Scottish theme throughout the video: the location is an obvious pointer; however there is a shot of a shop window selling kilts which shows part of the Scottish culture. 
There are also quite a few wide shots which are used to illustrate the setting, and through this we see different parts of a Scottish town that is presumably the social hub for teenagers. However, some of the shots we see of the landscape are actually point of view or eye-line match shots. This makes the video more personal as the audience are only seeing what the artist is looking at and therefore there is more focus on what the artist regards as important to her.

In the first screenshot, we can see the costume that Nina Nesbitt is wearing - ripped jeans and a leather jacket - which is quite conventional as her style is quite alternative, just as the genre is. However, her costume also represents the target audience age group: teenagers. Nina Nesbitt herself is only twenty-one years of age so her costume reflects what other people her age wear, and therefore her target audience will find her more appealing as they see familiarity in trends. Furthermore, props such as instruments are conventionally used in indie music videos as the artist likes to make their video look more realistic and convey that they are actually the ones playing the instruments heard in the music.

This medium close up and other the shoulder shot of the artist holding the photographs again reflects the fashion/costume style chosen within the video; Nina is wearing a lot of bracelets and rings which is a conventional costume of the indie genre. A lot of the target audience would see this and want to aspire to it as  due to their age they can relate to her fashion style. In addition, we can see that the two friends on either side of Nina are both wearing leather jackets, as is Nina, subliminally conveying to the audience the ideology that leather jackets are a highly fashionable piece of clothing.

In addition, near the start of the video, there are a few shots put together where Nina is putting on her make-up, as are her friends in the background, which is something familiar to the majority of the audience, as they are teenage girls. The amount of make-up Nina is wearing is not actually conventional of the genre as most female indie artists stick to looking more natural. However, as the video has a very specific target audience (teenagers), the conventions have been changed slightly to appeal to the target audience as a lot of teenagers stereo-typically wear a lot of make-up. 

Conventionally in indie music videos, filters are applied to add emotional effect. In some cases, black and white filters are used to make the audience feel the sad connotations within the lyrics, but on occasion, brighter filters are used. Here, an old movie style filter has been edited into the video, similar to one you may see on Instagram. This again shows how much influence Nina Nesbitt has over her teenage audience as they are obviously frequent uses of social media. Therefore, they will recognize the filter as it is similar to the one that they and their friends use and they will find the video more appealing. In addition, the setting of this shot is at a fish and chips shop which is relevant to the target audience as genuinely on a night out, teenagers "stay out" and often go into food stores. 
With the exception of using filters, it is conventional of the indie genre to avoid using special effects of any kind; a lot of the editing is minimalist in order to create a natural and verisimilitude-like feel to the video so that the audience actually feel more like they are a part of the video, a part of the artists' life. Therefore, continuity editing is used throughout the video as it allows a smooth transition between one shot and another and make the video feel more realistic. Keeping the video more focused on the meaning behind the lyrics means that the audience learn more about the artist rather than concepts the artist has produced. In this case, the audience, who are similar, perhaps slightly younger, in age to Nina Nesbitt will see this video which portrays her as just as ordinary person who does similar things with her friends as the audience do and therefore the video automatically seems more personal and genuine.

The facial expressions used throughout the video reflect the genre of the music video; indie songs are conventionally more upbeat and therefore the characters generally look quite happy. The facial expressions of Nina Nesbitt are highlighted the most throughout the video as the ideology that teenagers are supposed to be carefree is being strongly put across. When the audience watch her video, they will aspire to live as she does as they see how much fun Nina is having with her friends and therefore will want the same thing in their own lives.

Goodwin suggests that there are different styles of a music video, and the style chosen for "Stay Out" is both narrative and performance. There is a narrative of showing what Nina and her friends get up to when they "stay out", however there are also parts of the video where we see Nina standing in the street on her own playing her guitar and singing. These shots are equally as important as they isolate the artist from everything around them and allow the audience to focus more on solely the artist. In addition, these parts of the video feature close up shots of Nina which connotes intimacy and therefore the audience feel more of a part of the video.

Using two difference the audience feel like they are connecting to the artist more as you are being presented with two different sides of Nina; the one on her own and the one you see with her friends. There is a strong ideology coming through the video of that teenagers are just meant to have fun and enjoy their youth; this adheres to the stereotype already established about teenagers.

The other female indie artist I looked at is the English singer-songwriter Birdy. Her cover of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love" features an extremely popular music video. The music uses an exceedingly dull and monotone color scheme throughout which reflects the sadness of the lyrics. Goodwin states that there is a relationship between the music and the visuals, which this music video conforms to. The use of low-key lighting throughout the majority of the video has been purposefully selected to match the "skinny love" between two people; a love that is skinny is one that is doomed to fail. The depressing mood of the video strongly contrasts with Nina Nesbitt's "Stay Out" as "Skinny Love" takes the polar-opposite route of indie genre conventions.


The video starts with an establishing shot of a dusty glass globe, which signifies it is an important object for the narrative of the music video; the majority of the lighting used has been placed behind the globe to fully emphasis its significance. The concluding shot of the video is actually the exact same as the establishing shot except it is in reverse. This connotes an idea that perhaps the lyrics have a deeper meaning of the artist wishing to go back in time and rekindle the love that once was - an extremely stereotypical idea of love stories.

This close up of Birdy's foot as she plays the piano is significant to the genre as it is very conventional of indie music videos to include the artist playing an instrument, particularly a piano or guitar. The fact that Birdy is shown playing the piano herself makes the video seem more realistic and authentic as the audience can see that she is talented and well-established within the indie genre.

In addition to the dark color scheme, there are also a lot of mid-shots of the artist; however, these shots have been taken from behind Birdy. The excessive use of low-key lighting in these types of shots connotes an almost ghost-like figure of the artist. Furthermore, the use of an abandoned house as the setting for the 

video adds to the idea of withering away and no longer feeling alive as just as everything in the house is dying, as it the artist. However, there are parts of the video where more high-key lighting is used. The natural lighting used in this shot here juxtaposes with the predominant darkness of the music video. This lighting connotes hopefulness of the future and perhaps there is a glimmer of something more. However, it is also suggestive that outside is bright, natural and full of life, whereas inside the house the artist is slowly drifting away from reality. 

This shot here also links with the idea of life and moving forward as in this scene, Birdy shuts some curtains which are open and exposing the natural light and world outside. When the darkness fills the room, the last of the light shines on the object of a prince which is of course a stereotypical stock character of fairy tale love stories. This suggests that the artist is shutting out all light and hope on anything to do with love. It is conventional of the indie genre to make use of out imagery, as Birdy's music video does here. Another point in the video when imagery is used is when Birdy steps over shards of a broken mirror; there are reference to objects in the lyrics which are shown in the visuals (this conforms to Goodwin's theory of there being a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics) and therefore creates surrealism as the song is about love, yet these broken pieces signify the opposite.

The costume that Birdy is wearing in the video is quite interesting: she has adorned a simple white dress which has strong connotations of a wedding - which evidently never occurred. However, the color white also connotes purity and innocence which is significant to the lyrics as the love between two people dwindled away and never occurred. There is also a lot of ambiguity and mystery attached to the lyrics as we do not actually know what occurred between these two people. This is conventional of the indie genre as there is often a lot of room for interpretation. 

The video conforms to Goodwin's theory of there being a specific style to a music video; in this case, Birdy has chosen a narrative and performance based one. The narrative style is actually very fitting for this video as although there are no shots of any other characters such as the partner that Birdy is singing about, we see the story being unfolded nonetheless. In addition, solely focusing on Birdy makes the story a lot more personal as it is purely from her point of view and therefore the audience feel more connected to the artist. The audience would be predominantly females around the age of 16-25. 

Another aspect of Goodwin's theory is that there are a lot of close ups of the artist; here, we do see quite a few close up shots of Birdy singing. Here, we can see that unlike another of Goodwin's theory that there voyeuristic treatment of the female body, Birdy is represented as quite plain and ordinary. She is not wearing a lot of make-up at all which strongly suggests that her main focus is not on herself but rather presenting her music. This idea is further backed by the fact that a lot of shots of her are taken from behind, not in front, so we cannot see her face. The use of close up shots are also useful in creating a connection between the artist and the audience as the audience feel more directly linked to the artist.

Throughout the video there is an ongoing theme of simplicity; even the editing adheres simply to using continuity editing and not much else more. The use of an abandoned house as a location means there is no need for special effects or green screens as the setting is very limited. In addition, the artist has specifically chosen to stick with continuity editing as it creates verisimilitude and therefore the audience will feel like what the artist is singing about is actually real.

My research on my chosen genre will help with planning my music video as I am now more aware of the intricate details behind the codes and conventions of the indie genre. I now understand different paths I can take in terms of narrative as these two videos I analyzed have two completely different emotions behind them: one positive and one negative. Therefore, I can adopt this to my own video as I am doing "Salvation" by Gabrielle Aplin which has both a mixture of positive and negative connotations. The use of different filters in the "Stay Out" video is extremely appealing and I think I could somehow use that in my music video - perhaps by using a black and white filter. In addition, I also like the moodiness of the lighting in the "Skinny Love" video as my music video would be more interesting if I altered the lighting throughout the video. Finally, looking at the different costumes worn in both videos has been very helpful as I now have a rough idea of what the audience of the indie genre would expect.

research into chosen artist

Gabrielle Aplin is a good artist choice in the indie genre as her music video style is quite easy to use and adapt.  In addition, the lyrics she uses allow a lot for a lot of freedom whilst choosing the content of the video. Gabrielle Aplin conventionally uses a narrative style video and features herself being a protagonist and her style is quite appealing as she uses a lot of natural and artistic images; a lot of her videos are set in the countryside with forests or bike roads. These areas would be suitable for me as I live in in area with a lot of forests and scenic views which I can easily film at. In addition, a lot of her content features shots of things that the audience will aspire to - predominantly concerning romantic relationships - and therefore it is more appealing to watch and also easier to film. A lot of people in the audience (mostly young females of the age 16-30) enjoy Gabrielle Aplin's music as she sings about real-life situations which most people in the life will have, will want to or will in the future, experience. The audience can apply their own experiences to the video in order to relate to it on a personal level, which makes it a lot more appealing to watch and therefore this is another reason why I chose her. Lastly, as Gabrielle Aplin is a solo artist and not in a band, this makes filming music video easier as it means that you do not have to conform to conventions as rigidly.

Gabrielle Aplin is a British singer-songwriter who's major musical influences are Joni Mitchell and Bruce Springsteen ever since her parents bought her a guitar at the mere age of 11. She first came to public acknowledgement due to her YouTube channel where she posted videos of herself singing covers of songs by bands such as Paramore, You Me At Six, Katy Perry and Cee Lo Green. After school, she attended the City of Bath college where she studied music and participated in the college's in-house label BA1 Records. Then, in July 2010 she performed her first release of the 5-track Acoustic EP on her local radio station, BBC Wiltshire. The success of the EP was so good that it reached the top 25 in the UK iTunes album chart, as well as one of the songs, "Reverse", being featured on the BAFTA award-winning show, "Made in Chelsea". In February 2012, the English singer-songwriter signed a record deal with Parlophone and begun recording her debut album. Parlophone is a record label founded in Germany that has various genre of artists signed to them, including Gorillaz, Kraftwerk and Two Door Cinema Club; the company also released various albums by The Beatles. It was only when  she was chosen to score the upcoming John Lewis advert in December 2012, by singing a cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "The Power of Love", that she really received public acclaim and attention. Her second single "Please Don't Say You Love Me" that was released later on in 2013 peaked sixth in the charts. Then, in May 2013, she released her debut album, "English Rain" which released a round of positive reviews and made it to second in the UK album chart as well as certifying Gold in the UK and over 100,000 copies being sold. The album subsequently led to further singles such as "Panic Cord", "Home" and "Salvation". In May 2015, Gabrielle Aplin announced that she was releasing a second studio album, "Light Up the Dark" and one of the songs on the album, "Heavy Heart" also came out to promote the release. She also released a video for another song, "Sweet Nothing", which was played on BBC Radio 1. Besides music, Gabrielle Aplin also has a deal signed with Storm modelling agency, although she claims she has no interest in becoming a model but simply to take pictures which reflect her music.


One of the music videos by Gabrielle 
Aplin that I am going to analysis is "Panic Cord". The target audience of the music video is evidently predominantly females around the age of 15-25.

Dyer's star theory of paradoxes can be applied to the video as the artist is both present and absent in the video. Throughout the video we learn about Gabrielle Aplin as the narrative follows a story about the artist reminiscing on certain memories from a box her partner kept. As the artist is going through the box, it is like the audience are going through her life along with her and therefore we discover so much about the artist despite the fact that we do not actually know her personally. Therefore, the idea of Gabrielle Aplin being absent relates to the fact that she is not actually a physical part of the audience's lives. The audience merely discuss Gabrielle Aplin socially and perhaps "fangirl" about her which will lead to the artist influencing how the audience live their life according to specific trends set. 
In this close up shot above, we see the box that the artist is singing about "you kept all the things I threw away". This conforms to Goodwin's theory of there being a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics. The misc-en-scene links in here as natural lighting which is high-key is shown to shine around the box, which highlights the significance of the box and that it is the pivotal aspect of the video. Due to the fact that it is the male of the narrative who kept the box of memories, it shows that Gabrielle Aplin is actually not as attached or in love with him as he is with her. This is quite a subversive representation of a female indie artist, as it would be more conventional to see the female artist reminiscing and desiring to rekindle a once been love; the lyrics link with this visual interpretation as Gabrielle sings "this meant more to you than it did to me". 

The lighting throughout the video is predominantly high-key, which suggests that as the entire video consists of analepsis, Gabrielle Aplin is looking back on the memories with a positive attitude and clarity. However, it is also plausible to suggest that the numerous flashbacks used suggest that the relationship is slowly but surely deteriorating each time the past is brought back to the surface. 
In this shot, we see the costume the artist is wearing is quite vintage, conforming to the audience's expectations of the genre, which Goodwin proposes there are in every music video. Furthermore, Gabrielle Aplin has chosen to wear something simple and is the colour white; this connotes purity and innocence which perhaps reflects the nature of the relationship as well, therefore suggesting that the relationship did not go far. The simplicity of the costume is another convention of the indie genre as the artist tends to go for more "comfortable" clothing and focus more on the quality of the content of the music video. In addition, the clothing creates an ideology that what you look like is not the key importance, which separates Gabrielle from other artists, particularly mainstream ones. Another characteristic of the genre is to show the artist playing an instrument; the frequent shots of Gabrielle Aplin playing her guitar, shown from different angles, is useful in creating verisimilitude and therefore the audience will find the music video more appealing as it has a more natural look and feel. The use of location of a bedroom is another genre characteristic, as conventionally indie music videos use simple settings, as once again, the artist focuses more on getting a narrative across or showing themselves performing the song with their instrument(s).

However, in the concluding shots of the video, the lighting dramatically changes as the visuals have been edited to create a more orangey colored filter. The purpose of this is to perhaps suggest the relationship has finally ended. This links with Goodwin's theory of there being a relationship between the music and the visuals as well as the lyrics and the visuals. The way it links with the music and the visuals is because the beats of the music increase a lot more right at the end when the visuals show the couple giving each other a final hug goodbye. This marks both the end of the relationship as well as the end of the narrative. In addition, there is a relationship shown between the lyrics and the visuals, because as the visuals show the changing of colors of the shot and the couple hug goodbye, Gabrielle repeatedly sings "maybe I'm the one to blame". This strongly connotes that Gabrielle is the one who cared less about the relationship than the male as she is only truly regarding she is the one to blame right at the end of the video.

This is the only other time low-key lighting is used. The wide shot used along with the natural lighting from the fire signifies the intimacy between the couple and demonstrates that the past is full of happy memories. As the couple look almost like silhouettes, it demonstrates the fact that appearance does not take precedence over concept in the video. The artist evidently feels that the narrative of the love story is more important to present to the audience.

The makeup that the artist is wearing also reflects the genre as Gabrielle is wearing quite minimal makeup. In addition to the editing of filters, the artist looks quite soft and natural which flows with the rest of the video. Pastel colors have been used throughout the video in order to create this desired soft tone which matches the tone of the lyrics and the music. This links in with Goodwin's theory of there being a relationship between the music and the visuals. The relationship between the music and the visuals is shown through the use of regularly changing the location to match the slight energy of the tempo of the music. The video has been edited to create fast-pace cuts between shots which therefore helps to keep with the more upbeat tempo of the music. The use of pan shots as well as tilting the shot, help to create a more authentic feel to the video, added to the fast-paced editing, the video seems more spontaneous and exciting.

Another shot the music video often uses is close ups. This conforms to Goodwin's theory that there is a demand from the record label to have lots of close ups of the artist as they are the pivotal aspect of the video. The use of close up shots are helpful in illustrating the artist's facial expressions and therefore allow the audience to see how the artist is feeling, gaining a more personal connection with them. In this close up shot, we see Gabrielle Aplin singing and playing guitar whilst looking nostalgically into the distance. This helps to keep the narrative active and more interesting as for the audience, it is like they are gaining entry into the artist's thoughts and perspective, particularly as the camera is on Gabrielle nearly all the time.

Dyer's other paradox is about how the artist is represented as both ordinary and extraordinary. In this video, Gabrielle Aplin is shown to be an ordinary female who experiences normal relationship issues that are relatable to the audience. A lot of the emotions that the artist goes through is ordinary; for instance, Gabrielle is represented as quite reminiscent, contemplative and accepting of the blamable one in the relationship. These feelings are extremely common to most people who have also experienced the negative side of a relationship. However, Gabrielle is also represented as extraordinary as she has the ability to both sing and play the guitar.

The style of the video is a performance and narrative based one. The narrative is exceedingly helpful in giving the lyrics a deeper meaning as the audience are able to clearly understand how the artist truly feels. There is a strong relationship between the visuals and the lyrics. At one point, Gabrielle sings "and maybe you were happy, I was bored" and the visuals show her extremely bored facial expression. This helps with the narrative as it presents more than your typical love story of a female fawning over a male; rather, now the audience can clearly see that the artist's story is a subversive one to the love story stereotypes. The use of the artist as the main participant of the narrative is crucial in creating a strong connection between the lyrics and visuals as it makes the content a lot more genuine and personal which would be more appealing to the audience as they want to feel closer to the artist. The use of Gabrielle playing an instrument clearly demonstrates how natural she is and having a lot of shots on her own makes the audience feel almost like they are spending more time getting to know the real Gabrielle Aplin as they can see what kind of things she may get up to when she is alone.

The second video I am going to analyze by Gabrielle Aplin is "Please Don't Say You Love Me". The video is again both performance and narrative based. The narrative side of the video follows a storyline where Gabrielle Aplin is trying to convince her partner that she still loves him; however, what is  interesting is the usage of another female to portray
the artist. This automatically makes the video slightly less personal to the audience as although the lyrics originate from the artist's feelings, they are not being visually presented and therefore you cannot see the artist's facial expressions as the narrative develops.
Although arguably, there are parts of the video where Gabrielle Aplin's facial expressions do change and we can see Goodwin's theory of there being a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics applicable to the video. In the conclusive shot of the video, we see Gabrielle Aplin standing against a fence with a happy, content expression on her life, signifying that the narrative has ended well, and her relationship worked out. The use of a wide shot is extremely prevalent through the entire music video as this shot helps to display action between characters but also constantly shows the audience the setting. The setting used in the video is all set in the countryside which is conventional of the genre and creates a rustic feel which is more appealing for the audience. The costume that Gabrielle Aplin is wearing in this shot is quite simplistic, again reflecting the genre and helps to maintain that homely countryside feel to the music video. In addition, there is also a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals in respect to the lighting, which alters according to the mood of the lyrics. In the shot below, the lighting darkens as the male protagonist becomes more irate and upset, whereas in the beginning and towards the end, the lighting is predominantly lighter and softer as the relationship is in a good place. 

Facial expressions are key to the two main characters of the narrative as well. In this close up shot we can clearly see how vexed the male protagonist looks after he sees another male looking at the female protagonist. The use of close up shots are common throughout the video and are extremely important in terms of expressing emotions originating from the lyrics to the audience so they get a better understanding of the artist's meaning. In addition, close up shots like this one of the characters is useful to the audience as they can properly see who the actor/actress is; in this music video, a fairly well-known actor amongst the target audience has been used. The target audience are around the age mark of 15-25 and therefore may know who the actor is as he plays a character from the TV show "Marvel's Agents of Shield" which is popular amongst people of 15-25 as well. The female actress may also be well-known amongst the target audience as she is from the TV show "Elementary", which is again popular amongst 15-25 year olds. Using slightly established actors/actresses in a music video is beneficial as it draws in a wider audience who may only watch the video to see a celebrity they like but it still means the artist's music video is being viewed and presumably shared amongst friends. It is especially advantageous to Gabrielle Aplin to use more famous people as it means that her debut single will gain more publicity and therefore when she did release her debut album, more people knew about her.

The costume that the characters wear are also conventional of the genre; in this shot, the female protagonist is shown wearing a baggy jumper and rings which is an indie trend as the genre is all about comfort and being homely. The female 

character is also holding a flower crown and reading a book and these props are extremely stereotypical of the indie genre. The use of them in the video is essential to keep the audience entertained and interested in the narrative as they will hold expectations of the genre; therefore seeing these props would be highly appealing for them. However, the use of these specific props is actually essential in setting fashion trends for the audience as the idea of flower crowns and reading books are an appearance appeal for "indie" people. The male protagonist is also shown wearing a baggy jumper and just a pair of jeans which again, displays the comfort orientated fashion of the genre. In addition, the male character is wearing a beanie hat which is one of the most common costume pieces in an indie music genre and the sight of it is enough to make the audience automatically aware of what genre music video they are viewing.

Dyer's star theory of paradoxes can be applied to this music video as the artist is portrayed as both present and absent throughout. Although Gabrielle's face is not the main one we see throughout the video, she still appears in parts where she is singing. This helps to establish her role as the artist but to be kept at a distance so that the audience can focus on the narrative as well. Dyer's other paradox of the artist being both ordinary and extraordinary can also be applied to the video too as once again, the artist is singing about a love story which can be applied to everyday life and therefore is relatable to the audience; yet Gabrielle Aplin is presented as extraordinary as she is illustrated as quite mysterious, the way she is only shown at certain bits of the video.

Going back to the style of the video, there is also performance incorporated into the video as well as narrative. There are a few shots which show Gabrielle Aplin singing the lyrics in time; however, the video subverts expectations of the artist being shown playing a music instrument. This is actually quite unusual as the use of a guitar or piano is one of the main conventions of the genre which is a huge help in creating that authentic feel desired in indie videos. 

Some of the shots used in the video represent the artist as actually quite alluring, as opposed to being very innocent. We see this idea through the use of close up shots on Gabrielle's face where she is looking directly at the camera and her mouth is often shown open in a provocative manner. This subverts stereotypes of indie artists being quite innocent. In addition, the color of Gabrielle Aplin's costumes feature darker shades. In this shot, Gabrielle is shown wearing a blue and white dress. Although white is featured, connoting innocence, the blue shades connote a perhaps darker side to the artist, which is interesting as this is her debut single and therefore allows the audience to get to know the artist more. The use of close up shots of Gabrielle conforms to Goodwin's theory that there is a huge demand for more shots of the artist. The use of close ups, particularly when the artist is singing, is useful in establishing who is the face behind the lyrics, which will stick in the audience's mind a lot better if they repeatedly see Gabrielle's face.

The research into two of Gabrielle Aplin's music videos will help assist me in my own music video as I now know exactly what her fans would expect but also what fans of the indie genre in general would expect. The manipulation of both lighting and filters is definitely something which I will attempt to incorporate in my own video as both these editing aspects are vital in conveying the array of emotions used in indie songs. In addition, the use of may angles of Gabrielle playing an instrument is something which I will take on-board and apply to my own video as I think it makes the video more interesting for the audience. Finally, in both videos, Gabrielle Aplin has used countryside locations as opposed to city locations which is a good convention of the indie genre to employ into my own music video as then the audience will feel that my video is more rustic and authentic. 

what is a music video?

What is a music video?

To put it simply, a music video is just a short film which incorporates a song and visuals which is made for their promotional or artistic reasons. The original use of a music video was simply a marketing technique that artists used to promote the sale of their music. Now, music videos have advanced even further in that artists are now focusing a lot more on the visual concept of the video in order to instigate more interest in the audience. Artists can now express their own stories or beliefs or interests in the video, connecting themselves to the audience and therefore gaining a closer relationship with their fans. However, music videos are also about establishing what audience the artists wants to have as their fan-base. Depending on the style of the video, the artist can identify a particular audience and even modify their target group. Music videos give the artist an opportunity to establish themselves as well as their music and their brand as well as allowing them to either set or alter the conventions of their genre. For instance, a rap artist may decide to include more computer generated effects in their visuals to make their video seem more dubstep based if they want to move more towards that genre in the future. 

However, when you make a music video, it can be presented in one of three main styles: performance, narrative and concept. A performance based music video is all about the actual musical aspect of the video; whether the artist has included singing and dancing in it. This video style will predominantly use the artist throughout the video where they may be either just singing/miming the lyrics or acting as a character in a narrative. If the artist is an upcoming band, it is exceedingly beneficial for them to use this style of video as it allows them to make a video of themselves performing on stage, which is quite low-budget. This style of music video is often used with the rock genre as there are often quite a lot of members and instruments and therefore this is the easiest style of video to use. A quintessential example is Green Day's famous song "American Idiot" where the video is simply of the band performing the song with added visual effects as well as a bit of dancing and moving about from the band members. 

A narrative based music largely contains shots that are cut together to tell a story and the plot of it is usually based upon the lyrics that the artist uses. This style of music video is often used when the song is used in a movie and then the music video is then based upon scenes from that movie cut into it. Narrative based videos are often used for the indie genre as love stories are an extremely typical storyline. However, you may also get other genres such as electronic who make narrative based videos, however they involve other people, generally celebrities, in it. Major Lazer, the electronic music group created by Diplo, has shown the use of a narrative music video in "Powerful". Ellie Goulding collaborated with the group as well as Tarrus Riley and they both were included in the music video, acting, as well as singing. This example also demonstrates how some music videos contain a mixture of different styles, whereas some only one; in this case, both electronic and pop.

The final style is concept; this is where the artist is selling the audience an idea/theme/ideology through their video. The idea itself is generally quite unique or even surreal as this way is will attract the audience and draw them in. The uniqueness could be from the actual content, such as a specific way the people in it are dancing or it could be from the technical aspects such as the editing (eg visual effects). This style of music video is quite contrasting to the other two as they are both quite stereotypical and conventional. However, concept videos allow the artist to actually utilize their imagination much more and therefore connect better with the audience by keeping them interested with the fresh ideas the artist is giving them. However, artists who use this style are careful to not make their video too different from others in the genre as their target audience will tend to stay away from niche content.

I am now going to analyze a music video "I Bet my Life" by the American rock band, Imagine Dragons. It is a narrative based music video as it illustrates a real-life story based upon the vocalist of the band. Through both the lyrics and the visuals, the video tells us how Dan Reynolds, the lead singer, is apologizing to his parents for not choosing the life that they wanted for him: "I know I took the path that you would never want for me". The video would strongly appeal to the target audience (around ages 15-30) as the whole concept of being a loose canon teenager who does not want to conform to expectations given to them by parents is extremely relatable for that age group; they are either going through it currently or have already been through it. Another reason the video appeals to the target audience is because the video features a male celebrity, Dan Deehan, who plays the younger version of Dan Reynolds. Dan Dehaan is a famous celebrity, particularly amongst (females) aged between 15-25. Therefore, a portion of the audience will most likely be fans of Dehaan and not Imagine Dragons but it will increase the band's audience, particularly if fans of Dehaan then share the video around to their friends on social networking sites.

However, even though it is in the style of a narrative, the video still adheres to the rock genre convention; for example, the video features the band members at the start of the video which is useful in establishing who the band actually are. Narrative based music videos for rock songs are actually very conventional of the genre as often the band want to visualize the meaning behind their lyrics to the audience. This means that the scenes throughout the video are all mediated to match the lyrics so the audience really understand the message the band is trying to get across.

The video starts with an establishing shot of a green landscape, which instantaneously tells us that it will be based in the country, which connotes family time. The setting of the countryside is quite conventional of the alternative rock genre as this location is easier to use in order to bring meaning to the lyrics, as a lot of the topics of the rock genre are family/friendship/relationships. The next shot is our first glimpse of people involved in the video. One common convention of a rock music video is showing a lot of facial expressions on the characters and in this video we can see that; the characters are shown laughing with one another. This signifies a close relationship between them and connotes once again, family. 

However, in this wide shot, the lead singer is 

positioned away from the rest of the band and their family members. This signifies the detachment the artist feels towards his own family but perhaps family in general. Whilst the other characters' facial expressions show happiness, Dan Reynolds' is quite despondent in comparison.  This shot is right at the beginning and therefore useful in roughly establishing a storyline for the audience; they will work out the narrative will logically be from the lead singer's perspective as he is the one presented as detached from everyone else. 

There is a big use of handheld shots in the video as they give a much more dramatic feel to a shot. Therefore making the camera slightly shaky in parts of this music video gives the feel that firstly, there is a lot of drama involved and secondly, that someone is actually watching as some of the hand-held shots have been taken at a distance. The scene after Dan Dehaan is introduced makes good use of hand-held shots which is more effective as it is a fight scene and therefore it seems a lot more realistic if the camera is shaking as a fight would not be steady and calm but rather quite erratic. The music video makes use of Roland Barthes' enigma codes as within this part of the narrative hermeneutic codes have been used to keep the audience guessing as to who exactly these two boys fighting are and why exactly they are fighting in the first place; they will not discover the full answer till they finish watching the music video. 

The music video has been edited so that the cuts between shots are very fast-paced. In a music video where there is an interpretive narrative and the beats of the music are moderately fast, it is evidently beneficial to use this type of cutting as then it keeps the audience more immersed in the music video and keeps the thing running smoothly together.

The costumes that the characters are wearing are quite vintage; one boy is shown wearing braces over a plaid shirt with three quarter length trousers whilst the character shown playing as young Dan Reynolds is wearing an old fashioned white shirt. Using more old-fashioned clothing helps to convey that this is not set in present time but rather an analepsis of earlier memories in the lead singer's life. Particularly as the shots right at the beginning of the video show the characters wearing modern clothing; we can make a logical contrast between two different time periods. The use of the entire video being set as an analepsis makes it far more interesting for the audience as it is not only different to modern everyday things you constantly see but also it is a flashback to an earlier time in the lead singer's life and therefore a lot more personal, which is more appealing to the audience.

The video makes use of both natural lighting but also low-key lighting. As there is a lot of mystery and drama incorporated in the narrative, using low-key lighting is beneficial as it adds to the suspense and enigma surrounding the video. For instance, throughout the scene of Dan in the underwater house, low-key is used, and at one point it is so dark that we only see Dan as a silhouette. This again is quite enigmatic as we cannot clearly see what is happening in the scene and we cannot see the character's facial expression, therefore it is quite detaching for the audience. The use of dark colors is quite conventional in the rock genre as they match the connotations and meanings behind the lyrics. 

To conclude, it is clear that within different genres of music there are different styles and conventions incorporated in the music video. The chosen style the artist decides to use heavily relies on what they want the audience to take from the video: for example, if the song is very meaningful to the artist, such as "I Bet My Life", then it is more probable that a narrative style music video will be used. Whereas, if the song is just another ordinary song, the artist may decide to use a performance style music video as they do not want to put much emphasize on any unthought of deeper meaning. Having said all this, I think that using a narrative style in my own music video would be a lot more interesting and appealing to the audience as storylines capture and trap a person's attention more easily. I personally feel that narrative style music videos really bring the song alive and give it real meaning and therefore would prefer to use this style. Overall, I think music videos hold strong purpose in giving the audience something more and therefore they can connect more with the artist, especially if the music video holds strong meaning or ideologies.

analysis of a star and dyer's theory

Richard Dyer - Star Theory

Richard Dyer's star theory maintains the theory that the image of a celebrity is cultivated by institutions and stars are simply artificial images, even if they are represented as "real people" who experience everyday things. ("A star is an image, not a real person, that is constructed (as any other aspect of friction is) out of a range of materials (eg advertizing, magazines, etc, as well as films [music])." ~ Dyer, 1979. Stars are shaped for both financial gain as well as to target a specific audience and bring about new trends for them to share and be involved with.
 Dyer's theory can be split into four parts: 1) how does the video represent the artist? 2) can the artist be viewed as a product? 3) is the artist both ordinary and extraordinary? 4) does the video place fan for or against hegemony?

Why do artists feel the need to reinvent themselves?

For a wide range of reasons, some artists often feel the need to reinvent themselves. A predominant reason is simply that as they get older, they feel inclined to reshape the genre of their music. Even artists who stick with a rock genre may decide to move slightly away from heavier rock music and more into alternative rock music, such as Thirty Seconds to Mars. As artists mature, their audience would inevitably have to mature or come from a more mature age group. A quintessential example is Miley Cyrus, whose music source was Hannah Montana but as she reached her older teen years, she drifted closer to the pop genre and now, she has completely reinvented herself as an ultimate "pop star" as she wanted to change the public's opinion of her of the innocent character of Hannah Montana. Some artists also have the issue of having been around for so long that they have to perpetually keep up with the times - for instance, Madonna, and therefore constantly have to reinvent themselves and their music. A lot of artists such as Madonna also have to change their music so that they do keep people talking about them and create publicity for themselves to keep themselves "fresh" in the eyes of the public. There are also those artists who came into the music industry as an amateur and simply made it through my signing a record label; however, now that they have established themselves, they can now reinvent themselves to have more control over their image or brand. For example, Zayn Malik, an ex member of One Direction, is now so well-known universally that he left the band to go solo.

The artist that I am going to analyze who has reinvented themselves is Thirty Seconds to Mars. The band have only released four albums since their premise; however, they started off making a progressive metal album (titled "30 Seconds to Mars"), then later changed their genre to progressive rock (in their album "This is War") and finally, their latest album ("Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams") has moved towards the electronic genre.

The first song in the band's debut album is called "Capricorn (A brand new name)" and the music video that goes along with it takes both a performance and narrative style. This is conventional of the metal genre, particularly a performance style video as often songs of the metal genre do not have a deep enough meaning to make a narrative video. In addition, fans of the metal genre appeal to this convention of a performance video as it means that it is almost as if they are seeing the band playing live. By having performance, the artist have not only conformed to genre conventions but also established themselves as being authentic and talented as they are showing the artist what they can do. However, the use of a narrative aspect to the video is also helpful in stating something about the band; despite it not being particularly conventional, it gives the audience an idea of the thoughts behind the band and shows the meaning behind their songs, a useful way to appeal to the audience. Another generic convention the video conforms to is the use of clothing. At first glance, the band do not seem to be particularly conventional as they are wearing white. However, the use of dirt smeared all over their clothes and their generally disheveled appearance with their heavy dark eyeliner conforms to the genre stereotype. It also actually makes a status about the band, that not to be mainstream; this is something that the audience highly appeal to as they are typically people who do not submit to mainstream values. In addition, the use of the band all wearing the same color and having a similar look creates unity through the band, symbolizing that they are one and their music is personal, not about pleasing others, which genres such as pop maintain. The choice of costume and makeup is quite important in the representation of the artist. Dyer's theory maintains that an artist is both extraordinary and ordinary. In relation to 30STM's video, it can be said that the band are seen as being quite ordinary as they do not have a particularly celebrity status look about them. The dirt smeared on the clothing degrades their status, as anybody can go out and look like that. In addition, the location choice also maintains this ordinary image, as it is an extremely accessible location where anybody could make a music video. The characters in the narrative also downplay the video as they look like your everyday people, with simple clothing and a slightly wild look to them. However, it is also arguable that the band may also be seen as extraordinary due to the fact the performance aspect of the video shows that they are talented in playing musical instruments. As the band are shown altogether, playing a variety of instruments, it creates that extraordinary rock and roll look, which a lot of the audience would aspire to have. With a metal genre music video, it is actually not crucial to have the video looking as professional as other genres, as the low-key ordinariness of it appeals to the target audience as they reject mainstream values that genres such as pop have. The video ultimately is more relatable for the audience this way as the evident low-budget of it demonstrates to the audience that sending a message from the artist is more important than marketing the band. As this is the band's first song in their first album, this is an efficient way to establish their target audience. 

The target audience of the band at this stage would evidently be fans of the metal genre; however, specifically they would most likely be young adults, even as young as 13-17 year olds. This is due to the fact that the band are new to the scene and through this video they are sending messages that this age group appeal to. At this age (13-17) the audience would most likely be going through personal issues with how to publicly portray themselves. Therefore, a video such as "Capricorn" would be of huge benefit to these people as they would feel like someone understands their struggles and it gives them guidance as to what to do. In this video, the messages and values of the band are quite coherent: you do not have to conform to mainstream beliefs to be a person. The content of the music video is quite strange and the band are represented as quite wild, all showing how they do not care about how they are perceived and neither should the audience. Whereas a lot of other genres focus on the visuals, with heavy editing and special effects, 30STM focus more on their lyrics and getting a message across. Therefore, whilst watching the video the audience will feel that the video is less of a product but rather focused on caring about the audience.

Looking at the video, there is a clear relationship between the visuals and the music. Goodwin states that there is a link between the two, and in this case he is correct. The high tempo and loud vocals of the music reflect the narrative parts of the video. For example, as soon as the heavy guitar riffs start, the video jumps into action and the boy starts digging for something. This is useful in keeping the audience immersed in the video as the music determines their emotions; they will become excited when the tempo increases, etc. In addition, the fast-paced editing used help to make the visuals a lot more exciting and match the intensity of the instruments.

The second reinvention of the band was their change to the rock genre. Their music video for their song "Kings and Queens" uses a lot of codes and conventions of the rock genre. The video starts with an establishing shot of the city of Los Angeles at sunrise. A lot of rock music videos are conventionally set in big, open places as it allows for a lot of freedom to move around a lot, as usually the video is performance based (so the band can just run around and sing). Furthermore, the use of an establishing shot of the city helps to represent the artist as being quite artistic and thinking deeply about the visuals of their music video. This differs from the artist's first video, as not a lot of thought was given to the visuals, as shown through the messy appearance. This video, in stark contrast, appears to be quite clean and well-planned out. Not only in the first shot, but throughout a large portion of the video, low-key lighting is used which is again another convention of the rock genre. In addition, the costume that the band wears is a stereotypical outfit for the rock genre; leather jackets and dark pants, as you can see the lead singer, Jared Leto, wearing in this wide shot.

Another convention of the rock genre is for the music video to be a performance based one (which this is, alongside having a concept style). The variety of shots, such as wide shots and close up shots of the band members performing helps to really stress on the emotions and passion behind the artist. The isolated location on a rooftop also helps to create this emotional experience between the artist and the audience as it gives the audience an opportunity to almost get to know the artist more personally as the sole focus is on them alone. The audience can also feel as if they are actually watching the artist live. A lot of the shots feature the band being shown in low-key lighting which again demonstrates how the artist is not a product, but rather a personal symbol for the audience, as they do not but the spotlight on themselves, but rather on the audience and sending a message to them. The use of so many different characters in the video help to portray this.

This music video has a concept style in it as it displays tens of people, from all different backgrounds, on bikes, riding through the city together; the message here is about finding something like a faith, together as a unity. Despite the evident change in genre and visuals, the message and values of the band have actually maintained through their reinvention. The use of cycles helps to symbolize a sense of unity and freedom, as everyone is shown to be together despite the difference in their appearance. This again shows how the artist wants to send a message to the audience to be their own person. The fact that the artist have maintained their messages and values is crucial as it shows that the band truly is focused on their fans rather changing themselves for publicity or financial reasons.  

Again, in this video, Goodwin's proposal of there being a relationship between the visuals, and this time, the lyrics, fits in this video. The shots of people cycling around the city together link with the lyrics "we are the kings of queens of promise" and "the age of man is over". The lyrics illustrate to the audience that these people lost their way and are finding it again. This ideology would appeal to the audience, as again it fits in with the artist's perpetual message of being your own person, as well as relating to personal struggles of identity that may be occurring in the audience's life. In this stage of the artist's reinvention, the target audience would be quite similar, perhaps a year or two older, as the video is ever so slightly more mature than the metal one. The audience would have changed as the band changed as this video is conforms less to conventions of the metal band, as the rock genre focuses more on ideas and meaning rather than just performing a song. 

Dyer's theory of the artist being both ordinary and extraordinary can be applied here as the costume of the band and the use of the people riding through the city is ordinary, which the consumer can achieve themselves; however, the concept Jared Leto is trying to put across through the lyrics of being "kings and queens" demonstrates that the band is extraordinary as they have the creative freedom to achieve anything they want. The concept of being "on top of the world" can be applied here as the band are performing on the top of a very high building roof, overlooking the whole city; this can be seen as the band being extraordinary. We can also apply Goodwin's theory of intertexuality as there is an intertexual reference to Banksy's Flower Chucker graffiti throughout the whole video.

The final change in the band was shifting more into the electronic genre. The band's latest album "Love, Lust,, Faith and Dreams" uses strong electronic elements; one song in particular "Up in the Air" conveys their genre reinvention well. Their music video for the song is a concept and performance based one which features all four members of the band. This low-angle wide shot used near the beginning of the video when Jared Leto, the lead singer, walks towards the camera. The dark shades of the suit-like costume he is wearing connotes sophistication and high quality, which reflects the band's image too. There is high-key lighting shining behind Jared Leto which re-emphasizes the idea of importance; the audience is aware that this is the leader of the band. 
The video also features a lot of bright colors, which is conventional of the electronic genre as artists like aspects of the video to stand out and colors match the pace of the music. In addition, the use of editing to make the succession of shots fast-paced is another convention of the genre as it fits with the tempo of the music. This song features a lot of fast beats and dance style rhythms which means the busier the video is, the better.

Goodwin's theory is evident throughout the whole video; for example, the relationship between the visuals and music/lyrics. As the temp of the music rapidly increases, the editing changes as the cuts and frame time speeds up in order to match the music. For instance, near the beginning of the video, four shots are shown, each with one word of the album title (Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams) that is both shown and said after 4 beats, creating a mirrored relationship between the visuals and music. 

The most evident of all of Goodwin's aspects in the video is the demands of the record label as the video features a lot of shots of the main artist. In various points in the video, Jared Leto is topless; however, due to the style of the video, the shots do not imply a provocative image, but instead he is half-nakedness is represented as quite artistic. This opposed the genre convention of a male being topless for masculine authority of to portray a stereotypical "hot" man. However, as he is positioned next to two females who are wearing short dresses, it is arguable to say that Jared Leto showing his torso is subliminally used to attract a desired audience (more females). Branches of the electronic genre, eg dance music etc, conventionally use half-naked males and females as their audience desire to see these images.


However, it is also conventional of the electronic genre to feature females who are half-naked. The American burlesque dancer, model and costume designer, Dita Von Teese, stars in the video, displaying extremely provocative shots. This actually portrays the ideology to the audience that wearing almost nothing is actually empowering and displays strong confidence which all women should have. Dita Von Teese is a woman who would be deemed as "perfect" in the eyes of the largely teenage audience who would be watching the video and the audience would want to aspire to look like her. However, the use of a high-angle shot actually has a underlying contradictory message that woman are still submissive; the position of the camera looking down on Dita Von Teese makes her look quite submissive. Therefore, the males of the audience would look at the dancer and be attracted to the voyeurism used as opposed to thinking of Dita as a strong, confident woman. In addition, Dita Von Teese is a famous sexual icon, so the audience will already have expectations of the content of the video, added to the fact that it is conventional of the genre to include woman and dancing. 

Looking at Dyer's theory, it is clear that the band is represented to quite artistic due to the busy yet creative content of the video, e.g. including a man covered in bees. Thirty Seconds to Mars are represented as your typical band in the aspect that there is a singer, a guitarist and a drummer, however they all play a role throughout the video that makes both the drummer and guitarist seem less that they are simply in the background members but more involved in the video which the target audience will find appealing. For instance, the drummer is not only playing his drum set but he also leads a whole group of drummers to play a specific section of the song. Therefore, I do not think the artist can be viewed as a product as so much thought went into producing the video from each member that it seems as if there was less focus on the marketing side but more focus on giving the audience something personal from the band. The target audience of the band at this stage in their reinvention would most likely be older teenagers, starting at the age of 15. This is due to the fact that the video focuses more on art, which is stereotypically a more mature topic. 

I do think that the messages and values have slightly altered, as the band have a slightly more pop style edge to them, with their use of bright colors and the celebrities involved, as well as their trendy clothing. However, I think this is more due to the fact that now they have the resources to make a more professional looking video, and make it as creative as possible, rather than because it is a product. The messages and values of being different and thinking outside of the box have still maintained. 

I would say that the artist is both ordinary and extraordinary as we see ordinary parts to the band, such as the singing or playing instruments that they do; however, all the content of the video is more than ordinary. There has been a lot of thought and innovation included in the video which sets the band apart from other artists of the genre. The band has included electronic conventions such as provocative images, bright colors and fast pace shots, however they have also included never thought of aspects, setting a new trend. For instance, the use of not just big animals but small animals such as bees and butterflies. Therefore, I think that the video could partially cause the fans to be against hegemony, but only to a slight degree. The video gives new creative ideas, set apart from other conventional videos, but it largely does follow the conventions of electronic music videos.

Looking at all three videos, I do not think that Richard Dyer's second paradox of the star being both present and absent is applicable as in all the videos, the artist is present in the ideas they have created. All of the videos have a concept aspect to it as they give the audience an extremely similar ideology that carries on throughout their reinvention and therefore they are present.

Overall, I would say that in the beginning of Thirty Seconds to Mars' career, they started off as amateur's and therefore everything they did was quite experimental and rushed into. The use of heavy eyeliner shows this as it connotes rebelliousness and recklessness. However, as time progressed, they became more comfortable in the music industry and learnt to develop on their own and therefore made a new image for themselves as a rock genre band. Their change in costume to wearing smart/casual clothing reflects their change as it shows they have grown up more, as has their music. Altering their music genre gave them a bit more freedom to dip in and out of neighboring genres and therefore give them a larger audience group. However, during the time of their rock genre phase, they seem to be a bit on the edge with their music which therefore decided it was time to change and develop by moving towards the electronic genre, where they could incorporate elements from their rock phase yet with their maturing creativity, can now produce something a lot fresher and more personal to them. The target audience will therefore would have changed over time as the band has changed over time. It is evident that the target audience of the band when they were labelled as "progressive metal" would have consisted of specifically teenagers, as this age group find this genre appealing as the lyrics are very relatable to their own lives. The music reflects angry emotions which stereotypically a lot of teenagers perpetually feel.

The research will help choose an artist as it allows me to find an artist that I think has room for flexibility in their style of music so I could adapt it to suit my needs.