planning artist image

An artist representation is essential within a music video as the way the artist is perceived shapes the audience's experience of the music video. This is due to the fact that the artist is the main innovative thinker behind the video therefore the audience will judge every aspect of the content from this fact; for instance, if a male artist used excessive voyeurism in their video (e.g. Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke) then the audience may judge the artist to be slightly sexist. Therefore, in essence, the way the artist is represented acts as an role model for the audience who often aspire to have or be the way the artist is shown. 

Below is a plan my group and I produced for the artist image and the clothing that will be used to represent each character.

In the scene where the couple first meet, the artist is going to be represented as quite innocent and therefore the costume will need to be a reflection of this portrayal. As a group, we have opted for using more neutral colors, such as whites/beiges/creams, to start off the narrative. However, as the video progresses, there is going to be a shift in tone and therefore we have decided to gradually darken the shades of the costume the characters will be wearing, particularly the artist. This will compliment the narrative as the mood starts off quite carefree and becomes increasingly more sombre. Therefore, to start off the narrative, the female character will be wearing either a white dress or a white jumper with jeans and ankle boots to go along with either outfit. These pieces of clothing are quite conventional of the genre as indie artist tend to go for more “comfy” and rustic clothing. In addition, we do not want to overdress the artist as we have to ensure that her clothing is aspirational for the audience but still relatable enough that they do not have to spend a fortune buying similar clothes. Furthermore, the makeup that the artist will be wearing will be minimal, specifically just mascara, as the artist does not need to be represented as provocative or enticing in any way; we have to keep the representation of innocent prevalent throughout the video. This is conventional in the indie genre as unlike genres such as pop, the women are not usually presented as fierce in a sexual manner, but rather quite gentle and friendly. Therefore, the style that my group and I are going for successfully mirrors the style of the music video as the video will not contain bright colors and strongly edited filters or special effects, but be quite plain and simple in comparison. My group and I chose this outfit as we first analyzed the lyrics of our song to ensure everything we planned matched with the song. As this particular costume will be shown during the start of the music video where the lyrics "you are the avalanche" will be sung, it fits as an "avalanche" evidently connotes a storm of snow, which is the color of white. In addition, the color of white stereotypically symbolizes purity and innocence which matches the fact that this is the start of the couple's relationship and nothing terrible has occurred yet. Therefore, the costume will match the lyrics. This effectively manages to keep in check with indie conventions as it creates verisimilitude in that the connotations that arise from this costume reflect real-life events when in a relationship; the audience can relate to this.

For the first date scene, we have again chosen a simple and neutral colored outfit. Initially we thought about putting the artist in a dress as it is a date; however, instead we have chosen jeans, a top and a smart jacket, as these are quite comfortable yet trendy clothes which the audience will appeal to. As this is a dinner date, we thought it would be appropriate to have the artist wearing a bit more makeup such as lip gloss as the artist will be represented as caring about her appearance in that she wants to look nice, which a lot of the target audience can relate to. However, it does not make the artist look provocative in any way but rather quite naive and natural. We did think about adding in color for artist's costume for the first date scene as it would signify the relationship could be becoming something more, however I think we are going to stick with more neutral coloring for now. Whilst my group and I evidently want to keep with the usage of more neutral colors, as this is a date scene, we want to make the colors slightly darker than the first meeting scene. This is simply as colors such as beige, as shown in the picture on the left, are slightly warmer and connote a sense of familiarity, in that the couple now know each other a little better. The costume also helps to connote the idea that this relationship is not an innocent, temporary fling, but rather a deeper, more serious love. This is conventional of the indie genre as they often do not sing about simple, one-off flings, but rather a meaningful love that has emotionally changed them. The audience find this more appealing as it is something that they have realistically gone through themselves or that they aspire to have and go through. The date scene where the artist is wearing these clothes will relate to the lyrics sung at this point: "Those wild eyes, a psychedelic silhouette...I never meant to fall for you", as firstly the idea of a psychedelic silhouette connotes something relating to death and transcending to heaven. The lyrics of "I never meant to fall for you" foreshadows that this relationship did not last, and therefore suggests something such as someone died occurred. These connotations link with the costume as they show how serious the relationship is becoming and that the couple both have full commitment within it, wanting it to be forever. This again conforms to conventions of the indie genre as the audience have certain expectations of how relationships are portrayed; they should not be inadequate and temporary, but rather illustrate the real "fantasy" idea of true love.

During the scene where the artist is on a run through the forest, we chose to put her in dark, preferably black running gear. This is significant for this part of the narrative as the clothing would connote danger and foreshadow something awful to come - in this case, the male character dies at war. Therefore, the clothing will engage the audience in as they are accustomed to seeing the artist wearing quite light clothing in comparison to the running gear and will realize that something bad is about to happen. In addition, due to the privation of makeup in this scene, the artist's face will stand out more pale against the dark clothing and therefore further highlight the fact that the narrative is reaching a climax of something harrowing. These choices in makeup and clothing will represent the artist as being more genuine as if the audience were watching a music video where the artist constantly looked "perfect" in makeup then it would not be particularly realistic or relatable. Therefore, the music video would appeal to the audience more as it is something which they can actually aspire to be and probably be like. This mirrors the style of the music video as indie videos tend to show the artist as they actually are when they are with their friends or on their own. Indie music videos do not hide the artist's true personality just to create a product, but rather present themselves more naturally and personally. As the narrative progresses, it is crucial that the clothing also changes. My group and I want our artist to be wearing gear similar to as shown in the image above. The costume links in extremely well with the lyrics of "the darkest fairytale", as these words connote a sense of a terrible occurrence and therefore aid in foreshadowing the male character's death. Therefore, if the artist is wearing dark clothing in the build-up to his death, alongside her singing the lyrics, then a better dramatic impact is created. As the idea of a fairytale-like love has been prevalent throughout the video, it is crucial to make sure we make the scene as dramatic as possible as the fairytale idea has been juxtaposed by the "darkness" and gloom of the scene. Whilst this is not conventional of the genre, as the indie genre focuses more on a happier aspect, using more high-key lighting, the scene will still work well in the music video as it makes it more interesting and unique. 

The target audience my group and I have chosen consist of 15-25 year olds, who are predominantly female. Therefore, the audience will be able to build a relationship with the artist as the choices we have made for the music video are those that the audience can actually realistically aspire to. The main gist of the narrative of that two people meet each other and fall in love is something which occurs on a daily basis and therefore it is something the audience can appeal to. Furthermore, the fashion style which the artist opts for is something which a lot of the female audience will like themselves, therefore connecting the two together on a much more personal level.