Representation planning

We are going to keep with the style that can be seen within indie rock music, which has a black colour scheme and is of a simplistic style. Even though black connotes death as well as sadness, the lyrics are far from that and can be well juxtaposed to their clothing style. The clothing could be seen as simplistic with them wearing a jacket, tshirt and skinny jeans and this could be used in order to keep the attention on the music as well as the narrative of the music video.

We are planning on using Alfie due to the fact that he is handsome,  as well as charming which is exactly what a singer should be, due to the fact that we want to represent him in a positive light as there is a target audience of 16-24 year olds meaning that he would have to be a role model for the younger audience As well as this, by being handsome, makes him more visually appealing through voyeurism to both males and females. This is the opposite of the male gaze theory, being the more uncommon, female gaze theory and would attract a wider audience from around the world, which is what we would want from our artist. As well as this, Jordan's persona would hold beliefs like equal rights as well as talking about mental health, due to the fact that through Dyer's star theory him having the same beliefs as audience members makes him desired more so as well as accepted within a wider community as well as setting a good example for those younger than himself.



Profile:
Name: Alfie Bryce- Clegg
Stage name:  Torre Florim
Age: 18

Characterisation:
Torre attended a public school, taking Physics, Maths as well as Chemistry. He excelled in all three and passed all of them with A*, B and A. In his free time he plays football as well as rugby where he is an avid team player and tries his hardest all of the time. He rose into stardom at age 15 where he released different songs on YouTube and got discovered through there. He enjoys making music whenever he has the chance, releasing 3 studio albums since his rise to fame. He is a strong believer in equal rights as well as speaking up about mental health which he has set up a business for children struggling with mental illnesses by creating a safe space for treatment as well as somewhere they can talk freely, it is through this that he gives back to his fans, making it completely free and paid for it out of his own pocket.

Focus group

Questions:
1) What kind of music videos do you enjoy?
2)What kind of clothing do you prefer in a music video?
3)What appeals to you in this music video (Fire Starter)?
4)Do you like a narrative or would you prefer a performance?
(All questions were asked after watching Fire Starter by Torre Florim)

This focus group that we did, was made up of people who are within our target audience age group, so asking directly the audience what they would like to see in a music video would prove successful in the construction as well as editing of our own music video. We established that the target audience prefers a video that reflects a certain meaning through the narrative and there has to be a clear link between the band to the video, but not enough to hide the meaning of the video and making it seem rushed. This means that as a group, me and Callum will have to make a video that has a strong narrative, which will show off a clear Todorovian style as that will not only link to the indie rock genre, but also will somewhat create a rapport with the audience as it will be them following our Proppian protagonist on a journey which will be immersive for viewers in the short period we have, without making it seem too rushed, by having small interludes which includes our artist/ band.

The style of the artist must link with the theme of the music video, with my video having an underlying motif of fire, the clothing of our male artist must have some sort of link to fire as this would link to Barthes semantic theory, due to the fact that the audience could link him to being the so called 'Fire starter'. This could be done, by including red clothing as it also must be a somewhat acceptable styling of clothing, so a red shirt or somewhat red undertones of the shirt, shoes or trousers would shows off a clear link through Barthes semantic theory that he is the fire starter. This doesn't link to Torre Florim's 'Fire Starter' as there is no clear semantic that shows off that he is the fire starter, just through Barthes enigma theory that the audience is left to suggest that it is him as the entire video surrounds him. We, as a group would not specifically reference that he is the Fire Starter it is just through the semiotics built from Barthes enigma and semantic theories that the audience will assume that it is him, our male protagonist/ anti-hero.

When it comes down to the actual video, it needs to be simple, but somewhat abstract to the point where the meaning of the text is ambiguous and open to interpretation, which can be linked to the meaning of what the indie rock genre is as well through Dyer's star theory, creates a personal link to the video/ artist which is important for gaining a fan base for our band/ artist. We would have to use the lighting to our advantage, due to the fact that the target audience agreed that it is selected purposefully to somewhat evoke a certain emotion through the denotations which can be figured out by the audience. I think that my video needs a narrative as it is "easier to connect with" which could show how the video needs to have to be enjoyable and through voyeurism we could create such enjoyment as the pleasure can come from other methods apart from the male gaze theory, as I decided that we would not objectify females, in order to keep the band in a positive light and through Dyer's star theory remain as role models for the younger audience. Indie Rock fans, may enjoy a more violent approach as seen through the 'Rock' part of the title, who stereo typically are fans of anarchistic views and styles, so through violence and or destruction (A fire) we could appeal to this aspect of the audience.

Lighting techniques/ filters

Indie rock has varying uses of lighting techniques and filters, in order to evoke certain meanings and or through Barthes semantic theory, having connotations/ denotations, which can be inferred and discussed by the target audience in order to create their own meaning. Within Torre Florim's 'Firestarter' as seen above, we can see how lighting is used to somewhat keep the focus on the foreground and the shallow focus also proves this. The use of star lighting is used effectively as it draws the focus to the photogenic protagonist, who is the lead singer. It is used in order to show off the meaning of the character being of some importance, that being of Torre being the self proclaimed 'Firestarter'. Under lighting can be seen to come from the pool and it is used in order to cast a shadow on the singer's face and to show off more emotion, which through Barthes Semic code can show that the semiotics show off that through the facial expressions of Torre as well as the use of an unknown female in the mise en scene that the reason that he is the 'Firestarter' is because of such unnamed woman and without such lighting techniques, the audience couldn't have figured out through semiotics that she was the reason that he was the firestarter.

We could attempt to as a group include such lighting techniques used in this video, such as Day into Night, due to the fact that it can make it seem grungier, as seen in the post on Location, the Hulme Hippodrome hasn't got the darkest lighting that me and Callum would've liked, but with the addition of a lower contrast as well as shadow darkness, we could attempt to remove the light as well as liveliness of the area as seen in music videos like Yellow by Coldplay, which have a transition of filters which can be seen to change from night time into day in the length of the video. This is done subtly and I would like to somewhat include this style of lighting, by having it slowly change in light brightness (as seen above) as well as saturation in order to as the shots continue, go up with both of them in order to make it lighter by the end. This can link to the todorovian narrative a this would show the video has gone from order, to disorder, which is the darkness which is bestowed upon the video, back to light throughout the final third of the video without the audience noticing a visible change in the lighting until the very end.

You can see from the lighting filters on Final Cut Pro X that there is a large variety of them that as a group, me and Callum could change and attempt to use them to our advantage. Having not used any filter techniques last year I would have to see which ones would fit well, but the most fitting one at the moment would be to use a lens flare at the end of the video, in order to wrap the whole thing up and to show off that the todorovian narrative is complete, going from total darkness to the light. It would work well as from the focus group, the audience wanted a clear narrative and for it to be an immersive experience, so for them to to be able to see a change from start to finish of lighting filters and changes finished with a lens flare it will somewhat finish off such a experience by showing how the flare could signify a change in the character and or a difference from the start of the video morally as the colour of the light would be white which has the colour associations of purity as well as cleanliness showing off a change in the character.

Location research

We can see that there are many different setting styles seen within the music videos of indie rock music. The most commonly seen is that of rural areas. They seem to put something familiar in an unfamiliar place and this is seen in multiple music videos of the indie rock genre. This can be seen within The Killers song "Human" due to the fact that it is set in the desert yet has a carnival located within it. It is this unknown that makes the video more interesting for the audience. When it comes to choosing a location for our shoot, I think it would be beneficial to make the setting that of a wasteland and or baron landscape, this can be juxtaposed with the lyrics, due to the fact that they are so detailed as well as in depth with their explanations of emotion, so somewhat makes up for the lack of scenery.

We can see from  'It's time' by Imagine dragons that their video is set in a desolate landscape and this sets a tone through the semiotics, as the lighting is a low key natural lighting which follows Goodwin's theory as most indie rock bands have a darker, more grungy style to their music, , as well as the rubble, which through Barthes theory we can see has the connotations of a disaster as well as destruction, which is the opposite to what indie rock artists believe, juxtaposing their actual view with the music video as through Dyer's star theory, we can see how artists are supposed to spread a positive message as it is their views that typically are listened to by a younger target audience.

With our music video, we will try and keep it close to that of Torre Florim's video for Fire starter as well as the one by Prodigy, due to the fact that both are located in desolate area. Videos are located in open, abandoned locations, due to the fact that it gives bands freedom to build whatever sound stages they want as well as to put up green screens and create sets that could't be built in a studio or city area. The lighting used seems to be of a very high key or a very low key natural lighting style, to further our knowledge on the setting and style of such a setting, the next step, is to look further into the different styles of lighting used and the semiotics that can be built from this lighting style, with input from the setting as well as style of shot.
The location of such videos has to have some sort of link to the lead singer/ protagonist, as seen in The Killers- Human, due to the fact that it has the key anti-hero as a cowboy, so it is fitting for it to be set in a desert, much like a western stereotype. As well as this, we see how Dan Reynolds is on a quest to find some sort of white stone in 'It's time' which in the chronology of the video, must make sense to prior events with it having a Todorovian narrative of order disorder and then order, we can see Dan Reynolds and the other members in the band being seen as Proppian protagonists.



I have the idea of filming at Beech field or Hulme Hippodrome as both have a wide expanse of open land, which can easily be filmed within, the landscape around them is somewhat desolate, with there being no activity in these areas, it would make a perfect place. As seen below, Beech field is a wide open landscape, which is also seen with the Imagine Dragons landscape, so we will attempt to also have this desolate landscape in order to keep with the location of indie rock music. This will prove successful, due to the fact that it links to Barthes enigma code as there will be the enigma surrounding the location as well as the meaning for the filming to be there which will keep the audience enticed and fixated on the screen for the entire video.

Hulme hippodrome has been abandoned for years which can give it a grungier look. As seen below, it has quite a lot of lighting, but with the use of Final Cut Pro X, we could apply filters like 'Day into night' as well as 'aged film' to add darker undertones as well as to somewhat follow current conventions of indie rock music as seen above. Hulme hippodrome could mean that we are able to have somewhat more freedom with shot types, due to there being raised platforms, it could be quite effective if I were to do some high angles as well as long shots from up there.

Parental advisory

Parental advisory was first introduced in 1985 and was created in recognition of  overly excessive profanities or inappropriate references. It was seen on most hip hop as well as rap CD covers and reduced questions being asked surrounding the material. Since it's introduction, people have questioned the use of the parental advisory label due to it not having much use

(Parental advisory label)

In our song, there are very minimal lyrics, with there only being one swear word throughout the entire song. This is due to the fat that many of the indie rock songs nowadays aren't talking about the same things that rap talk about, rather they talk about heartbreak as well as working class problems. This means that they have no reason to swear within their music. In 'Firestarter' we will not put a parental advisory label because of this, but we may put one at the start of our music video if we decide to make it have excessive violence, but we are yet to, as a group, decide whether we do that. The lack of using a parental advisory label would prove useful for us as there is a younger target audience at the bottom of our age range, meaning that more people could potentially listen to our music. 

The type of people that would need a parental advisory would be those who are engaging in rap music and sometimes heavy metal, this is due to the nature of their lyrics whereas in the indie rock genre it is not that common for there to be a parental advisory.

Chosen Music Video Analysis

Artist and Representation

There is quite an iconic look that the indie bands tend to go for, which is that of the entire group just staring at the camera. It is a simplistic idea, yet it is seemingly used by nearly all indie rock bands. The examples that we have on the left and below are: X Ambassadors as well as Foster the people. There are mainly male band members of indie rock bands with a few exceptions, there is no real reason for this,  but it is a constant correlation that i have found. The bands tend to have the style of black tops or shirts, a leather or fabric jacket and skinny jeans. When we create our own band, we may create promotional photos like the ones on the left and below in order to keep it within the style of the indie rock genre, as well as the fact that we would like to keep it simplistic as well as minimalist. Our band will be made up of males, due to the fact that many of the indie rock genre are males so we have to keep it to the conventions. We could attempt to branch out maybe, but our vocals are that of a male and there is a wider target audience for males within this genre, so through the star theory we will attempt to appeal to them.

Our chosen band "De Staat" are represented as friendly as well as laid back guys, this can be seen in the photo to the left where their guitarist can be seen topless dancing around. Their audience view them as genuine Dutch men who are true to their audience. We can see how Torre is a positive role model, from his twitter as he tweets about political as well as social problems and supports women's rights all over the world (Supporting Dyer's Star Theory):

The audience of this band are male and female, between 16 and 25. they are of a typical middle to working class, which is common for that genre of music, there is no ethnicity specified for the target audience as most music doesn't reference a certain ethnic group. Psychographically, we can see that the audience are reformers, due to De Staat slating the White house in multiple songs, so the audience are wanting change just as much as the band. We can see from the uses and gratifications that social media is utilized fully by the audience as a means to talk to the band and look at upcoming events as seen below

We, as a group, will attempt to use these uses and gratifications on our website in order to make our artist/ band seem more down with his audience and to reinforce Dyer's Star theory. As well as this, there will be links to all of the social media pages for the artist to further pursue the uses and gratifications, with our artist attempting to be represented positively by talking about political agenda's and equal rights on social media.