questionnaire

This research was carried out to provide us with research to help see what our target audience want and why they want it, helping us understand the genre conventions and why they work, we asked forty people as it allows us to get a wider range of peoples opinions and thoughts and therefore be more representative of the wider population which lets us see what the audience want from a music video, making it more likely to be a successful music video and not flop, these results will help us alter our idea for our music video to cater for the audience and be what they want, which is important for a successful music video.

This pie chart shows us the age of people we interviewed for our vox pops, showing that we did the majority of interviews with our target audience of 17-25 (40%) and therefore showing that our answers will be representative of our target audience, if we did not conduct this question then we would be unaware whether we asked the questions to a relevant audience and therefore our data would be useless.

This shows us the amount of males or females we interviewed, this is just showing that the majority were females which is representative of the indie genre audience as the majority of indie fans are female but there are still plenty of male indie fans, if we did not know which gender we had asked the majority of questions to the target audience (females) then it would not be representative .

This is showing the interest our audience have in the indie genre, very few said they disliked it which was good for our vox pops as we needed people interested in the genre which have a knowledge of it so that the target audience are represented properly, if we did not know whether the audience genuinely liked the genre then we would not be able to apply these questions to our target audience as the opinion of non indie fans is not relevant to our research.

This is our first open question, this allows us to see which iconography/costume would work best with the indie genre music video and why they think that, this will help us understand what we need to put into the video to make it conventional and enjoyable for our audience, allowing for it to be successful and sell the artist, this pie chart shows that the most conventional costume for the indie genre is edgy clothing because it then represents the narrative and allows the audience to truly understand the feeling within the video.

This question allows us to see what separates Gabrielle Aplin from other artists and makes her a fan favourite and successful, we can use this to help create our artist and therefore make it easier to sell her and differentiate her from other artists in the same genre, helping our artist create a relationship with the audience and therefore sell her to them, the majority of fans claimed they liked Gabrielle Aplin and her music because she writes it all herself, meaning it truly comes from within her and is her actual feelings at the time, her songs are based around real events in her life and therefore the audience build a relationship with her due to feeling like they know her personally, we want to try to create this within our own artist as it shows the talent they have if they can not only sing, but create their own lyrics as well.

Asking the audience what conventions they expect allows us to get a good view and understanding of what the true conventions of the genre are, by getting this from fans of the genre we can get a true representation of what is expected in the videos for this genre and therefore makes our video more likely to be successful and our artist memorable to the audience, this question came out with instruments being the most common answer within the audience, we will try to use this in our own video through the use of a guitar as it is commonly seen as an instrument used by indie artists, this will create a typical indie feel within the audience, so that fans will truly associate our artist with the indie genre and enjoy her work due to this.

This question allows us to see what style of music video is preferred in an indie music video and which will be more likely to become successful within the genre and target audience due to it being a common aspect of the indie genre, doing this will allow us to make the artist memorable to the audience and more likely to be successful, the most common answer was narrative due to it telling a story that the audience can relate to, this makes the audience create a relationship with the artist as they feel like they've been through the same experiences and can understand each others feelings, we want to try to create this within our artist by using narrative so that the audience can relate to her and therefore enjoy her work and help her become successful.

This allows us to see what type of camera shots we can use in our video that will stay conventional to the indie genre and what camera techniques are used in indie genres, which will allow us to create a conventional music video and help indie fans relate and enjoy the video, the most common answer within the audience was point of view shots so that the audience can see it from the artists view and not from a third person view, this means the audience can be put in the artists shoes and therefore relate to them as it allows the audience to emphasise with them due to understanding the situation the artist is in, we will use point of view shots within our music video to try to create a relationship between the audience and artist, helping the artist become bigger and wider renounced.

The narrative is extremely important, we need to know what type of story is preferred as otherwise the audience wont be able to relate to it and that wold ruin the whole point of it, the purpose of the indie genre is to relate to its audience and draw them in through creating a relationship with the artist, by finding out what narrative is preferred we can make it easier to create relationships with our target audience, the most common answer being relationship stories, this is a common topic in the indie genre due to it being easy to relate to and therefore helps create a bond between the audience and artist, we will use this narrative as well, therefore creating an easy relationship between audience and artist and helping our artist become bigger and more successful.

The lighting is also key to the indie genre, if the lighting is incorrectly used then the video becomes unconventional and therefore distances the audience, making them feel it is not an indie video and therefore they will not enjoy it due to not being able to relate to it and therefore making the video a flop, natural lighting was the most used answer due to it being simplistic and doesn't overcomplicate the video and allows the audience to appreciate the simplicity of it and understand that the artist is down to earth and isn't over the top with their work.

By finding out the audiences favourite Gabrielle Aplin song we can decide what song to use to create our music video, this would help us create a relationship with the audience as they will enjoy the video more and therefore it will bee more successful and help or artist become bigger and more renounced, the favourite song within the audience was Panic cord due to it being relatable, also there was another answer, again being panic cord but this time due to it being so upbeat, this meant the fans enjoyed the music while also relating to it and creating a bond with the artist, we will use this song so that the audience can enjoy the music in the same way.

The vox pops help us go back and see why the audience answered what they did, it allows them to expand on their answer and therefore help us understand their answer even more, which, in effect will help us have ideas for our music video and understand why the audience want them and why they are conventional to the genre. This has helped us as it has allowed us to understand what makes a music video conventional to the indie genre and why the audience relate to the song and its artist in this genre, helping us create a better indie video and therefore a more successful music video, with these vox pops we can then look at the answers from each person and see their view on why certain things make an indie music video, by doing this we can truly get the audience to relate to the artist as she will be doing what they want and then really enjoy her music and feel as if they are part of it.

We will be using Grant Mccrackens theory, we believe that the sub cultures come from various cultures but are self sufficient and can stand without mainstream cultures, we need to look at it as an array of values and ideologies then we can't say all subcultures come from one culture, this means that they are not there just because the main stream is there and would still be a culture if the mainstream culture collapsed and there then was no main stream, meaning it is a culture that can think for itself and will not disappear should the mainstream stop.

This research helped us understand the reason behind each convention in the indie genre and why it creates a relationship between the artist and audience, this will allow us to use this in our own music video for our own artist, therefore making it more likely for our artist to become successful, we will use the answers from the data we have received from the questionnaire and put the relevant answers into our music video to help create a conventional music video and therefore become a more successful artist, if I were to do it again I would make sure every single person I questioned was an indie fan and enjoyed Gabrielle Aplins music so that we could understand why she was so popular among her fans, there were a few who were not fans of the indie genre or Aplin and therefore their data was irrelevant and useless to us 

Magazine advert analysis

The main purpose of a magazine advert is to promote an artists album or upcoming tour dates, it will allow the artist to reach a wider audience, e.g people that read magazines and listen to music, will possibly interest them enough to , to help constantly remind her audience of upcoming singles/albums and tours, also to create more marketing for the tours or upcoming albums/singles as well, it also allows other companies to support her and push up sales which profits not only her, but the company promoting her as well, and finally to link in with any articles within the magazine. The two adverts I have chosen to analyse are a Gabrielle Aplin tour advert and a Nina Nesbitt tour advert, I have chosen these as one is my chosen artist and the other is an extremely similar artist to Gabrielle Aplin, allowing me to make a comparison as to why the adverts differ when they are very similar artists and what makes them different as indie singers and their fans enjoy each individual in a different way.

The artist is represented as a dark and deep/emotional person that has felt pain and is using that to influence her music and using real emotion, which gives the music more depth and allows the audience to relate to her as she is a normal person, dark colours are used to contrast with the white, showing her unconventional side and her unique personality breaking through, also the words stand out due to the white being opposite to black, she is positioned in the middle to focus the attention on her to show her importance and that she is the main person. The advert promotes the music genre as it shows the unconventionality of it and why it is different from other genres and the talent of its artists, it shows the individuality of the artist and makes her stand out, due to her being different to other artists she stands out and appeals to the audience, the connotations of this are that the artist is running away from depression and sadness (dark background) to try to stay in the light (happiness), also it represents her as having a dark background she wants to get away from, the typography is very bold and stands out, this shows that she is very open and is a very forward person, also it is done so that the audience can memorise what is said due to the boldness of it, making it stick in their mind, the style of language is straight to the point, again showing how forward she is and helping it stay in the audiences memory, it only uses the information the audience need and no more than that, the advert promotes the music genre as open and light hearted but with a dark emotional hidden message, which the audience can relate to and emphasise with the artist, it promotes the artist as open and down to earth, with a dark background like many other people in the real world, that she is just trying to get away from and start a happier, better life, the advert attracts the audience as it shows the information needed without any information thats not needed and therefore attracts the audience as it is a brief read that informs the audience in all they need to know.

The artist is represented as bright and colourful, meaning she has a bright and lovable personality, making the audience like her more due to her being so upbeat, the colours show her bright and upbeat music and therefore attract the audience to her music due to it looking fun and enjoyable, the design has quite a blank background of just a brick wall, making her the main subject, her being enlarged to make her stand out is key as well. This promotes her as an artist as it makes upbeat and fun loving audiences attracted to her music due to the poster standing out and drawing them in, it promotes her as it makes the audience want to be around her as they know they will enjoy it, the bight colours draw in the audience and keep them interested, the connotations of the advert is that the artist has simple music with a simple life which is no different to anybody else, we can see this through the use of a plain brick wall as a background to show how she is not glamorous and rich like other artists and can be related to by the audience, also she is staring directly at the camera, showing she wants to relate and create a relationship with the audience as it creates a personal relationship with the audience, the typography is fairly bold for the tour dates to help memorise them, but her names is different to normal writing and is more squiggly, showing the fun and  individual side to her personality that they may not have got from the rest of the advert, making the audience warm to her as she has a bit more of a personality,the language is straight to the point so that the audience can memorise what dates are for what locations, the advert promotes the genre as down to earth and straight with the audience, but also has a bit of flair and fun within it which the audience can enjoy and create a relationship with, it also promotes the artist as willing to build relationships with the audience due to her looking directly at the, and also a friendly, down to earth artist that is unique, finally it attracts the audience as it is a simple but colourful advert, which the audience can get all the information from quickly, whilst it is not a dull advertisement.




These ideas have helped us as now we know that the key to drawing in audiences to look at adverts is to relate to the target audience, this means we will need to take ideas from gabrielle aplin as she is who we are basing our music video off and our music aim and target audience will be similar, so we will use the dark songs, also the blank background to keep the audience focused on the artist as well as putting her in the centre of the advert, we want some colour around the artist to show her fun and unique side but also some darker colours around her to show the sadness within her songs which the audience can relate to, also we want the advert to be simple so that the audience will not get overwhelmed with information but enough information to allow them to know tour dates and new album releases, also the name needs to be memorised by the audience and this will be made to stand out to the rest of the poster, along with an image of the actual artist herself, finally we want her to be seen as down to earth by adding a normal, not over the top background, and have her looking at the camera so the audience believes she wants to create a relationship between her and the audience.

applying for music copyright

The current law involving copyright is the copyright, designs and patents act 1988, which gives creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of published editions rights to control the ways in which their material may be used. This is used so that songs are individual every time and artists cannot be 'ripped off' by other artists and therefore their music is protected, a big case of copyright infringement in recent times was Pharrell Williams and Robin Thickes, 'blurred lines', which was released in march 2013, and became a huge hit, later on in august of the same year Marvin Gayes children brung them to court due to a suspected copyright infringement of their fathers song 'got to give up' which was released 25 years earlier, both sounded extremely similar and therefore Marvin Gayes children won the court case and received 7.3 million dollars in compensation.

We had to apply for copyright as the music we will be using is not rightfully ours as we do not own the rights for it, therefore we cannot simply use the music whenever we want as this is illegal and against the copyright, designs and patent act of 1988 so we applied for copyright to get around this and have permission to use the material of Gabrielle Aplin and her record label, firstly we searched for Gabrielle Aplins record label and found it was Parlophone, after searching for contact information and finding an email address, we contacted them, only to find out that they had actually been taken over by warner bros records, we then searched for their contact email address or the email address of those within the company, and we found the email address of the press contact, Rick Gershon, we then contacted him asking for permission to use the material of his record labels artist, Gabrielle Aplin, for the song panic cord.

We have not received a reply from the record label that we have contacted, therefore we will contact them again to hopefully get a reply in which they will allow us to use the Gabrielle Aplin song - 'panic cord', once we have received a reply from the record label saying that we have rights to use it, then we will be able to upload it to youtube without having to worry about it being taken down due to copyright acts

Research into chosen artist

Gabrielle Aplin interests me due to the way she reached stardom, she used youtube to gather a fan base and then went from there, and was able to perform on her local radio station which was BBC Wiltshire due to her local recognition and clear talent, also her first release was put on the iTunes store and reached the top 25 in the UK, this artist uses narrative in her music videos which is similar to what we wanted to do with our video and therefore we chose this artist, also the way she made her claim to fame is very down to earth and she had to work hard for it. therefore she is more relatable to audiences and more achievable, this is also shown in her music.

Gabrielle Aplin had her first guitar at eleven years old, she was inspired by artists such as Joni Mitchell and Bruce Springsteen, she is also claimed to be a fan of other artists such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, her first record label was her colleges in school record label, 'BA1 records' at Bath, she gained a fan base through youtube, on which she posted her version of popular songs such as "teenage dream"by Katy Perry and "forget you" by Cee Lo Green, her big break was when she performed on her local radio station BBC wiltshire, then she went on to release the 5 track Acoustic EP which was later released onto the iTunes Store for people to download, this then reached the top 25 in the UK iTunes album chart, her song "Reverse" featured in the TV show Made in Chelsea. Aplin covered Frankie goes to hollywood's 'The Power of Love' in a John Lewis 2012 Christmas advert, which was a huge hit, English Rain, her album under Parlophone charted at number two in the UK and Scotland, whilst reaching eleventh in Ireland and tenth in Scotland, Parlophone were later bought out by Warner Bros Records. In 2013 Aplin announced her own record label, Never Fade Records which was previously launched just so she could release her own songs, would be taking on other artists. She is signed by Warner Bros Records since they bought out her previous record label Parlophone for a deal worth around £487 million

In Gabrielle Aplins - Please don't say you love me she is both extraordinary and ordinary, she is ordinary due to the settings she is in throughout the video, such as the fields, the party and the car she is in is ordinary, yet she is extraordinary due to her voice and the audience can appreciate this, also she does not overdo the releases of her music and times it just right, meaning the audience always want more as they do not get bored of it, the video is conventional as it is about love and break ups which is a usual subject in indie music, the music and visuals relate as when the couple are together the music is upbeat but when they are arguing it is low and downbeat, this is very conventional to the indie genre, narrative is used to show a love story which is very typical in this genre, there are lots of close ups of the artist, although there is an actor used you see lots of shots of the artist to show who the actual artist is and promote them to the audience, another shot is long shot, this shows both the girlfriend and boyfriend, showing the artist is not shown in a voyeuristic way, she is quite covered up therefore this makes the audience focus on her talent, making them appreciate and respect her more as an artist, the video is narrative based, telling a story of two people in love . The artist is represented as extremely loving and forgiving and a thoughtful person through her body language, she is constantly looking lovingly at the boyfriend and holding on to him, showing how much she loves him, the target audience are typical indie fans who enjoy music based on love and can relate to it due to previous experiences within their own relationships, meaning the artist is seen as more down to earth due to having the same experiences as the audience, the setting is a stereotypical party/car which is relatable to everyday people and helps the audience relate to her as an artist, the iconography of the broke down, average car shows the audience that she is like an everyday person and that she is achievable to be like, the lighting is bright when the couple are together and happy but gets darker toward the middle when they argue, then bright again when they make up, the costume is just an everyday dress showing that she does not think she is better than her audiences and dresses the same as them, her body language shows her affection for her boyfriend throughout even though they have conflicts and she gets frustrated with him, they use a lot of close ups of the artist to show her face and expressions, these close ups help sell her as an artist and help the audience memorise her face, also lots of shot reverse shots are used as it shows her and her boyfriends facial expressions during the times they get along and when they don't, showing they are a normal couple and the audience can relate to this, link shots are used to show the artist and her boyfriends facial expressions and the audience feel they know her as they can tell how she feels without her speaking, slow paced editing is used when the artist is singing, to show the true emotion in her voice and try to get her as much screen time as possible, helping the audience appreciate her as much as possible, also linking back to the present but absent part of dyers star theory, she is on screen for parts but not too long, but a decent amount of time due to the slow editing making the audience focus their attention on her, the artist is represented as down to earth and an everyday, stereotypical person that the audience can relate to and would be able to easily talk to as the artist doesn't think she is better than everyday people and for this reason her audience like her personality and attitude, making it easier for her to succeed.

In Gabrielle Aplins - the power of love, she is both extraordinary and ordinary as she is just wearing everyday clothes, performing in a worn down house, but extraordinary due to her singing ability and also the fact she is playing the piano whilst singing which shows extreme talent, again she is present yet absent for the audience as she is releasing music just the right amount so that there is anticipation for more music from her and they do not get bored of her constantly being in the public eye, the video is unconventional as it just shows her in a room by herself rather than a video showing a couples love story, which is unusual in this genre, there are lots of close ups of the artist playing the piano throughout to show her talent and help the audience memorise her face, there is a relationship between the music and visuals when the pace picks up the lights come on to show on screen the intensity of the music, there is no voyeuristic treatment of the female body, in fact she is extremely covered up as she is wearing a jacket which reveals very little, the video is primarily performance based as it is just a video of her playing the piano. The artist is represented as very talented and as very down to earth as she is performing her video in a run down house to no one, this shows her as down to earth due to not feeling that there should be a crowd for every one of her performances and she is fine with working in front of no one and showing that she is a normal person who has to rehearse, relating with the audience, the target audience are people who really appreciate musical talent and are not bothered by sexual references to draw them in, this allows her to truly be appreciated for her work and not just her looks, meaning she will be respected by fans instead of just sexualised, the music video is a performance music video, it focuses on her playing the piano and singing, in a run down, plain house, so that the audience focus purely on her and are not distracted by anything, this displays her true talent and shows the ability she has. Mise en scene is used through setting, which is a plain, run down house, this focuses the audience on her and purely her talent, the iconography used is a piano, this is the only iconography used to show that all she needs is a piano and her voice to showcase her talent and not voyeuristic treatment of the female body, the lighting is dark throughout until the end when the beat picks up and the lighting brightens up, to show the pick up of the pace of the song, her costume is just plain and covers up her body so the audience see she is an everyday person and that she doesn't want to become famous because of her body or looks, her facial expression throughout is sadness, showing her heartbreak due to breaking up with an ex. Camera techniques such as the close up are used to show her face and help the audience memorise her as an artist and therefore buy future songs with her in, also long shots are used to show her playing the piano and showcase her true talent to her fans and wider audiences, linking shots are used to show the true talent she has, he has shots of her face then her playing the piano whilst singing, this helps make the audience recognise the true talent she has and that it is all her, this represents her as a normal person and not an artist that needs to show off her wealth and fame, this is seen as a good thing as it isn't bragging to the audience that she is better and more successful than them.



In conclusion, we know how we will go about making a music video for the indie genre as Gabrielle Aplin is a good example of an indie artist, as we can watch her music videos and see typical conventions of the genre, allowing us to make a good indie video, we will use the idea of relationships and break ups for our video as it is a common topic for the indie genre.

Major record labels/parent companies

The purpose of a record label is to help fund the artist in what they are doing and help promote and distribute the artists music to his/her audience, making it available to buy with ease so that it becomes a huge hit, however if it is an independent record company then it will do the same for the artist bar distribution, in which the company negotiates a deal with a large distributer or major record company.





The warner music group own artists such as Birdy, Bruno Mars, Cee Lo Green and Oasis, the main record labels they own are Parlophone, Warner bros records and Atlantic records group, it is owned by access industries, who bought the company off of time warner through the new york stock exchange, this is a major American conglomerate who also own 'top up TV' which allows for advertisement on its channel and therefore spreads awareness of the label, creating a wider audience for its artists.



The universal music group are one of the biggest music corporations in the world, they own big artists such as 50 cent, ABBA, Ellie Golding and James Blunt, they own record labels such as Capitol records, Cash money records and Flawless records, it is owned by Vivendi, a huge mass media company in America, they own canal+ group, the leading pay television group in France, as well as a international film and series producer, this is great for advertisement and allows a wider audience (film/ tv fans that listen to music), this creates a wider audience for their artists and allows them to become more successful, benefiting the audience and the company as it brings in awareness of the artist and therefore raises the profile of the company.

Sony music entertainment are a huge record company in america, they managed artists such as Michael Jackson, Shakira, Britney Spears, Calvin Harris and Enrique Iglesias, these are huge artists in the industry and show the magnitude of the company, which draws in other big artists to join them, they own smaller companies such as Odd future records, Dreamville entertainment and DC flag records, they are owned by the Sony corporation of america,  they own sony pictures entertainment who distribute film and television series, they have distributed successful products such as spider man, men in black and resident evil which means they can advertise the label to fans of their franchise and help bring in fans of tv to become fans of their artists, making them more successful and widely renowned



Fools gold was founded in 2007 by the two DJs A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs, it linked the two genres electronic and hip hop, which helped it become a big label which introduced artists like Danny Brown and Kid Cudi, and they still own these artists.



XL recordings was launched in 1982, releasing dance and rave music, currently owned by Richard Russell, it started as an offshoot of beggars banquet records, and is part of the beggars group of labels, Russell focused on working with artists he found 'original and inventive', they own artists such as Adele, Tyler the creator and Radiohead.


I do not think it is right that there are a few dominant record labels as it makes it more difficult for new and upcoming artists at smaller labels to be recognised and become big and successful, this also prevents small labels from becoming big due to the big companies buying out smaller companies and taking upcoming artists, preventing smaller companies from making any big money, independent labels struggle to fund their artists and cannot advertise their artists and help sell them to their audience, whereas big conglomerates can afford to financially support artists and help sell them to an audience, therefore helping them become more successful as a company. Independent labels give new and upcoming stars a chance to develop and release their music, major labels only bring in established stars and do not give new artists a chance to prove themselves, this means independent labels are a key part of the industry and without them we would not have so many new artists. Big record labels allow the artist to be funded with lots of money behind them they can have lots of promotion and be sent around the world to promote themselves as artists due to the big money behind them, also they can create better and more creative music videos as the company have an endless supply of money, however, in comparison, smaller, independent companies have a limited amount of money for promotion and music video production which prevents them from being as creative as they want and truly expressing themselves, this is a barrier when trying to make the artist successful. Artists signed to bigger record label are at the top of the 'hierarchy of record labels' as they have much more funds, artists such as Michael Jackson have become successful due to the finical backing of his record label, the Sony music entertainment, this prevents smaller artists breaking onto the scene as big label artists take all the limelight. Success is measured in different ways, for a big record company an average turnover may be a massive success for independent labels, and for this reason it is hard to compare, although the majority of big artists are signed to a major record label there are independent artists that break onto the mainstream scene and become big, and example of this was macklemore and ryan lewis, their song 'thrift shop' was a huge hit and hit the mainstream music world by storm, it hit number one in the billboard top 100 and their song sold over 7 million copies in the US alone and has hit over 790 million on youtube, showing that independent artists can break through and overtake bigger artists signed to major labels. Independent labels offer support for new artists on the scene, allowing them to mould into their own image and flourish as an artist, whereas major labels expect the artist to sell straight away and settle in the industry easily, if not the artist is dropped and loses their backing from the label, also the independent labels are more open to more diverse acts to gain attention from their audience, by differing from bigger artists, the audience are more likely to look at smaller artists if they are diverse.

research into chosen music genre

Our group has chosen this genre due to the nature of the videos and the resources available to us, with this genre you can tell a story to your audience within the song and video, allowing for it to link and for it to make sense to your audience, relating to them and allowing them to enjoy the artist more and feel they are down to earth and not unachievable, if you do not establish an artist before you choose an artist then you will not be able to truly get the grips of the genre and use co
nventions that make it the genre it is as you will have no example of the style of the genre.

We have decided to use the indie artist Gabrielle Aplin, two indie artists that use a similar style to hers are Ed Sheeran and Birdy, they both follow the codes and conventions of the indie genre, using fairly simple, Ed Sheerans 'A-team' is conventional to the indie genre because it uses narrative to tell a story to the audience which is probably a true story, this is conventional as it allows the audience to build a relationship with the artist as they can see the artist is truly pouring his heart out and telling real experiences of his, showing he has nothing to hide from his audience, this makes them warm to him as a person as they can see how down to earth he is and also allows them to feel like them know him better and see how open he is as a person. However it is unconventional as the songs are usually based on love, not real issues such as homelessness, this is unconventional as usually the topic of the songs are issues that everyday people, paying to listen to the song/see the artist live can relate to such as love. Homelessness is not a topic that many people listening would be able to relate to and therefore it is a controversial choice of topic and was a risk to make a song about as it could have flopped due to the audience not feeling part of the song like they do in other songs of Ed Sheerans, the fact he sings/focuses about sensitive topics like this shows how caring and considerate he is as a person even though he is a world famous star.

Mise en scene is used through the setting of the streets, this shows where she spends most of her time, trying to make money from selling 'the big issue' or from prostitution, and where she sleeps when she cannot keep up with rent; this makes the audience realise how real the issue is and shocks them, helping the artist have a big effect on the audience, due to the shocking nature of it the song is more likely to stick in the audiences head, and due to the audience being shocked it will be advertised through word of mouth by the audience, making it more likely for the to be a huge hit as it is advertised publicly.

Mise en scene is used again through the use of drugs at the end to show the struggle she is going through and what she has resorted to, the use of drugs by her shows the state her life is currently in and that she isn't in control anymore and needs to find a buzz from somewhere to get through everyday, this shocks the audience as they can see what has happened to a poor, helpless girl due to the unfortunate situation she has been put in, the audience will then remember this song due to the shock they have got from listening to it/ watching the music video, this will cause them to talk to other people about the song, getting them intrigued and wanting to listen to it, helping spread the song and making it more successful and helping grow his audience due to them seeing how down to earth he is as a person even though he is famous, a trait that the public tend to like and will relate to artists more if they are down to earth, this helps artists become huge stars due to having wide support from fans who feel like they know the artist personally and will him to do well and help in everyday they can.

Mise en scene is used through low key lighting throughout to show the dullness in her life and the her isolation, also to imply the evil and sadness that surrounds her, things like this reflect the reason she has turned to drugs and how it has helped her get through her struggles, this shocks the audience as they don't realise the true struggles of homelessness and would usually look down on them, the song helps them truly emphasise with the homeless and change their perception of homeless people, and possibly speak about the song to other people similar to them who would also look down on 'people below them'.

Mise en scene is used through wearing loose clothing, this shows that she only buys things necessary to her her and that she doesn't have luxuries, these clothes are purely to keep her warm, and are cheap and worn, showing her money struggles as she cannot afford to buy nice clothes, this shocks the audience as they take their luxuries for granted, this shocks them and makes them appreciate their lives, which they usually didn't, this changes their perception of their lives and would cause them to share it with family and friends, helping spread the song world wide and help make the song/artist more successful and gain a wider/larger audience.

Mise en scene is used through facial expressions which are constantly saddened, showing the struggle she is gong through and that she cannot even force herself to smile anymore due to the intense depression she is going through because of her life as a homeless person, this shocks the audience as they are not used to seeing songs from the perspective of a poor person rather than a rich, successful person, this makes the video unique and helps the audience sympathise with the homeless (which is the artists aim) and look at them as people as well, as they can see they have emotions just like everyone else.

The main camera techniques are long shot to show the distance she is from everyone else even though she is in the streets, as close as she could be to the public, yet she still feels lonely and depressed, this shows how she is not seen as another person by most, bar Ed Sheeran, causing the audience to really be shocked and see how awful they are treating another human being, this video/song really hits the audience hard and helps create an effect on them that will change the way they act around homeless people, the shock will help spread the song around the public as the audience will share the song due to how hard hitting and individual it is.

The other camera technique used is medium shot which shows the audience that they are not better than her just because she is homeless and that she is just as good as person as everyone else, just in a hard situation, the medium shot shows that they are the same level as her, this is the specific reason and high angle is not used as that would give the impression that the public are better than her, therefore the audience are shown that everyone is equal and this helps them understand that the homeless are just as important as them, just not as lucky as the rest and are in a hard time of their lives, this shocks the audience as they can see that they have been treating others wrongly and will cause them to change their behaviour.

The main editing style is fast editing to show the speed the world goes on around her, with no one ever even looking at her or trying to help, making her feel an outcast.
The target audience are everyday people that believe they are better than others just because of their situation, which would include the homeless, the artist is shown in the video slightly, helping the homeless woman and speaking to her, this shows him as caring and as a good person, making the audience appreciate him and respect him. The style is narrative as it is telling a story about a homeless girl, there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visual, as it is a story, at the beginning you hear "white lips, pale face" and see her wandering around in the cold, there is a voyeuristic treatment of the female body as she dresses up to draw in men to get jobs for prostitution to make a living, the performance is majorly narrative based due to the telling of a story throughout.

These are used to draw in a target audience that will enjoy the indie genre and therefore the song, helping it become more successful and make the artist wider renounced by using indie conventions such as low key lighting to show how down and dull she is feeling, this allows the audience to relate to the artist as they can relate to her and feel like she has had the same experiences and therefore can build a relationship between the audience and artist.

Birdys 'wings' is conventional to the indie genre as it is telling a story about her love for someone and how she wants it to go on, a regular topic for indie songs, it is telling a story of how they met and that she misses him, this portrays to the audience the message the artist is trying to get across, the fact that she still loves the boy and that she wants to relive all the memories they had, this helps the audience relate to the artist and emphasise with her as they can understand her pain through the song as she makes it clear that she misses him, therefore she builds a relationship with the audience as they emphasise with her.

However it is unconventional as there is a lot of mayhem throughout with fires, etc, symbolising riots, this is uncommon within an indie genre song as it does not link with the peaceful, loving nature of indie fans and artists, this contrasts to their personality and therefore would be unconventional to the genre, helping draw attention to it and showing the artist will take a risk to become successful as it could flop and cause her to lose fans, by doing this she can draw in new fans that may enjoy the more fiery side of music and therefore widen her fan base, this helps her create a relationship with her audience as they do not expect her to do the unexpected, this shows she has a personality and lets the audience see that she isn't a generic artist.

The setting is at a party at a mansion in which there is lots of ground, showing the wealth of both of them and that the artist is clearly an important person to be getting invited to such high class parties, this causes the audience to look at her as an important person and almost see her as 'above them' due to her being at these big events, therefore showing that she is a big artist, therefore the audience believe she is successful and has good music, helping her convince her audience/new audiences into listening to the song and therefore gaining a wider audience in turn, by doing this as well she creates a relationship with the audience as they respect her for what she has achieved as an artist and they aspire to be like her.

Iconography used are horses, to show their freedom and grace throughout, and that they are two wild animals, this shows the audience that she is a free spirit and lets them see that she can have fun like everyday people do and isn't all work, this helps show her as a down to earth, everyday person and therefore helps her create a relationship with her audience as they believe that she is one of them and is approachable, helping make her more successful as the audience will like her due to her being one of them and not feeling she is above them.

The colour throughout is really dark apart from the fires in the background, to show the little hope she has of being with him but that she still has a small bit of belief, this helps the audience see how down she is and creates the effect of despair and sadness/loneliness, this then reflects onto the audience and they really feel the emotion as well due to the video using the effects really well, this then helps build a relationship between the audience and artist as they sympathise toward her and therefore build a relationship between them, this helps the artist become more successful as they feel closer to the artist and therefore the audience will the artist to do well and do all they can to help her.

Her costume is a dress which she wore to the party, to show the audience she is still thinking about the time she was with him and won't let the memories go, this helps the audience see that she is clinging onto the memories and trying to cling for as long as she physically can, therefore the audience see she is truly pained and the depth of the love she has for him, this helps them sympathise toward her and therefore build a relationship between them as she shows she feels pain because of love like everyone else, helping them emphasise with her as they've been in the same situation as her and therefore can understand what she is going through.

Her face is pained when she thinks about him, gutted she won't be able to be with him again, these facial expressions help show the audience the true pain she is going through and helps them understand the song better and the true feelings of it, the audience can sympathise with the artist as they can see what she is thinking/feeling without her even speaking, this makes them feel like they know her better as they know her thoughts without her speaking, this makes them feel like they've known her for years and know her well, this helps them warm toward her and feel like they know her personally, therefore doing everything they can to help her succeed.

There are lots of close ups of the artist to show the emotion on her face as well as to sell the song and future songs, helping her gain a larger audience and become more successful, these floes ups help the audience see the artists emotion up close and truly see that she is actually feeling these emotions and puts these into her songs and therefore shows that she hides nothing from the audience as she wears her heart on her sleeve and lets the audience see all her true feelings, this helps them build a relationship with her as they feel they know her well as they know what she is thinking just through the look on her face.

Long shots are used throughout to show the whole area and how large the party is, showing its importance, as well as showing the mess they've made, this helps her audience see the whole picture and get a true feel of the scene, helping them engage into the music and really enjoy it, therefore helping the artist become more likely to become successful and build relationships with the audience due to them feeling involved in the music and feeling like they are the same as the artist and that she truly is an everyday person.

There is fast editing used to show the speed the night went and how she enjoyed it, wishing she could relive it or it could go on longer, so she could be with the person she fell in love with again, this editing helps show the audience that she truly was enjoying herself and that she was having so much fun with the man that the time flew by, and she wishes it didn't go so quickly, and she
wants to relive it, the audience sympathise for her and really feel sorry for her, this helps build a relationship between them as they know how much she wants to be with the boy.

The target audience are those that enjoy love songs, so this means your typical indie fans, she definitely bases this song on her current audiences taste, by basing it on a conventional indie fans taste of music she is likely to reach a wider audience of the indie genre  and therefore is more likely to become successful within it, if she aims at a niche audience then it will only be successful within a small part of the community and not be a successful hit, by generalising it, it reaches more people and will be more likely to be successful and build relationships between the audience and her as they enjoy her songs and can truly relate to her

The artist is represented as someone important that is looking to find love and has found it, but lost it again, this is conventional to the indie genre and makes them more likely to relate to it, therefore she builds a relationship with her audience and will be more likely to be successful.

The style is narrative as it is telling the story of her night with this man she has fell in love with, the lyrics and visuals relate as it is talking about her love for this man and then it is showing the story of what happened, at the beginning there is a relationship between the visuals and music, it is fast paced and the camera is quickly switching between peoples faces, there are lots of close ups of the artist to help 'sell her' as an artist to her audiences as well as others, the performance is mainly narrative as it is telling a story of her love life and how she wants it back.

This research will help as it will give us ideas on what to do for our video, for example we will be using a narrative music video to help tell a story to the audience, also it will be about a love story although it was interesting to think about a real world issue as one as well, this is because love is conventional to the genre and will be easier to re create.

This draws in the target audience as the video sticks to classic indie genre conventions such as a narrative style of music video to draw in the correct target audience and therefore draw in fans of indie music, helping the artist become successful along with the song, and helping the artist form a fanbase to help them succeed, the narrative draws in the audience as they can relate to the storyline and therefore feel like they are similar to the artist and can relate to their problems and life, making the audience build a relationship with the artist.