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.