Research Into Record Labels - Miss Georgiou.

The UK plays host to a many hundreds of record labels including the four major record companies and a thriving community of hundreds of independent labels and music companies. The three major record companies are Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music. Each of these labels manage numerous artists from various genres and are considered as the most sucessful within the UK.

Universal Music Group (UMG Recordings, Inc.) (UMG) is the largest music corporation in the world. An American-based, French-owned multinational music corporation, it currently operates as a subsidiary of Paris-based media conglomerate Vivendi. UMG also owns Universal Music Publishing Group, which is the second largest music publishing company in the world. Universal Music Group's global corporate headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California. It manages numerous artists across various genres such as:

• Lady Gaga.
• Gwen Stefani.
• Keri Hilson.
• Young Jeezy.
• Mariah Carey. 

Sony Music Entertainment is another American music corporation owned which is owned byt the parent company of Sony which is based in Japan. It was founded in 1929 under the name American Record Coropertation it was then renamed numerous of times before finally settling on the name Sony Music Entertainment in 1991. It has a extremely varied amount of artists ranging from local artists to international superstars as well as numerous historic artists. Their artists include:

• The Ting Tings.
• The Clash.
• MGMT.
• Ke$ha.

The final record label i have chosen to analyse is Warner Music. Warner Music is the third largest record label and was founded in 1958 as Warner Bros Records under the main company Time Warner. The company operates some of the largest and most successful recording labels in the world, including its flagship labels Warner Bros. Records, Parlophone Records and Atlantic Records. WMG also owns Warner/Chappell Music, one of the world's largest music-publishing companies. They amanage numerous artists such as:

• Death Cab For Cutie.
• Gnarls Barkley.
• Basshunter.
• Fleetwood Mac.
• Enter Shakiri.

Within the music industry there is also numerous independent record labels which operate on a much smaller scale to these major record labels and offer a contrasting service to the larger labels. One of these labels is Boy Better Know who are a label who focus solely on grime music with all its members belonging to this genre. It was formed by three artists who still belong to the label and run it today, JME Skepta and Wiley. 'BBK' operate on a very basic level only taking on artists who are their friends keeping a close-knit group of artists, this leads to numerous collaborations between these artists. These artists include:

• Skepta
• JME
• Wiley
• Frisco
• Jammer

Another example of a independent record label is RAM Records. RAM Records, like Boy Better Know, specialise in one genre which is Drum and Bass and they have becoming one of the largest independent record labels within this genre in the UK. It was founded in 1992 by DJ Andy C who has brought the company huge success winning numerous awards and signing many artists. Specialising in one genre has meant that RAM now understand the genre and the target audience and have knowledge on what artists will be successful within this genre. Some of these Drum and Bass artists are:

• Chase and Status
• Sub Focus
• Audio
• DC Breaks
• Delta Heavy 

FatCat Records is another independent record label but unlike the other two labels this label follows the large conglomerate label system by having many artists which belong to numerous genres such as Post Rock, Electronica and Pop. It was founded in 1997 by Dvid Cowley and Alexander Knight who initially signed many artists who had early success for the record label such as icelandic band Mum. Since then they have followed their early philosophy of signing many artists from many contrasting genres. Some of these contrasting artists include:

• The Twilight Sad
• His Clancyness
• Mazes 
• Max Richter
• Mice Parade 

Having major record labels with large amounts of money and access to vast amounts of resources has a massive effect on the music industry and the independent record labels. The four major record labels have a massive amount of control over the music industry as they are able to dictate the release of music from the major superstars. These records labels are able to get there artists heard by extremely large audiences and make them a overnight success regardless of their talent. This has a rather negative on the industry because artists who work hard and are really talented are restricted to only a small amount of success due to belonging to a independent record label. Artists such as  Justin Bieber have received huge amounts of success mainly because of many reasons other than their singing. Justin Bieber received immediate success following a major record label watching a Youtube video he posted and he was then signed to this label and received huge amounts of success, due to their power within the music industry, without having to work very hard to be in this position. Where as artists such as JME and Skepta who both belong to a independent record label are unable to receive this amount of success although they have worked extremely hard as they run their one record company. The music industry being dominated by these major record labels means that many genres of music are unable to reach large amounts of success and be seen by much large audiences because these record labels usually only distribute pop music as they know that it is the most successful and will generate the most interest and money. This means many other genres such as grime and dub step don't receive the recognition and success they deserve as they are not heard by large audiences. Despite this major record labels do have numerous benefits. One of these is they have made music much more accessible and available to large amounts of people as they have been innovators in ensuring that music is heard by large amounts of people. This means that many people may not be listening to the music they are today is it wasn't for the work of these major record labels. These record labels have also been very beneficial for many artists career as they have helped the careers of numerous artists as we all as progressing the pop genre immensely and making it the success it is today. 

Indpendant record labels have also had a considerable impact on the music industry as they have made it possible for many artists who are not as successful to try and make a career out of music and even possible progressing into being signed by a major record label. Independant record have also had s hugs impact for the many genres which are not considered by the major record labels and have given them a chance to impress more people then previously possible and hopefully making the genre more well known and successful. Independent record labels also give the artists more freedom to be the artist they want to be the artist they wished rather than being dictated by the record label into wearing certain things and acting a certain way to create a product like artist which will sell as much records as possible.

Research Into Chosen Music Artist - Miss Georgiou.

For my music video me and my group decided to use the song 'Turn Back Time' by Sub Focus. This song belongs to the dance genre and as a group we decided that this would be the best artist to use because their music fitted our initial ideas and we believed that we would be able to create a video which fitted the song really well as the lyrics are easily adaptable to a video.

Sub Focus, or otherwise known as Nick Douwma, is a English electronic music producer who covers numerous genres such as drum and bass, dubstep and electro house which all fall under the umbrella dance genre. Sub Focus belongs to the record labels Ram Records and OWSLA, both of which who are specialised and solely produce music within the dance genre.

 Sub Focus' first notable success came in 2005 when he reached number one in the UK Dance Chart with "X Ray/Scarecrow" which also reached 60 in the UK Singles Chart. He then released his debut studio album on 12th october 2009 which peaked at 51 in the UK Album Chart. In late 2010 came Sub Focus' most successful production to date which was him producing Example's single "Kickstart" which peaked at number 3 in the UK Charts. In 2012 Sub Focus also had success with the release of his single"Tidal Wave" which peaked at number 12 in the UK Charts and was featured in the Mercedes Benz advertising campaign. On May 12th 2013 Sub Focus continued this chart success by releasing Endorphins which reached number 10 in the charts. He then released his fifth single, from his extremely successful album 'Torus', which reached fourteenth in the UK Single Charts. On the 20th December 2013 he then realised his sixth, and last, single from the same album which was 'Turn Back Time' which is the song which me and my group will use for our music video. This song charted before its official release and upon being released continued to rise to tenth in the UK Single Charts which makes it his joint most successful single along with 'Endorphins'. The success of this album led him to play many live shows during 2013 such as Reading and Leeds Festival, Glastonbury, Global Gathering, Bestival and Isle of White Festival. He also completed his own successful UK Tour in 2013.

    

The first video i have chosen to analyse is 'Falling Down' by Sub Focus, which belongs to the dance genre and appeals to the target audience of 16-25 year olds. This is the usual target audience for this genre because its these people who enjoy going out and having a good time, dancing to the fast paced music, more than older people who would stereotypically be interested in a slower genre. During this video the artist is represented as extremely conventional to the dance genre as the video follows him at a festival setting performing and him backstage. Within the video he is also represented as laid back as he seems very calm and composed backstage just before he's about to perform when he should be quite nervous. This connotes that he is been performing for a long while and suggests to the audience that he is a experienced performer. His performances within the video also present him as a good live performer as the audience can be seen enjoying the performance and the use of bright lighting and fast editing add to the festival setting and emphasise the atmosphere. 

Within this video Goodwins theory is evident and used throughout. For example the first element of Goodwins theory which states that 'music videos demonstrate genre characteristics' is applicable as this video is extremely conventional to the dance genre and features almost all the codes and conventions of this genre, such as the bright, flashing lighting, fast paced editing and a conventional setting of a festival. 

Another element of Goodwins theory is 'The demands of the record label will include the needs for lots of close ups' Although this point isn't as evident as the first within this idea it still features at times as the artist can be seen frequently through numerous camera shots and through the use of lots of close ups. This is conventional to the dance genre as they have to make it evident who is performing the song as the DJ's are not performing the song live and therefore the audience may not recognise them as the artist of the song, which is bad for their publicity and forces them to include numerous close ups to ensure they are aware of the artist. The final element of Goodwins theory is whether the video is performance, narrative or concept based, this particular video is solely performance based. A performance based video is when you can see the artist performing the song for a vast segment of the song. This is evident within this video as throughout the whole video you can see the artist performing the song live at a festival. This helps create the conventional dance genre scene in which young people can be seen enjoying themselves and dancing to the upbeat music and video. That links to another element of Goodwins theory which is the relationship between the music and the video. This element of the theory is evident within this video because the song is extremely fast paced which runs parallel to the video which matches the pace of the song. The micro-elements of lighting and editing play a huge role in achieving this as they are both used in a very fast hectic manner; flashing lights are frequently used on stage and added in the editing process, which emphasises the pace and loads of jump cuts are used in quick succession to also create this effect. 

The five mise-en-scene elements which are setting and props, costumes hair & make up, body language & facial expressions, lighting & colour and positioning of characters/objects within the frame are used in a way which is extremely conventional to the dance genre. The setting is evidently extremely conventional to the dance genre as the whole video is set at a festival which is stereotypical associated with the dance genre. This is a stereotypical and conventional setting to the dance genre because the festivals usually focussed on the dance genre which means that many of the target audience who enjoy this genre will attend these festivals and therefore videos which are set in this setting evoke good memories for them, which will mean they enjoy the video more, and also make it more relatable as they have experienced it. The costume, hair and make up used is also conventional as it is casual and basic clothing which is what the artists usually
 wear within the dance genre which differs from other genres who
usually wear theatrical costumes which achieve a completely different effect. The plain costume has little impact but it may make the artist more relatable to the audience if they can be seen wearing affordable clothing which the target audience may use themselves. The body language and facial expressions seen on both the audience and the artist emphasise the joyful atmosphere as they can both be seen with happy and euphoric expressions, which means that the audience watching the video are also prompted to feel that way. The lighting and colour is one of the most recognisable conventions of the dance genre and one of the most successful at creating a specific atmosphere. The lighting which is stereotypically used within the dance genre is usually bright and flashing as it fits in with the fast pace of the song and provokes dancing. This type of lighting is used within this video to a similar effect as it can be seen during the live performance as well as certain lighting elements which have been added, during the editing process to emphasise this effect. To do this they use the bright lighting throughout but during the fast paced periods of the song the lights flash constantly and frequently change in a hectic manner, this flashing lighting then slows for the slow paced parts of the song which emphasis the fast paced elements as the vivid contrast can be seen.

The second video i have chosen to analyse is 'Turn It Around' by Sub Focus. Although being made by the same artist as the first video i studied, this video is extremely different to that video and is much more unconventional than the first, but does, in parts, feature some conventional elements. Although it differs from the first video I believe the second video does appeal to the same target audience of 16-25 year olds but it appeals to them in a completely different manner. Rather than using a conventional video, which the target audience enjoys, this video uses a more diverse video to appeal to the audience. To do this they use a interesting narrative which keeps the audience enticed throughout as they follow this young girl on her journey in Asia and are keen to find out how the storyline progresses and what happens to this focal character. This is a different way to appeal to the same target audience as they have made it less relatable and joyful but instead gone for a more depressing narrative which causes the audience to feel sympathetic towards the pivotal character. As i had previously mentioned this video is mainly a narrative style video as the whole video is focussed around one character and the storyline is based are what she does as she adventures in Asia in evidently a uncomfortable setting. The narrative shows this young Japanese women as she initially is seen in a peaceful setting in a rural area before she drastically changes this setting and travels to the mainland bright city centre where she is seen roaming the busy, bright streets and experiencing a club setting before she then retreats back to the initial tranquil 

setting where she is seen screaming. Despite this i also believe that this video has concept based elements as the narrative isn't extremely clear and i believe it has numerous hidden messages and connotes many things which are not clear within the video itself. I believe the hidden message of this video is that the girl is a bit of a outcast and not your stereotypical girl of this age and she initially is part of the rural community and doesn't venture into the normal Japanese lifestyle. She then wants to change this and this is shown through her spitting off the bridge which i believe is representative of her spitting on her current lifestyle. She then flees this lifestyle and travels to the big city, during this part if the video she is presented as extremely uncomfortable and looks to be very lost in this city. Following these isolated emotions she then quickly retreats to her initial rural setting where she repeatedly, passionately screams. I believe this big finale scene is representative of her frustration that she isn't able to adapt to this normal society and is instead a outcast. Because of this fact that the video is narrative and concept based rather than performance based the artist is represented in a completely different way to the first video. The artist isn't directly represented at all within the video as he doesn't feature but i believe the fact that he used this specific style of video presents him as creative and innovative because he has created a diverse video and gone against the majority of the codes and conventions of the dance genre which demonstrates his ability to be original and unique and go against the stereotypical video. Creating a diverse video rather than a conventional video may be viewed as more creative because a artist knows what to include if they create a conventional video as they have seen other artists do this within the genre, where as if they create a diverse video the content has to be all original and all unique ideas. 

Unlike the first video from Sub Focus, which is more conventional, this video does not feature much inclusion of Goodwins Theory. The first point of Goodwins Theory states music videos tend to demonstrate typical genre characteristics, this element of Goodwins Theory isn't obviously present within this video as it is a diverse video therefore the artist deliberately aimed to include as little conventions as possible to ensure that the video is completely unique and diverse. Despite this, this video does feature certain scenes, within its diverse narrative, which are conventional to the dance genre. During these scenes the focal character goes into a nightclub; these scenes are extremely conventional to the dance genre as this is the stereotypical setting of a dance video so the fact that it is set in this setting makes the scene conventional as all the micro-elements within this setting are each conventional to the dance genre. One of these convention which the dance genre is famous for is the lighting used. The lighting used within this scene is conventional to the genre as it is bright and flashing and makes it evident they are in a club. This lighting also causes another convention which feature within this video which is the dancing; dancing can be seen by the people within the scene which is associated with the dance genre as that type of music and usually the video as well causes the audience to dance. Another element of Goodwins theory which features within this video is the relationship between music and visuals, although this point isn't applicable to the entire video it does apply to the start of the video as the pace of the song matches the pace of the video, as during the slow start of the song the video is slow paced and follows her as she peacefully explores the city but as the song gets faster so does the video as she enters the club during the fast paced part of the song, during this fast paced part of the song the characters are dancing and both the lighting and editing are much quicker than previously which makes it match the song.

Contrastingly to the first video the five miss-en-scene elements; setting and props, costumes hair & make up, body language & facial expressions, lighting & colour and positioning of characters/objects within the frame are used to a completely different effect to create this diverse video. The first element of setting and props used is both conventional and unconventional as there are numerous settings used. The video starts off in a forest setting in which the character can be seen in a tunnel and on a bridge but in a rural green area, this type of setting is unconventional to the dance genre as it is stereotypically set in urban areas specifically clubs rather than a rural forest. This is because the forest it stereotypically associated with peacefulness and calmness which is the exact opposite to what the dance genre aims to create as they try to make there videos as upbeat as possible and in some situations creating a hectic and chaotic video. Despite this the narrative then progresses which shows the focal character leave this forest setting and travel to a more conventional setting of a big city. A city is a rather conventional setting as it is more fast paced than a rural setting as there are lots of people rushing about which results in the music linking to the visuals. The lighting used within the city is also some-what conventional to the genre as it is all bright artificial lighting which is what is usually used within the dance genre. Another setting which is used within this video and is extremely conventional to the dance genre is the club setting. This setting is the most conventional of all setting within the dance genre and is what is stereotypically used within all dance video because each micro-element within this setting helps achieve the atmosphere which the genre aims to create and prompts the audience to dance. 

To conclude this research into the artist which we have chosen (Sub Focus) will be extremely helpful within the planning process of our music video as it has given us numerous ideas and loads of inspirations of what this particular artist usually uses and the effect it has on the audience. It has given us knowledge on how to manipulate specific micro-elements to have the most effect on the audience at a specific part of a song and what appeals to Sub Focus' specific target audience and what to include to make a successful video within this genre.

Research Into Chosen Music Genres - Miss Georgiou.

Within my group we have decided to use the song Turn Back Time by Sub Focus which belongs to the dance genre. The reason I have chosen to use this genre is because that I believe that it is easily adaptable and therefore can be used as either narrative, concept or performance based videos. This means that when creating my video I can use numerous different images and styles which would all be conventional and appealing. Artists similar to Sub Focus are Chase and Status and Rudimental, both these artists inspired me to create a video within this genre and i have taken specific inspiration from the videos 'Hitz' by Chase and Status and 'Baby' by Rudimental featuring MNEK & Sinead Harnett.

                                    

The first video which i have chosen to analyse is 'Hitz' by Chase and Status, a video belonging to the dance genre and targeting the audience of 15-25 year olds of both genders. Much like many of Chase and Status' music videos it is narrative based which is unconventional to the dance genre as the majority of videos are predominantly performance based and follow a club atmosphere. Despite the fact that the video is narrative based and therefore unconventional the storyline which it follows is somewhat conventional as it follows a young boy who produces music and sells it and promotes a club night with the finale of the video being a stereotypical dance genre club scene. This video also has a large performance based element as Tinie Tempah, who features on the track, can frequently be seen rapping in the studio and within the conventional club scene.

The miss-en-scene within this video frequently changes and flickers between conventional codes and conventions of the dance genre and the diverse and unique narrative. This contest is evident throughout as the video regularly changes between the narrative and the performance based element. The miss-en-scene used for the narrative is unconventional to the dance genre as each of the 5 mise-en-scene elements (costume, hair and make up, facial expressions and body language, lighting and colour and positioning of characters) all go against the dance music genre stereotypes and characteristics. The costume, hair and make up used is unconventional to the genre as it is a working class child who is seen wearing tatty clothing and no glamorous make-up or costume. This is unconventional to the dance genre because although dance artists don't wear as glamourous clothing as other genres they do still present themselves in a rather smart manner. His facial expressions and body language are also unconventional as he is a child therefore he acts in a childish way, such as riding a bike, which is very rarely seen within the dance genre. On the other hand this use of mis-en-scene within the narrative element contradicts that used within the performance based element. For example the costume, hair and make up is rather conventional as the artists can be seen wearing more mature clothing which presents them as much more professional. The facial expressions and body language also are contradicting as they are older characters and therefore act in a more stereotypical and normal way to the dance genre.

Within Chase and Status' dance video for 'Hitz' there is two main camera shots used throughout which are completely different and used for completely different effects. The first camera shot which is frequently used is a establishing shot. A establishing shot is used throughout the video to make it evident of the setting of a run down, urban, city. This particular shot is used as it shows the sky scrapers and more of the surrounding urban area with the aim of showing as much of the setting as possible. It is used throughout as the artist is trying to make it clearly obvious of this particular setting which gives the audience some more knowledge of the narrative as they know where the focal character lives which gives them more knowledge about him and makes them aware that he is rather poor and from the working class. This type of camera shot is unconventional to the dance genre as they very rarely have a narrative therefore there is no need for the setting to be established so vividly and can instead use other shots which focus more on the performers and create a more lively atmosphere within the video, which the genre is renowned for.

Contrastingly another camera shot which is frequently used within 'Hitz' is a close up. The main use of a close up within this particular video relates to 'Goodwins Theory' as there are many close ups of the performers this is to ensure that the target audience are aware of who the artists are and make it evident that they are the ones performing. This particular shot can be seen consistently of Tinie Tempah in the studio and also numerous close ups are used of the two DJ's within Chase and Status just to remind their target audience, who usually watch their videos for them, that they are the artist, even know Tinie Tempah plays a hueg role within the video and the song. Unlike the establishing shot the close up is conventional to the dance genre as close ups are frequently used to show the DJ's as the audience may not recognise them as much as normal performers and therefore the audience need to be aware of the artist.

Despite this being the main use of this specific camera shot it is also used as the very last shot within the video to show the focal character of the narrative. They use this same shot as it shows the emotion of his face which summarises the narrative as it shows how he is feeling at the end of the video and thus brings closure to the audience. This use of the close up shot is unconventional the dance genre as it is stereotypically used the show the artist but instead is now used to show a characters depressed emotions which is extremely unconventional as the dance genre is usually associated with happiness.

Another micro element which is rather unconventional to the dance genre is lighting. The lighting used within the majority of this video is very bright natural sunlight. This is a unconventional use of lighting because usually within the dance genre the lighting is rather artificial as it is very dark with injections of bright flashing lights to replicate either a club setting or festival. This contrasts the lighting which is used within this video as it is consistently naturally bright sunlight, this is used because it makes the narrative seem more believable and relatable as it looks more realistic which helps form the bond between the characters and the audience as they believe the narrative and therefore sympathise with him more. Despite this at the end of the video contrasting conventional lighting is then used; this is because the narrative has now developed and they are seen within a conventional club setting, this means that they now need to use dark lighting with bright colours quickly interjected. The use of this contrasting lighting means that the audience can now feel the stereotypical dance emotions of excitement and adrenaline as it makes the pace much quicker. It also means that they are now able to easily relate to the setting as the majority of the dance target audience have experienced this setting and will therefore form a further bond with the character as they know what he is feeling within that particular setting.

The second video i have chosen to analyse, which also belongs to the dance genre, is 'Baby' by Rudimental featuring MNEK & Sinead Harnett. Unlike most other Rudimental videos 'Baby' is much more conventional is solely performance based rather than the usual mix of concept and narrative within other Rudimental videos. The fact that this video is performance based is evident throughout as the two artists which feature on the track, MNEK and Sinead Harnett, can both be singing throughout the entire duration of the video. Performance based videos are the main style of video within the dance genre as the target audience will see the artists dancing and singing and are more likely to replicate and copy them. Rudimental also appeals to a slightly younger target audience, than Chase and Status, of 12-25 year olds, this younger target audience makes a performance style video more appropriate as they don't have to figure out any particular complicated concept or follow any dramatic narrative, instead they can just watch the artists perform the song and therefore enjoy it more.

The mise-en-scene within this video is extremely basic and consistent. The setting and props are the same throughout and very simple, the only prop used within the video is big silver balloons spelling the song title 'Baby'. The setting is also very plain and simple and is just a empty room, the effect of this plain and simple props and setting is that it emphasises the performance style and element as the audience are 100% focused on the artists performing and the song they are listening too. This also links to a particular element of 'Goodwins Theory' as the fact that they are only focussed on the artist means that the artist is fully promoted as the performer of the song and gives them all the credit for the song. But, unconventionally, the people who feature within the video are not the artist of the song they just feature in the track, this is extremely unconventional to both 'Goodwins Theory' an the dance genre as it means that the audience may not be aware of the artist of the song and instead may be mislead into believing that they are the artist of the song. The costume, hair and make-up which the two characters are seen wearing within the video is also very basic as both of the artists are wearing black jumpers and some funky black and white trousers. Both their outfits fit the main theme of the video which is black and white and further the focus the song and the artists as the audience are not looking at their costumes.


Another unconventional element within this video is the lighting and colour of the video. The video is present as black and white throughout which is extremely unconventional to the dance genre as  it stereotypically features flashing bold lighting. The black and white colour tint throughout also contradicts the main, conventional aim which is to express and portray happiness and make the audience this way as the black and white colour connotes depression and sadness. Unlike the previous three mise-en-scene elements mentioned the facial expressions and body language featured within the video are conventional to the dance genre as the two characters appear happy and are dancing throughout the video which is a convention of the dance genre as it aims to make the audience joyful and happy and therefore the artists seen dancing and smiling will express this image and the audience are likely to copy them. The final element of mise-en-scene is positioning of characters within the frame, despite breaching most other conventions of mise-en-scene 'Baby' does follow the codes and conventions of the dance genre from this specific element as the two artists remain dead centre throughout the entirety of the video. This is another element used to emphasise that artists who are performing the song and keep them and the song itself the focus rather than a stereotypical massive dance video.



Much like the rest of the video the cinematography for 'Baby' by Rudimental is very basic and plain, this makes it unconventional to the dance genre which usually has a variety of different complex shots which have numerous different effects on the audience. But contrastingly this video primarily uses just a simple mid-shot. This is because they do not need to capture any of the background as it is plain and they don't need to see the whole body of the artist as their costumes are plain and their actions can be seen from the waste up. The effect of this is one which has evidently tried to be achieved throughout the video which is to deter attention away from the video itself and instead focus more on the artists and the song. To do this they have kept everything basic including the cinematography which is only mid-shots and close-ups.


All the video as a whole is rather unconventional as it is very very basic unlike conventional complex dance genre videos the editing used within this video is rather conventional to the dance genre. This video uses fast paced editing with numerous jump cuts which cuts to a variety of different shots, this is conventional as usually within a conventional dance genre video they cut between numerous different images of the stereotypically club setting. Numerous jump cuts quickens the pace of the video making sure that it matches that of the song. This creates excitement and gets the hearts racing of the audience as they are seeing numerous different images in quick succession and they have to digest it all, this is what the dance genre aims to do as it wants to get the audience dancing and using fast editing prompts them to do this. Using this form of editing also means that they are able to show more different shots which means that they are able to create more effects and evoke more emotions through the use of cinematography and the five miss-en-scene elements.

To conclude this research into our chosen music genre if dance has given us a vast amount of knowledge on what the codes and conventions for a music video within this genre. Given this new knowledge we now know whether we want to go against these conventions to create a diverse video, or to conform with these conventions to create a conventional video. This research has also taught us how to achieve both these types of video and what specific micro-elements we need to manipulate to successfully create this type of video. The research into these two specific videos by Rudimental and Chase and Status has also taught us how to create either a narrative or performance style video which appeals to a target audience similar to ours.

Target Audience Results - Miss Miller

Within our planning process we decided to carryout out a questionnaire asking numerous questions about the dance genre and recorded the results from numerous people within our target audience. We decided to do this because then it gave us as a group much more knowledge on exactly what our target audience liked within a dance music video and then we was able to take that into consideration and know exactly what to include within our own dance music video to make it appealing to them. 

1) Why do you like the Dance music genre?

The first question we asked within our questionnaire was 'Why do you like the Dance music genre?' this was a closed question because there was only a set amount of answers to the questions and these were:
'The fast paced editing, the bright lighting, feel good factor or other'. The majority answer was just about 'Other' with 32%, i believe this is the majority answer because the dance genre has a large amount of conventions which our target audience would like to see and therefore we was unable to categorise them within minimal answers. The second most chosen answer was 'Feel good factor' this answer was popular within our questionnaire as a large amount of people who watch music videos usually watch this particular genre as it is stereotypically a happy and joyful genre with a fast pace which evokes positive emotions within the audience. Another reason which probably resulted in this being a popular answer is that this music is usually associated with good memories for the target audience therefore when they hear this genre of music it makes them euphoric. The next most popular answer was 'The bright lighting' with 24%, this was also a widely chosen answer because bright lighting is a extremely stereotypical convention within the dance genre and is the micro-element which the audience first think of when they think of the genre. This is because it reminds them of the club atmosphere and is relatable. Although it also had a high percentage at 16%, the least chosen answer was 'Fast paced editing', this is because it is a extremely conventional micro-element which also helps emphasise the pace of the video but many audiences don't focus too much on the editing of a video as it, at times, unmemorable. 

2) What do your think of Subfocus as an artist?

The second question we asked was "What do you think of Sub Focus as an artist?". We presented this question as a open question because we knew the responses would be extremely varied, which they was. The majority of the people we asked answered roughly along the lines of 'they're good' this is most likely to be the most chosen answer because we specifically asked our target audience therefore they are aware who the artist is and are likely to enjoy them. The next most popular answer was 'other', with 30%, this answer was usually not from our target audience and instead was people claiming they don't know who they are. Interestingly this final two answers contradicted each other but had similar amount of answers. The first said 'they're unique' with 18% the second said they 'lack originality' with 12% because of this neither of these answers will be of much help as our target audience haven't given us a clear overriding majority. On the other hand the fact that 'they're good' received a massive majority of 40% gives us knowledge that our target audience likes Sub Focus and therefore prompts us even further to use them as our artist.  

3) What conventions do you like to see?

Our next question was 'what conventions do you like to see within a dance music video', the majority of the answers were other with 40%. This is because the people asked was choosing a vast variety of conventions which all was necessarily conventional to the dance genre. The most chosen convention was 'club setting' i believe this was chosen a lot because it is the most obvious and most used convention within dance music videos and this setting allows the audience to immediately recognise the genre. The next most chosen was 'strobe lighting' this is another obvious answer as it is extremely conventional to the dance genre and successful at emphasising the joyful feel to the video. The next convention was 'colour edits' this refers to the numerous bright colours used within the dance genre which also gads to the happy vibes within a dane video. Despite us not being able to take much information from the majority answer of 'Other' we can take inspiration from the other three as it makes us aware that our target audience do enjoy these particular conventions.

4) Would you rather a conventional or diverse music video and why?

This question was extremely helpful as although the reasons may have varied it gave us a clear answer on whether our target audience prefers a conventional or diverse dance video. Overall our target audience preferred a conventional video to diverse. This will have a huge impact on what style of video we will create and is likely to cause use to chose conventional rather than diverse. I believe our target audience preferred conventional rather than diverse because the dance genre in particular is extremely conventional and most videos within the genre are rather similar. This is because these conventions successful complement the music and create a specific vibe for that target audience which is why they continue to listen to the genre. Our target audience also found diverse videos quite confusing and claimed that they didn't always understand the hidden message which left them feeling a completely different way to how the dance genre stereotypically makes you feel. 

5) What is your favourite music video within the dance genre and why?

This question revealed to my group what our target audience is most interested in within music videos of the dance genre. The music videos on the pie chart are the ones that were most frequently mentioned, this means I will carry out  further research into these videos and gain inspirations that the audience would like to see in my own production. The Rudimental video that is popular with the taret audience has the style of a narrative, which indicates that the audience enjoys diverse videos which may not conform completely to the stereotype, however, on the other hand, 9Ts and Bounce both include very conventional elements within their music videos such as strobe lighting and coloured tints, which means that throughout my own music video I will include aspects of diversity weaved into a conventional dance music video. 

6) What don't you like to see in a dance music video and why?

We asked 40 members of our target audience ‘what don’t you like to see in a dance music video?’ the

answers to this question was extremely varied and gave us further knowledge of what shouldn’t include within our music video. This also emphasized the fact that our target audience hugely enjoy a conventional video as the none of the answers were conventional to the genre and will likely result in me and my group producing a conventional video as our target audience clearly prefer that. The audience came up with things such as violence, however many people had their own individual opinions on what they don't like seeing in a music video, highlighting that despite our efforts to create a music video to the widest audience possible, people still wont enjoy it. 

7) Do you like to see the artist featured within the music video and why?

Although this question stereotypically only applied to a extremely small section of the video, as the dance genre doesn't heavily feature the artist too much, most of our target audience believes it is crucial to have the artist feature in the music video. They believe that it establishes an image for the artist and helps to create a bigger fan base as the audience can relate to their image and representation. Others think it ins't essential and that the artist doesn't need to be featured at all; its about the music not about the artist which can be true to a certain extent in the dance genre. With this genre of music, may fans listen because of the effect the music has rather than the representation of the artist which is a main focus in other genres such as pop. As a group, this questionnaire has helped us to decide we will feature the artist in our music video but only slightly, to appeal to our whole target audience who do like to see the artist and others who don't. 

8) Who is your favourite dance artist?

     A- Chase and Status, B- Sub Focus, C - Rudimental, D- Other

The results of this question really reassured my group that we had made the right decision with our chosen artist as they were the most popular out of our closed question selections. Even with the option to select a different artist, the majority of participants chose Sub Focus. However, some people did prefer other artists, which meant that further research could be made into their style of music videos too see what inspirations i could take and develop for my own production. 

9) What style of music video do you prefer?

     A - Narrative, B- Performance, C- Concept.

This was also a closed question, we asked the target audience what style of music video they preferred between the choices of concept, narrative or performance. It is clear to see that performance had the biggest vote, closely followed by narrative. This revealed to our group that these were the two main styles that our music video will focus on. Our video will contain a short narrative and also include performance throughout. However, we won't focus as closely on the style of concept because of the small vote it received through the questionnaire.

10) How old are you?

      A-12>15, B-15>19, C- 20>25, D- 26+

I believe the subculture theory that is most applicable to us as a group is CCCS. CCCS is a theory which refers to the fact that all subcultures come from one culture and this is a reaction to the mainstream. This is a theory which applies to us because for our music video we are using the dance genre and this genre stereotypically rebels against the mainstream. This genre goes against the mainstream because the culture of young people drinking to excess and doing drugs is frowned upon by the rest of society, yet the dane genre embraces it. The responses to our questionnaire support this because the vast majority of the people we asked said that within a dance music video they like to see all the stereotypical conventions of the genre and no diverse elements. This shows that our target audience enjoy the conventions of the dance genre and in doing so therefore rebel against the mainstream.

We chose to video record a few of our responses from our questionnaire to create our 'vox pops'. We decided to do this because it meant that we had documentation of much more in depth results rather than just a few set one or two word answers. Having this meant that we was able to gain a more of a description of their response and therefore have a further understanding of what our target audience like because they are expressing much more k knowledge to us through these longer answers.

This process was very helpful to me and my group within the planning process of our dance music video because we now know what our target audience like within a dance music video. This meant we are able to plan our video with a vivid idea of what our target audience enjoy and then include it in our video with more confidence that it will appeal to them. We now had statistical evidence of what our target audience preferred and could use these statistics to accurately recognise what is preferred and by how much to know exactly why to include to ensure we appeal to our whole target audience  The vox pops was also key in emphasising this and further increasing our knowledge by giving us much more in depth responses.