How does the idea of 'identity' link to artists/brands and their audiences?

Fundamentally, music and the world of brand marketing are both tools of communication, by which emotions, intentions and interpretations can be shared.

It is the idea that to market something successfully, identifying your audience and thus their identity is a bold factor and the most significant component. Without it, in terms of a Marketing Mix, the 'product' has no direction in which to be fully advocated and cannot reach it's target demographic.

Identity naturally comes with a product, because to create something, you have found a requirement for something somewhere that is otherwise not currently existent. You would not simply write a piece of music without knowing your audience, because it is necessary for it to accompany a genre of familarity which you as the songwriter have purposely identified for it to fit into; done effectively enough, other people are able to categorize your music into this suited genre and make these ties between similar artists alike.

Teen pop sensation 'One Direction' are a perfect example of present-day music marketing. 

If we consider social groups, stereotypically a genre of music should portray a particular attitude, appearance and have its own placement within society, for an individual to partake in. There is a direct link between a genre of music and what the representative social group should adhere to, because of the pressures society has put in place for us, (i.e. www.uktribes.com illustrates this perception on youth culture, how social group categories have come into existence and the necessity for having them.) What is interesting is UKTribes' reflection on brand marketing and how a particular 'dress sense' is automatically presumed and manipulated to be part of a 'Tribe'. The Media of circa 2003/4 were quick to latch onto the term 'Emo' (referring to Emotional) from the 'alternative category', which gave youth a bad name, often 'ones to watch out for' because they were viewed as being 'prone to self-harm'. Blown out of proportion, these remarks left a grey area shadowing on youth culture and created a scope of what would come of people belonging to this particular tribe. Like this, the derrogatory term 'Chav' created as an acronym for 'Council House Asbo Vermin' and other similar phrases, was very quickly given negative connotations by the Press and left youths or 'hoodies' with a bad name. These examples of having identity allow connotations to arise that can completely reinstate the public's perceptions of them.

                       An internet post that played on the press' intentions
                        of giving this tribe a negative public perception. 

                                                                              Scene from the London Riots during November 2011

To give a brand identity (You should consider an Artist/Band to be a brand), means to have separated it into a classification. Marketing a brand in a certain way helps decide and reach the suited demographic and this can be done by finding the key factors. To best advertise your 'brand' it must follow the main components of a Marketing Mix: The Product, Placement, Price and Promotion. Ultimately, everything comes down to marketing. Identity is the most crucial factor of a brand because without it you would not know to distinguish the four P's. Identity simultaneously comes with a brand; marketing helps to set it aside from other brands and give it selling points. 

'One Shot Wonder' Music Video

'Yellow' by the British Alternative rock band 'Coldplay', was written for the band's debut album Parachutes in 2000. The lyrics of the song are a reference to vocalist Chris Martin's unrequited love. The song is known for its emotion and rawness, whilst still considered one of the band's best songs. 

The video is minimalistic, featuring only Chris singing as he walks along the beach near the water's edge. The raincoat and his hair wet suggest that it had just rained and we see a gradual build in colour throughout the song, before ending on a shot of sunlight. The video is one continuous shot ('one-shot wonder') with no cuts, with the entire sequence in slow motion. This simple however very effect Music Video is what has granted it with an Iconic status. 

Initially the video was envisioned to be shot in a sunny setting, featuring all 4 band members. However, The funeral of drummer Will Champion's mother was held on the day of the shooting, which was also the immediate explanation of his mood during this part. Perhaps, this style reconsideration was for the best as it depicts the 'britishness' of the band and the song. 

In order for lip-syncing to work due to the slow motion editing of the video, Vocalist Chris Martin sung the song at double speed so that the audio and visual content would be synchronised. However this is a popular component in music videos, slow motion beautifully illustrates the emotion of the song intended within the lyrics. 

Theorist Consideration: Andrew Goodwin's theory of key features found within Music Videos are exercised here. 

1. Genre characteristics are put on show by the use of a very minimalistic performance during the duration of the video. 

2. If the whole band were to have been featured like it had first been envisioned, it is likely that the record label would have expected director duo James Frost and Alex to commit to predominately soloing Martin with a wide array of Close-up and Mid shots. You can assume a narrative featuring Martin may have also played out, between intercutting with the performance band shots.

3. Because of the minimalism of the video, it is impossible to comment on any more of Goodwin's features. Whereas, it is worth mentioning that Coldplay did develop a minimalist-style of video across their work. 

Final Cut Test #2

Here, I used a different environment to exploit different effects, which best suited the mood of the video. If 'HD' is not automatically selected, select that as there is quite a contrast otherwise. I am satisfied with this test and would like to try shooting in more of an urban environment next. 

Final Cut Test #1

After downloading Final Cut Pro X for my Macbook, I decided I wanted to see what I could do with the camera on my iphone. Unfortunately, the HD Quality is not what it should be because importing the footage from the iphone to my macbook proved to be a problem. I had to instead send the footage directly to Youtube and then download it off there, before importing it into Final Cut to be editted:

Iphone -> Youtube -> Macbook -> Final Cut Import -> Export to Vimeo
- I have now got around this problem.

In the first half of the video, I focused mainly on giving the car journey a 'cinematic-look' by using effects such as 'Dream' and 'Vignette'. I then carefully used colour manipulation techniques such as 'Hue/Saturation' and 'Colorize' as well as adjusting colour. To further this 'cinematic' style I then added a 'letterbox' (the horizontal black lines either side of the video) and used 'Artifacts' to create the circular orange/yellow blur effect. 

In the second half, I used similar effects but rather than going for a 'cinematic-look', I chose to try different colours to display a different mood for the piece. Here I used the 'Hard Light' effect and also experimented with effects such as 'radial', 'distort'. Later on, I used 'prism' to make the camera look like it had a different lense on it and used 'droplet' to create a circular effect which catches the audience's eyes. I ended both halves with the 'flashing' effect which I think is particularly useful. In both cases, I used a different degree of intensity to fit the mood conveyed. 

Controversial Music Video

Banned in 11 countries and restricted online, Rihanna's music video for 'S&M' sparked controversy for its sexually charged imagery in 2011. 

The video features the singer, wearing white latex, sucking a banana, wearing bondage gear and simulating sex with a life-size doll. The lyrics depict the 'dirt' of the song. “Sex in the air, I don’t care, I love the smell of it,” she sings. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but chains and whips excite me.”

It is questionable whether the controversy of the video was intended because of Rihanna's claim:  “I think that the ban worked out because I don’t think people would have been that curious if there wasn’t some controversy involved or connected to it.” The director of the video, Melina Matsoukas, said, "When I go out to make something, I kind of go out with the intention to get it banned — well not to get it banned, I always want my stuff played but to make something provocative." Clearly, the explicit content of the video was in fact a ploy to create a stir within the media and get it seen by this mass audience.

With social media harnessed, a controversial topic can very quickly be 'marketed' in this way. What at first is a talking point, heightens to a trending topic on the likes of Twitter and Facebook, with the connotations of the video creating a buzz; in this case, a negative one. 

Theorist Discussion: I have found that all of Andrew Goodwin identified key features are present within the video. 

1) Certain genre characteristics are demonstrated through the objectification of the female body. In society you could argue that there is now almost an expectancy for scandily-clad to feature, because of the 'r&b/pop' genres it stems from. The voyeuristic treatment to the female body draws reference to the notion of 'looking' (another of Goodwin's identified features). 
2) The taboo featured in the lyrics is reflected in the visuals. The music also has a clear-cut relationship with the visuals equally, making the video increasingly daring. 
3) Def Jam Records would have certainly demanded a lot of shots of the artists. The controversy of the video is something they would have liked and encouraged, (having let the video be aired suggests that the label intended for the director to deliver such a compelling video).
4) Intertextual references of the press and pop culture are reflected in the video. The shots of journalists making notes and photographers supports the idea that the controversy was intended. The explicit content of the video is the underlined theme throughout. 
5) The artist has also developed her own iconography across her work. However since establishing herself within the industry the artist has been a lot more 'daring' in her appearance, whilst juggling the look of 'glamour'. 

What I like about the video is the basis of originality but the 'shock factor' that Rihanna and her director have decided to experiment with. In my opinion controversy is always positive, i.e. 'any press is good press.' To shock your audience creates a talking point and has been manipulated in this way to escalate her view count. 

Goodwin's Theory

Splitscreen

In a group we explored the possibility of creating the Split-screen effect within Final Cut. We achieved this by using the Image & Wire Frame, Edge Feather and making audio alterations. Here is a demonstration of how this can be done.