Analysis of a star

Analysis of a star.

Artists change their image from time to time but the most significant change of image to me and the one I will be discussing is Michael Jackson’s.

Michael Jackson’s first solo music video after the Jackson 5 was ‘Don’t stop ‘til you get enough’. It was released in 1979 when he was just 19. This is clear in the video as it is innocent and light hearted. His video has no narrative or concepts and is completely performance based. We know this because the performance is him dancing on his own against a colourful and moving background.

It is classed as ‘pop’ and he's image conforms to the pop culture as he is youthful looking, for example he quite energetic and healthy in appearance and has lots of energy when he is dancing. this dancing makes it clear that is 'pop' as this was one of the conventions of 'pop' music at the time. This appealed to the target audience who were young adults and teenagers. This is because he is also only 19 years old and was seen to be attractive and desirable by teenage girls. Also the background is full of bright colours which appealed to his target audience as they are accosted with youth and having fun. Also the technology used in this video was very new at the time which was attractive to the demographic as they were interested in new technologies. 

At the time of the video Michael Jackson wanted to show that he was a entertainer as he dances for the whole of the video and makes the whole video performance based.

Michael Jackson's 'Black or White' was released in 1991 which was about half way through his career as a solo artist. This video has a lot of production involved as he is now a well established artist.

This video mainly follows the performance and concept styles but did also feature some relevant short stories in order to help the concept being conveyed to the audience. It is clear that this  video is performance based as it features Micheal himself along with various background dancers dancing and performing to the camera to help include the target audience. It fits the typical conventions of its genre which is 'pop' a it has a lot of dancing and performing and is generally upbeat. This is what the target audience want from this video.

Micheal Jackson's image has dramatically changed in this video, for example his clothes are a lot less formal and his outfit is casual but some what extravigant. The biggest change is that he has undergone surgery to change his apperence but his style and motifs in this video have remained the same. The target audience for this video are people around  the ages of 12-30 as it is not crude in any way and only contains performances that can relate to a wide audience as everybody likes to dance.

A concept and message being sold in this video is about racism and the dismisle of lableing due to skin colour. This was a current issue at the time and so it was a good time to relaese the video as many people would be interested in what the artists wants to say so they wold watch it. Micheal wanted to appear as an all round entertainer in this video which is why he is seen dancing and singing in the scene that he is in.    

Michael Jackson's latest solo music video that he is featured in is 'You rock my world' which was released in 2001. As this was made towards the end of his epic career there is a lot of money and production involved, this is clear as it features various well known actors.

This particular video is mostly made up of a big performance which is run parallel to a narrative which is set in a bar. It is clear that this video is performance based as the artist is dancing throughout the video within a group of background dancers. It is connected to the narrative as all of the performance is done the same setting and costumes.

This video is classed as 'pop' as it is aimed at a large audience and generally is upbeat and features a lot of dancing however it does not conform to some of the conventions of 'pop' as there is no ideology or access into the artists lifestyle. The artists' image in this video is pretty smart and formal. He is wearing a black suit and a matching mafia styled hat with a bright orange shirt. The artists' backing dancers are also wearing the same outfit to make them seem more similar to each other as they are dancing a group and need to look similar and in sync with each other for the dancing to look better.

This video has a very broad target audience but does manage to appeal to all of them as it contains excellent choreography and an interesting story line and also has a range of famous actors to attracted as many people as possible. This is because the artist wanted to be seen as an all round entertainer.     
     

Summary

There has been a lot of  changes throughout Michael Jackson's career but he has managed to keep his famous trait that is his influential dance routines and skills. He has also maintained his iconic sound that he sings in almost all of his songs. He started his solo career with a music video of mainly him dancing in a smart suit and ended his career with a music video that was mainly made up of him dancing in a suit. This shows that his image did change and was shown through his music videos but he almost returned to his original image which is just that he is an entertainer that performs amazing dance routines various smart or casual suits.  

Richard Dyer's theory of Stars and their image.

This theory can be applied to many of Michael Jackson's music videos. There are two paradoxes in this theory, one is that the star must be absent and present at the same time. this means that the artists must be present through the media for example but also be absent in order to come back with new material. In Michael Jackson's case this is done through him always being present through the TV and radio but also being absent for many years in his case and them coming back into the spotlight with new material. Another paradox is that the artist must be ordinary and extraordinary. Michael Jackson achieves this as he started his career as a normal young boy who was an average looking child. However he is extraordinary through his talents as a dancer and his singing abilities. One factor that makes up Richard Dyers's theory is that stars are seen as products, Michael Jackson is seen as a product as his image has been so easily and frequently changed throughout the course of his career. this makes him seem a lot less genuine as an artist and more of a product. He has been changed through his style of music and the costumes he wares.

Music Channels

MTV

The target audience for MTV is people of both sexes aged around 16-26, this is based on the fact that that it plays up to date music and the hits. It features many things that appeal to a younger audience and includes very little material for older audiences. It is also a mainstream channel to target the biggest possible audience. It plays mainly mainstream hits and whatever is in the charts at that time including the top 10 most popular songs at that time. It plays mainly pop music, R&B and some light rock. Artists include Katy Perry, Lady GaGa, Beyonce and Rhianna. As a form of branding MTV also play reality shows such as Jersey Shore. The logo for MTV is appealing to its audience because it uses graffiti like font on top of a large M, popular with youth culture which might encourage the target audience to watch the channel. The use of different fonts conveys the many different forms of media that are consumed by the target audience of this music channel which could attract them to the channel.  

VH1

The target audience for VH1 is people between the ages of 22-35, this is because it does play recent songs and hits but also predominantly features old songs and TV shows that were popular in the 80's such as '100 greatest 80’s songs' because of this the people that enjoyed the music in that time would probably like to listen to and watch their old favorite songs and programmes again and would be able to through this channel. They play artists like Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Jay-Z but mainly the artists that were famous in the that particular era. It is used as a form of branding as a subsidiary channel to MTV and they advertise each other. The logo is a mixture of bright and clashing colours maybe to resemble the iconic and provocative styles of the 80’s and attract their target audience who were old enough at the time to enjoy and remember the music, and the popular hits of that decade.  

BOX

The target audience for BOX television is 14-22 as it plays the latest 'pop' hits and popular songs and some 'hip hop' which is the main genre listened to by the target audience which encourages them to view the channel. This channel plays the latest artists and hits to attract a their target audience who listen to this style of music. Artists such as Rizzle Kicks,Connor Maynard and Justin Bieber feature on this channel regularly. This channel is a subsidiary label to Channel 4 music and the two channels advertise each other on a fairly regular basis. The logo is the word BOX made up of the three black boxes with different designs in them to spell out the letters B, O and X. This could attract the audience because first of all it is a clever design which can be appreciated by all but it resembles the different forms of media and advertising for example the first box resembles a mobile phone and the second box looks like a TV which is what will be used to view the channel.

SCUZZ

The target audience for Scuzz is 15-35 because it is aimed at a niche audience but is not aimed at just young audiences , as it does not play popular music it has to be aimed at a wider ranged audience to make up for this and gain more viewers so this is why the target audience is varied in terms of age and gender. Also because it is a niche style of music there will be less stations and channels willing to play the music that this particular demographic want to hear so they have little alternatives. It plays rock, punk and heavy metal. For example, Enter Shikari, Slipknot and Korn. This channel has  sister channels such as Bliss and Flava which all work towards advertising each other. The logo appeals to the audience because it has a 'gothic' and sharp look to it which is something associated with this genre of music and would be more likely to appeal to the demographic as the people who listen to this style of music would most probably have an interest in these sorts of things.

KISS

The target audience for Kiss are people aged between 14-22 as it mainly plays the latest artists and popular hits which feature artists that are at a similar age and act as role models to the younger audience and can be related to by the older half of its demographic. They play the latest hits and a small amount of dance tracks. Artists include David Guetta, Chris Brown and Rhianna. In terms of branding this channel has sister channels such as BOX Television and Magic who all contribute in the advertising of each  other. The logo for Kiss’ music channel appeals to the audience as it is a bright and vibrant colour that younger teenagers find attractive because it looks fresh and exiting.

Summary

MTV is large company and appeals to many different audiences. This is done by splitting the company into different channels, these channels are very different to appeal to a wide range of audience. Music channels appeal to an audience through their overall image for example their logo, music played and general genres played. An example is that Scuzz has a gothic, rock theme logo and plays heavy metal and Kiss have a light hearted and colourful logo and play upbeat and popular songs. There are a wide range of different music channels that all play different styles and genres of music. This is to cater for everyone and all of their varieties of music. For example Scuzz caters for an audience that enjoys rock music. Analysing these music videos has taught me that they all have an overall image and branding that helps audiences find the right one for them according to their taste in music. This will help me when making my own channel and music video, as I will now know exactly how to go about creating an appropriate image for our chosen song.     

       

Goodwin's Therory

Goodwin’s theory-Three day’s grace ‘I hate everything about you’

The general characteristics this genre of video includes are that there is low-key lighting, all of the members of the band are playing instruments and performing. All of these things are typical of the rock/metal genre. For example most of the shots were mainly made up of dark and dull colours and the members of the band were holding and playing various instruments showcasing their talents. This is typical of this genre of music video and is what the audience would usually expect from this kind of video as it fits in with the common features of other videos in the same genre.

There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals for example the singer says ‘after every hit we take’ refereeing to drugs, simultaneously there is a shot of a table with a variety of drugs and equipment laying on it. Another example is when the singer begins to sing about feelings there is a mid shot of two people hugging and showing affection towards each other. It is important to have a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals because it is clear that a lot of the video is a performance but to make it clearer that there is a narrative the lyrics and visuals matching up helps make it clearer. Also having lyrics and visuals mixing means that the audience can understand the song easier if the lyrics or the visuals do not make complete sense.   

There is a connection between the music and the visuals in this video to help show the performance of the band. This is done by matching the shots of them performing as the song is played along side. An example of this is when there is a significant drum beat that occurs three times in the song. This stands out there is a shot of the drummer hitting the drum in sync with the sound of the drum being hit. I think that this encourages the audience to watch and enjoy the music video. One reason for this could be that the audience of this genre usually play instruments themselves and enjoy watching an artist they like playing an instrument. 

One of Goodwin’s theories is that in most music videos there are close ups of the artists and star image motifs. There are both in this video, because this is a rock music video it is conforming to the stereotype that they are based mainly on a performance.  This means that there are a lot of close ups of the artists to help show emotion and connect with the audience and make the performance more personal to the audience. There is a close up within the first ten seconds of the video and reoccur many times throughout. The motifs come from the band’s lead guitarist who is known by their audience and fans for having an extreme Mohawk. There are lots of close ups of his hair so people are able to see it and recognise it.

One of Goodwin’s theories that does not apply to this video is the reference to the notion of looking. This is mainly because the video is performance based and the artists are looking directly at the camera in an attempt to include the audience and make it feel more personal and can also work to get the audience emotionally involved. Because the artists are constantly looking at the camera it is hard to spot any sort of voyeurism or notion of looking.

There are no intertextual references in this video as it is mainly based around a performance which is set in a dull and dark landscape for example it looks to me like a construction site and has a narrative that is attempting to appeal to the demographic of young adults and teenagers through the age of the characters which are teenage boys and girls rather than the use of expensive brands, cars and even new technologies which this video does not include.

Much of the video as said before is made up of a performance which is typical of the rock genre but the rest of the video is a simple narrative purely designed to appeal to the target audience and make them want to watch it again. I would say about 65% of the video is performance and35% is a narrative, the narrative element in this video is a short story about different characters who have been treated badly or betrayed by a loved one. This plays alongside the performance throughout the video. The performance and the narrative are separated into 1 or 2 second clips and take I turns to appear in the video. When the song reaches the chorus the narrative reaches its climax and shows an important part in the narrative.