Synopsis

Synopsis 

The audience follows the lead singer’s journey through her past love life:

Amy is being used by the boy she has fallen in love with for sex. He is already
together with Jade his girlfriend of 3 years who is totally convinced that Anthony
would do nothing to hurt her and therefore when things happen such as late night
disappearances weird texts and strange receipts she remains clueless. Amy spends the
time reflecting on her affair with Anthony and recalls on all the bad experiences in her
life.

Generic Conventions

Stock Characters in the band

Main lead female singer (plays guitar) – shown as an edgy powerful woman that is the
main focus of the narrative

Boy drummer - has a solo showing his equal importance and also emphasizing the
importance of their musical instruments.

Boy keyboard player – an old-school unconventional musical instrument that gives
the band a quirky side.

Boy electric guitarist - typical musical instrument associated with the genre

Stock characters in the narrative

Girl next door – loved by all and is often the person victimized in the indie genre due
to the fact that they are average

The Other Girl – this is the person related to in the indie genre because they are often
a quirky unique individual that breaks the rules of a social acceptability, however they
often learn from it and pay the price of their demise.

Boy – laidback and self-assured individual that can often be a trouble maker

Indie bands tend to focus on a small number of band members or cast because they
have a more niche audience and are less mainstream in their genre.

Stock Settings

Empty shed/room etc… - this is a room where the band will be situated and perform
to focus all the attention on them.

Outside/park – most indie bands perform outside to show and express their freedom
in the music they write we are going to shoot parts of our music video in a park to
highlight that it is the youthful past that the singer is looking back on.

Bedroom – bedroom scenes are used so that the audience can understand the
characters on a deeper level due to the bedroom being a private place meaning that the
audience will gain the inner most thoughts of the character.

How will you conform or challenge convention?

We will conform to the conventions in terms of setting and costume etc… and we
have also kept the changes between performance and narrative throughout the video.
Are band consists of 4 members however the lead is a girl which goes against the
stereotypical male dominated indie band. We are also going against the typical rock
look and opting for a more indie vibe from the music video however the emphasis
will still remain on the musical instruments.

What narrative devices are you going to use in your music video?

For our music video we are influenced by Propp’s theory of certain characters, we are using hero and
villain because we believe that this will show significant information for the audience to understand our
story, and will communicate a story which is told in the eyes of one person. We are using flashbacks
in our music video, because this can make our audience feel as though they are witnessing something
secret, and this will also help the audience to understand the story line of our music video.

Are you going to challenge or conform to narrative conventions?

With our music video we are challenging Todorov’s theory because we are using flashbacks, this
challenges the narrative conventions because Toderov uses the idea of equilibrium and disruption
whereas our narrative does not start with equilibrium, due to the fact that the main event in our music
video has happened prior to the beginning of our music video. We decided to challenge narrative
conventions because we thought it may be another way in which we can interest our target audience.
However, we have conformed to Propp’s theory by using characters which are portrayed as a hero and
a villain; we have done this because Propp’s theory has a way of making a storyline more interesting
for an audience, leaving the audience with something to think about, which will help us to interest our
target audience.

How are you going to appeal to audience?

The main way in which we are appealing to the audience is through the use of
generic codes and conventions that they will be able to recognise and associate
with the genre of indie. This means that our target audience – who are fans of
indie music – will be able to relate to the storyline and enjoy the music video
as it will be similar to many in the indie genre. Furthermore the fact that this is
an indie band means that the audience may have to seek out more information
about the band as they are not a mainstream type of music. This arguably
appeals to many audiences as they can use the media for their own fulfilment.

How will you engage with the audience?

The message/lesson behind the music video is essentially about mistakes
that people often make when they are young – being young and naïve in love.
According to Bulmer and Katz personal identity is a primary factor in engaging
the audience with a media text. This means that the audience can find out
something about themselves and because of the meaning behind our music video

it may be something that the audience can relate to from personal experience for
example. Also the narrative in the video may also be a source of entertainment
for the audience as it follows the memories of the singer’s first experiences of a
relationship and the mistakes that came with it.

Could your music video be criticised in any way?

It has less focus on providing an escape from real life – it’s not really a relaxing
and light entertainment since it carries a slightly heavier message. However it is
more of a reflection of her past rather than something fresh and recent – by this
point in our video the singer has gotten over the past.

Band Profile

Artist profile

Name:

Band members:

Leah Jefferies (vocals, lead guitar)

Jamie Williams (electric guitar, vocals)

Alex Jones (keyboard)

Christopher Smith (drums)

Formed in 2006 the four friends from Britain are known for their
unique sound and killer lyrics. Lead singer Leah has already made a
name for herself as a songwriter, but she always wanted to write and
sing her own songs, therefore, she decided to start her own band.
Along with some college friends, Jamie, Chris and Alex, the band
started to write their own music.

Currently unsigned, the band has written their own album and are
now planning a tour.

A Guide To The Music Industry

A Guide to the Music Industry

Section 1
Define major institutions
These are the most important companies in the music industry and dominate music production. The can consist of many sub-companies that specialize in certain genres etc... However combined make one vast company that has ultimate control over the music industry i.e. Sony
Define minor institutions
These are less established music companies that focus on more independent music known as indie. The audience for these companies will be niche compared to the mass appeal that major institutions have.
In the music industry currently minor companies are being bought up by Major companies resulting in them lacking a USP as major companies such as Sony are able to provide independent music as well as mainstream

Section 2
Our chosen institution – Drowned in Sound

What media/companies does it own? Is this significant?

Drowned in sound do not own any companies but however a percentage of the companies website and record label are owned by Silentway LTD. Silentway LTD. Is an independent management company who directed the likes of:
Simply Red, Stina nordenstam and Brett Anderson. The experience of managing these artists provides a significant help point for the company.

In 2007 Drowned in Sound joined a partnership with BSkyB called the quietus group this meant

it was now assigned to a major corporation rather than remaining truly independent.

However in 2008 the partnership ended with mutual agreement and DiS were back to being an independent record label.

As well as being a record label first and foremost drowned in sound is an online music magazine

launched by Sean Adams in 2000 to keep people up to speed on all their musical know-how. 

Does it have a production and distribution element?

The company has many different ways to distribute their music for example they have festivals

and gigs to promote new bands and artists and also maximize the knowledge of the record label.

DiS also has a website based fan club that allows the word of new music to be spread quickly and

effectively by loyal fans of indie music, through discussion forums etc…

What do you notice about the genre of music?

The genre of music has an Indie vibe where the artists shown are all laidback. Indie genre is very

versatile and this is shown by the range of artists signed to them the genres range from rock to

pop and bands to solos

The website in itself also has an alternative feel as it is colored with bright pinks and bold blacks

and encourages a strong sense of community belonging and identity through their blog and

discussion pages which is important within the indie genre.

The type of music highlighted the most is low key festival music where again in this environment

the theme of community spirit runs high. Instruments are given high regard in the indie genre to

show individuality mainly guitars and pianos are used.

Would they be a suitable organization to work with for this project?

 Drowned in sound have the ability to be our record label successfully due to their past artists/bands that are signed to them. All of the artists/bands have similar audiences to our target demographics and therefore experience of how to attract them effectively is already guaranteed.

 DiS briefly joined up with Sky in a partnership this shows that DiS have also had experience in working with bigger companies so knows some details about the mainstream processes. DiS are now back to being a fully independent record label and therefore if we were in the real music world it would be cheaper to be supported by them and then more funding can go into more important things.

DiS have a small amount of assigned artists in comparison to other major industries which gives them more time to focus individually on artists.

The website merges together a Blog which has its own community that can promote us and takes the form of an online magazine that promotes bands and festivals etc…