Planning artist image

Planning artist image

Artist representation is essential within a music video as the audience are focusing on the actions and performance the artist is carrying out and is accounting for how they present there selves as am artist and to their particular genre. There are many factors that influence the artist image that we as the audience can see including the manor in which they present themselves through their on screen actions and movement; the clothes they are wearing e.g. the costume and iconography of the artist; the narrative, concept or performance element of the music video and the micro elements and techniques of the music video that help to define and represent their character and image. Artist representation also enables the audience to build a relationship with the artist as they are able to draw emotions and experiences from the way they are represented and they can see what the artist likes. It is also essential as it makes the artist conventional to the genre as her representation fits with what is expected of the genre. . 

The next costume we will use for our artist image is a green camo jacket and blue denim jean and dungarees. These pieces of clothing will be used throughout our whole narrative and will be used for most of the memories such as when she is wearing a green camo coat during the picnic scene and blue denim during the pub scene wear she is wearing ripped jeans and dungarees. These costumes are conventional to the indie genre as green is used as a natural connotation to the purpose of our love narrative music video and our natural scenes such as being used when over the fields and in a forest showing the world in its natural form with the support of a lot of green in the setting. It is also a connotation of being down the earth as it shows her as being spiritual, stylish and close to nature, which many indie artists aspire to be. With this green camo coat she also wears denim shorts which I also have analysed along with black tights and brown boots. This costume, along with her natural make up look and wavy style of hair identifies her as edgy, with a unique style of someone who has nothing to hide. The denim clothing is also conventional to the indie genre as it shows her as being sad and is a sign of the beginning of the break up in the relationship. This is done by where she wears blue denim when arguing with her boyfriend and the ripped jeans are a connotation of the cracks in their relationship and things are starting to go wrong. This is conventional to the indie genre as they are both common pieces of clothing that are used to signal the start of a bad moment within a lot of indie music videos. This costume also represents the artist as being edgy and thick skinned as the clothing and colour is rough, much like some aspects of her character, and wears it when coping through the break down of her relationship.

The audience are able to relate to the artist through this as they can see that she is tough and idolise her for what she is going through. This costume also represents her as being sad and independent when she is wearing it when looking through her memory box and reminiscing on the good times. The audience see her as aspiring as she is putting on a brave face yet see the contrast in emotions she conveys by being happy at one point then sad with the support from the connotations of the colour blue.

Another costume that my artist will wear is an oversized jumper and jeans, with plaited hair and flower petals in to give it that extra conventional effect. This costume will be worn during the pub scene towards the end of our narrative which is also the scene where our on screen couple break up and another boy, myself, interferes with their relationship. This costume is conventional to the indie genre as indie artist tend to wear a lot of baggy or oversized clothes as it gives them more comfort and the audience can identify these items of clothing as natural, simple and not extravagant or over the top. It also gives the artist her own identity, away from the mainstream and what we would expect major pop artists to wear.

This costume therefore shows that the artist is close to nature and is comfterble around her boyfriend and amongst other boys company as she does not have to go all out with her clothing and look. This whole look and costume also helps to represent our artist in the chosen setting as this costume looks relevant and suitable for what we'd expect her to wear in a pub garden as our setting and artist give a very indie and natural feel for the audience. The audience are also able to relate to this artist as her costume is simple and ordinary, much like her on screen actions therefore they may somewhat see themselves in the artist.

My fourth outfit I have chosen to use with my artist is  during the kitchen scene where she will wear a checkered shirt and ripped jeans. During this scene, the artist and her boyfriend will be in her kitchen making cakes and joking and playing around with each other. the iconography used in this scene to help define the narrative and moment is a shape cutter which they will use when making the cakes. The costume she is wearing in this scene is conventional as a checkered shirt is perceived as stylish and natural amongst indie artists and audiences. the ripped jeans are also conventional as the rips in her jeans are a connotation of the cracks in her relationship and how they may soon break up. This costume is also simplistic and she is wearing it during messy activities so she is comfortable with her boyfriend and the costume adds to the fun, loving side to the scene. This is also supported by the cake mixture and flour all over their clothes. This costume is conventional to the indie genre as a lot of indie artists wear checkered clothing as a iconic symbol of their fashion and it is very popular amongst their target audience. Therefore, the audience are able to relate with the artist as they like their clothing and often wear similar clothing. This costume also represents the artist as being edgy as the style and pattern of the clothing is a connotation of mysteriousness and a sign of darkness. The ripped jeans is also a representation of her being broken inside. Her make up in this scene is also natural and her hair plaited which shows that she is down to earth and natural.

Overall, my target audience can build a relationship with my artist through the images and outfits I have selected as they look at my artist as a role model and for inspiration so will therefore like the outfits she is wearing and even go as far as buying and wearing them there selves when they see my artist wearing it. The outfits are also symbols and connotations of my artists character and representation and they are all conventional indie outfits so therefore express my artist as natural, not to extravagant yet stylish and someone who doesn't care to much about her appearance and is more focused on their music and the concept the song expresses, something very common amongst indie artists. Planning my artists outfits and image has helped me and my group to ensure we have created a successful and conventional artist and her image as it allows us to get feedback from our audience as to whether they like it or not and to take their pointers to ensure we relate to them more and also to make sure the outfits match the visuals of the video, the settings and suit the concept of the song and representation of the lyrics if necessary.