Research Into Chosen Music Artist- Miss Georgiou

Researching into a variety of music artists, my group and I decided that we will be using Ellie Goulding as our chosen artist with her song 'Burn'. What attracts our group to her is the fact that she is an indie artist, we wanted to create an indie music video and we believed Ellie Goulding was the perfect option for us. As she is a female artist, we believed that it would be an easier task to do a female as one of our group members could play her.



Ellie Goulding, her real name being Elena Jane Goulding is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist from Hertfordshire. Ellie was noticed by Jamie Lillywhite and who at a later date became her manager. in 2010 she became the second artist to both top the BBC's annual Sound of... and win the Critic's Choice Award at the Brit Awards in the same year. Ellie then released her album Lights in 2010 and it debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart. Goulding's second album, Halcyon, was released in October 2012 and reached number one. Halycon debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 chart, which was her first top ten debut in the United Sates. In 2014 she then went onto winning Best Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards. These are the most significant events that have happened in her career as an artist. Since she has started as a singer until today, she has always been signed to Polydor Record. Polydor Records are a British record label that is under Universal Music Group. Ellie Goulding is a highly successful female artist, her first album, Lights sold over 850,000 copies in the UK. Her most recent song, and the one in which we will be using for our production, Burn, cold 116,857 copies in the first week and stayed at number one for 3 consecutive weeks in a row. 




Ellie Goulding has many music videos and her first one was released in 2011 with Lights. I will be analysing the videos which are Starry Eyed and Burn. Richard Dyer introduced a theory which states that a star image is an image not a real person that is constructed out of a range of materials, for example, advertising, magazines and films. Dyer also believes in an aspect called hegemony. This is known as a 'culture' and is the idea that the audience relates to the stat because they have a feature they share or admire with the star. He also believes that stars are made for money purpose alone and target one specific audience/group of people. Within Ellie Goulding's video Starry Eyed, this theory is evident. This is because she switches from her singing to the camera looking glamorous and then to her living a normal life with her and her boyfriend. This relates to the idea of hegemony as the audience share a feature with her, which is her normal lifestyle. The audience are able to see that she lives a normal life like myself and other viewers. Yet, the parts where she is singing to the camera with her hair and make-up done, this again relates to his theory where he states that artists are made to only appeal to one specific audience and are made for money purposes. This is believed as she is very stereotypical and therefore cannot relate to everyone only certain groups of people. 

Another theorist that I have been studying is Goodwin, his theory has 7 elements and some are noticeable within this video. For example, the constant use of close-ups. There are many close-ups within this video when she is singing into the camera. Goodwin states that the record label ask for them in order to promote and sell the artist. As this was one of her first music videos, the need for close-ups is necessary so the audience get so see who she is and get to know who she is and what she is about. Another element used within the video is the mixture of performance and concept based clips. The artist is represented in several ways. At points, for example, when she is singing into the camera, she has lots of make up on, her hair is done and she is wearing sparkly earrings on, she is represented as a pop star and as someone in whom has a high profile. Contrastingly, at other points within the video, she is seen to be wearing normal clothes, minimal make-up and wearing a hat. This makes the audience she is a down to earth person and is just like me and you and can also resemble the fact that she takes her career seriously and wants to impress her audience. Yet, as she can change between the two, this builds the artist and audience relationship as they are attracted to her as they may see her as different and more unique to other artists within the same genre. I believe that the target audience for this music video is primarily teenage girls as the elements included teenage girls can relate to. For example, the points in which she is seen with her boyfriend, teenage girls and girls in general can relate to this and understand the song and video more. This makes the audience again understand the normality of her life. The style of the music video is mixed between performance and concept based. The performance parts of the video break up the concept based parts and allow for the artist to express herself. 

During the performance parts, she is singing into the camera with close ups mainly used. This allows for the audience to connect with her as they feel she is singing to them and makes the audience feel more invloved within the video. However, the concept parts of the video allow for it to tell some sort of story. She is seen with her boyfriends having a good time in which represents a loving relationship. Mise-en-scene is used minimal amounts within the video, yet, a main part used is the clothing. As I have mentioned, at some points she is dressed up and some points she is wearing normal, everyday clothing. This can reinforce the idea that within her relationship she is comfortable being herself and feels she can represent herself freely and how she wants. However, the glittery clothes and the make-up when she is performing can also imply that she is serious about her career. Within this video, that is the only mise-en-scene element used. The main cinematography elements within the music video are close-ups and long shots. These two elements are very stereotypical of the indie pop genre. The close-ups at several points allow for the audience to feel intimate with the artist and feel as if they are involved within the video as they can clearly see what is going on. On the other hand, long shots allow for the audience to look on in her life. With the camera being so far away from the characters, we are able to look in on their relationship and she what they do. This gives the audience an insight on her life and what her relationships involved. Which again, girls can relate to as they may have been in the same position and feel as if she really relates to themselves. 



The next video that i will be analyzing by Ellie Goulding is How Long Will I Love You which is contrastingly different to Starry Eyed yet still follows the same concept of a loving and caring relationship. Richard Dyer's star theory has one noticeable feature in this video and is again the idea of hegemony. This is the idea that the audience relates to the stat because they have a feature they share or admire with the star. As the video is based around a relationship may people, boys and girls can relate to it. Another way in which this music video follows Dyer's theory is through his theory of Paradox 2. This Paradox says that the star must be present and absent from the consumer. In this music video despite being present to the consumer, you see Goulding in her natural element, in the record studio making the song for the audience. The Record label are then able to show the audience that despite being absent from them, she is still working on bringing something new to the industry for them within her music but in the recording studio. Having this in her music video, lets her create a relationship with the audience as she is able to give the audience an insight of her profession and see what the audience aren't able to see typically. 

Elements of Goodwin's theory is also demonstrated within her music video. Firstly, the music video demonstrates genre characteristics, this shows that the indie genre characteristics and codes and conventions. For example, at several points within the video she shows performance which is a characteristic of the pop genre. We see her performing towards the camera whilst playing her guitar. This follows Goodwins theory as it allows for the audience to see her in her own element and portrays her talent, that she can play guitar and sing. This creates an audience and artist relationship as the audience feel as if they can connect more with the artist and they get to see her doing what she loves most. Another element of Goodwin's theory that is used is the use of constant close-ups. For example this is seen with the handheld shot when they are in the car driving together. Goowdwin states that the record label demands the need for close ups in order to promote and sell the artist. The close-ups allow us to see the loving relationship that she is in. As we are focused on the two faces of the couple, this portrays the strength of their relationship and that they are proud to show each other off. We are also able to see clearly their facial expressions which portrays the love they have for each other and that they are proud to be with each other. The final part of Goowdin's theory is the relationship between the lyrics and visuals. This is sen through the cinematography elements such as close ups, long shots and mid shots. This variety of camera angles presents the relationship between Ellie Goulding and a man in whom seem to be deeply in love. This is essential within a music video as it gives it a narrative to the music we can hear and allows for the audience to connect with what is being shown as they may be in the same scenario. It also lets the audience connect with the lyrics of the song, and the performance and narrative based concepts have a balance between the two allowing for Ellie to show of her talents as well as a loving relationship.

The artist is represented as a down to earth and grounded female. She is somebody in whom doesn't push or exaggerate the boundaries of the genre but still follows the typical codes and conventions in order to create a successful music video. Although the video combines the pop and indie genre conventions, she creates them in her own way. She is represented as a quiet and inccoencently in love. This is seen through the miss-en-scne of body language and facial expressions. We see the couple look at each other and timidly smile which enhances the idea she is an innocent character and is in love with her boyfriend. She is also represented as realistic and highly relatable. This is shown through the use of mise-en-scene clothing. She is seen to be wearing everyday clothing such as jumpers, jeans, jacket and a hat. This allows for the audience to understand she is an everyday girl in whom feels she can be herself and doesn't need to impress anyone. This relates the the audience as they feel they can connect with her as she is only being herself and can be seen as an inspiration to the them to make them believe that the audience should just be themselves and shouldn't feel the need to change in order to impress anyone.

I believe that the target audience for this video is teenage girls from the ages 15-21. I believe this as the video is very conventionally girly and many girls can and could connect with it. For example, the scenario and the relationship in which she is in, perhaps many girls can relate to it as they have been in the same position and can feel she is telling their story. However, i also believe that boys can be the audience to this video also, from the boys point of view with him being in love with her, boys can also relate to her as they have been in a relationship like theirs. The style of this music video is a mixture between performance and narrative based. The performance parts of the video enable for the audience to see how talented she is. She mainly playing the guitar and the piano in order to attract a wider audience. Her showing off her talents within the music video will attract a wider audience and therefore will create a bigger fan base for herself. The narrative parts of the video again portray a loving relationship and also convey the conventions of the genre which tells and reinforces to the audience the genre of the music video. 

Mise-en-scne is a highly used element within this video in order to create it to be as realistic and relatable as possible. She follows the generic conventions of an indie genre wearing casual clothing such as baggy jumpers big coats, unusual hats and jeans and tight leggings on the bottom throughout the whole of the video. The oversized jumpers and baggy tops gives the video a realistic and relatable approach to the music video and will make the audience connect with her more as she is wearing day to day clothing making her seem down to earth and the audience will want to know more about her and feel she is a successful indie artist. The audience will also relate to her as she is a normal female despite having a career in the music industry. Overall, clothing is the main mise-en-scene element used within this video in order to create an indie feel and she represents the meaning that you don't have to change in order to be successful in life.

Cinematography is also a noticeable feature within the music video. For example, when the couple are in the car and there is a high angle, as seen above, this represents the idea that we are looking into their relationship and we get given a good insight of what their relationship includes. We feel a connection with the artist as she is allowing us to look into her relationship and she is open about it which makes the audience, again, feel as if she is relatable and she is being herself. Another cinematography element used is a long shot of herself going to steal a pair of pants from a washing line. The long shot here is used with a handheld camera shot filmed by the boyfriend within the relationship. This gives the idea that the boyfriend wants to show her off and wants to capture every moment with her. This reinforces the loving relationship in the video. 

Both of her videos here are conventional of the indie genre and both successfully reinforce the genre through mise-en-scene and cinematography. her videos will assist us in our own production and will help us to create a successful indie music video and we will know what elements to include within our production.