Institution Research

I have been researching institutions and music production companies, and the bands and audiences which follow them.


Sony BMG
The institution covers a range of genres and and artists. Sony BMG have a range of artists under their name: Bob Dylan, Susan Boyle, AC/DC, Beyonce, Leona Lewis, Michael Jackson and Mark Ronson & The Business International. They span many genres, ranging from Rock (AC/DC) to Country/Folk (Bob Dylan) to mainstream Pop (Beyonce). 


Bob Dylan is the artist with the genre closest to our song & artist. In this video (Blood in my eyes) it has a more mature target audience, it is in black and white, it has been stylised; similar to the Mumford and Sons video we looked at; and again it has longer shots and slower cuts. From this we can say that in out video we should have longer shots and fewer cuts, which is what both this music video and the Mumford and Sons video had on them. 


Island Records
Again, Island Records covers a range of artists and genres. Although Island Records started out as a company which first signed artists of the reggae genre, however from its Jamaican rock-steady roots it broadened its horizons by signing such stars as U2 and Bob Marley. 


The artists under Island Records span a wide range of genres, and our artist/genre could easily come under the Island Records wing. Our demographic is young adults (16 - 25), and the artists in Island Records are mainstream, and some are also in the same genre of music - such as Jonathan Jeremiah. 

Audience Research

From our audience reseach we can see the needs of our target market. Our target market (ages 16-25) want a narrative in the video, this is also shown in other indie music videos. This means our ideas for the teenage couple are viable. Our research also points out that the audience aren't expecting any cross genre conventions - they don't expect to see pyrotechnics (stereotypically in dance, R&B videos) in a video about heartache and relationships.

My research indicates a location for our music video, an aspect which we were not sure about before conducting the research. Our audience suggests that the our video should be set in a rural or suburban setting.

Findings show that our audience has watched music videos of a similar genre before, perhaps implying we should confrom to genre conventions in order to comply with the wants of the audience.

Music Video Analysis

Music Videos, Target Audience and Institution Research
We looked at artists that had a similar genre to Polly Paulusma's song 'Back to the Start', we thought that the song was quite like the folk/country/pop genres. We also looked at relative institutions and audiences to be able to make sure our video does have the appeal to the appropriate target audience.


Mumford and Sons
We looked at the song Little Lion man:



We looked at the video from a technical aspect. The video has slow cuts, however, they do get quicker in the chorus; this reflects the faster tempo of the chorus and gives the video more dynamic in terms of pace and speed. There are a variety of shots used in the video: close ups, panning shots and medium close ups are used. There are also effective performance shots which are close ups of the instrument being played, I liked this a the effect was in the video was it helped build up to the chorus; however, I do not think it would work, as our video will be more narrative based.


The Island Records, the institution bend Mumford and Sons, has had several bands which are of a similar genre to this. U2, Keane and Cat Stevens are all on Island records; however I would say our song is more niche, in contrast to the more mainstream artists on this label (Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley). The audience of this song, and institution would be teenagers and adults - I think the content of the song lyrics is probably not appropriate for younger audiences.


Taylor Swift
I also looked at the artist Taylor Swift, she has a similar style/genre to that of Polly with a folk/pop/alternative style. 




Again, similar to the Little Lion Man video, the Taylor Swift song (Tim McGraw) uses a lot of slow cuts. There are a mixture of performance and narrative shots; there are a number of shots were she is singing and player her guitar, this is mixed up with cuts to her and an ex-boyfriend in a flashback. Interestingly, the flashbacks aren't in black and white which is the stereotypical effect for a of this sort. This breaking of the convention could denote a happier time between the couple, which they have chosen to keep in colour to reflect this.

Profile of Polly Paulusma

Having chosen a song by a less mainstream artist, I thought it best that I did some research into the artist, Polly.

From Polly's official website:

1. Polly Paulusma released her self-produced, home-recorded first album ‘Scissors In My Pocket’ in 2004 to international critical acclaim. Nic Harcourt from LA’s prestigious KCRW radio show The Morning Becomes Eclectic called it “the best album from the UK this year”. Veteran DJ Howard Mandshein in Canada dubbed her “the best British female singer-songwriter in a decade”.
2. -From humble beginnings in Polly’s garden shed, Bjork’s label One Little Indian and Sony/ATV in the USA signed her. Uncut Magazine gave ‘Scissors In My Pocket’ **** and The Independent heralded Paulusma “the most literate songwriter of her generation”.
3. -As a result she toured the UK, the US and Europe continuously through 2004-5 supporting Bob Dylan, Coldplay, Jamie Cullum, Marianne Faithfull, The Divine Comedy and Joseph Arthur, playing Glastonbury, Glasgow’s Tea in the Park and Cambridge Folk festivals, amongst many others.  
4. -Her second album, ‘Fingers & Thumbs’ (2006) was a heartfelt cry for help after a series of miscarriages during that period.  It was a difficult and very personal album, driven predominantly by an electric sound. Recorded live in Liverpool over five weeks with acclaimed producer Ken Nelson (Coldplay, Kings of Convenience, Gomez, Badly Drawn Boy) it captured a much darker side to Paulusma’s personality.
5. -Now with two children, Paulusma is finding her songwriting returning to her acoustic roots, and she plans to record album no three at the end of 2011.

From Wikipedia:

 “Her first album, Scissors in my Pocket, was largely recorded and produced by herself at her home. A second album, Cosmic Rosy Spine Kites (a virtual anagram of the title of the first album) features the same tracks, four of which were recorded with a string quartet (and without guitars or percussion); the rest at a gig in Manchester, England, where she supported Jamie Cullum. Apart from Jamie Cullum she has also supported other artists on tour including Marianne Faithfull and Coldplay and played at the Glastonbury Festival in 2005.”

Wikipedia lists Polly’s as of the “Indie pop” genre.

Lyrics and notes

We have begun to analyse the lyrics of the video, and we have tried to interpretate them into a possible narrative.

Back To The Start: Song Lyrics

You've got something to hide
You can run all you like
'Cross plains and over mountains
The chains you drag behind you leave track marks in the air
You're asleep on your feet
And all the people you meet
'Cross plains and over mountains
Fooled by mirrors, think the light is shining bright in there

Come on, come on
We're going back to the beginning
I took a wrong turn
And you take it to heart so easy
When you come home
I will be waiting by the fire
And we'll take it all back to the start

What you trying to prove?
If you love it then let it fly
'Cross plains and over mountains
When you left her you kept a little feather in your hands
She's your rose-fingered dawn
So why are you gone
'Cross plains and over mountains
Peering out into the dark to see what light remains?

Come on, come on
We're going back to the beginning
I took a wrong turn
And you take it to heart so easy
When you come home
I will be waiting by the fire
And we'll take it all back to the start
Yeah, we'll take it all back to the start

Come on, come on
We're going back to the beginning
I took a wrong turn
And you take it to heart so easy
When you come home
I will be waiting by the fire
And we'll take it all back to the start
Yeah, we'll take it all back to the start
Yeah, we'll take it all back to the start 

New Start & A New Song

After coming together as a new group we decided to have a fresh start; we thought we should look at choosing a new song. We thought we, with limited time we have left, should consider a less renowned artist. So after looking at various artists we found an artist called Polly Paulusma. We chose a song that we liked and that we thought we could create a music video from: the song is called 'Back to the Start'.


We have emailed Polly:


"Dear Polly Paulusma,

I am writing on behalf of myself, Tom Bowers, and Rachel Procter; we are A2 Media Studies students at Saffron Walden County High School Sixth Form. For are A2 music video we have to create a music video and ancillary tasks (a magazine advert as well as a CD cover), our work will be assessed by the OCR exam board. 

Rachel and I would love to be able to use your song 'Back to the Start', as we feel the song has the potential for us to produce a creative, quality music video, gaining the maximum possible marks. 

Obviously, we need your permission to use the song, on copyright grounds. We will not be producing this video for profit or any other commercial purposes. We will be posting it on our coursework blog at www.blogger.com. 

If you could reply on this email address, as to whether we have permission, we would really appreciate it. 

Thank you for your time, 

Tom Bowers & Rachel Procter"

Polly referred us to One little Indian records who replied:

Tom & Rachel

I work for Polly Paulusma at One Little Indian Records.

Polly has written to me and expressed her wish for you to be able to use her work as part of your media studies course.

I am writing to confirm that Polly and  One Little Indian Records are very happy to grant to you all the permissions necessary to use Polly’s song “Back To The Start”  in your media studies course as outlined in your e-mail below.

Thanks

Derek

derek birkett

one little indian records

34 trinity crescent

london sw17 7ae

telephone 0208 772 7600