Richard Dyer's Star Theory

The term "pop performer" and "pop star" have become interchangeable and many pop performers are called "pop stars' purely through the amount of advertisement they receive from their management. This is easily done thanks to newspaper stories, a famous boyfriend/girlfriend, attendance at premieres and other events that famous people go to.
Richard Dyer said that 'A star is an image not a real person that is constructed out of a range of materials.'

Stars are made to look in a particular way that will appeal to their audience more, whether it be through their looks or the clothes they wear, accent or body language. They are changed in order to bring in more interest to a particular media product so that the audience enjoy it more. A true pop star does have a lasting significance and also has something called "brand awareness" amongst a wider market over a period of time.

Stars are constructed, artificial images even if they're being represented as real people with real emotions, stars seem to be more successful if they have a unique selling point that represents them and makes them stand out. Music artists are manufactured by their music and the company they work for because the record companies nurture the stars in order to make them as successful as possible, TV talent shows are a good example of this sort of nurture because they tend to manufacture what they think the audience want.

Stars provide audiences with a focus for ideas of what people are meant to look like, for example women might think that they're meant to be thin and beautiful due to the amount of female singers in the music industry that appear to look perfect. Other stars construct characters or alter egos which helps them to create an identity that appeals to their target audeince. The characters may be outspoken and end up becoming an icon to their fans who feel they can relate to them in one way or another.
An example of this would be Lady Gaga, she has become an iconic character who dresses in a unique way which draws attention to her as an artist, she works for her fans and interacts with them through social networking sites like most pop stars. However, she has made a sociological impact on the public due to the unique selling point she has which would be her dress sense.

This theory applies to our band because we go against it, the band are not constructed in a way to appeal to the audience more because they're a natural indie band that dress well and look good in what they do. This will attract a niche audience that are particularly interested in the way the band sound and look compared to what they do to make people like them more.

Decisions and Planning- Production Schedule

Production Schedule

Logistics

The email I sent to our Media teacher about the mini bus hire.

In order for our first day of filming to be successful my production partner and I need to get everything organised so that the day runs smoothly. In order to get to our chosen location we would need to hire a mini bus big enough for all our equipment and the people that are helping us. Due to the fact that neither of us own a mini bus I decided to email our Media teacher about the enquiry of a mini bus hire because I thought this would be the best option for us. After a few days our Media teacher got back to me and suggested that we go and visit the school office to find out if hiring a mini bus would be possible. So we went to the school office and sorted out a mini bus for Thursday 14th November 2013, which was our first day of filming, hiring a mini bus was the best way to get all of the equipment to the location. It made the day much easier to get through and it meant that no one had to use public transport which was good because it takes longer to get to the location by bus.

A map of the route we took to get to The Chase

This is a map of the route we took in order to get to our location, the journey was about 15 minutes long which is more efficient than going by bus because it would've taken longer that way. We decided to change the location of filming because Hainault forest was much further away compared to The Chase and it would've taken a lot longer to get there with could have potentially put us behind schedule. This means that we might've had to do 2 days of filming instead of 1 so in theory it was a much better idea to change the location and hire a mini bus.

Day One of Filming

Thursday 14th November 2013

Today Perry and I were filming some band shots for our music video, we travelled to The Chase with Mr Fossey, Mr Wing, Scott Long and Daryl Staggs. We chose to film at The Chase due to finding a really natural open space yesterday when we went to get some test shots in order for us to get used to the camera as it was new. After arriving to the location and setting up the drum kit and piano, we started to think about what sort of shots we wanted and how we wanted them to look effective in the music video. We started off just getting a normal long shot of the band at eye level, this can be edited in order to fit in with other shots for our music video so it will look more professional. The location reflects the ideals of the band because it represents what they're about and it shows the audience a side to their personality through music. The location had a few trees lying around which made it look more rural.

Getting to the location was easy, we hired a mini bus big enough for all the equipment and the people we needed in order to complete the filming. Once we'd arrived we parked up and began to unload the equipment because we had to carry it to the location in which we'd be filming. It took all of us about 15 minutes to get the equipment to the final location and the about 15 more minutes to set up the equipment and position it correctly in the location we were using to film.

We got some really good shots during filming today, they included some close up of both actors singing to the camera which we will be able to use in our music video to show the synchronisation of the band members which will then reflect the ideals of the band to the audience. Other good shots included a tracking shot of the actors walking to their instruments, this shows the audience the kind of relationship that the band members have with each other and can help the audience to also build a relationship with them on screen.

"Runaway" Lyrics

Intro

Verse 1

I want to know what it feels like to be a runaway with you,

Only needing to touch, only needing to breath.

All I do is await your company.

Verse 2

Take me in your heart, never tear it apart, I'll give you everything,

I know we're always the same, love and never complain,

And we'll never give up, no not today.

Chorus

Runaway (runaway), runaway (runaway), runaway with me,

We'll find a life together, forget the world forever,

Runaway (runaway), runaway (runaway), runaway with me,
Just walk towards our love and then we will be free.

Verse 3

I want to know what it feels like to be a runaway with you,
Holding you in my arms, taking you in my hands,
All I do is await your company.

Verse 4

I'll take you in my heart, from the very start, I'll be your everything,
I know you're always the same, you'll love and always remain,
Right here next to me.

Chorus

Guitar Solo

Chorus

Outro

Audience Profile

Gender: Male or Female

Age: 16-22

A typical audience member for our music video has a psychographic profile of a reformer, they are kind, sensitive and like to buy organic and free range foods in order to make the world a better place. They like to watch independent films and go to film and music festivals with their friends, they do a lot for the environment such as planting trees in their local park and cleaning up litter.

In order to attract a typical audience member to my music video I intend to find a location with lots of natural wildlife and greenery, such as a forest or some wort of nature reserve, this will attract the audience member to our video because it involves something that interests them and they will enjoy the music video more because it involves their common interests. The actors in the video will be of a similar age to the target audience member, this will give them a chance to identify with them, this links in with Blumler and Katz's Uses of Gratifications Theory that people consume media texts in order to relate to characters and artists.

Storyboard

This is the storyboard that I have created for my music video, making a storyboard will give me an idea of what I need to film in order for my video to have a good narrative and some effective shots. The first few shots revolve around the two main characters in my music video, it shows the audience them getting ready to go somewhere but the audience don't know where. This gives them an enigma code to deconstruct which will keep them engaged when watching the video, the type of shots I shall be using include long shots and mid shots to show the audience what the boy and girl are doing. I planned to include some close up shots as well to show the audience the facial expressions of the characters which will show how they're feeling at that particular time. The next few shots involve the boy and the girl getting breakfast as if they need to be somewhere, they'll be in a rush which will make the audience question where they're going. Both of them get onto different types of transport which is shown to the audience through long shots, the camera then jump cuts to a long shot of the boy

sitting on the bus going to his destination. An establishing shot is then shown of the girl waiting at a train station, and the audience don't know why so this will offer them another enigma code to deconstruct whilst they watch the music video. Another split scene is shown as both the boy and the girl travel to the unknown location, the camera the jumps to a high angle shot of the boy getting off the bus. The camera then cuts between the boy and the girl using various shots such as close ups and long shots, this will show the audience that boy and girl meeting up and walking through a forest.

Band logo ideas

My production partner and I had a discussion about the type of logo we would like our band to have, after looking at other band logos we came up with a few ideas. They included:

• A broken heart
• Cogs or some sort of mechanical equipment
• A banner for the band name
• An old fashioned theme 
• Dark or washed out colours

The heart idea was simple yet iconic because it can be used as a tattoo design depending on the complexity of the image, a broken heart shows the band and their fans that they can unite as on through the music the band produce reflecting their ideology. This connotation comes from the two sides of the heart being apart. The colours that I thought about using included red, or a dark maroon to connote love that the band have for their fans, the use of black and grey reflect the style and genre of music as having dark undertones.

The cog design was influenced by the relationship between man and machine. The cogs will be different sizes to connote that no matter who you are you can still fit in with the crowd regardless of your appearance, ethnicity, age etc. Representing the idea of conformity, it also connotes individualism and makes links to linguistic and visual meanings. In relation to other bands logos this particular idea would be very unique and people will instantly recognise it when they see it somewhere. It reflects the ideology of the band through the way the cogs are positioned so closely together, it connotes the type of relationship that the band have with each other as the solidity of the two images create a sense of uniformity.

The banner design was a more decorative feature for the band logo to make it look more appealing to the target audience, a banner will make the name of the band clear to whoever is looking at it. To add more of an indie effect to the banner it is going to included some jagged edges to make it look worn and ripped, this will link in with the font of the band name which is also going to be jagged and in capitals to connote anger to the audience.

Incorporating an old fashioned theme into the logo, such as a sepia filter or dark/washed out colours, will make it conform to the conventions of the indie/rock genre because it makes the logo look faded and worn. It's symbolic codes link back to the 1950's which can help make textual references from then to now through the logo, sepia tones will make the logo look more unique and aesthetically pleasing.

Questionnaire Analysis

Questionnaire Analysis

Band Logo Analysis

Band Logo Analysis