Research into chosen music artist-Miss Georgiou

Research into chosen music artist

02/10/2014

Vazl

 

There are several interesting artist that my group battled over. And from them, we decided to use Lana del Rey`s "Blue Jeans". However, as the song was slightly humdrum, we decided to find a remix for it. Thus the "Blue Jeans RAC remix" was chosen.

Lana Del Rey ( or Elizabeth Woolridge Grant) was born on the 21st of June 1985 in New York City. Her songwriting career started at the age of 18 and she signed her first recording contract with 5 Points Records in 2007. Her first digital album was released in January 2010. Miss Del Rey bought herself out of her contract with 5 Points Records in April 2010, by signing a joint contract with Interscope, Polydor, and Stranger Records in July 2011. Following that, she
released her second studio album “Born to Die” in January 2012. It debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200, and was the fifth best-selling album of 2012. The same year, miss Del Rey released her third extended play of the song “Paradise” in November. Three of its tracks were featured in her short film, named “Tropico”. The film was premiered in December. Her third studio album “Ultraviolence” was released in June 2014. Miss Del Rey's music has been noted for its cinematic sound and its references to various aspects of pop culture, particularly that of the 1950s and 1960s American.

Previously to her proffessional Albums, Miss Grant had registered a seven-track compact disc On April 25^th, 2005 under her original name: Elizabeth Woolridge Grant. The application title was "Rock Me Stable" with another title "Young Like Me" also listed. The track titles are currently unknown. Between 2005 and 2006, the album “Sirens” was recorded under the name "May Jailer" and leaked in May 2012. At her first performance in 2006 for the Williamsburg Live Songwriting Competition, Miss Del Rey met Van Wilson (a Representative for 5 Points Records).

Thus the first music video of Miss Del Rey which I will analyse is West Coast. "West Coast" is a song is from her third studio album “Ultraviolence” (2014). It was released on April 14, 2014 by Interscope Records and Polydor Records as the lead single from the record. The music video subverts Dyer's star theory as Lana is presenting herself as an ordinary person in many of her videos (A part from Blue Jena s where we can see her in a pool of a very nice house, being eaten by a crocodile). The reason why one has categorized her as subverting is that the artist has to be both normal and at the same time not normal. And as we can see one scene being repeated over and over, we (The Audience) can see that she does not evoke any extraordinary qualities. Although the video is very recent it is made on a very similar format as from the videos in the beginning of her music career. Nevertheless, she is also a down to earth individual and it is easy for her fans to relate to/idolise her as she illustrates qualities of a regular young woman that is very independant. It should be also added that a remake was later made which fulfilled Dyer`s theory (Caution!!! Spoiler Alert!!!), as we could see Lana in flames at the end of the video in flames. This made her look more extraordinary.

Throughout “West Coast”, Lana is presented as a young and fallen in love woman. This illustrates to the audience that she is warm and comfortable in the style she writes and also the style she produces her music career as she resembles the fallen in love young woman. She is therefore relatable to girls of the age range 17-25 as during to this period, they have discovered how to look but have started to develop more advanced tactics to flirt and bag themselves someone from their (+-1 year) age. Thus they would be very interested in her music and also she would warn them of the dangers of some relationships (in a more improved way than Rihanna). Therefore we (The audience) can see Lana as a figure to look up to  and learn from about some aspects of life.

Throughout West Coast, elements of Andrew Goodwin's theory can be seen incorporated to be more conventional to the Indie genre. There is a clear relationship between the lyrics and visuals in the music video. The lyrics “I can see my baby swinging” and the long shot provide the audience to see the seaside and Miss Del Rey snuggling and dancing in a circle with her loved one. By having this element of Goodwin's theory present in the music video it allows the performance element to flow consistently. In turn the audience will be able to understand the lyrics more clearly and enjoy the surroundings that are also very conventional for the indie genre. The use of the seaside and the rebellious look given by her clothing (jeans and a leather jacket), provide the audience with the information that they need in order to look similar to their favorite artist. There are a large number of close up camera shots of Lana to present her to the audience. This further kindles, Goodwin`s theory as this way the artist can further promote himself and the clothing he uses. There is a vague link between the music and visuals as when the music speeds up, the tempo of the video also increases. Thus we can see her from snuggling in a slow manner to quickly having a twist. In the song she is mainly seen performing in her own way (twirling and snuggling) and therefore the viewers are given the opportunity to build a relationship with her. Lana`s West Coast music video is primarily performance based and therefore allows the viewers to witness Lana dancing. An indie convention that she is subverting to as usually Indie Artist sit on a chair in the park (Or a studio as it is cost effective and the audience could concentrate). This results in the audience to further relate with her as they also like to go to the seaside with their loved one or dance.

The main location in West Coast is the beach in California. The beach looks very empty, However as the editing effect has made it look like black and white and the camera has focused mainly on her, we could conclude that she possesses a simple but enigmatic personality. This would further intrigue the audience as they would want to see more from Lana to understand the compatibility that they might have with her. As the beach is very clean and empty the artist might imply to the audience that she has started a brand new relationship. Throughout the music video Lana is centrally positioned within the camera shots near the edge of the water/sand border. Although it filmed to let the audience see something else than only the artist, it might actually imply that she is thinking of carrying on with her relationship in a further manner. Thus she is soon thinking of stepping away from what she knows at the time to more about her loved one (Presented as the ocean). Thus she might imply that she would want to find out more about her loved one and go out if the comfort zone she has established with him.

Throughout West Coast, the most common camera shots are close-up and handheld shots. These shots present Lana to the audience and allow them to reach to her personality and fashion as they are given a detailed insight from the performance and the messages that are given by the body language of the artist. These specific camera shots allow the audience to witness her talent and build a relationship with her based on it.



"Video Games" is from her second studio album, Born to Die (2012). The song was produced by Robopop, while the lyrics are attributed to Del Rey and Justin Parker (author of the songs: "Blue Jeans" and "Born to Die"). It was first released on June 29, 2011 via the internet. Musically, "Video Games" is a pop ballad (there`s something unconventional for an artist such as Lana). It lyrically refers to a girl that, despite being ignored by her boyfriend, resolves to love him regardless of anything (very conventional for an indie genre). The song was a commercial success, peaking at No. 1 in Germany and Luxembourg and then reaching a top 10 position in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The song's music video was directed and edited by the singer herself, combining scenes of Miss Del Rey performing the song filmed on a webcam with clips of archive footage.

      Lana`s music video to this song Subordinates with Dyer's star theory. This is because she has presented herself as a star that is incomplete. As she is experimenting with other genres such as pop and love balads, she shows to the audience that she is trying to fulfill her image of a star by trying new genres which insures to the audience the want to see more from her and her experiments. Also during an interview about the song, the singer stated that she used lower vocals for "Video Games" because she felt that the public did not see her as a serious artist. Lana`s music video does follow elements of Goodwin's theory. The music video relates to Goodwin's theory as a high number of close up camera shots are employed of the artist. The close up camera shots included of Lana presenting herself performing in a very fashionable, retro style. This allows the audience to learn more about Lana based on the visuals they are provided with. The style of the music video is directly split between elements of concept (50%) and performance (50%) as we can see jump cuts of her singing in different dresses and archive footage.

Throughout Video Games, Lana is presented to the viewers as an enigmatic individual (Surprise Surprise). Throughout the video we can see cuts of her looking very serious while performing in front of the webcam and then in the archive footage, we can see women that are very happy and cheerful. This highlights how she is both an enigma and a down to earth girl that has fallen in love (Again) with someone. This is unusual for a love ballad, but it is normal for an artist in the music industry that is trying to find where he is best at. From the personality we could see, she is targeting mainly females but invites males to see her beauty.

The main location of her music video is her bedroom. In this location the viewers witness Lana singing about her feelings in front of a video camera. This suggests that she might be keeping a video journal and that just like any other girl, she is common. Another location incorporated is many of the sites seen from the archive footage. This is trying to suggest to us that she likes to explore new places with her loved one. This is a convention of the indie genre and therefore enhances the visual experience of the audience and the likelihood they have of connecting with Lana as they too like to go out on romantic places and parties with their loved one. Lana is seen dressed in several vintage dresses throughout the video. This illustrates how she is quirky and likes to look more vintage than mainstream. Throughout the music video Lana is seen performing by singing. This type of performance is very conventional for the Love balad genre as the artist is making the audience concentrate only on them. We can also see the artist looking straight towards the camera, making the audience feel involved by her story.

Throughout Video Games, the most commonly used camera shots include mid-shots and close-up shots. The mid and close up shots are employed of Lana to present her as an artist and at the same time a woman that is sharing her thoughts in a video journal to the viewers. Within these camera shots she is mainly seen singing and therefore the audience get to learn more surrounding the lyrics she is seen singing. The use of specific camera shots (From the Archive footage) means the audience can see the locations in detail that she and her loved one might have visited or leave the audience to interpretate their own ideas surrounding the significance of these particular locations.

IN Conclusion, from the research I have conducted, the use of several elements will assist me with the planning and filming of my music video. A lot more detailed insight has been given to me from them music videos from Lana. From the research I found that Lana likes to create music videos with a personal element to them as she uses locations that she has went to alone/with her boyfriend. Her personality is highlighted as being enigmatic to the audience through the use of various elements in the music video including the locations and the clothing used. Therefore this has bonked me on the head to include personal elements to the artist in my music video and the same personality of my character as her one is. From the research I also discovered the extreme amount of close up shots incorporated to present the artist to the audience. In turn I will incorporate close up/mid shots in my music video to allow the viewers to build a relationship with the artist as they get an intimate insight into her personality.