Mickey Mouse For Disney Representative

I truly believe that Mickey Mouse would be the best nomination for a Disney president as not only is he the first original character created by Walt Disney but he has grown, developed and evolved in time, continuing to be well recognised throughout every generation, with his cute red shorts and white gloves, Mickey has even become a character for audiences to get involved with in merchandising and especially dressing up as!
As a recognisable figure Mickey Mouse brings a smile to everyone’s face and is always smiling, never being shown through anything but a positive light.
Part of this positive light could also be represented by Mickey’s own personal world, he is given the ideal world with his own house, show and has himself a great group of friends; Mickey is never far from his girlfriend Minnie or his well respected chums Donald and daisy duck who are all Disney favourites, and as Disney has grown Mickey has even had his own show ‘Mickey’s house of fun’, with all his friends!

Mickey is loved by everyone and stands for everything fun, fresh and harmless; defeating bullies and over coming every bad situation with his charm and good charisma. Mickey Mouse has gone down in history and will continue to be a legend forever! For these reasons and more I believe Mickey Mouse should reign as president of Disney!!

Cast

Our Band Smaller Than You - Members - Jasper Dumas, Jake Cummings, Sam Irwin, Rikk Richardson, Daniel Tuffs and Alice Grenville. Their upbeat music was an inspiration for our skateboarding idea, which when edited complimented each other perfectly. We have tried to include shots of all band members playing their instruments in our music video to add interest to our narrative and introduce band members to the audience, as well as adding scenes of musical instruments that relate to the music being played.

Jasper Dumas and Daniel Tuffs are both members of ‘Smaller Than You’ Jasper, bass player, is introduced into our video at the beginning skating with Jake. Daniel is lead vocalist and plays guitar in the band. Both Jasper and Daniel are both talented skateboarders, youthful and have good energy, we included them in our video as they represent our target audience and having the band in our music video appeals to our audience as well as allowing them to further promote themselves and their band.

Jake is our main character and skater in our music video and drummer for ‘Smaller Than You’ attracting fans of the band to our music video. He opens and closes our narrative, loosing his drumsticks at the beginning and retrieving them just in time for his gig at the end of our video.

Martha is introduced running in Anglia Square in our video, Martha’s look is slightly tomboy-ish, wearing leggings and a chequered shirt. Martha is also young fitting in with our young cast, and although female does not come across vulnerable or girly.

Chris, Ross and Owen are really talented skaters from Norwich that we wanted to include in our video in case we did not have enough original footage.
We asked these guys to wear typical skater gear, baggy Jeans and renowned sports brands like Nike, Etnies, DC’s and Vans.
Chris, Ross and Owen steal the drumsticks from Hannah and mess around with them until Martha runs to steal them, we got these guys to do various tricks and jumps. Although the oldest members of our cast these guys are all very young looking in their fashion and dress which helps to attract female fans to our music video.

Jimmy is our driver in a short scene connecting our footage from the city to Anglia Square.
This footage was captured after we felt we could not film on a bus so decided to use a car instead. We wanted to add a variety of shots and locations to our video and being able to use a car in our video really helped.

Hannah is our first female runner in our video stealing the drumsticks for Jake, which leads our narrative from the city to Anglia Square via our car scene.
Like Martha, we chose not to represent our girls as feminine but as tomboy’s, to represent this Hannah is wearing black jeans and a simple vest top and cardigan.

Costume Ideas

These are costume designs

For our male skaters we wanted a traditional skater look, including baggy jeans and t-shirts, Skaters are often associated with certain brands for example Nike and Van shoes, a few of our skateboarders owned these brands so we encouraged them to wear these in our music video
For our females, although not skating but running we still did not want to slip into the cliché look of Avril Lavigne. We opted for simple clothes and colours and tried to break away from a feminine look using a chequered shirt for Martha as this is a current trend, We also had Owen wear a chequered shirt as this style is often associated to old school type Ska.

Purpose of locations

Shots used in our music video.

We used shots of the Forum; we filmed just in front of the front steps. This shot seemed relevant as it is iconic to Norwich and a place that many young people hang out at, it is recognisable and appealing to our target audience. With a flat surface, it was also a great space to film some skateboarding tricks although not all were used in our video.
Skate boarding is not allowed at the forum, to audience members that recognise this location they will know about the restrictions at the forum making our video feel rebellious.
Another shot of The Forum shows some steps that we got Jake and Jasper to jump down. On these steps we used close up shots of jumps and also filmed long shots as the angled stairs looked really good as location shots.

The steps at Pottergate made a good shot for the skaters to jump down, steps and hills gave us the best locations as they looked good and made easy tricks look good. Pottergate in Norwich lanes is all about the independent companies in Norwich.
This appeals to a target audience of independent music listeners going against the mainstream which is what this area is all about.

The opening shot of our video is at Soundclash, Jake walks out with his drumsticks which are snatched from him by Jasper. Soundclash represents independent music in Norwich. Unsigned bands can promote their gigs and EP’s here making it a perfect starting location for our unsigned music video.

The picture of the old steps gave us some great low angle shot, especially close ups of Martha’s feet. The darkness and lighting added a lovely atmospheric feeling when we were filming which we were excited to put into our video.

The Arts Centre- where our video concludes. The Arts Centre was chosen it represents independent artists and bands within Norwich. They allow smaller bands to play and support bigger artists or bands on bigger labels.

As an sub-urban iconic site of Norwich Anglia Square car park shows crime and rebellion, which is what our skateboarders are representing. Our upbeat actors are a contrast to this run down location in our video.
The car park stretch that Hannah runs down before Chris steals the drumsticks from her, gave us some good tracking shots of the car. No traffic meant we could get a a range of shots at various angles and close up as she gets out of the car.

ELECTRONICAL RESULTS

here is a link to the answers of my Kylie questionnaire.

http://kyliequestionnaire.blogspot.com/

This is my Dipity timeline in which i presented all my research about Kylie. Under certain tags are mini essays contributing towards arguments and conclusions of my project.

rachael b. on Dipity.

Bibliography of sources

http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2003/10/kylie_minogue
http://forums.kylie.com/viewforum.php?f=1
http://www.abc.net.au/rage/guest/2002/kylie.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kylie_Minogue

KYLIE. The music industry

My findings hint towards artists like Kylie sacrificing being 100% who they want to be in order to satisfy an audience.
I also think that as media and the music industry is continually changing artists like kylie will constantly be changing their image, dresses becoming shorter and make up getting thicker, especially at an older age in order to stay on top of their career.
Research likes this starts to unravel the glamour of the music industry with artists changing themselves to appeal to their target audience, I think audiences are becoming more aware of these changes and some are accepting this with open arms. Youngsters are swept of their feet by artists using their sexuality and emotions to further their careers while others reject the ‘fakeness’ of this ‘new pop’ genre, some artists however like Lady Ga Ga use this to their advantage, dressing overly outrageously she is almost making fun of pop stars dressing inappropriately.

I don’t think my research really contributes towards our own music video production but I think I have learned image is important for success, and can make or make a laughing stock of a video or a performance so I think we should take these things into consideration when filming.


However, I have learnt that artists often change their image to stay popular,
Just as Kylie has changed her image to stay with the current trends. I also need to be aware of how Ska has changed. Ska originated from reggae, Caribbean black music bought over to England, through this music artists told their stories and relayed messages to listening audiences. The Specials from the multi-cultural Birmingham strongly portrayed this through their music; through time, it seems Ska has divorced itself from its reggae roots into a genre of white culture, towards a punkier style of music. usually a lot of Ska these days is described as Ska/Punk, for example [SPUNGE] this is a classic example of a current Ska band that have detached from Ska’s cultural roots as now the music is more rebellious following the iconic British style of Punk with a lack of cultural references to their music. Our band is British and this new form of Ska is the music our unsigned band Smaller Than You writes. Not only are our band made up of a group of six white youths with no cultural roots but although their music portrays a few reggae beats this aspect of the genre is no longer seen as important in order for them to write a good track.
Ska has changed massively in the last 30 years and the way Ska is marketed has dramatically changed, we need to think of this while marketing to our generation. Alth0ugh we may feel the need to put some strong intertextual references into our advertising and music video if these are not aimed at our target generation these references to important parts of history could be lost, and could create room for a creative new way to reach out to our new younger audience.
This is a technique used my Kylie, by keeping things young, fresh and new and always targeting the right, young audiences she is always on trend and changes for her different audiences, succeeding every time.


Our band is from the Ska genre and their trends have moved on from the traditional look of ‘The Specials’ in the late 70’s, [SPUNGE], a current ska band have also moved on from this traditional look in favour for a more casual look, one we hope to have included in our own video. Trends are constantly changing and we need to make sure the look of our video is current to the audience we are targeting.

Research methods

Research into Kylie’s ever changing character involved an online questionnaire as to how popular she was amongst my generation (17 – 18 yr olds). I asked them questions about when they first knew of kylies success and why they think she is a good role model, answers were varied depending on the audiences perceptions of kylie. I got a range of answers from “- she seems like a nice enough person and has a good attitude to the industry she's in, hasn't got a bad voice either. to much more negative answers like “NO why would you want to model your self on someone so annoying”

I also did a lot of research on the internet; I found plenty of ‘official’ Kylie sites for example http://www.kylie.com/home and lots of sites with information on Kylie although I was not always sure that information was true. I used the internet to find articles and reviews on Kylie’s music and appearances as well as background information, this lead me to several articles which different opinions on female artists for example http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2003/10/kylie_minogue an article from ‘the f word’ – contemporary uk feminism. “What makes a female singer turn into a pop princess? When thinking about Kylie Minogue, the first idea in mind is probably a “la la la” tune heard billions of times. Then, a big smile and a “girl next door” face. The music scene is, and always has, been crowded by “normal girls”; in some cases not even very talented. Beautiful (or made so), they have became “pop princesses” by showing off their bodies, singing an easy-to-listen pop song and selling a chartable number of albums or singles. Then they simply disappeared, just like a lost dream.” This article asks why and how has kylie become so popular over the years and explores how she has changed from an innocent actress to a sex symbol of the pop charts.
Many writers have covered Kylie, as popular and loved as she is, this article draws attention to a few of these authors;
Ai Ga Tomaranai-Turn It Into Love (Japanese Female Duo)B*dazzled - Step Back In TimeBen Lee - Confide In MeBeverley Knight - Can’t get you out of my head liveCissy - I Should Be So LuckyFlaming Lips - Can’t get you out of my head (from the “flight test” ep)Johnny & Denise - Especially For YouKia - What Do I Have To Do/Better The Devil You KnowPanikbrothers - Can’t Get You Out Of My Head V Blue MondaySophie Lawrence - SecretsSteps - Better The Devil You Know
To help me keep track of her changing image I found her album covers very useful as they show how her confidence has grown with her success as she started off very modestly in the 80’s comparing to the album covers on the late 00’s. This confidence and popularity also shines through in her music and especially her videos, including an advert which was banned for being to sexy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp_Ll-Bf5uA.
Through Wikipedia and several other sites, I gathered information on her album releases and record labels; I then collected all of this knowledge and presented it onto a timeline using dipity. http://www.dipity.com/orangetiger_3
I found my research useful although I could have looked into it with more depth with books. I found a lot of information but as my topic is quite vague it was hard to look for something specific.
Using the internet was tough at times, as I had to filter through a lot of rubbish to find information that was useful.
I realise now I could have also gained a lot more information if I had watched Kylie’s documentary ‘white diamond’ that talks about her like and battle with breast cancer, I think this could have been a very reliable source.
I also think that I could of done more research into audience reviews and asked more from my questionnaire.

This may have been useful to gain a larger insight into my audience, especially as my questionnaire was based at a young audience and Kylie has been around for many older generations. However, through this I think I have learnt that Kylie is popular with older audiences throughout her pop career, as although she is still highly popular and has a much larger target audience, this larger target audience are also exposed to younger artists like Lady GaGa and Britney Spears.

Kylie Questionnare

I will ask this questionnaire to people ranging from their teens to their 50’s and compare the different answers that are given representing different generations of fans that have followed Kylies career.


How old are you?



How much Kylie merchandise do/have you owned? (CD’s, posters, clothing)



Name 5 of your favourite Kylie tracks



When did you first come across Kylie?
Neighbours /After her single ‘locomotion’ /After her single ‘spinning around’



Which genre of Kylies is your favourite?
The 80’s
The 90’s
The 00’s



Do you think Kylie is a good role model?



What do you think makes Kylie so successful?

‘How has Kylie changed her appearance throughout the changing eras of her pop career to maintain interest?’

This is the topic i will be researching with kylie Minouge as my subject point, i will produce my project as written work and a visual timeline either on paper or using an interactive online time line!

KYLIE MINOUGE (28/05/1968, Melbourne)

‘How has Kylie changed her appearance throughout the changing eras of her pop career to maintain interest?’

I have chosen to research this as my topic question as I think Kylie is an excellent example of someone changing themselves to stay on top of their career. She has been around through several different genres making her one of the most successful queens of pops alongside stars such as Madonna.
She has changed her image and her music to fit the style of genre for her target audience and has succeeded every time.
I think Kylie is a good role model and still having hits today, she has an important impact on the music genre.
I think it is relevant to modern culture, especially comparing her to her less successful acts, or younger acts who feel they have to sell themselves to the media (often negatively or sexually) for a hit in the charts.
Kylie has been in the lime light for three decades of music and changing fashions!
The 80’s, with big shoulder pads and bigger hair. The 90’s grunge era and electronic dance, and the 00’s with glamour and politics and Kylie even become a gay icon as well as a star.

This is my blog for Alevel Media research into the music buisness.

GREENDAY

Greenday – Wake me up when September ends.

MEDIA FORMS AND CONVENTIONS.
The opening scenes of the couple immediately suggest that these teens are ‘alternative’ or ‘rock’ fans due to their baggy clothing, lack of make up and where they are living. It is clear immediately that this is not a video for a pop or R ‘n’ B record.
The make up and costumes of the band also suggest a rock video due to the stereo typical outfits which are mostly black and red, including skinny jeans, skinny ties, messy hair and lots of smudged black eye liner. The room in which the band are standing on podiums is also very stereo typical of the rock genre with bright lights lighting up a very dark room which is black and red with each band member standing on an individual podium showing the isolation of the band reflecting the rock genre.
Although despite being a rock band this song is much slower and much more of a ballad than other greenday tracks so the romantic images do not reflect the rock genre, they do however reflect the story of the lyrics.

The lyrics and visuals relate to each other in telling the story of a young man going to war, some lyrics seem to have double meanings as the video goes on. For example ‘The innocent can never last’ when the couple are kissing and playing video games together suggesting that something bad will happen or maybe even perhaps that innocence can last when there is nothing to part this couple. However later when this line is repeated the man has gone to war having grown up, and the girl is left behind crying showing that the innocence of these teens can never last and suddenly the lyrics fit perfectly with the song.
Wake me up when September ends also suggests that the girl wishes her boyfriend would come home and she could just wake up when the war is over and he is home safe. The lead singer Billy lost his father in September and this song is about his death, it suggests that this month can be hard to live through and wishes it were over before it began.
As the chorus starts we see the band playing and as the chords play the lights flash at the back linking the visuals with the music.
The visual clips of the narrative story at the beginning change scene as the lines of singing change intertwining the story with the lyrics.
There is an instrumental in the middle which is the climax of ‘emotion’ as the track builds and the video shows the characters lives and love being torn apart. Here we see the band playing and there is a slow motion war scene showing the fear in the boys eyes as war is shown through negative eyes of the family and loved ones left behind. This scene effectively fits in with the lyrics following after ‘summer has come and passed the innocent can never last, wake me up when September ends.’

Genre
The costume and mis en scene with the couple and the band are traditional to the rock genre. The rock genre shows rebellion and trouble as well as strong opinions on politics and emotion, all of which are portrayed in ‘Wake me up when September ends’ The visuals of war do not conform with usual music videos and some believe this video portrays the events of 9/11 and is a big statement on the war in Iraq. However the bold statements shown in this video and the way the story is shown from different sides fits in with the way people in the rock genre like to stand out and do things differently to try to change something for the better.

Narrative structure
This is mostly a narrative based video but includes the performance of the band. The narrative is non linear and contains flashbacks along with following the story into the present and onto the future. This keeps the viewer interested in the story making them want to watch the video, maybe even multiple times as they feel they might have missed something.
It also attracts viewers to find out about the events of the war or even other Greenday videos or records.
The visuals with the track when watched together create a much larger emotional impact on the viewer, deepening the significance of the song in peoples lives.

REPRESENTATION

Place
At first, this video shows a couple spending all their time together, the representation of their life with a small home and friendly village and romantic life is realistic and safe. As the couple are torn apart and the man goes away we are shown the hostile environments of war. The scenes of fighting and scared families show war as extremely negative and anarchic. This however can add to the appeal of the viewer as we hope that the solider does not die away from home at war.

Artist
This video is different to usual Greenday videos due to the lack of the bands presence and the majority of the video being narrative based. There are no repeated motifs in this video, the only similarity between this and there other videos are the bands outfits and make up.
I think the uniqueness of this song compared to other Greenday tracks helps with selling the track as it is something different for fans to listen to and can introduce new fans to the band with its different ballad sounds.
I think this video reflects Greenday in a positive light, showing there caring emotional side over their usual rock and ‘we don’t care about rules’ image. This video also portrays no negative sexual representations or is racist to other cultures or diminishes the artists ability to be taken seriously.


AUDIENCE
Greenday mostly appeals to adolescent boys and girls with a few older and younger fans. Messages on youtube and myspace suggest this.
I think Greenday appeals to teenagers with kids wanting to be ‘individual’ and believing in something better. I also feel Greenday has a feel good factor about them and a hint of rebellion, which appeals to all teenagers.
Greenday merchandise from t-shirts and bed covers to records are available online at several different sites including Ebay, HMV, Amazon, Play, to listen to on youtube, myspace, spotify. In shops like HMV, on television, on music channels and virgin media music on demand and many other forms of listening for example the radio.


INSTITUTIONS AND TECHNOLOGY

Green Day are signed to Lookout! Records who changed Green Days original name ‘sweet children’ to Green Day to save confusion from another local band. Green Day allegedly chose this name due to their fondness of marijuana.
Lookout release punk rock recordsand now release various types of pop punk, hardcore punk, and indie rock.

Lookout bands that have since achieved major label success include Rancid and The Donnas.
Green Day moved on to a major record label in 2005 following their success from Lookout! Record label.

Lookout Records is now 21 years old and continues to offer a large range of underground punk, pop-punk and indie rock music on CD, vinyl and via digital download from virtually all music services.
This shows how Greenday were surrounded by rock and punk to influence their growth as a band and the music they produce.