Similar Text's, Inspiration, Audience Research

AUDIENCE RESEARCH:

Lost in colour have recently released a new music video to a new song called +354, we felt this video was very similar to what we hope to achieve in our final outcome. We especially felt that this video was vital in helping us understand the bands target audience and how we can appeal to our audience in our video.

There is a few things in my analysis on the video that helped my group construct our target audience. In particular, the mise en scene of the video. The boys are presented in formal white shirts, this gives the idea of a middle class, white collar, mature representation. However this is then contrasted to the mud smeared across the character's faces, this gives the impression of  childhood, little boy hood, and blue collar. with these two contrasting elements combined, i have come to the conclusion that they meaning of this is to primarily appeal to young men aged 18-24. As the shirt suggests that the characters are grown up, have careers and own independent, however the mud suggests that even though their growing up they still are left with their childhood desires, gives the ideology that 'boys never really grow up'.

Therefore this helps construct the meaning and audience of the text. This would suggest that meaning and themes of the video is about growing up, becoming who you are, mistakes and journey's.  These types of themes suggested through the video, make me think that the target audience is primarily young adults, who go through the transition of growing up and making it on there own. I also do not think that the growing up stage is aimed at say the teenage generation, e.g 13-18. This being from the locations used in the video, grave yard, tops of building and hills and next to stretch of railway track. These locations have been used specifically not to appeal to the younger teenage audience, the hills and scenic views are not something that typically teenagers and children appreciate, and it's more the mature generations that take to scenic excursions. Furthermore locations such as schools, parties, streets and parks aren't used which would be typical locations which youthful activity is found in. The graveyard has a sinister feel that teenagers and children would prefer to avoid as an audience, and the tops of building, hills and being side a railway track, all have the indication of a sense of journey attached. Journey that young adults endure.

 Also locations such as the park and swings are so featured, to contrast with the mature scenery. This is included because of similar purposes of the mud on the boys faces. to gives the sense of something being left behind, memories, this especially shown through the close up slow motion shot of the swing chain swinging. This done so to give the illusion of growing up and the journey to adulthood.

Furthermore the video also features alot of nature, close up of water, rain, leaves falling. The indication of nature also suggest to an mature audience, as nature is not usually appreciate by the young, the young's interest being more in materialistic goods. The reference to nature also helps constructs the meaning of the video, as nature undergoes changes, just like young adults do, and it represents the changes that they must make.

However although the nature and locations give the indications of a mature audience, other elements of the editing and mise en scene implies that they video is not targeted at all mature audiences. For example the dress sense of the band, tight jeans, shirts, cardigans, is connoted as trendy, trendy is a typical representation expected from a person aging from 18-25. As young people are more likely to care about their appearance as they are at their peak in there life.

Furthermore, the fast cuts and pans in the video, also suggests energy, to match the jumping and playing of the band. This type of energetic behaviour is also an aspect which is not typically expected of elder generations, e.g 30+. Also the casting of the key figures in the video gives us a vital clue to the target audience. For example only the band members which look as if they are aged 18-25 are featured in the video, they have not included any other extras of any other ages to suggest that the target audience is below the age of 18 or above the age of 25. Therefore concluding that target audience of this video is primarily 18- 29, and primarily male.

This is also backed up into research into the lyrics of the song:

Like a plane crash
It hits the best of us
And the colour burn off
To fade away
Mother says the time we have to live is never enough
And this is all we will ever have

You can hold back
To show some love for this
With reason to believe
And light the way
Father sends the map that holds the key to where you should be
And it's everything we all seek

It's who we are
The air we breathe
To come so far
To make us
It's who we are
The air we breathe
To come so far
To make it

I was the one who burnt out the light
What can we ask for? what can we ask for?

Specific words like father and mother, suggest that the persona of the lyrics  is someone who has a father or a mother and is not old enough to be a mother or a father

INSPIRATION: 

Another element that particularly inspired our music video, was the use of 'signs' within the lost in colour's video to help portray and communicate the meaning of the text. We similarly want to follow this idea into our own music video, by having themes in our video written on the signs to help show the corrupt themes in society.