Research into chosen artist - Miss Georgiou

Jake Bugg falls under the criteria of an indie artist, indie was the genre decision that our group decided to do our video on because indie was a genre we all thought would be a good idea for filming as it wouldn't be hard to get locations as indie videos commonly film in urbanised areas. The reasoning we picked Jake Bugg was because he is a solo artist though there are others who play the drums for him, but because he is a solo artist, we would only need one person to be our artist and we would only need the person to be confident for the video.

Jake Bugg first started to play the guitar at the age of 12 when his uncle bought him one, this then later lead to going to Farnborough college in Clifton Nottingham which is where he grew up. Bugg dropped out of college at 16 and began to write and perform his own songs. Bugg had many influences for music including the Beatles, Johnny Cash and even Jimi Hendrix. Bugg first appeared in the mainstream when BBC asked him to perform at their "Introducing" stage at Glastonbury 2011 at the age of 17 which then got him a signed contract to "mercury records". Bugg's first self-named album came out 2012 and the album reached number one in the UK charts, the album has sold over 600,000 copies in the UK.

The first video i'll be referring to is Jake Bugg's video for a song in his debut album "Broken". The video is about Jake Bugg singing the song to a bunch of people in a bar in what the audience assume is America due to the singers on just before him having American accents. Dyer's star theory does come in to play into this video as Bugg appears to be ordinary yet extraordinary for the consumer, for example, he plays at open mic night in America, this shows he is ordinary as it is just a representation of him starting up as a musician and a lot of musicians start this way as it is easy to get a gig at an open mic night. However the artist comes across as extraordinary as people become silent while listening to his music, Bugg even manages to get people to start watching him perform his song as the majority are almost in awe, one woman is nearly in tears by the end of the song further implying that his music is so good that people stop worrying and fighting and just listen instead of ignoring, this then makes the audience feel more inclined to listen to Bugg's music as the video clearly suggests that it's good music to listen to rather than ignore. The other paradox needed to be covered is that the star/artist must simultaneously present and absent for the consumer, this was made a year after Bugg's first album was released, this clearly proves the paradox of the star theory as he has probably been doing gigs and other events after the first albums release that shows he has been present for his audience, however after the initial hype and buzz that surrounded the release of his first album, it probably died down a bit and Bugg may not have been doing many events as before so he made this video to further show his presence however he was absent for a while before the music video to this song. Goodwin's theory is implemented throughout this song, firstly it demonstrates genre characteristics very well, the video is primarily performance based which is a genre characteristic, it shows that the artist can play an instrument which is what some indie fans really value as it demonstrates the skill in their craft, they relate to the artist as most indie fans try to learn an instrument to have it as a skill but learn it's much harder, this therefore leads to the audience respecting Jake Bugg more as a talented artist. The next use of the theory is that there is frequent close ups of the artist in the video and there is a motif that is clear in some of his other videos, he is commonly seen in many of his videos with an acoustic guitar or guitar case that he is holding, this is to further emphasize the fact he is talented as he carries a guitar with him all the time, always performing his songs that lots people want to hear, shows he is a good musician because of the guitar.

The artist is represented in a particular way, in the video a lot of people find comfort with the song and start to dance, however some people it brings up some strong emotions, for one there is an old man who keeps drinking from a shot glass who looks down, someone tries to comfort him and just shrugs him away so he can keep listening to the music, this shows the songs Jake Bugg makes are very powerful and can bring out all sorts of emotions when the audience listen to his songs. The target audience i would say is a big range due to the people in the video yet an adult audience as well so I would say it's appealing to a 17-40 year old indie fans. The style of video primarily performance based, there isn't much for the narrative as there are many different people the video follows but their stories are left ambiguous so it can't be narrative, a concept for the video could be that people need to just listen to music and that people need to set aside their worries and feuds when doing so otherwise no enjoyment can come of it.

Iconography is used quite a lot in the video, firstly with the instrument that makes people listen to the music which is Jake Bugg's guitar, and the old mans drinking glass as he is always looking and holding the glass while listening to the music, the glass could suggest that the old man is trying to overcome something in his own life and that the song is helping him in a way or that his past has damaged him which relates to the lyrics "I'm broken". The lighting is low key throughout the video in this particular bar, this could represent every story in the bar has a darker story to it or a representation of the dark nature and themes of the song itself, however there is back lighting being pointed towards Bugg, meaning he's the hope that these people need for music as they begin to listen to the song. The facial expressions on the faces of people in the bar are very strong and realistic, an example of this is when the camera cuts to the waitress nearly in tears listening to Bugg at the very end of the video, the implied meaning of the facial expression could mean that Bugg is very good to the point that audiences will cry because he is that good, however it could rather imply that the song has effected her life in such a way that she is crying because she relates to it. The costume that Bugg is wearing is a black leather jacket with black trousers. The purpose of the outfit is to show that the artist is dark or that the messages or themes behind the songs or it could show the artists darker side in his songs as broken is a very slow and almost depressing sounding song from the artist, one example of the song being depressing in terms of lyrics is in the 3rd verse "All i lost and hoped for" which is most likely talking about a girl or someone he once loved, the audience can relate to this because the artist comes across much more serious in terms of music.

The cinematography is done in a way to make the audience feel as if they're at the bar with him watching him perform, there a lot of panning movements during the video like the shot showing the two men who are about to fight outside the bar, this makes it feel like the audience are looking around at all the different people in the bar, this helps the audience relate to the video and makes them remember it for longer. The shot illustrates a connection between the music and the visuals because as the two men begin t push and shove the music gets much louder to connect the two together. Close ups are also used frequently in the video for several people in the bar for example the old man who is sitting on the bar stool drinking, this feels as though it is personal to them as well as the audience because the camera has been deliberately put there to feel as though the audience are talking to these people at the bar, the close ups also imply a very intimate relationship between the people and the music which could relate to the songs lyrics being about a sort of love story, lyrics like "I'll wait here for you" emphasize this.


The next song I will be talking about is Bugg's video for the song "Trouble town". The video consists of Jake Bugg with his old friends and recording something with an old fashioned camera and the stuff they get up to while Jake Bugg also sings in an alleyway presumable in the same area. Dyer's star theory comes into play here because Bugg is again extraordinary whilst being ordinary, for example, the audience see Bugg playing with his friend's with the new camera that they've got and are amused by it, this is ordinary as this is what people do when they get something like a camera, they use it a lot when they first get it, however it's extraordinary because Bugg wants to get out of this life, the video is performance based as well so the lyrics have some effect in this song, it's clear Bugg wants to leave because of the chorus lyric "Stuck in speed bump city Where the only thing that's pretty Is the thought of getting out", this shows the audience that he enjoys life with his friends but lives in a very poor and rough area so Bugg wants to try and leave. The next paradox which is that Bugg is present whilst being absent for the consumer is also evident here as this was before the first album so he was present here but simultaneously absent as music videos can only go so far, this proves the theory as he is trying to be present to his audience but he is also absent. Goodwin's theory is also proven here as well, the demands of the record label are met again and a motif mentioned before is still here and that is that the audience see Bugg playing the guitar and holding the case it comes with, this makes it easier for the audience to relate to his videos as they know it's him because he'll always have that guitar with him in the video. The other element of Goodwin's theory implemented in the video is that there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, this is can be clearly observed as in several shots the audience can rubbish all over the place, portrays that the area isn't looked after and that people don't really care about it, they've almost been forgotten in this area, this ties in with the lyrics "somewhere there's a secret road to take me far away i know" which suggests that Bugg knew this and always wanted to get out of Nottingham because it's such a poor area and forgotten.

Bugg is represented differently than before apart from one element, the guitar is again seen to show he is talented with a guitar but it also shows the guitar is the way he'll get out of Nottingham, he takes it with him when he walks away from the block of flats he was hanging with his mates around, as this is his way of making a living in this world. The target audience would be those around the ages of 16-25 as he talks about the area he grew up in and that leaving it is the best thing to do so it would appeal to this sort of age range. The video is primarily a performance based video style as the audience see Bugg several times playing the guitar as well as singing the lyrics of the song which shows it is performance based. The video is concept based as well because it tries to get across that leaving this area he lives in is a good thing to do as it will help him live a good life in a better area. The mise-en-scene is used effectively again, as said before, iconography is used to show how forgotten the area is and perfectly sums up the kind of area it is as no one seems to care about the rubbish all over when Bugg plays his guitar standing on a wall. The lighting is high key throughout and colour throughout the video is quite bright this could be to suggest that this is best hope Bugg has if he leaves this area and starts anew is the way he should be going, this could be due to the songs messages clearly stating that he wants to get out of the town that he lives in "the only thing that's pretty is the thought of getting out" is a lyric in the video which relates to the town he is currently living in and how he wants to get out. 

The facial expressions of Bugg leaving show he is sad or serious meaning that the decision to leave the town was a hard choice but he did it ultimately because it was a bad area like the lyrics suggest "Hear the sirens down the street the kids get light on their feet or they'll be in the back seat". The lyric portrays that kids commit crimes regularly in the town and are often being chased by the police which conveyed by "Sirens", the lyrics and expressions shows the tone of the song and video is supposed to serious so the audience can find it more realistic. The costume that Jake Bugg wears in this video is similar to the one in Broken which is that both costumes are black of colour, which conveys the same message to the audience that's to show he is dark in his music or shows his darker side in his own music, this means that the audience take what Bugg says seriously because he is trying to get that particular image across. The cinematography is cleverly used as there are several uses of close ups throughout the video of Jake Bugg singing, this is implemented because it is made to make the audience feel as if Jake Bugg is singing to them and telling them this as a personal note for his audience, they then relate to him more because it feels personal for the audience and makes them respect him more as an artist. Another use of cinematography that is implemented well is the shallow focus throughout the video, the foreground of Bugg singing in the field is in focus while the tower block in his town behind him is out of focus, this means that it doesn't draw the audiences focus and the audience pay attention to Bugg in the camera technique. The shot relates to the lyrics because the town being out focus shows he wants to leave the town and leave it all behind him very much like how the town is behind him in the same shot, the audience build a relationship with Bugg and his videos because they understand there is a direct correlation between the video and the content of the song.










In conclusion, I feel as if the research i have done for and about Jake Bugg will be monumental in helping me plan the music video for his other song "Two Fingers" because I understand that a lot of his inspirations have come from him growing up, he makes songs about Nottingham because that's where he grew up and knows what the area is like. Knowing this help with the planning so that my i can use inspirations for filming the music video that will be relevant to the artist as well as the song itself. The inspirations I have taken from these songs are that I want to use a hometown within the video so that it's clear to the audience that the artist wants to try and leave behind at the end of the video "Hey, hey it's fine I left it behind", the quote is from the song i'm using of Jake Bugg's which is called "Two Fingers" but the inspiration to use the hometown mostly come from "Trouble Town". Both videos I have looked at have inspired me to show the artist singing and playing the guitar in several different locations in order to show the audience that this is what the artist wants for his life, this will show a performance style in my music video and will show a convention of the indie genre as well.