Star Image (Florence Welch)
In this task we discovered how one particular famous artist of our ‘genre‘ is presented in the media, in my case “Indie”. We prioritised researching the Metanarrative, which can be defined as a mix of media that constructs and shapes the star in the mind of the audience. The Metanarrative is constructed through:
- Music Videos
- Album Art
- Concerts
- Lyrics from songs
- Presence at Events (awards)
- Social Media
It is vital to look at the Metanarrative when looking at famous artists so we develop a further understanding on the importance of a ‘Star Image’, and how they are portrayed through the use of media language. As shown in Dyer’s Theory, his central idea was that the star image could initially be described using two key paradoxes. He states that “a star is both ordinary and extraordinary“. Ordinary meaning they are just like us (regular people), and extraordinary meaning they might be more talented, gifted etc. Florence Welch is a suitable example of Stars being ordinary and extraordinary. This is because she is ordinary in the way that she can still struggle with mental illnesses and disorders like every other individual, but also extraordinary as her career in the music industry has been a major success so far, for instance winning multiple music awards.
Star Image (Mine)
For this next task we were asked to create a collage of Mise-En-Scene to represent how we would want our front cover star to be represented in our first photoshoot. I considered the elements of MES which included:
- Costume
- Makeup/Hair
- Framing & Angles
- Props
- Lighting
- Setting
From my collage, some adjectives can describe how I want my star to be presented as such as, natural, laid back, authentic, seductive, edgy, confident etc. From the outfits, hair etc I have researched I think I have done a good job at having my star be viewed in that way.
Costume
For the costume I have included a leather jacket, mesh/strap/detailed top, black trousers, black boots/converse shoes and silver hoop earrings. I think this suites the Indie genre because common Indie artists clothing can be viewed as quite edgy and authentic. For instance, Florence Welch wears a lot of long, flowy, detailed dresses which shows the authenticity of her as she has her own signature clothing style and portrays her confidence as she feels comfortable in what she wears.
Makeup/Hair
For the makeup I have decided to go for quite a natural, sleek makeup look and for the hair my artist will have their hair down and preferably straight. I have chosen that the makeup/hair will have more of a natural appeal to it because they can be viewed as generally quite laid-back. This is because they are more of a DIY artist and away from the major record labels. Therefore, having a natural look will portray my artist as having a laid-back, casual, young personality.
Framing/Angle/Pose
For the framing I intend on doing a medium close up, straight camera angle and my artist tilting their head to the side slightly whilst maintaining direct eye contact with the camera. I chose to do this framing/angles/pose because it is commonly found on majority of the Indie music magazines I have researched and helps to represent the genre.
Props
For the props I have included a guitar and sunglasses in my collage. These items are ideal to use as they fit in with the stereotypical Indie genre as many artists include a guitar in their songs, and wear some sort of prop which can commonly be found in music magazines where they can be seen wearing sunglasses, hats, hair accessories etc. Therefore, I have chosen to use sunglasses in my shoot.
Lighting/Setting
For the lighting I will use ‘cool-tones’ as I think it reflects the edgy nature of the Indie genre. Likewise, for the setting I will use a solid background in the magazine front cover, for instance, a solid colour (dark shade), gradients etc. I am deciding to do this because it links in with my inspiration on other Indie music magazines and having a dominant coloured background may represent the laid-back nature of Indie artists as there’s not too much going on.
Focus forward
By doing this task, it has allowed me to discover the conventions of an Indie artist and how I can make my magazine ‘the same but different’ so I can still allow it to stand out and attract a wider audience. By including a wide range of different photos in my collage for each aspect of MES, it means that when it comes to doing my shoot I have many options to look back on, gives it a sense of creativity and enables me to have a clear understanding of what I want it to turn out like.