Research into Chosen Artist

I have chosen Jason Mraz as the artist for my music video. Mraz falls into the Alternative Pop genre and creates music that is easy to listen to and that could appeal to large target audiences. Narratives are able to be created in music video's of Mraz's as he contains a constant theme throughout a song. Being experimental with techniques he uses in beats, lyrics and subtle changes in tempo it makes Mraz an interesting artist, one of which you'd want to listen more of and discover intended values and meanings of his songs. A relationship can easily be created between an audience and the artist as as he doesnt break any conventions of the genre he is categorized into therefore expectations of the audience are met and the audience are able to relate to the artist which in turn creates a strong fanbase. I have chosen Jason Mraz as the artist and 'I Won't Give Up' as my song for my music video as it was the highest result from the questionnaires my group and I put out. This particular artist uses various conventions and techniques mentioned above making him diverse from other artists in his genre category. Because Mraz's songs are usually quite deep and have a strong message, it will be exciting for my group and I to think up and put a narrative together with the lyrics and beat of the song still linking the what we consider to message to be to include.

Jason Mraz was signed to his record label Elektra Records in 2002 and released his first album 'Waiting For My Rocket To Come' which was his first success making it to number 15 on the US Billboard 200. In 2005 he was signed to Atlantic Records after which he started making albums that reached higher and higher in the charts a single of which includes 'I'm Yours' which peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
I have decided to analyse 'I'm Yours' and 'Lucky' as these songs were both very successful for the solo alternative artist. The first I will analyse is  'I'm Yours' which has Mraz's most successful single to date selling 9.5 million downloads worldwide. The music video itself was posted onto Youtube and received over 100 million views from July 2011.

 

The 'I'm Yours' video was filmed in various locations and had mutiple costume changes which made the video very effective. In this video I would estimate that the artist would have would be aiming at a target audience of 20 to 25 year olds  implied by the costume worn throughout the video. This includes Ray-Ban sunglasses, Vans or beaten up trainers, a normal every day t-shirt and a pair of shorts. He also wears a backpack which tells the audience he is on a journey. Costumes are changed to show time moving on and also in different locations through the different countries of which he visits. Although the artist is present in the video, he isn't highlighted through any specific mise-en-scene features, showing that the video concentrates more on the journey and the locations than the artist. This is shown when Mraz is sitting on a plane and however has low key lighting on him but the emphasis is through the window and on the blue skies outside. 

Goodwins theory of a relationship between visuals and lyrics being present is not evident throughout this video however moments in the video show close-ups of the artists foot, hand or him dancing along to the beat of the song showing a relationship between the music and the visuals. Due to the music video and the lyrics of the song it is easy to assume that the target audience would be of a slightly mature age due to the travelling and the emotional journey that the artist is going through in the video.

The first shot seen is of a private jet showing the artists wealth which is not something commonly seen in an alternative artists video however throughout the rest of the video the artist is not entirely present. By the costume worn it shows that the artist is just an ordinary person relating back to Richard Dyers Star Theory where he states that the artist will have to seem ordinary to connect with the audience but also extraordinary of which he is because of the private jet and the countries he's travelled to.

 

'Lucky' is a music video featuring another artist Colbie Collat. This is relevant to the music video because the first two shots are two establishing shots showing where each artist is. Goodwins theory is not relevant in this video at all as none of his statements apply here as the music video has a narrative running alongside the performance which is shown through a lot of close-ups and mid-shots of the artists. The contrast of the two settings between the two artists are on different scales and this shows their difference in personality. Caillat is at a warm, hot climated country on a beach expressing her individuality and personality as being a fun-loving person whereas Mraz is in a bustling city, showing his possibly busy but dull life. Being at completely different places across the world whilst they are singing about being in love shows how strong the love is and that no matter where they are in the world, they'll still love each other. The distance and the vastly contrasting locations shows the different lifestyles being led therefore leading to the connotation that there is great difficulty in maintaining a relationship when they are both so far away.
Mraz is seen in a variety of location which include the city, in cars, on a bridge this could possibly lead to connotations that he is looking or searching for her, showing that he will do anything to find her. There is fast paced editing throughout which is effective although the pace of the music isn't too fast, it matches well together. Mraz is presented as being a businessman dressed smartly throughout the video which is showing a good representation of the artist sticking to conventions of the genre. Due to the song changing tempo's numerous times throughout the video, the target audience would be difficult to determine however I come to the conclusion that it would be an older audience to what Mraz usually targets of possibly 25-40 although it is down to personal choice.

Close-ups are used throughout the video. This particular camera shot is used to highlight the artists emotions and help the audience understand the message that the artist is trying to portray through expressions and whether the song is supposed to be happy or sad. An example of this would be near the beginning when the audience see's a close-up shot of Mraz which then changes to a long shot of Colbie Caillat standing on a rock in the wind and then back to Mraz showing the audience that this is what the artist possibly dreams of.

Both of Jason Mraz's two songs analysed conform to Richard Dyer's Star Theory. This is done by one of the paradoxes he states about being a star is being an image and being what the audience wants. This is done by the artist just being a star himself and bringing the star qualities and selling his music and his music video by being on chat shows. However although he does conform to the Star Theory he has always only ever promoted himself as being an ordinary person living an average persons lifestyle which appeals to an audience of people that live an ordinary lifestyle.

Overall I think this artist's genre and song 'I Won't Give Up' will be perfect for my group and I to focus on creating a music video as we will be able to be creative with locations, costumes and thinking up the overall narrative of the story and try to include Goodwins Theory and Richard Dyers Star Theory.