-1AudienceFirstly, audience is the most important thing we are going to have to consider. This is because if we do not locate our audience we will not know what age or style to base our video around. Also knowing your audience as a director helps you add genre and style to the overall project. For example if our piece was aimed at an older generation between 35-40 we would not include lots of girls in bikinis because it would not suit our audience.

GenreGenre very much ties in with the audience. You can only decide on your genre when you know your audience. I have been looking at the music video Misery Business by Paramore. This video is aimed at a teenage audience of about 15-18 and falls into the genre of teen film. The video is set in a school and is about the bully getting her comeuppance. I like the idea behind this video because it tells a story, the video is memorable and comic.Genre is important for a video as it has to coincide with the song and the audience. If these things do not match up the audience will not approve of the video.

CharactersThe characters within a video are the focal points and therefore need to be spot on. If you are promoting a band in the video you need to show their best qualities, if the band is not the focal point of the video then additional characters can be used. For example in Paramore’s Misery Business video the main character is a pretty girl who is horrible to the rest of her school. Having a pretty girl as a focal point appeals to boys but also having the girl turn out bad appeals to the feminist issues amongst girls. It is important that there is a balance of artist and character within the video otherwise the promotion of the band can be lost.

LocationWhen making a music video if you do not pick the correct location the video will not look right. The location very much ties in with the style of the video, for example if we were making a gangster rap video we may situate our filming in the middle of a street with graffiti. This is a stereotype of the genre but cannot be avoided when making a video. If you mix the stereotype existentially then the audience may not be able to relate to the video.

ArtistIn a successful video the artist will promote not only themselves but possibly a new album too. Again in Paramore’s Misery Business they play in front of a back drop of their logo which is featured on their album cover. This gives the audience something to recognise when they see that logo again, they can associate it with the band. Also the artist much portray an image which they must stick to. This image then gives them a label of what kind of artist they are so that the public can relate to this image.

EditingEditing is also another important component within a music video. The editing must fit the song type and the artist. For example, Lady Gaga’s song Just

Dance is about being drunk and out of control, also the song is upbeat, therefore the cuts match this. Special effects also make the video memorable.

Selling PointI think if the audience age is teens the main selling point is sex and comedy. I know this from watching teen films such as “Without a Paddle” and “Shallow Hall”. These films have an equal balance of sex and comedy and are called romantic comedies. Sex in particular is an important selling point for teenagers, especially amongst the girls as girls always watch their idols in videos and aspire to be like their sexy icons.When making our video we must take into consideration all of these components that make a successful music video.