Audience research and video analysis

The Pretty Reckless are a very recent band, that only started around 2 years ago and have been labelled as American Rock. The main vocalist Taylor Momsen, is probably the only "mainstream"/popular female rock artist in the charts today (in the UK). In which she previously made a hit with "Make Me Wanna Die" in 2010.


Judging from statistics on Youtube, most of The Pretty Reckless's videos target mainly females of an age between 13-17 and 18-24. Also, males 18-24 but on rare cases and only on the video below. Although, when asking a few male friends, they said they wouldn't watch the video on Youtube because they liked the music, just because they like the lead singer..

Furthermore, when it comes to what class would listen to this music, I would say it's a music genre open to any. Although, the singer herself is only 18, therefore I think because of that factor the band will target quite a niche audience consisting of teens of a certain background. On the social class hierachy I don't think A-C1 would listen to this music, espiesially in the UK as they are not hugely sucessful and haven't exactly dominated the music industry yet like the more mainstream artists such as Lady Gaga. Also, this music may not appeal to the people on that end of the scale as the genre "Rock" and the image that goes with it, can be labelled in negative ways associated to crimes such as drug use and theft (which are more in the past), although this is no longer necessery the case and is more of a style than a stereotype.

Make Me Wanna Die - No.1 Hit in 2010

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Analysis

Language - The long shot used at the beginning of the video has been used in this video in order to show the mise-en-scene and setting clearly for the audience, showing it is obviously very important the way the long shot moves onto close-ups of important objects in the room and on the table such as the skull on the table, big gold candles, the big old fashioned light, the food on the table, the black nail varnish and the pigs head, all reinforce what genre of music the band plays and also shows their image isn't the typical mainstream look. Also, the setting obviously has some past and history to it because of the setting, and the huge old fashioned table. Although through research I couldn't find where they got the idea from and why it has been used. Although, I personally think that it could be to do with something about Jesus and the last supper, as the first shot is extremely similar to the last supper image:

Although looking at the lyrics, I'm not sure whether they relate the story behind the last supper therefore I think it may have just been taken as inspiration for viewing purposes.

Institution - This band inperticular has quite a niche audience in the UK, although they are more famous in the USA in which they come from and are signed to Interscope. The band consists of four members, but the singer is the main focus of the band.

Ideology - I think the band as a whole come across in a slightly negative way for young children as they reinforce factors that are maybe a bit "out there" in terms of conventional rock stereotypes, for example, the way Taylor places herself on the table in this video and the way she dresses has purposely been created to create a more sexual image. Although, hopefully I will be able to create a more positive image through my video which will show strong and more dominant women, without the image Taylor Momsen has in this particular video.

Audience - I personally think the audience for this song and their first hit "Make me wanna die" differ. For example, I don't think this video targets males as much as her first hit, which was more performance based with the band on stage. Without sounding sexist, I think the fact the vocalist is a female and is the main focus of The Pretty Reckless, may effect why the male audience is so quite low. Whereas if their was a frontman, such as in You Me At Six, The Killers, etc, I think it would be a different case. For example, when looking on Youtube at Paramores videos, 80% who watch those videos are females and only 20% are male. Choosing a similar genre of music, but with a frontman instead (You Me At Six) the percentage is still dominant to girls with 60%, but still leaving double the amount of boys watch those videos (40%).

Also, I don't think males are that interested in the classic rock sound anymore, or if they are it's still quite a low percentage as it's very 70's/80's and they seem to be more interested in alternative/indie or pop/electro/rock. Therefore, overall the majority of viewers have been females so I know that my video will be the same due to the sound of the music.

Representation -  I think as the song I chose talks about a past relationship, it will be something girls would stereotypically be more drawn to, rather than the male audience. Therefore, I hope my video will be quite a big statement in terms of women not being as sensitive as males assume, and that they can't "walk" all over our feelings. Also the point that women don't always take on the stereotype of being so sensitive and upset over a break up. So, a positive representation for girls I personally think. Furthermore, as the reference to the last Supper has been used which is biblical history, it shows that the artist Taylor has broken "the rules" in a sense and has took that to a whole new level, by the way she's dressed in which she is wearing a wedding dress, suspenders and lots of make-up which suggests her sexual attraction and connects to Mary Magdalene. The way she climbs along the table dressed that way, reflects the rebellious attitude, which is what the band want to represent in terms of how their audience see them which is a factor I will be hoping to demonstrate in my music video through the use of the mise-en-scene. Furthermore, the rebellious, rock image comes across with the use of the vibrating camera movement which has been used during certain parts of the song where the instruments are more heavy and dominant, giving the video an edgy feel.