Portrayal of 'Rivers - Kankouran'

The brief for this task was to find a British unsigned band who would allow us to use their song in a music video created by us the students. I became interested in the song Rivers when watching a Skins Series 6 trailer on the TV. The dramatic sound of the song attracted me to look into it further and download the track. This automatically gives Kankouran (the band) a target audience of the demographic who watch Skins, 16-25 year olds, the golden group. In a way Skins has had a slight influence over our music video, in terms of making it about young people and their relationships with each other, which is what we have planned to create. There is also a common theme of death in series 6, as a character Grace dies in a car crash, similarly Ava in our music video, attempts to kill herself, there is a low key link.

Ultimately the portrayal of Kankouran in this trailer is about youg people having fun and being mischevious, it's about love and friendship also.

“Rivers for me personally is about life and death. growing up, things changing. nothing stays the same. life is always changing, there is no certainty from day to day. that kinda vibe... its also about sharing that with somebody. that whole experience...its really a dark song, but its been done in a uplifting way.”

-Tarek Musa -Kankouran

However a slightly different portrayal comes from their live official video for the song 'Rivers', they come accross as calm, relaxed and passioante, which is slightly unlike the Skins implications. Their live video is a one take vidoe (during the performance section) and the camera still manages to make it an interesting video, often all in one takes can drag on and become boring, but this is an exception. This makes them appear interetsing and something really special. I think we can expect big things from Kankouran.

Editing

After editing about 1 minute of a 3.5 minutes music video, we showed it to people from our target audience (16-25 year olds) and asked them if they understood the story line so far. To some it was slightly confusing, although the shots were well transitioned, we had not introduced the storyline quick enough, which for only a short video, needed to be changed.
We swapped some shots about to make the story be introduced quicker, then showed it to the same people and some other people who hadn't seen it before. We got them to tell us what they thought had happened and what they replied with was the story plan, which was positive feedback.
We got carried away with putting in shots that we didn't ned yet, giving them no significance in the place they were irginally in, whereas if we moved them, they held great significance. This just highlights the importance of editing and recieving feedback.

Montage

Montage is featured in a variety of different films/music videos/TV programmes. It is an effective way of getting messages to audiences, setting the atmosphere/tone of the proceedings/good opening sequence.

For example, in the opening sequence of 'This Is England' there is a montage of clips from the 1980's, setting the tone of the film, it has political, popular, influencing and urban aspects of the introduction. Layered over the top of the montage is a song by Toots and the Maytals called "54-56 was my number". In an interview Shane Meadows said that they picked the music before they planned the shots. So using this song was decided before they even thought about using montage.

This is effective as the film has not started yet, but you get a feel for what is to come and what to expect. It is a foreshadowing method. It is also a very specific way to target audiences. For example, people with an interest in Politics, music, war, dancing etc, will take interest in this montage.

Another example is in 'The Killing' and 'Homeland', 2 TV dramas, they both use montage as a way of introducing charters and setting the tone of the rest of the hour of the show. This is an effective way of opening what is going to happen because it manages to show you enough of what has happened and what is going to happen in the montage.
The Killing's montage is edited in a slightly more edgy way than Homeland's, it is a little more distorted and the music that lays over the top is more mysterious and concerning also. It does not reveal as much information as for example Homeland does, it is more suggestive rather than just showing the audience.

 

Recently in a music video by Sub Focus ft. Alpines called 'Tidal Wave' it features patches of montage which has inspired us to use montage in our music video because of the effectiveness of 'Tidal Wave'.
This music video is similar to ours due to the fact that a majority is filmed either at a beach, or on cliffs over-looking the beach. Montage in this video is edited to the beat of the song, enhancing the effectiveness of the continuous beat in the song. It also sets a scene for the video, almost like a title sequence. It introduces the surroundings by flashing shots of the location.

In our music video we plan to create a montage on the instrumental section about half way through the song. It will be edited to the beat, but as it is a fast-paced song, maybe every other beat as we are going to use some iconic shots linking in with our inter-textual references. (The French Lieutenants Woman) This links in with Goodwin's theory - There is often intertextual refernces.This is the element we are trying to highlight. The use of montage in our video will (hopefully) be effective, and the end result will fit with the rest of the video.

Cyber Goth Research

Cyber Goth is a subculture that takes elements from punk, goth, raver and rivet-heading. Unlike traditional goths, Cyber Goths follow electric dance music instead of Rock music. Cyber Goths also focus on the future unlike traditional Goths who base their style on the past. This is the generic image of a Cyber Goth. This style has been said to originate from the David Bowie craze, it is a fairly new and underground style and genre of music, yet to explode onto the streets. The unusual look of David Bowie has inspired so many. For example, Lady Gaga and other contemporary artists.

Cyber Goths tend to wear mainly black with hints of neon, bright colours or reflective material. Glossy materials give a plastic artificial look. Also huge platform boots. The girls especially have big hair, using hair extensions, or falls to exaggerate their look. Falls can be made out of yarn, fluorescent tubing, electrical wiring, also synthetic dreadlocks are popular. Piercings are all part of the entire look, they are a typical aspect of the outfit. Goggles are often worn also gas masks or doctors masks, to imply a medical fetish. Sometimes Cyber Goths mutate their faces and bodies, with implants to disfigure themselves and de-humanising look. Despite the look of the girl in the picture, Cyber Goths can sometimes dress androgyny it is also a uni-sex style. Their make-up can also be quite shocking, bright colours often matching hair or clothes. A trend is often that they shave off their eyebrows are draw them back on with a coloured pencil.

Cyber Goths take part in social acts like dancing
meet ups in a park for example. Music is also a big part of their identity, clubbing is a hobby or activity that they take part in regularly.  Mixing only really with other Cyber Goths, they are people they can identify with and who have similar interests. Also, they are quite an unusual sight because the genre and style is still underground, like with any unusual group, they feel like more of a community when together and in a group.

Intertextual Reference #1 SONG

Sinead O'Connor's song 'Nothing compares to you' is an iconic song and video. It features her walking through a graveyard dressed in afull length  all black coat exposing long shots and establishing shots of her and the location. In contrast to this, there is a constant stream on close up head shots of her singing the song/lip synching. We can reference the video to our plans, part of one of our costumes of the female actress is her long black skirt which can be intertextually referenced to our music video.

Another aspect of her music video we can reference is when Sinead starts to cry. Planned in our video is around the lyric 'don't fight' to have a shot of a tear rolling down Emily's face much like in the screen shot of Sinead O'Connor. On the lyric 'don't fight'  is a shot of Emily'd fists tightening and squeezing together,, restraining herself from fighting against. This also links to Andrew Goodwin's theory, 'There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals' This can apply to our music video in a respect that fists are with fighting, so by showing her resisting from the fight is applicable.

Costume Intertextual References.

Sinead O'Connor in her music video 'Nothing Compares To You' is wearing a big long black coat, which covers the entire bottom half of her body, which is similar to one of our costumes for Emily to wear. I chose for Emily, a black maxi skirt, which has relevance because she felt her relationship with Nile was long and dragged out, so she cut the end short, which is represented by the sudden colour change to white. It was the want to incorporate sadness and loss into the music video on top of what we have already got that made me realise the link between the two music video costumes. The association of sadness and loss is the key point in this reference.

The French Lieutenants Woman's costume again is a long dark cloak/cape, which can be identified with loss and grief and waiting upon a loved one. The prolonged waiting can be established in our music video by the constant chasing and catching up with each other, but just slipping out of each others reach. The visual image is as important as the inmteretextual reference itself it is how you make the connection.

The final costume link between Ava and characters from textual references is with Jane Eyre in the BBC's version. When Jane runs away from her mannor, she winds up on a rock (which we have also interetually referenced to one of our locations) similarlly she is again in a long dark overcoat which can be associated with the costume we have chosen for Ava to wear.

Finding Indie

Finding Indie. on Prezi

Importance of Festival Marketing

Festival Marketing 
The process of advertising and marketing a festival during the lead up and wait for it is one of the most important times to do this. A strong way of marketing is the Internet. Everyone has some form of access to the Internet and therefore anyone can reach the site. There are different ways of online marketing. For example; website, social networking sites, youtube. As another example, Latitude has a countdown timer until the festival is (at the start of the new year) to let everyone know exactly when it is. It also has an interactive map with 2 settings, daytime and night time, really highlighting when certain places are open, it is also a form of amusement for the audience. The importance of a festival website is possibly the biggest priority of them all. It is where all of the vital information is held, it is where you can buy tickets. The website should have features to sell the festival. For example, exclusive festival pictures, of acts and the public. It is the 1st place where the acts are announced, generally the hub of pre-festival information. 

Latitude is well known for being in the middle of nowhere, another renowned factor about Latitude is the coloured sheep. Most people who go will know that the sheep are iconic to latitude and are there every year, coloured with organic natural dyes as to not harm the sheep. This is a brilliant way of marketing to their target audience as it is instantly recognisable. 

Despite a majority of the advertising/marketing performing on the Internet, word of mouth and gossip on social media sites are also important. By having a conversation about who is at a festival on a social networking site like Facebook, can lead to another person deciding they want to go because they know that an act they like is going. Their second port of call would be the festival website itself, again, emphasising the importance of a festival website. Also talking about festivals in a common room or a staff room is another way of getting people interested in an event like Latitude.

There are many different marketing/advertising mediums. One way that a lot of people tend to skim over is flyers/magazines/TV/radio/campaigns/newspapers etc. The media that everyone can access. A way I found out about a local festival called 'Playfest' was by a flyer being handed out to me after a gig at the waterfront. I think this is effective because people will have just come from one gig and if they see bands they like on the flyer, they will be interested in it. Local TV and Radio stations are also of big help, especially for a festival like Playfest which has only been going 2 years, BBC Radio Norfolk helped it out by making regular announcements about it, also the local TV did a news story on the success of it. People overlook how much of an asset thee mediums are to festivals like Playfest that are just starting up.

Different methods of marketing appeal to different target groups. For example, some of the target audience for Latitude may not have  a TV, but may listen to the radio, or read magazines/newspapers, or vise-versa. A majority of the target audiences can be reached through one medium or another, it just depends on how they access it. 

DO FESTIVALS CATERING FOR DIFFERENT MUSICAL GENRES OFFER DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES?

There are different items/objectives/attitudes/behaviours associated with different genres. For example, associated with rock, is long hair, tattoos piercings, and possibly fat middle aged men. (stereotypically) However a festival like Latitude may serve for 'indie' people, stereotypically, girls with highwaisted shorts, crop tops, denim jackets, parka coats etc.

In the grand scheme of things I don't think the festival experience differs that much between a variety of festivals.
However looking at aspects more closely, this could mean, a different experience in terms of what the festival has to offer. For example, Latitude offers, music, poetry, dance, literature, children's areas, cabaret and more! Whereas a festival like Reading of Download only really offers the musical experience.
In terms of personal experiences, (e.g. drug taking) different drugs give different experiences as a whole, so depending what kind of things you are into, you could have a huge variety of experiences.

Shifted Festival Poster

LATITUDE FESTIVAL POSTER SHIFT

2007 was the launch of the first ever Latitude  festival. This means that there won't have been a huge shift/change of design in the posters since then, maybe a few tweaks here and there.
One feature that has remained consistent throughout the slight alterations of the poster is the font and design of the word and title, 'LATITUDE' heading the poster. This allows the audience identify with the poster and recognise/associate certain memories or band that carry with the logo.
A major aspect that has changed throughout the 6 years that Latitude has been going, is the design (not so major) and the change in colours. Despite sticking with the same colours, they are still sticking with the blue and green theme but made the colours clearer and changed it to a sky background rather than just a solid sky blue. The green has changed to a darker/richer green, which borders the poster better than the other older one.


The 2012 design is a little more basic then the 2007 design. It has dragonflies in the top corners of the poster and a bolder, floral design but set back from the poster a little more than 2007.

The newer poster is more spaced out and is more in proportion, it gives more room for the headline acts to be at the top of the poster, this is what usually sells the festival to a majority of the people.

There has not been a huge shift in the change of the posters, just slight changes that over time probably haven't been noticed much by the audience.

Music Festival Increase

Over the past decade there has been a large increase in interest and the popularity of music festivals, especially in the U.K. This may have been influenced by one of the world's biggest and most renowned music festivals - Glastonbury.
In my opinion, this is a result of 3 heavy factors. 
1) Local venue/Festival
Although a festival is a collection of 100's of gigs compiled into 1 weekend, the atmosphere, expectations and behaviour are the main differences between the two. 
At gigs, the event isn't that long, a few hours at the most, festivals are longer and more anticipated. 
The expectations at a festival, are to drink, relaxed vibe, possibly drugs, music, friends, camping, little technology, wellies/mud, community, the festival package as a whole. 
In contrast to this, in my experience, the expectations for gigs are, loud music, intense, drinking, moshing, dark rooms, tense vibe and excitement. 
Behaviour is also a main difference between gigs and festivals. At a festival, the behaviour of people generally tends to be relaxed, chilled out, friends, spontaneous actions, having fun. However behaviour at gigs is more deviant, daring and dangerous. People tend to play up to their friends at gigs (in my experience) 

2) Sense of Community
 One of the expectations at a festival is the sense of community around and also, strangely, the feeling of security you get from it. It is one of my favourite aspects. Having conversations with people you've never met before is an enjoyable feeling, sharing a mutual hobby/something to connect two people, whether it is a band, a tent or a political view. 

3) Technology
The spread of technology is so vast now, pretty much everybody above 13/14 years of age is expected to have a mobile phone, possibly even a laptop. Access to the internet nowadays can get you anywhere. For example, social media websites for your band, 10,000 followers on twitter, youtube 'famous' - youtube even pays people for making videos when they reach 10,000 subscribers. Going to a festival means you escape, phones, internet, gossip for 4 days. It is also an act of rebellion, getting away from families/parents for a long weekend and drinking. It is something that people don't do on regular occasions and can excite young people and give them satisfaction from doing something that maybe their parents would 'approve of' if it was in normal society. 

Festival Posters

LATITUDE POSTER

The Latitude poster is appealing to a certain audience; an audience who are interested in the location its self. (hence the background picture is of where the festival is) Also they designers have used the fonts that the bands originally use in the promotion packs. The design of the poster, the header, has a vintage style about it, aimed at people who have an interest in style and originality. The font of 'Latitude' stays the same every year since the festival first started out 7 years ago. Regular festival goers would recognise the logo immediately.

READING FESTIVAL

The Reading festival poster is purely selling the artists. Much like the Latitude festival it uses the font from the bands CD covers or promotion packs. This kind of poster appeals to people who have interest only in the bands. The colour scheme tends to be simple and not detract from the artists, again focusing only on the headliners and other important bands. 

DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL

Download festival tends to sit in the middle of the two other posters, it is not ALL about the artists, also the design of the poster and the location, as it states where is it on the poster below 'DOWNLOAD'. The design bordering the poster is a kind of tattoo-cartoon style, appealing to people who have or are interested in tattoo's. The headliners on the poster take up most of the page, meaning that the focus is mainly on the bands playing, the poster is wholly advertising the bands and the festival. 

Final Costumes

The Present day costumes will be as is in the pictures. 

Nile
Plain black T-Shirt signifying the 'dark side' of the relationship, the rocky argumental side.
Grey Jeans highlighting that there were some grey areas of their relationship - not completely truthful. 
Grey DM Boots suggesting he HAD the upper-hand of the relationship. (the renowned and long lasting strength associated with Doc Martens)

Ava
White T-Shirt speckled with black the white suggests she wishes she could go back to it being how it was, however the black speckles are the parts which make her believe it was the right decision to go.
Black Maxi skirt signifying the 'dark side' of the relationship, the rocky argumental side.
                                           Brown buckled belt making the fact that there was some difference                       between the two characters stand out. one of the reasons Ava left.
                                          Black spiked shoes suggesting that Ava sometimes lost her temper and became quite 'prickly' with Nile.

The Past or memories of the two characters costumes will be as in the pictures.

Nile
Blue Tye Dye top the pattern suggests a happy, fun and playful relationship, exhibited via the music video clips.
Blue Denim shorts again, a sense of fun and joy is represented via the colour.

Ava
Blue strap top delight and appriciation is shown through this colour on Ava in their relationship.
Black leggings highlighting that maybe there are a few things that Ava doesn't like to talk about/a secret kept from Nile. 



Nile
Turquoise shirt similarly to the other outfit, happiness and playful, featuring a minute pattern, showing small details in their relationship.
Grey trousers suggesting there may be one or two disagreements or situations that went wrong.
Grey DM boots similar to the trousers

Ava
Sky Blue shirt similar to before, exhibiting her contentment and happiness.
Grey Cardigan implying that there was/is some disagreement between the two of them
Dark leggings suggesting that there is something she is keeping from Nile or something she hates about 'him' or 'them'.
Black shoes similar to 'dark leggings'.

Costume Ideas

The plan is to keep the costumes simplistic and representative or their relationship, the present and the past. 

Present

Black and white - alongside low saturation of video.

Simple clothing - nothing with excessive patterns/ complex textures.

Nothing to detract from what is going on in the video.

Modest clothing - Clothing that covers a majority of the body. 

Past
Simple clothing.
Bright colour - blue theme - co-inciding with the sea/river locations and the high saturation filters on the clips.
Vest tops/t-shirts.

Ultimately, the aim is to have a visible difference between the flashbacks and the present time clips. Despite the difference of them being together in the flashbacks and then on their own in individual shots the costumes are important. They reflect their mood also.
I think they play an important part in the video as whole. 

Actor/Character Profiles

In our video there will be only two characters; young female and male. We chose the two actors (Emily and Fraser) on their creativity influence, acting abilities and appearance.
In my opinion, knowing the people you are working with makes the process easier and more efficient. If you know how people work, their motivation and willingness, then understanding will be fluent. This will work in my favour, Emily I have known since 2007 and Fraser I attend school with. I know them both well.

_______________________________________________________________________

ACTOR
NAME - Emily Greig
GENDER - Female
AGE - 17
HEIGHT - 5 Ft 7"
HAIR COLOUR - Chestnut Brown/Red tint
SCHOOL - Wymondham College
SUBJECTS - Media, Philosophy, Psychology

CHARACTER
NAME - Ava
GENDER - Female
AGE - 19
INTERESTS - Reading and Writing literature, Love Stories, Poetry, watching films, sight seeing, day dreaming, attending concerts, writing own music, camping with friends.
RELATIONSHIP - Ava fell in love with Nile, they were together for 4 years and were the perfect teenage sweethearts. Ava ran away from the relationship, like she runs away with her mind. She felt like she was not good enough for Nile and in the music video is trying to remember them and her old self, as her mind has changed since they were together. At the end of the video she tries to kill herself but fails, she watches him walk away from her (un-knowingly) on the beach.

_______________________________________________________________________

ACTOR
NAME - Fraser Stannage
GENDER - Male
AGE - 17
HEIGHT - 5 Ft 10"
HAIR COLOUR - Dark Brown
SCHOOL - City Of Norwich School
SUBJECTS - Photography, Psychology, ICT

CHARACTER
NAME - Nile
GENDER - Male
AGE - 19
INTERESTS -Writing own music, attending concerts, photography, drawing/graphic design, reading, devising film ideas, acting, being with friends.
RELATIONSHIP - If possibly, Nile was more in love with Ava than she was with him. Nile adored her. When Ava ran away from their relationship together, he was not going to let her go. In the music video, Nile tries to re-trace their steps in their relationship to see how he can 'find' her again. He gets close towards the end, but walks away from the beach. However his quest to find her is not over.
_______________________________________________________________________

Character Names

At first, using the names of the actors as the characters names, seemed good enough, but after researching Kankouran and the meaning, researching names and meanings would fit within our research in its entirety. 

Kankouran's song 'Rivers' acted as a basis for the research into names. A brief internet search for name meanings formed a list of possible names. 

Avon
Ailsa
Dana
Dee
Delaney
John
Cleonie
Miriam
Nile
Douglas

All of the names listed have some connection or meaning to a river, it was just a case of choosing which ones fit the characters look, and fit well together.

After creating many different combinations of names, it was a group decision that Ava, (originally Avon) and Nile would fit best to our characters. 

Lyrical Timeline

Festivals

Continuing research into genre and identity, deciding on a festival that our band's values would fit best at, this also includes the genre they fit into.

After analysing several festival flyers, in my filming group, we decided that Latitude Festival would be most fitting for the band we have chosen to use; Kankouran.

Latitude Festival Home Screen

Kankouran 

Having been to Latitude Festival in 2011 & 2012, I know which kinds of bands are going to appear there. The genres that mainly appear at Latitude tend to be indie/rock/folk/alternative/acoustic and I feel Kankouran fit within many of these genres. Their style of music is also the kind that you can imagine live and imagine having a great atmosphere at a festival like Latitude. 

Latitude is not only a music festival, like many others, it is an arts festival featuring comedy, dance, music, literature, film and cabaret. 

It is also a family friendly festival. that phrase would put some people off but if you've been there once, you know that it is predominately young people apposed to couples with children. 

At festivals there is drink and drug consumption, and it varies at different festivals, for example, Wireless (pop festival) will have a different variety of drink and drugs, where as somewhere like Latitude, it will again differ. 

The drink and drugs associated with Pop music tends to be strong liquors such as Vodka or Malibu, drug intake associated with pop could be ecstasy/speed/popping pills. However at a more alternative festival like Latitude, the drink intake is more likely to be things like beer, cider and lager. The drug intake is highly more likely to be things you can smoke, like cannabis. 

There are a lot of drugs at festivals but different levels vary between festivals. 

Latitude A5 Flyer 2010

The vintage-picture frame like looking border of the flyer, connotes it is targeted at people who are interested in style, appearance and the vintage look. The picture set as the background of the flyer is of the festival itself. The arty 'Latitude' 3D writing/model, and the sheep, dyed with natural colouring for the festival. This targets people who are interested in art, innovative ideas and something a little different. From my experience, many different varieties of people go, the age range/target audience ranges from very young children/toddlers to people 60+ and everything in between. 

It is a fantastically interactive, amusing and enjoyably festival and incredibly unique. I believe Kankouran would fit in very well here, musically, style wise and entertainment wise. 

Genre/Identity Research

The generic characteristics of the song/band don't necessarily fit into a specific genre, it is a mix of many genres. In my opinion, it is a mixture of, indie-rock, hipster*, electro. The Internet will define these genres but I am going to give my own definition of them all. 

Indie-rock -  this is a form of alternative music to chart music. In my opinion it is the music in-between, music that you cannot directly categorise immediately. Within Indie-rock, the music style is mainly band music, e.g.- lead guitar, bass guitar, singer and drummer, ofter also a synth player/keyboard player. The songs mainly stick to a structure of- INTRO.VERSE/CHORUS/VERSE/CHORUS/BRIDGE/CHORUS/OUTRO. However some bands defy this which is where the confusion in the 'in-between' genres steps in. 

Hipster  -  Hipster 'music/style' is one that is often taken the wrong way, or many people believe it me and something else rather than its true meaning. It means doing your own thing entirely, not the generic-unimaginative style that is chinos, zip hoodies, vans and snapback hats. This is NOT hipster. Hipster music could be associated with bands like; Kankouran, Diiv, and Fredrik.

Electro  -  Electro is often associated with Hadouken, which is a heavy-electro band. They use, electronic drum kits, 2 synths, bass and vocals. However the 'Electro I'm referring to is the synth aspect of the band. The song 'Rivers' has a slight metallic sound to it which often reminds me of some electronic bands. 

A band with similar musical characteristics, would be into bands that are similar to their own. However, everyone has different influences, so there will be interest in different genres also, maybe in old-school rock, some pop-punk music e.g. - Blink 182, Sum 41. 

*the true meaning of hipster = individual, unlike any other, unique, original. Not chinos, snapbacks and chart music.

A band like Kankouran may read vintage fiction books, and newspapers. Some influence comes from newspapers and books. Some songs are written based on characters like Miss Havisham etc. Classical fictional characters are a good base for a song. Linking in with newspapers, they are quite political, have a strong opinion on Governmental issues, whether it be, Labour, Conservative, Lib-dem, or nothing at all. I'd imagine a band like Kankouran to be anti-monarchy. (In my opinion, I don't feel Britain really needs a royal family, but the argument is; the royal family defines Britain. The Queen is highly associated with the name of Britain, that could possibly be why they are anti-monarchy, because it is slightly rebellious, a touch of originality and slightly unlike everyone else - hipster. 

They would drink fruit ciders- Kopparbergs  and beers like Budweiser. Whenever I go to see gigs or concerts, this is what they tend to be drinking and therefore I associate that type of band with those specific drinks. In terms of food, laziness would be general, not much of an effort would be regally be put into food. However on special occasions, they may have BBQ's, and try and attempt  some kind of complex recipe. 

In terms of their sexuality, I think that the 'original' style of genre is pretty open minded. There is not a lot of prejudice from the bands them selves, if there was any it would originate from the audiences. However within the bands, there isn't a lot of contrast between sexuality, it is mainly heterosexual men and women. Of course there is room for homosexual men and women but there tends to be not so many.

Their interest in celebrities would not be high. there may be one or two inspirations who are celebrities, but they don't follow magazines, celebrity TV and similar mediums. Sticking with the idea of being 'hipster' it is down to the individual on who they follow or idolise etc but within the stereotype genre, it wouldn't be very stereo typical…

Ages can tend to be 16 - 45. Many older men/women have been in bands for 20+ years or they just get a band together at a later age. The older bands tend to stand out more because of their age and possibly get more notice. Similarly, young bands get the same. This could suggest a form of 'dead zone' in music. 

'Of Montsers and Men' a band
with 1 woman & 5 men.

The genre isn't prejudice against women at all. However there appears to be more men in the genre than women, it is not often you will get an all female band, women will appear, usually, in all male bands with the exception of a woman. I encourage this because it not only gives their music new contours to discover, but also creates a different sound and possibly a different spin on the way they look at (e.g.) composing the music. 

Nowadays, bands seem to either live together or very close to each other. This makes it easier for writing, recording, practises etc. It is also convenient. Their houses appear to be old fashioned, classical, old England style, or kitted out from IKEA. 

Clothes choice is completely down to the individual. However, trends within the genre seem to form. e.g. a style that originated  from this genre would be the top button of shirts being fastened. It is a smart casual look. Shoes tend to be Vans, Brogues, Doctor Martin's, Again, showcasing an authentic classical look. Blazers, skinny jeans, Baggy T's, Sophmore jumpers, Denim Jackets, Leather Jackets, Denim Shorts, Shirts, Polo Shirts, these are just some of the items of clothing you would expect to see someone within this genre wearing. 

Despite having an array of clothes listed above, small bands within this genre don't earn a lot of money. However, if a band makes it big time, do they then have to be categorised into another genre or are they another sub-genre of the one they are already in? In my opinion it is within the realms of the genre to be a band that doesn't earn much money. They tour with big bands and visit small pubs/venues for their own gigs.

AUDIENCE

The audience interested in a band like Kankouran and the genre it lies within, would probably be 16-25 year olds. I think that it is a young, forever changing genre of music, also affecting style, adults are more set in their ways, where as when you are in your teenage years, you are finding your identity, always changing style and appearance. finding your identity is a hard and long process that is constantly changing, much like the characteristics of the genre. New faces and bands are always being introduced into the indie-rock-electro scene and are found/discovered by the audience everyday.  

Final Casting

Where and when we are filming is posing as a problem to our cast members. We asked two cast members to join us to film in Devon. However the dates that we plan to go down are not available for the female actor (Emily Chawawa) to travel with us. Our male actor (Fraser Stannage) we will be picking up en-route, however this does not solve the problem of us finding a replacement female actress.

One of my friends has put herself forward for the task and has volunteered to come down and be in our music video. Emily Greig is who will be joining us.

It is a shame that Emily Chawawa could not have

been in the video because the references to Kankouran (West-African dance) fitted so well, as Emily C has African origin and therefore coloured skin.

Despite this, I have no doubt that Emily G will act very well, she will hopefully understand our creative intentions and possibly give some input into our music video. As she is from a different school, she will not know about our idea and it will be a fresh set of eyes on our idea.

Moodboard.

These are the final designs for the moodboard inspiring our video and supplying us with some ideas.