Research into chosen artist

Jake Bugg, our chosen artist falls under the "indie genre", the genre our group decided we would base our project around. We thought Jake Bugg fitted best, because he is a solo artist and is around our age, our production will only have one artist and we feel the music is most relevant and the most fitting to create a video around. He is signed under mercury records and his music and music videos nearly always feature a concept or narrative, that me and my group look to create one of our own when producing our own video of a Jake Bugg song.

Jake Bugg was born in Clifton, Nottingham, to musical parents who separated when he was young. His father, whose last name was Bugg, was a nurse, and his mother worked in sales, both having previously made recordings. He grew up in the Clifton council estate of Nottingham and started playing guitar at the age of 12 after being introduced to the instrument by his uncle Mark. At a very young age, he has been highly successful, being approached by the BBC at just age 17 to be the opening act of the 2011 glastonbury festival. This lead to widespread recognition and eventually lead to his record deal with mercury, which also saw more of his songs such as "Lightning Bolt" and "Two fingers" being played on radio stations. His debut album "Jake Bugg" charted number 1 in the UK charts and to date has sold over 600,000 copies, also making it the 57th best-selling album of the 2010 decade.

Bugg, 21 has already at his early age gone through many experiences in his life and expresses some through his own music, "two fingers" being one example. Another example is the song "Seen it all", which could be a personal experience he has had, singing about his friend. Dyer's star theory is used throughout this post in a numer of instances. The theory states that the artist must be present, but also absent for their audience at the same time, which is seen in the video when Jake Bugg is playing ping pong with the main character and then all of a sudden dissapears. This theory is further shown in this video, as part of this theory is that the artist must be ordinary but also extraordinary at the same time. This is present as the song first appears to just be any other normal night that an ordinary person would have, however we then learn the main character infact died and was a ghost in the video, which I will further explain. 








Goodwins theory is also present in a number of instances in this video. The video itself demonstrates genre characteristics, as the film appears low budget like many in the indie genre, as expensive locations are not featured not extravagent special effects, only a fade effect which shows the character dissapearing, however this is necessesary because it links in with the story of the song and video. 

The video also features a narrative, since it is not performance based is the artist is only very briefly seen in the vdieo. The narrative is of a man who went out for a night on the town and went missing and died and the video shows him as a ghost, until the very end where he sees himself on TV reported missing. The music also has a relationship with the visuals, for example at the end of the video when the character drops the cup, at the same time it hits the floor, the last guitar string of the song plays. Lyrics also link with the visuals at the end of the video, when Jake Bugg sings "I've seen the light, but not the kind I would of liked", which is talking about the characters death, as the character begins to dissapear when this lyric is heard and also seeing a light is associated with death as it means someone is passing into the afterlife. Although the artist is not present in this video, judging by the visuals and the story in the lyrics of the song, the audience understand that even at the age of 22, Jake Bugg has been through more than a few traumatic experiences, which makes the viewers feel sympathy towards him, which therefore connects them to the artist. The target audience for this could be young males between 15-25, the reason for this being is that it's a story that involves violence with young males and may also raise awareness to a younger audience and shock them in a good way, making them think before getting into such dangerous situations themselves.

There are many instances of Mis-en-scene in this video which explain the whole concept behind it. The first is a taxi, which drives straight past the character when he is running and shouting for a lift. This is because the character is a ghost, the driver cannot actually see the character running and calling for the cab since he isnt alive, which is why he doesn't pick him up. This is further shown with a mid-shot of him outside a cafe and also the mis-en-scene of a window. Ghosts are known to leave trails or marks where                                                        
they have been present, which is why the handprint appears on the window, however when he is trying to grab the womans attention inside by dancing and peering through the window, she does not see him, hence further proving the man isn't actually visible. This is followed by reverse editing and a shot reverse shot between a ping pong game going on with the character and Jake Bugg, where Jake dissapears and the character is suddenly left on his own playing. Another instance of cinematography is a wide shot of a social club, where the character walks in on people playing snooker. He is stood over and around the tables, but no one acknowledges him or recognizes that he is even there, further emphasizing his invisiblity and that he is a ghost. The video ends with another use of cinematography with a high angle shot of the character, which shows him as vulnerable. He is watching the news report of him missing, followed by one final close-up of the character to show his emotions, then ending with a fade effect to show the ghost dissapearing.










"What doesn't kill you" is the second Jake Bugg song I have analysed, which is conventional to the indie genre in a number of ways. This video follows goodwins theory as it has a narrative, saying the experiences jake has been through and that he is only stronger from them, these are personal anecdotes used to connect the audience with the artist. Goodwins theory is further present through linking the lyrics with the visuals, as the title is "What doesn't kill you", and Jake Bugg wears all black clothing and a black and white editing effect is used to show the character as emotionally drained. Throughout this music video, the artist is presented in a number of different ways. From the very beginning of the video to the end of it, the video features just Jake Bugg performing the song, which also shows this video is mainly performance based too, he is also present and absent at the same time which links in with dyers theory, we see him the whole time, but at the start his back is turnt, showing his absence.

Limited cinematography is used in this video, the first instance of cinematography is a long shot of the scene, with the artist facing away from the camera and a voice shouting at him. This could connote that he is a loner or was bullied, or maybe that he is unhappy or depressed, supported by the mis-en-scene use with costumes, which is all black clothing. Also, the lighting on the artist himself is much darker than any other parts of the video, which could also show that he is a dark person, or shows very little emotion towards things, which is backed up by his dull and lifeless facial expressions which are seen throughout the video, his back to the camera and keeping himself alone in the corner could also show he is reflecting on something. This all allows the audience to symphasize and connect with the artist, as well as further into the video when cinematography is further used with very close-ups of his face, allowing the audience to see his emotions and further connect with him. The target audience would be preferably for males 15+, first backed up by the parental advisory logo shown right at the start, eliminating any idea for this video to be for anyone below 15. I believe it appeals towards maybe older males, as a black and white effect is used sometimes to make things feel old and classical, something older men may enjoy. It may remind them of previous similar artists such as Bob Dylan, who were more privalent in their time and also wore similar clothing.

The style of this music video is basically what an indie fan would expect to see in an ordinary indie genre video, as this is primarily performance based and also in black white, like many other indie music videos. The whole video is of Jake Bugg performing to the audience, whilst showing a direct mode of address throughout the video, which allows him to connect with the audience as he is facing them and the audience feel he is looking right at them, almost as if he is there. An example of mis-en-scene in this video is an electric guitar Jake Bugg is holding, this is conventional as artists are commonly seen in their video carrying or playing an instrument. This gives the audience what they want, as they usually expect to see this in an indie genre video. The setting is only a dark room, which means there isn't really anything to focus on but the artist, he is the centre of attention and all for the audience to really look at, which draws viewers in to him, attracting more attention which is also an example of the artist selling himself. Overall, the artist appears as someone who has been emotionally torn and been through and been through a lot of personal traumas, but has came out in the other side and lived through it even at such a young age. He is a relatable character that the audience can symphasize with and have some form of a connection to.


Overall, the research I have gathered looking at Jake Bugg and his videos has been very helpful and also is essential in order for me to gather ideas when making my own production.