Research into chosen artist

My interests within Florence + The Machines is that they are an inspirational artist as they are so different to other artists, they encourage people to stand out and be different and be proud about it, this is why I am interested in Florence + The Machines. As Florence + The Machine's is such an original and unique artist they inspired me to create a music video about one of their songs. When one of the tasks was to make a music video I wanted to do a video about Florence + The Florence + The Machines influenced me to do one of their songs as I could express myself through this music video and make the ideas unique and different to stand out.


Florence + The Machine are an English band which music is in the indie-rock genre, within this band their is Florence Welch, Isabella Summers and other artists which provide backing music for the band. The band has been active since 2007 and the genres within their songs are; indie rock, indie pop, baroque pop, art rock and soul. From the BBC and other's Florence + The Machine received praise across the music media before they gained mainstream success which increased their target audience. The BBC also had a huge impact on the promotion of Florence + The Machines.

During 2007 Florence Welch recorded a song in the album Plans with a band - Ashok - with the record label 'Lucre/About Records label'. However after signing a contract for Ashok she felt that she was in the wrong band therefore she resigned which ended up cancelling the contract. However after meeting Mairead Nash at a club in the toilet, Nash later became Welch's manager. Welch has a few record labels; Moshi Moshi records, IAMSOUND records and Island records.

Florence + The Machine's album - Lungs - stayed at the number two position for five weeks on the UK Albums Chart, the album was released on the 6th July 2009. Later in October 2010 the album was in the top forty for 65 weeks which made it one of the best selling albums of 2009 and 2010. The bands 2nd album - Ceremonials - was number 1 in the UK and number 6 in America, the second album was released in October 2011. The band has won many different awards; 2 Brit awards, 1 MTV Video Music Awards and 15 other awards.

(source wikipedia)

In Florence + The Machines first music video - You Got The Love - the band show their audience that their values of music stardom within Dyers Star Theory are; originality, creative and talented. Florence + The Machine follow paradox 1 as they are ordinary and they are like average people however they're extraordinary for the consumer as they have talent and they are unique. Florence + The Machine also follow paradox 2 as they are present and absent for the consumers as they have concert and do gigs and attend festivals and yet they also go away from the spotlight for a while in order to make new music for their target audience.

This music video follows the indie-pop genre characteristics as the performance and idea behind the music video is original. 'You've Got The Love' also follows the soul genre characteristics as the lyrics of the song are personal and emotional, this is a part of Goodwin's theory. There is not a relationship between the music and the visual as the camera shots change at different times compared to the beat of the music. There is also not a relationship between the lyrics and visual as the music video is performanced based, therefore the music video does not necessay have relationship with the lyrics. There are close up of the artist as this shows the audience that the artist is looking directly into the camera which shows that the artist wants to build a relationship with the audience also that the lyrics are personal to the artist. There is not reference to the notion of looking or inter-textual references throughout this music video. This music video is performanced based as it has been set up and staged.

During this music video - You've Got the Love - Florence is represented as a classy artist who likes to have fun as in the video there are close up camera shots of a party and the close up's shows everyone at the party having fun. Florence + The Machines target audience for this song are teenagers to young adults. This song caters teenagers and young adults as the genre of this song - house - shows the audience that they can build a relationship with the artist and they can relate to Florence + The Machine as she likes to have fun.

The style of this music video is performanced based as the set of the music video is set up and has been staged. The mise-en-scene used in this music video is set on a stage surrounded by people who are having fun at a party, this makes the audience connect with the artist as the audience may feel they can relate to the artist. The artist in the music video is wearing a white dress with silver sequences on top - this costume connotes that the artist is elegant and classy, however she is still a relatable artist as in the music video she is having fun therefore she can still relate to teenagers and young adults. 

Another part of mise en-scene used in this music video is the lighting, the lighting within this music video is bright and white. This lighting connotes that the artist is bold and unique as she shines out bright from other artists. The main icongraphy used within this video is a big silver glittery star and white and silver balloons, during this video Florence is sitting on a star, this connotes that Florence is a star as she is showing that she is up in the sky.

Some of the common camera shots used during this music video are close up's as this is the bands first single they have released therefore the close up camera shots help the audience build a relationship with the artist, with close up camera shots they also make the audience feel involved with the artist and the music video. An example of when a close up camera shot is at the beginning of the music video - there is a close up of Florence - which shows the audience that this song is personal to the artist and that the artist is trying to build a relationship with the audience.

Another common camera shot used is a long shot, which helps the audience feel they can get involved with the artist as this camera shot shows the audience the setting of the music video, therefore this helps the audience feel they are involved with the atmosphere. An example of when a long shot is used is when everyone is dancing and having fun - this shot helps the audience understand what type of artist Florence + The Machine is and helps them build an image of the artist.

In Florence + The Machine recently released song - Spectrum (Say my name) - during the music video the band show their audience that their values of music stardom within Dyers Star Theory are; Originality, Creative and talented. Once again Florence + The Machine follow paradox 1 as they are ordinary and they are like average people however they're extraordinary for the consumer as they have talent and they are unique. Florence + The Machine also follow paradox 2 as they are present and absent for the consumers as they have concert and do gigs and attend festivals and yet they also go away from the spotlight for a while in order to make new music for their target audience.

This music video is concept based and performanced based as the video is more about the ideas behind the video instead of a narrative, the video is also performanced based as the scenes are set up and there are ballet dancers etc. which shows that the video is performanced based. There is not a relationship between lyrics and visuals, also there is not a relationship between music and visual. There are only a few close up camera shots of the artist, and there are no star image motifs. During this music video there is also no notion of looking however there is an inter-textual reference of the brand; Bvlgari -as Florence is wearing a Bvlgari watch during a close up, this connotes that the artist is wealthy and as the watch is gold and suits her outfit and bracelets it shows that the artist is fashionable.


The artist during this music video is represented as unique and different and also original as the ideas behind the music video are different. The artist is also viewed as fun and classy as within the music video there are ballets which usually connotes that you are wealthy and have class. The target audience for this song are teenagers to young adults as the genre is electro-house therefore not only can teenagers enjoy and listen to this music but also young adults as this genre of music is usually targeted and played at clubs where young adults attend.

One part of mise-en-scene used in this music video is the setting of the video which is in a dark room with bright spotlights at the back, with dancers dancing while the artist is singing and in other scenes there are models posing while the model is dancing. The black room helps the audience stay focused on the artist as she attracts the audiences eyes while she is singing. Also while the iconography are gold building which makes the atmosphere feel as if the artist is in Egypt this helps set the scene that the artist is represented as important, as the colour gold connotes royalty. Another part of mise-en-scene used in this video are the clothes the artist wears during this video is a gold backless dress and a white dress. Both dresses help create a classy and elegant image for Florence + The Machine. Also the lighting during this music video is dark however, there are spotlights which make the setting and scene lighting. The lighting used during this video help focus the attention on the artist, this is another part of mise-en-scene.

Finally the last part of mise-en-scene used within this music video is the iconography, in this music video there is a gold watch, a chandelier and also gold furniture, this iconography shows the audience that the artist is wealthy and has a high status as the colour gold connotes royalty and wealth.

The most common camera shots during the music video which are used are mid shots and long shots. The long shots help the audience feel involved with the atmosphere, the long shots also set a scene of where the artist is and what the artist is doing. For example when the artist is standing up while surrounded by the gold coloured building this helps set the scene for the audience. Also mid shots are used during this video while the artist is singing directly to the camera, this helps the audience build a relationship as the artist is singing directly to the camera.


The research I have undertaken on Florence + The Machines will help me with my planning stage of making a music video for 'Say My Name (Spectrum) as I now know what type of music video's my artist does, therefore me and my group can make our video cater to our target audience as we will make our video similar to the style our artist uses as they successfully cater to their audience. Also this research will support the planning of my groups music video as I know now how I can apply Dyers theory and Goodwin's theory to our music video. Finally this research has helped me as I know how to use the correct mise-en-scene, editing, sound and camera shots, in order to cater to our target audience.