Solo Artists vs Groups Workshop

 Today we had a workshop with one of our teachers as a class. We discussed important things we need to think about in terms of musicians and music videos. Most of the conversation revolved around the differences between bands and solo artists. We discussed how it is often harder to make a solo artist video entertaining without using loads of different sets and as we only have 6 hours on our shoot day a solo artist could be difficult. However with a group there is more to point the camera at and more to look at in each shot. We talked about artists that are popular at the moment and how almost all of them are solo artists. All of the popular solo artists seem to have something about them that is intriguing and interesting to their audience (for example Ariana Grande is very girly). Out of a list of the 50 most played artists there were only about 5 bands all of which had only male members. Therefore there is a huge gap in the market for bands (especially female). And there are almost no mixed bands in existent. 

We talked about how technology has advanced and it is way easier for solo artists to take off on their own (they have access to all the equipment they need with modern day technology). We also mentioned that bands are hard to keep together especially during lockdown therefore it is unlikely there are many. Not many people play instruments and way more people sing therefore it can often be hard to put a band together unless you know people who can play each instrument. Band members need to be equally involved for them to be liable. We watched several early music videos from popular artists and reviewed what image they portrayed of the artist and how many different set ups they had. 

We looked at several artists and their videos :

Lady Gaga - portrays a young and reckless image, she seems cool and different, they make her seem like she lights the party back up (it has ended), she is entertaining and confident enough to pull the
scenes off. 

Dua Lipa - seems more looks based than personality, they make her come across as a model rather than a huge personality, all the set ups are like magazine covers and spreads. 

Coldplay - very down to earth, shows the whole band in an intimate setting, strips them back and shows them in a vulnerable way that makes audiences feel wholesome.