TD - Audience Research

MEDIA PROFILE- PUSSYCAT DOLLS

Websites:

Wiki search for pussycat dolls

The Pussycat dolls have appeared on many websites. They have appeared on Wikipedia telling us general information about the pussy cat dolls. This is the website with the most views for the pussy cat dolls as it probably contains the most information. There however are other websites containing information such as StarPulse containing info on the bands latest news, twitter feeds and myspace.They have also appeared on promoting websites such as contact music this also contains biographies and background info on most bands widely. As well as these sites the pussycat dolls also appear in the news online such as the Express, scottish daily record and the daily mail. This does show our secondary audience due to the daily mail being aimed at a slightly older audience than Tweens.

Radio:

The pussycat dolls have been played and interviewed on many radio stations they are most commonly played on Last Fm. They have also been interviewed on radio 1 before they broke up last year. Another popular station they are played on is tune in. As they have however all gone there seperate ways now. At the time they were interviewed on several radio stations such as these now there is single interviews of the artists themselves.

Tv and Film:

X Factor performance

They have produced there own reality tv show called Girlicious released in 2008. This was an american tv show before the girls became famous in Britain. This however was not a success and they only produced one series. They also produced Search for the next doll released in 2007. This also wasnt released in Britain however was popular in US. This however did restrict there audience. They also made a series of online shows produced by kim kardashian. They also have performed on tv shows such as loose women, this morning, Jonathon ross dancing on ice and x factor.

Jai Ho

As well as producing reality tv they also did star in films . They are most popular in englan for starring in jai ho at the end of slumdog millionaire. They produced the dance and song to choreograph at the end of the film due to Nicholes close relationship and her background with india. They also made a documentry called thepussycat dolls . They have also produced short films for openings at there concerts as well as there music videos.

Magazines and the paper:

They have featured in many magazines from last year and years before due to the sudden break through and popularity in Britain. They have featured in papers such as the daily mail, the sun , the mirror , the express and the independent. This a variety of audience however they all do cover different topics from the group such as the news , the big break up. The sun however focuses on the band being new and male gaze. they also have a lot of bad gossip on the break up. They have also featured on a lot of magazine covers such as Blender, OK!, FHM and Pride magazine. These all represent different audience however mainly the male audience due to fhm and blender being mens magazines this shows another audience to consider.

Coverage recently:

I asked peers at home at school and online if they thought there had been any coverage on the pussy cat dolls. My over all outcome was that today it mostly seems to be about nicole rather than the other girls they have there own careers now but not as big as hers. They however said around this time last year they remember the girls breaking up and releasing there final album they also said they remember the break up and everything that went with that within news papers and tv.

Covers of their songs:

They have had many covers of the songs such as being sung on x factor and many talents show by other famous people. There songs have been covered on x factor by girl bands and individual artists this does appear to a wider scope of people such as familys and younger children. They also have covers done world wide such as on youtube . There music is very mainstream and is today widley recognised.

Podcast 3

PP - The Pussycat Dolls - Hush Hush

ACT: The Pussycat Dolls

TRACK: Hush Hush
YEAR: 2009
DIRECTOR: Rich Lee
GENRE: R&B pop
AUDIENCE: 15-24

SUMMARY:
From this video we can get inspiration from..

• The costumes
• Make-up
• Hair
• Dancing
• Lip syncing

hushhush lip syncing

Relationship between Visuals and Lyrics

The repetitive use of 'Hush hush' is mimed throughout the song, but there is no real reference to any other lyrics. It is mainly a performance video, and the majority of it takes place in a disco club. Part way through the song it changes into the song I will survive. There is no narrative or concept related to this song either.

lead singer

Genre Characteristics

Like many other music videos their is one clear lead vocalist in the group and the others still lip sync but don't have much singing parts. There is also a lot of dance involved in the video which is very typical of girl bands, especially this specific band. They also coordinate their outfits well and they aren't the exact same, to represent they have some individuality.

Performance

dance section

There is lip syncing and a lot of dancing in the video. This happens in the majority of the set ups throughout the video, however the slower start of the video in the bathroom has no dancing. There are no instruments or microphones shown in the video, however there is a DJ playing the music in the club section.

big hair

Costumes + Mise-en-scene

The costumes in the video are very disco and accurate to that era in the club, with the rollar blades and disco balls. The mise-en-scene also helps represent this. The big hair also helps anchor this era.

PP - Choreography Clips

Here are some clips from PCD videos and the dance sections from these. By looking at these we can get the idea of how they dance and from these it can help us to create our own choreography inspired by their past videos.

MJ - Sample Video Audience Feedback

Kate, Poppy and I re-pitched our idea for The Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up to the class, and we also asked some members of our target audience to watch the 21 second sample video. We received a lot of constructive criticism from other members of the class. One idea that was suggested was colour differentiation throughout the whole video for each member of the band to signify individuality. This is a convention used by many girl bands previously, an our final idea was that a different colour would be used for each girl both in the shots when they are younger and when they are older. 

Our original idea was to play ourselves as the younger girls, however this idea was quite unpopular and it was suggested that we use younger girls from the years below to create more verisimilitude.

Our idea for the performance footage was to be performed in front of a plain brick wall to give the video an urban feel, and it was suggested that we film some sample footage in a number of different locations so we could look back at the footage and decide which would look more effective in our music video.

Originally, we had planned to have the shots of the younger girls in two places; a bedroom and a bathroom. However, it was suggested to us that the video would be more engaging for an audience if in the video the younger girls walked/were filmed where the shots of the older girls would take place. Some suggestions of places included a record shop where the younger girls could look at a CD of the band, or in a clothes shop where they could be trying on clothes.

PP - Improvements and Ideas From Feedback

Younger PCD
From our sample video we had the idea suggested to use younger girls as the younger version of the PCD in our video. From this we now need to audition and cast these younger girls. To increase verisimilitude we want these 5 girls to look as similar to the older girls as possible. To do this we have asked the drama department and we are putting up posters around school for year 7 and 8 girls (roughly 12 - 14 year olds) to come and audition. We have also been brainstorming what the younger girls will wear and their appearance. We plan to get footage of them applying make up badly and have their hair in quite a child like way, e.g plaits.

Set Ups
From feedback we realised we have to come up with a lot more set ups so we have plenty of footage to work with, even if we don't end up using it all. One idea we are interested by is the younger girls shopping maybe in a charity shop.

Colour Association 
Across both the younger and older girls we have decided that each of them should be recognisable by a certain colour throughout. The Saturdays and Atomic Kitten are just a couple of the many girl bands that do this and we think it looks really effective and will nicely bring the narrative together.

Mise-en-scene
As the girls are revisiting their childhood we need to take into account the mise-en-scene of the time when they were little. For example, we will need to set dress with older technology and boy band posters for it to be accurate to the time.
We are also going to try and get hold of a red carpet to use to anchor the girls fame further.

MJ - Editing Style Vodcast

TD - Characters, Costume & Make-up

PP - Locations and Mise-en-Scene Vodcast

MJ - Influences Vodcast

Narrative & Performance Vodcast

Intertextuality & Relationships Vodcast

Podcast 2

13/10/13


This week we have been working on a sample video which which lasts for 20 seconds and represents some of the ideas that we want to incorporate into our final video. In the upcoming week we will be planning the individual areas of our final video in more depth through the format of vodcasts, and we will also be gathering more audience feedback on our current idea to see how it could be improved even further.

Timings Sheet

Track timing from poppypadgettmedia

Sample Video 1

Above is our 20 second sample video for our chosen track. This video has enabled us to use and experiement with various effects before shooting our final video. Because the genre is pop, we wanted to make the video bright and 'happy' to attract the target audience of 12-24 year olds. The basic narrative was incorporated into this sample video, as we shot a performance section and the narrative section of the 5 girls trying clothes and accessories on as younger children.

For the performance section, we initially wanted to use the school gym, as the background is a good representation of the urban setting that we intend to have in our final video. However, there was a class using the gym during the free time we had to shoot, so we went outside and shot the footage in the car park. Despite this not being our first choice, it worked well as it was outside so provided a good natural light, and the cars in the background represented the urban street setting that we will have in our final video. The dance routine was simple, yet we intend to choreograph a new routine for our final cut.

For the narrative section, we used the school toilets, as we needed mirrors. The props used were to signify the young age, yet this will be anchored more in the final cut and hair and clothing will be different. Each character is also showing a different pose, to signify their different personalities, and create a sense of immaturity and to anchor the idea that they're messing around.

Re-Pitch

Sample Video: Editing

Glow and Isloate effect

To signify the pop genre, we wanted our video to look light and bright, with bright colours. When experimenting with the enhance effects, we came across Islolate. This enhanced the bright colours in the shot, and dulled the neutral colours. It worked well on the fan shot and the ending shot with the writing on the mirror, as it made the pink and red stand out to the viewer.

Sped up ending shot

The ending shot was sped up by 200%, as it was a long shot so keeping it long would have disengaged the audience. The writing 'famous' signifies the theme, so we thought it would be best to enhance the shot wit the Islolate and Glow effect.

We applied the Glow effect to all the narrative shots, as it brightened the mise-en-scene which is the look that we wanted. It made the walls of the bathroom appear white rather than the dull purple that it is, and it made the characters clothing and accessories appear more vibrant. At the start when the 5 members all turn around, we used the Colorize effect which tinted the entire screen one colour. Each member was cast a different colour to differentiate between the different personalities, and to make the video more vibrant.

Final edit

This is the video after all the editing was complete. The video was 21 seconds in total.

Sample Video: Shoot

Our shoot took place on the 9th October 2013. Because we had a short period of time for filming, we shot our footage in school. We only used 2 locations due to a lack of time and room availbility, however there will be many more in the final cut. The cast included Poppy, Tilly and myself, as well as two others outside of the group (Alys & Alice). Millie was our cinematographer. Because the footage was shot during school, there was no opportunity to change the mise-en-scene to signify the age differences. In terms of locations, we had issues using the preferred location of the gym, as it was in use. We therefore had to improvise and use the school car park for our performance footage. For the narrative section, we used the school toilets, and because we shot during a free period, it was not busy which therefore made it quicker and easier to get the required shots.

All in all, the shoot went according to plan except from the change of performance location. We used props to signify the ages rather than clothes and make up, and we plan to edit the footage to make it appear more bright and girly.

Podcast 1

8/10/13
In our group there are 4 of us; Poppy, Tilly, Millie and myself. Throughout the year, we will be creating weekly podcasts as we progress and develop our ideas for the chosen track 'When I Grow Up - Pussycat Dolls'. This is our first podcast, which is introducing the group, the idea and track and what we plan to do this week.

Pitch Footage + Class Feedback TBC

My Pitch

Pitch Idea

ACT: Girls Aloud

TRACK: Love Machine

YEAR: 2004

DIRECTOR: Stuart Gosling

GENRE: Teen-pop

AUDIENCE: 15-25

LYRICS: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/girlsaloud/lovemachine.html

VIDEO:


For my video I will need 5 girls to act as the 5 members, and 5 boys, one for each member. The video will include a performance, and will also intercut footage from a narrative. The performance footage will include lip syncing and a dance routine, however this dance routine will need to be simple yet effective so that all the cast can learn and remember it. The narrative will involve all 5 members, and they will be individually shot in 5 different scenarios, each with a different man to anchor the love theme of the song. During these narrative shots the girls will also be lip syncing. The chorus is when the group performance footage and the dance routine will be played. The girls will all be wearing tight, revealing dresses, all of a different colour during the performance scenes. This is to distinguish the personalities of each member. The men will be wearing smart casual clothes, such as a shirt paired with jeans. The original video shows the group going to a club, so to differ from the original my video will involve various locations. The performance footage will be shot in front of a plain backdrop, so that it would be easy to add effects in the editing process. An outside space such as a park will be needed for the narrative shots and for lip syncing shots.