Presentation Pitch‘Miss Cigarette’

Rizzle Kickshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rElBqbWerW4

Artists and Image

Rizzle Kicks – Young, urban teenagers who can dance, have fun. Their interests are about the same as other inner city teenagers.

Their image is one that both demonstrates an interest in clothes but less of a fixation than is shown by many Hip Hop/Rap artists. This reflects their youth and how they are different from the elders of the Hip Hop/Rap world.

Codes of Conventions of Hip Hop/Rap Music Videos

A consideration of these codes and conventions made apparent by whether they have been used, discarded or subverted. Most of the elements that have been used are stylistic and relate to the fact that the artists performance is evident in the video.Many of the elements that have been discarded relate to the the objectification of women in a majority of Hip Hop/Rap videos.With such an established genre as Hip Hop/Rap it is almost inevitable that it begins to be subverted and one of the aims of the video is to undermine and represent the usual power relations between men and women.

‘Miss Cigarette’ does have…..Male artists performing to camera, interacting with it as though singing to the audienceBright coloursDaylight, rather than night, is usedThere are frequent close-ups of the artists performingSetting is urban, or suburban, and identifiably set inand around LondonEditing is paced to the beat of the music trackThere is use of reflection/silhouette/shadowStudio sets are minimalist, using monochrome colour schemes

‘Miss Cigarette’ does not have …..Cars which are often used as sets for performanceFemale artists tend to combine performance to camera with performing to an ethereal 'otherSexualised dancing perfomed by womenExaggerated dance moves performed by women to accentuate the female form and their sexualityNarrative themes of infidelity, are often played out in a narrative performance by the artist

‘Miss Cigarette’ subverts……Displays of wealth: fast cars, expensive clothes, jewellery, homes, lifestylesFemales are objectified: use of fragmentation, slow motion Costumes worn by women are clingy, revealing and sexualisedMen accentuating their virility and masculinityLow-angled shots used to emphasise the dominance of male artistsSets can be lavish, intended to represent a luxurious homeStrong backlighting is used to radiate around the artist

Type of VideoThe video is conceptual with some narrative built into with elements of performance.

Relationship with lyricsThere is some relation with the lyrics throughout the video but it functions more through the use of visual metaphors exploring ideas about addiction and obsession.

Location – London, urban and grimy

Props and Costumes

These have been kept to a minimum in order to reinforce the subversion of the generic convention of Hip Hop/Rap with lots of ‘bling’ being used to demonstrate a wealthy life style. The props and costumes will reflect the target audience lives now rather than show an aspirational and ultimately unattainable (for most) life style.

Target AudienceProfile

For the primary audience the general age would be 16-20, black,male, looking at the social class, through the A,B,C1, C2,D,E system the primary audience would be an E due to them being students,

in lower and higher education, without jobs or part time jobs with low earnings.For the secondary audience the general age would be between12-15, black/white, with the same social standing due to the type Of genre: pop, hip hop, rap. These are all popular genres and canapply to all ages but the image I am creating of the band is to made to appeal to a younger audience. However this particular song may appeal to an older age group due to the content. The nationality of the secondary audience is American as there is a long term aim to break into the American market. There has recently been more interest British Hip Hop and Rap artists in America in a market that has dominated by the Americans.

The hobbies the of target audience would be studying, clubbing, music ,DJ-ing, dance, fashion, with a large emphasis on street fashion. technology based socialising, team sports, socialising with friends and skateboarding.

Record Label

Record Label and Marketing Profile

For my media production, music video, digipak and poster I have created artists around the selected track, ‘Miss Cigarette’ by the Rizzle Kicks. The band will be signed to an independent record label, the independent label that my band will be connected to will be TVT record, which has many recognizable acts such as Pit Bull and Lil Jon.

I chose this record company initially due to it being known as an 'artist friendly' label but also due to this record label producing a similar genre to the music that my artists produced, Hip Hop and Rap. This record label has produced 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-platinum releases, so although independent, this label is capable of producing high selling albums. Another reason is that it has links to other independent record labels such as 'The Orchid’. The band that I have created is a British band but the label is American. I have done this due to the fact that I have picked a popular genre mixed band and there is more revenue opportunities in the USA. TVT Records recently renewed its long- standing agreement with QTRAX, the first label to launch musicon the ad-supported P2P service. allowing fans to be able to download tracks from top TVT acts like Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins, Pitbull, Sevendust, Just Jack, and the Cinematic for free. The download is legal and artists, label and songwriters are paid.

The reason I selected an independent label for my band is that I did not want my music to be associated with the corporate mainstream side of music. I wanted my music to be reflective of the more independent, 'freer' and youth based aspects of the Internet. By avoiding the controlling and financially motivated aspects of the large corporations that have historically controlled the music business my band has more autonomy in creative and financial terms.

Flat plans and animatics

The design for the digipak and poster uses originalphotographs taken around London. Two of thephorographs represent an urban environment, focusing on graffiti art, which can be considered a young and street art form. The other two photographs are blurred so that the figures could potentially be anyone. This goes against the clear images of the artist which is one of the stereotypical conventions.