Research into Chosen Artist

RESEARCH INTO CHOSEN ARTIST

Our chosen music artist, Nina Nesbitt, interests me because of her indie genre. We wanted an upbeat song that doesn't follow the very popular danc genre, a song that stills maintains an acoustic feel. Nina Nesbitt is a Scottish singer/songwriter best known for her single "Stay Out" which reached No.21 in the UK charts. She gained popularity when supporting Ed Sheeran on his European Tour. Nina Nesbitt is signed to Universal Music Group and has released a selection of EP's including Stay Out and The Apple Tree.





'STAY OUT' - NINA NEST

Within the music video to 'Stay out' by Nina Nesbitt, Dyer's Star Theory is mildly used. The common values of a star that are displayed are youthfulness and creativity/talent whilst Nesbitt is displayed as simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary - ordinary because a very natural narrative is presented with ordinary mise-en-scene, however she is presented as extraordinary through her talent of singing, guitar-playing and songwriting.

Some of Goodwin's beliefs are presented within this music video such as the relationship between the visuals and the music/lyrics, displaying performance/narrative/concept and genre characteristics. The visuals match the lyrics as the song talks about going out with friends and having fun, which is what the video displays. Locations like London streets and clubs show that Nina and her friends are going to 'stay out' all night. Genre characteristics are also demonstrated. Besides the simultaneously quirky yet ordinary feel to the music video, Nina is also displayed playing a guitar whilst singing. This piece of iconography is expected in an indie music video as it promotes the music and the talent of the artist, rather than selling the artist as a product. Along with the performance segments, there is also a clear narrative to the music video, which is displaying a group of friends staying out and having fun together.


Nina Nesbitt is represented as a very ordinary girl in this music video. She is presented in very casual clothing, such as a leather jacket and jeans, surrounded by ordinary friends. Her normality is relatable to the target audience (15-25 year olds) and allows people to admire her and aspire to be like her. This relationship that is built with the artist is what sells the song and the creativity of the music video, which is therefore conventional to the indie genre.

In terms of cinematography, a commonly used camera shot would be establishing shots. These establishing shots are used in order to display what Nina is surrounded by, for example; locations, friends and mise-en-scene. This shows the audience all the events that Nina has experienced in one night therefore proving that she has had a fun night with her friends. Again, this relates to the lyrics therefore promotes the song, which relates to the indie genre.



'BOY' - NINA NESBITT


Like in the 'Stay Out' music video, only a few of the common star values (created by Richard Dyer) were followed, such as youthfulness and creativity/talent. She is also represented as ordinary and extraordinary again through her ordinary clothing and behaviour yet extraordinary talent. As apposed to the 'Stay Out' however, 'Boy' has much more of a quirky narrative.

Goodwin's theory is also evident within this music video, such as; the relationship between the visuals and the lyrics, genre characteristics and a mix of performance and narrative. The biggest link between the lyrics and the visuals that I noticed was during the chorus's. As Nina sings "this was a waste" a pile of screwed up wasted paper begins to build in Nesbitt's bedroom. This slight quirkiness is conventional to the indie genre. A piece of iconography nearer the end of the music video is a definite characteristic of the indie genre. A mid shot is used to show a microphone within one of the performance sections to present Nina Nesbitt recording the vocals to 'Boy'. This is conventional to the indie genre as is proves that Nesbitt is musically talented and writes her own songs. This promotes her as a songwriter instead of a product, and promotes her music, which is a strong characteristic of the indie genre. Unlike her previous music video, 'Boy' is completely and simultaneously performance and narrative based, as Nesbitt is continuously singing throughout the music video however there is still a narrative behind it. Again, the performance segments are conventional to the indie genre as they are presenting the talent of the artist, however these sections still remain ordinary, therefore they don't sell the artist as a product. Much like in 'Stay Out', Nina Nesbitt remains to be represented as an ordinary girl, which makes her relatable to her target audience.


Researching into our chosen artist has helped us understand the intentions behind Nina Nesbitt and her style. By analysing her music videos we have gathered that she is a very naturalistic artist who likes to incorporate quirkiness within her videos, but still maintain an ordinary feel. We have realised that she is very passionate about songwriting, therefore tries to promote her music rather than herself. By researching into our artist we have learnt that we wanted to try and break away from Nina Nesbitt's characteristics in order to put a unique twist on our music video.