Hair and Makeup

Through research and posts that we have published, both Nat and I can now see the clear differences between our chosen model (Katie) and Birdy. However, it is not uncommon that the a large amount of make up will be used in order for our model to achieve a flawless and professional overall look.

Eyes:

• In order to achieve heavy eye make up, we both understand that there will be a significant amount of mascara and eyeliner that will be used.
• From research, we have found that in many of Birdy's photographs there is enough eye makeup to ensure that it  becomes a main focus point of the artists overall appearance. Through personal knowledge, we understand that the different levels of eye makeup can connote different stereotypes. In addition, the type of make up that we apply with also have to correlate with the music we are using, in some videos/ pictures heavily eye makeup is often found on songs relating to emotion/ sadness. Furthermore, when developing our skills we will later be able to apply different effects (smoky, hazy) that we feel will fit particular parts of the song - especially when their is focus on the artists face. Therefore it is crucial that the amount that we apply on the chosen model (Katie) to ensure that she has the same amount to resemble the existing artist that we are basing her around.
• Through online tutorials and advise from others, both Nat and I will have to experiment with different techniques and levels that we fill with suit the overall appearance of our video.

Cheeks:

• Luckily, both Katie's and Birdy's hair are both similar length and style. The 'natural/ bedhead' look is something that works in contrast with the overall look of both people. However, during classroom discussions - we realised that in order to achieve a professional standard of 'natural' looking hair we would have to put time and effort into the style and positioning to ensure that we have a clear and professional finish.
• Although the style appears to be the same, we found that we would have to make many changes to Katie's hair to make it look as identical as possible. Without research, there is clear evidence that the front of Katie's hair will need to be roughly backcombed in order to achieve the front 'messy look' that we have found in many pictures. This will be relatively simple, as changing the parting and back combing is something that I have already experienced and watched. With the rest of her hair, there is the element of volume. This can be done simply, either through hair equipment (curlers/ straighteners) or with our own work. 

Hair:

• When comparing Katie/ Billie-White to our chosen existing artist we found that the main issue, was the difference between jawline/ cheek structure. When discussing our model with peers and support leaders we found that the difference in cheeks between the two people made a huge difference. Initially, we found that Katie's cheeks are more rounded, with a heavily focus closer to her eyes, rather than below. Comparing this to Birdy, we found that her cheeks appeared more defined and there is heavily focus between the lower areas of her cheek and jawline. From research, I have found that many songs featuring emotion focus on a more defined facial structure, there is more focus on how the artists appearance reflects the mood/ atmosphere that they are creating with the song they are preforming.
• With little knowledge of cheek structure, I feel that both Nat and I will rely on lighting and make up. We will use make up to define certain areas of Katie's cheek that we feel need highlighting, rather than the overall appearance of her face. Certain angles, shading and lighting, will also impact how the artist looks on screen. As a result we must ensure that they camera angles and artist appearance are the best that they can be.

Lips/ Eyebrows:

• Although there are issues regarding both Katie's lips and eyebrows, we find that these can be simply fixed. Regarardding Katie's lips, there is the issue of either making them look smaller or plumper. When adding volume to lips - many colours and brands can be able to fix this. Adding shades give a significant effect, that we feel will be able to work with.

Artist Comparison

When picking the desired person to appear in our music video, a decision was based on appearance, how they would be perceived on camera and how they would fit the chosen music genre.

We found it easier to base our chosen artist/ model (Katie) around a existing 'indie/pop' artist, Birdy. As a alternative artist, they most heavily followed conventions the idea of 'natural beauty'. When watching and analysing her music videos, we had found that many of them featured the artist to be supporting little make up and basic styled clothing. To find out whether this was just one specific artist we explored other music videos/ artists of the 'indie/pop' genre and found that the basic/ natural followed and proving to be a followed convention of the alternative/pop music genre.
When designing Katie's appearance in relation to Birdy research has proved at, although in some music videos the element of natural beauty was key, make-up and clothing suiting the artist would have to be used. However, the type of makeup used also would depend on the type of song that we are attempting to replicate. When researching, we found that songs based on love/breakup supported heavy facial highlight/ focus connoting the emotion of the artist and song itself. However, in other upbeat songs - the focus was rather on eyes and hair, suggesting that the overall appearance was worked on rather than individual features.
This would all be considered when creating our song/ music video. Considering the mise en scene. We found that many make up issues can be fixed due to shading and lighting, as well as allowing ourselves to develop our skills in order to make sure that music video conventions must be followed in order for the video to appear realistic and pleasant to watch.

When looking at the type of clothing that the Birdy wears in comparison to Katie, much of it is simple, and would be easy to find - if needed. Looking at the photographs provided, it seems that much of Birdy's clothing is simple. vintage and unique - something that is used to represent the type of music she is producing and the conventions of the music genre that must be followed. Many of these can now be found in high-street stores as well as boutiques in main shopping centres (Leicester), this means the ease to find new clothing is not restricted, living and studying close to main shopping centres means it is easy to find new clothing's from stores and online, that would be worn by Katie in order for her to look similar to Birdy.

Finally, it must be noted that the artist we have chosen must be confident and happy to be in front of the camera, we found that Katie had already preformed in front of others - which proved prefect for the music video, this means it would appear much more professional and unique rather than being staged, which overall helps to attract the perfect target audience.
Finally, dedicating time and effort from all members involved would be key for a successful video.