education

1. Audience Research
Gender:
The videoisfroma female perspective. 3otherfemaleswill be featuredthroughoutthe storyline
and theywill therefore be the secondarycharacters.Menandotherwomenwill be featuredatthe
endas the tertiarycharacters; holdingupsignstosay whattheyare no longerafraidtoshare with
the world.Thiswill anchorthe songtitle andtheme of the song ‘secrets’.
Sexuality:
The main character,Ruby Rayner,ishomosexual.She getsbulliedthroughoutthe videofornot
lookinglike agirl and‘fittingin’tosociety(e.g.,lookinglike andbehavinglikeastereotypical girl).
For the resolutionof the equilibrium(Rubygettingbulliedandfeelingsad),Rubydecidestostandup
tall and proud;she ownsherhomosexualityand makesthe bulliesfeel ashamedforputtingher
down.She will be picturedsmiling,walkingaroundwithpride glassesonaswell asdancingwitha
LGBTQ+ pride flagwrappedroundhershoulderslikeacape.Thiswill suggestthe particularmeaning
that she isa hero;not onlytoherself buttootherLGBTQ+ memberswhoare watchingthe video
goingthroughsimilarthings. Thissubvertsthe popvideostereotype,asusuallytheywill involvelove
storiesbetweenaheterosexual couple.Myvideowill insteadbe aboutlovingyourselfandshowing
your true colours,andthere will alsobe a homosexualcouple featured.
Ethnicity:
At the endof the video,Iplanto filmadiverse groupof individualswhowill holdupsigns,directly
addressingthe camera.The signswill have writingonthem, sayingsomethingthattheyusedtobe
insecure aboutorkepta secret,thattheyare now proudof.For thisscene I intendtoinclude
multiple differentmenandwomenof colourwhocouldwrite thingslike ‘Blackandproud’.The main
character isWhite British,andalthoughthisisstereotypical forapopmusicvideo,hersexualityadds
diversitywhilstalsostillfeaturingotherethnicgroups.The characterwhobulliesthe artistinthe
videoisMalaysian,andshe will alsohave the chance to holda signupat the endrevealingher
secretinsecurity.
Region:
I’mfilmingin England,soall of my charactersare British.However,the regiondoesnotreflectits
target audience. Thisisavideowhichpeoplearoundthe globe will be able to identifywith,soitwill
appeal toanyone fromany regionwhocan listentoandunderstandthe lyrics.Onthe otherhand,
because thisisa narrative musicvideo,those whoare notinan Englishspeakingregionwouldstill
be able to understandandidentifywiththe charactersbecause the storyline willbe clearandeasy
to follow.There are nolocationswhichare stereotypicallyBritish,the majorityof the filmingwill be
outside infrontof trainstationsand onthe roads,whilstsome shotsare taken ina stereotypical
teenagersbedroom.
Socio-economic:
Studentsare the characters featuredinthe videoasthe targetaudience is16-25. It is importantfor
the target audience tobe able torelate andpersonallyidentifywiththe musicvideotokeepthem
interestedandengaged. RubyRayner,the artistandamincharacter, getbulliedforhersexuality,
whichismade obviousbythe use of lesbianstereotyping. The characterhasshorthair and dressesin
masculine clothes. The secondarycharacter,Tia,whois Malaysian and bulliesthe artistinthe
screenplay,dressesinmainstreamdesignerclothesand uses amintgreeniPhone 11 whichwould

2. suggestthatshe and her familybelongtothe C1 demographic.Althoughitisnotobvious whatsocio-
economicgroupthe maincharacter is in,herlack of designerclothesandwiredearphonescould
suggestthatshe is ina lowereconomicgroupthan herbully.Onthe otherhand,thiscouldjustmean
that she conformsto the VALpsychometrictype: the reformer[YoungandRubicam].A reformeris
someone whoisdefinedbyself-esteemandself-improvement.Theyare notinfluencedby status
and theyare not materialistic.
Use of Diversion in ‘Secrets’:
Audiencesmayconsume media textstoescape theirday-to-daylives[escapism].Theychose
entertainingtexts thatallowthemtodiverttheirattentionfromthe real world.In‘Secrets’,thisis
shownbythe stereotypical homosexual female character,RubyRayner, findingherfeetaftergetting
bulliedanddancinginthe streetinLGBTQ+ pride merchandise.Althoughitisnota stereotypical pop
musicvideostoryline,those peoplethatare inthe target audience mayuse thisas escapismwhen
theythemselvesare beingfacedwiththe same situations. The engagingstorylinecaptivatesthe
audience andensurestheykeepwatchingastheywantto findoutif there isa new equilibrium
[Todorov] andif there isa resolutiontothe disruptionof the equilibrium whichinthiscase isthe
artistgettingbulliedandfeelingshyabouthersexuality.
Personal Identification in ‘Secrets’:
Some audience liketowatchor read mediatextsbecause theycancompare theirlife experiencesto
the fictional onesthatare made to be realistic. Audiencesfindpleasure in empathisingwith
characters that mightbe similartothemor someone theyknow intheirownlives,andthisisknown
as personal identification.Myvideoaimstocreate a sense of realismbyfeaturing realisticcharacters
whothe target audience caneitherrelate to andidentify withorshow empathytowardsbecause
theyknowsomeone whoissimilartothatcharacter. Because the targetaudience isaged16-25,
those aged18+ may not be in full time educationanymore,howeverthey will still be atthe age
where theycan remembereveryday life experiencesfromtheirtime atschool andmayenjoy
reminiscingonthose days.