How has your target market research affected your music video production decisions?

During the planning stage of my products I carried out some target audience research, this was done in order to find out my target audiences preferences. Using this would then help me create my Digipak and music video, I use this information to make sure that I sculpt the project that my target audience want and would watch. I asked a sample of both males and females, who like the genre of alternative rock in order to base my project around them. I wanted to know there favourite music artists, what genres they like (but asking more people who I know like rock) what they think the importance of the music video is, How do they stream there music video, how do they find new music. I made sure that I picked a genre that I like, this was so that I could build my own opinion as well as relate to what my target audience are looking for. This almost gave me to debate there answers in order to build the best picture around my Digipak and music video. I was interested to see how my target audience would feel and if there answers would correlate, I was interested comparing in order to get a wider understanding of how people work.

When carrying out my research I found that males prefer listening to genres like dubstep, house, rock, trap and so on. Some example of artists would be, Skrillex, KDrew, Tiesto, Greenday, Linkin Park and Trap city. This lead me to believe that males like the more musical aspect of music rather than the vocal areas. Whereas my female audience said they enjoyed Reggae, R&B and Alternative rock. Some examples of artists would be Rhianna, B.O.B, YouMeAtSix and Sean Paul.

After I asked them about there preferred music genres I spoke to them about the genre I like and was creating a music video round which was Alternative rock, I decided to play them some alternative rock songs such as Underdog by YouMeAtSix in order for them to understand the genre I was focusing on. I then asked them for there opinion on the song and the type of genre it falls under, the response I got was that they enjoy listening to it because the genre and song is powerful with emotions and characteristic and it sound like a song they’d listen to. Some didn’t like the song I chose therefore it didn’t help my research some of the guys felt the lyrics were more appealing to the female audience but liked the layout and styling of the band. This then let them understand the focus point of alternative rock, I then started basing my question around how much they enjoy the genre. For example if someone liked it but wasn’t keen, I would ask them basic questions like what would they expect from a poster of this type of genre. Whereas if they really liked the music I would then ask them what they like about the genre, what they like about the artists, what they expect from the music videos, what they think I need to consider when doing my Digipak ect.

Another question I asked is what they think is important in a music video? The response I got was quite clear from all, they mainly like it when a music video tells a story. They like it when they have something to connect them with the artist so that they feel like they can relate to him or her. Therefore humanising him/her rather then make him/her look better than everyone else. They like it when the music video has emotion in it, so laughter, sadness something that they can feel represent the lyrics in the song. They expect the location, time of day and clothing to go with the period of time the music video is in and that they stay within the genre of the song. 

I asked my audience is how they discovered new music? The main or most common result was the Radio 1 chart show, this allows them to hear top songs released within the UK, however there are other ways they asses there music. Otherwise include tv channels and chart shows, recommendations from friends, online websites for  upcoming artists, SoundCloud, YouTube, iTunes charts or through featured artists on itunes etc. When designing my ancillary texts I felt it was important that my album featured other popular artists, that way when they are searching through favourite artists or the related artist on websites, chart shows or youtube channels they would then come across my artist and it would then make it easier for them to find my music video because of the featured song.

I also discussed the importance of a music video? My audience said that what they felt is mandatory to include within my music video. However there will always be mixed opinion on what everyone thinks is important to include because everyone has there own judgement and thinks differently therefore it’s important for me to argue both cases and try to come up with the best video. However when it came to discussing if it was important to have a music video some said that they don’t really look at the videos they just listen to the music and relate the songs to past experiences in there life, they don’t need a video to do this. However some believe tat emotionally it helps them relate the song to the artist and is helpful for them to understand the artists message and is key for that success of the artist. If the artist doesn’t do a good job of the music video it could ruin the song. Therefore its important otherwise the artist image is then corrupt and the popularity of that very song would/could decrease.


How my video compares
with my music video I made sure that throughout my music video the artist was the main focus point, I wanted the audience to be able to relate to the character. The song I chose was called funeral I believe that the video I created represented the song choice well and gave over the image the artist wanted to create and the lyrics within the video. The video was upsetting, some could say depressing and engaged the audience in order to get them to think and build there own story with it. I wanted to make sure that it was a video that you couldn’t walk away from what I mean by this is I wanted the audience to like it so much that they wouldn’t be able to click off of it. I made sure that the editing was paced with the timing of the music, various effects and also a summery feel which makes people see how precious life really is and how friendship and family is a true love. I filmed it in such a way that when put along side the music; you can make assumptions that the character is possibly dead because of the mother dropping the phone after the car crash. The audience don’t get to see the mothers face because i want them to build there own picture of what she looks like and the emotion betrayed on her face, this creates the persona of the story and the link between the audience and the music video. My music video is also very performance based, from my research I felt that it was important to engage with the audience by creating a 4th wall, meaning the artist is almost specifically performing to the individual viewer, this will help to build a strong fan base.

 

To maximise viewer engagement I introduced a sister into the video so you could then see the link between the brother and the sister and see the emotion she’s feeling. This character is shown several times and picture are shown of the brother and sister together, this creates a link between the audience member and a member of there family, building a bridge between the audience and the music video, the love, the strength, the loss of the character and relating that to there own lives.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

An important aspect of creating the ancillary texts is making all parts tie together, keeping a running theme and consistency throughout. This helps an audience to identify them as one, to create an artists persona through the use of different medias.

Plan B - 'The Defamation Strickland Banks'.

Plan B's Digipak has a musical theatre theme throughout its content this is due to the fact  he is an already established artist, this means that he doesn't need to feature so much. People already know who he is, songs he’s done, peoples he’s featured in. this means that he already has a wide range of audience, viewer and listener therefore doesn’t need anything to stand out he’s already known. Therefore as you can see he’s used very minimal colours mainly black, white and red which contrast well with each other also the font is the same throughout, it also goes with his theme in this album its quite opinionated and almost like an argument therefore the colour contrast goes well with the point he is trying to make. Plan b is also a well known director of movies, therefore the theatre them isn’t uncommon or unexpected. This album could be seen as him branching out or linking his work together.

after analysing other Digipak within the same genre and so on I found that most albums use the same type of colour palette this is mainly whites, blacks and reds. This creates a usual contrast, fonts aren’t exstreme they are seen quite plainly and there’s more to it.  

 

Visual links that I have used to ensure my Video and ancillary texts look like a consistent package - they all use:

·         Natural theme – forest, colours that represent outdoors like brown and different shades of orange

·         Colours – black, brown, orange, white, red colour pallette,

·         Calm, relaxed imagery - non aggressive

·         Album title is defined

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

There are many conventions when producing a music video, within camera shots, camera movement, editing, post-production digital effects, lighting and mise-en-scene:

·         Close ups of the artists - establishing who the main artist is.

·         Low angle shots - portray a sense of power, strength and dominance of the artist but can make them seem weak depending on the scenery around them.

·         Establishing shots are used to show a new location

·         Direct address breaks the 4th wall, allowing the audience to feel more personal with the artists which connects the bond between them.

·         When running, a pan, tilt or tracking shot is used to help the audience to feel more involved in the action.

·         Handheld camera is used to create a more personal effect and build a closer link between the audience and the artist also used in action shots.

·         Cross-cutting is used to switch between the story line and the artist, this makes the audience more involved.

·         Editing is often fast and structured, jumping back and forwards in time using jump cuts

·         Editing needs to be in time with the beat or rhythm of the music, to each section of the song which helps the overall music video flow and work properly together.

·         Colourisation can be used to create different scenes, to make the day look sunnier, or mysterious and dark depending on the message the video wants to portray.

·         Having light that reflect the location, time of day and emotion within the scene. This is so the audience can then build a picture.

·         Mise-en-scene is used to express the story and help provide the message and becomes the integral part of building a message to the audience through the us of props.

Alternative rock video conventions
My chosen song is Funeral by The Band Of Horses which comes under Alternative Rock, and within these genres there are different conventions that are followed.

·         Depending on the story and lyrics you can either have bright, if its emotional it is mainly dark

·         Problems, bad habits, mistakes are usually shown.

·         You usually see friends, family’s, close friends helping to display the emotion of the song.

·         Scenes showing the area or location, mainly areas that you could consider your self alone or even abandoned.

·         Artists sometimes wear makeup in order to show how emotional the song is

·         Very basic editing is used to the pace of the music, some special effects are used for example biffy clyro has a car crash in the music video opposite.

·         Wearing dark but casual clothing, sometimes suits are worn.

·         Sexualising goes against its usual form, men can be scene as weak.

·         Repetitive, smooth and slow editing is used to make it flow with the music, make it much more realistic to tell a story

Inspiration from pre-existing music videos
Throughout my planning, I looked at various example music videos and gained some strong themes and ideas which I developed into my own video:

Before creating my music video I looked at various music videos one of which was Biffy Clyro – Opposite, this song fits within the same genre I have chosen. I like that in this music video the main singer is the focus point of the music video, everything that happens is all about him he is the centre peace to the music video. He always keep eye contact with the camera, its almost like he’s telling you the audience a story, he’s speaking to you the viewer. It almost like he’s trying to get you to be part of the story which in turn helps you get engaged in what’s happening, this is a simple tactic however works very well. Simon Neil, the main singer is dressed with quite dark clothing, he attitude is one that you’d consider to be relaxed. Its like he’s telling you the story which your taking part in. I like the use of time throughout the music video and I tried to incorporate this in my music video through the use of pictures that change over time.

Another song I like is You me at six – lived a lie, this is quite a basic but effective video. It starts off in a room and then it breaks out to the streets. The colours used in this video are Black, White and red these are the usual associated colours of the genre alternative rock. At one point in the music video everything starts to set on fire, I would have liked to experiment with this however I don’t have the experience to pull it off yet. Its an inspiring video for location, mise en scene, time of day and clothing. The locations and time of day really caught my eye and this was when I decided to base my video at night because I thought the effect that it had on this video was overwhelming and I wanted to recreate this in my own way.

 

 

This Course Work

Throughout this peace of course work I have challenged myself to use a variety and diverse range of software. This is so that I get a good understanding on how to operate a variety off different and complex systems to create a video that hits my target audience. However some of this software I have already used through my AS pieces I’ve learnt how to operate, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Fireworks and InDesign. These are mainly picture based software, knowing how to operate these software’s were extremely helpful when it came to creating a Digipak for my music artist. The main reason for using those software was to change the lighting, frame, focus, filter and edit any blemishes.

A new pieces of software I have learnt to use is Adobe Premier Elements 3.0 and Movie Maker, I found movie maker harder to operate and didn’t really help me create the type of styled music video I was aiming for. This was due to files not being supported, the files themselves took to long to then go onto the software and was taking to long to edit. So after speaking to other people and my teacher Adobe Premier Elements 3.0 was recommended because people in my class have already used it I was quickly shown how to work it and get the best out of it. I did however have to learn how to make it my own, therefore I did research on how to use the software and used it in my spare time so I could concur any problems I have with the software. The main problems with Premier I found was that the clips I uploaded to the software would sometimes freeze; I found that If you left it and then came back to it the problem would be solved. Therefore I decided to change the software to Windows Movie maker because I didn’t have any problems using this at all, it was easy to use and got the job done! I think it was due to the amount of information and jobs I was getting it to do. The main problem I had with every peace of software I was using was that the files I filmed were on a AVCHD which Premier doesn’t support. Therefore using SUPER converter I had to edit the file to a MPEG, this made the picture granary however you could still make out what was happening. I could have paid for software which would be more modern and be able to work with my camera, however I don’t have that type of money to spare. So I had to make do with the schools software.

What I have learnt?

I’ve learnt that my music video and Digipak does suit and go with the type of genre I have picked, however doing this feedback sheet I see what improvements I could have made. It helps me criticise my own work and see how I could make it a little better. I feel that the video itself isn’t too bright I was aiming for a dark and gloomy scene therefore I disagree with that statement.  However I do agree that the album cover would’ve been better if it was in black and white, I did think about this however I didn’t think you’d be able to see the performer. I think that the age range does suit the age range I was trying to reach therefore I feel confident that I have reached my targets of creating a Alternative Rock music video.

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Throughout creating the video I used a variety of HD cameras, this meant the images and videos I produced would capture clear and detailed images. The main problems I had was the software I had to use to edit the photo and trying to make sure that the photo I took was steady and smooth so it wasn't blurry. I over came the editing issue by converting the files into a file that the editing software can handle, I fixed the steadiness of the photo's by using my friends steadycam and tripods. This meant that the tracking shots and panning shots were smoother than what you'd expect from a handle held camera, however there are parts of the video where it isn't as steady as it could be. I started creating my video on Adobe Element, which wouldn't work for me and I had to keep converting files to use the software. So i decided to change the software I was using to Movie Maker, this is easier to use however the quality of the video isn't as good.


When it comes to editing my digipak I used Adobe photoshop CC, i used this software because I've used it a lot therefore it was easy to change the effects on pictures. Whilst making them stay as natural as I can, however making them stick to the type of genre they're supposed to be in. To make sure I was doing the correct thing I kept asking my target audience what they were looking for. Therefore I kept sending them pictures and getting feedback so I could change them to fit my target audience.

Audience Feedback

Audience feedback:

I decided to ask several people on Facebook, twitter and friends to access my blog. After they looked at my blog I asked them several question to get feedback on how well it is going. I asked several people bellow is a table of the questions I asked and their responses.

1.       Male –  Aged 19

2.       Male – Aged 18

3.       Female – Aged 19

4.       Female - Aged 17

5.       Female – Aged 21

6.       Male - Aged 18

Do you think the ancillary texts shows off the typical conventions that you would associate with the genre of alternative rock? 

1.     Yes it does, however I think it could have been made better by having the pictures in black and white. That would make them suit the genre more.

2.     Yes, it was very clear. The use of a graveyard and the CD made it clear for me what the genre was.  I also liked the use of projection to create a background on the artists body.

3.     Partly, however the colour in the pictures were quite bright you could confuse it with another genre like pop.

4.     Yes, thought it could’ve stood out more though

5.     Yes it was very clear for me to see, I liked the styling and it reminds me of some albums for this genre I have at home.

6.     Yes, I liked the idea of leaves I thought it goes well with the genre and the type of song.

What age group do you feel the ancillary text will appeal to?

1.       19-27 year olds male and female

2.       16 – 30 year old males

3.       17 – 25 year old male and females

4.       Teenagers

5.       17-26 year old male and females

6.       18 – 29 year old male and females

When looking at the album cover would it encourage you to buy it?

1.       Yes it’s my type of styling, I would definitely buy it.

2.       No but I’ll probably recommend it or buy it for someone else

3.       No, an album cover isn’t good enough to final a purchase for me.

4.       Yes, I’d probably buy it but I think I’d buy it mainly for the picture.

5.       Yes, I like the detail put into it and I think it’s amazing how the leaves are covering the artists body. Well thought out.

6.       Maybe, I might pick it up and think about buying it but I don’t know if I would.

Do you think my video matches the type of song and genre?

1.       Yes however, I think the transitions between the shots could have been smoother.

2.       My laptop wouldn’t let me see the video.

3.       Yes the use of the lyrics and the link between what’s going on screen is very clear, I feel like the styling suits both the genre and the song.

4.       No, I thought it didn’t. It was too bright and the actor’s facial expressions weren’t always the best. Didn’t really feel the emotions that are in the lyrics.

5.       I think that your music video, suits the type of genre and song. It’s clear and id expect the story to be used in other music videos but in a different way.

6.       Yes it does.

What people on my course think?

I think that the photo you have used for your album cover is well designed its eye catching and stand out from all the rest. I like the use of bright colours and projecting them onto your white top, it really makes you look transparent and therefore looks like you’re part of the picture. The picture itself goes well with the type of genre, however i think it would’ve been better if the picture was black and white and there was no shadow down the left hand side of your body.

The back of the album cover is a little out of focus but the idea of using a gravestone when the main song you’re using is called funeral is well depicted and creates a good effect. However to suit your genre more i would have made it again black and white, I would’ve used Red writing instead of white. It looks like the stereotypical Alternative rock back of an album cover so you’ve made it suit the type of genre you’re doing.

The text itself isn’t quite clear, but it does the job. The font stands out and goes with the pictures you have chosen.  I like the use of black and green when it comes to your magazine article against the projection picture. It makes it look like the writing is part of the scenery.

Do you feel that the digipak and magazine advert complement each other?

I feel that the projection style highlights that both of them are linked together for this artist. Using the same styling for both the magazine advert and front cover means that a correlation between the two will be made and therefore will connect the audience with the other image.

Is the text within the advert eye catching to make the audience buy or read the article?

The text itself isn't that eye catching it's more down to the image in the advert, however it stands out and links with the digipak quite well. I see you’ve used the same font but not the same colour, this is confusing and I think you should’ve kept the same colour throughout. The writing itself is well designed and easy to read, it does draw me in however because part of the writing being white on a picture which also has white in it defeats the object of it and makes it that little bit harder to read.

In what way does my media product use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products:

When it comes to analysing my digipak I feel that it has followed the usual convents when it comes to its genre. The genre I was going for was Alternative Rock as I love that type of genre and relate to it quite well.

My poster is a bit over crowded with information, whereas current Alternative rock posters mainly consist of a well designed picture and name of the band or artist. Whereas I’ve focused on providing information on the new album and a hit new song, which i would expect for a new upcoming artist.

After watching The Escape Artist By Richard Walters, which is a music video where he has a variety of different effect being projected onto his face. I decided to create that same effect for my cover photo and magazine article, so i used one of the schools projection boards and wore a white top to make sure that the background picture was projected onto my body. I turned out amazing, I looked transparent and part of the picture however you could still see the outline of my body and the colour of my eyes. I kept the idea of using the forest scene as my album cover photo, I did this because most of my music is filmed within a forest therefore creating a link between the main song and the album cover. The album covers design ties in well with the music video because the time of year depicted within the video is the same in the album as it is in the video.

The back of the album cover is a picture of a Graveyard; this was taken by me outside a church in Compton. Unfortunately the picture I took has come out grainy due to the sun sunning down on the camera, i put the picture into Photoshop and tried to highlight the essence of the location and help create the emotion of regret and being alone, throw a picture and the choice of songs. The picture works well with the cover photo because; there are trees surrounding the cover photo and trees in the background of the graveyard.

When looking at both my album cover and its back page i see that i have followed the normal conventions of text and the amount of information you see on the Album. The text itself is white, the font isn’t something to out there it’s mainly there to help highlight the picture. I made sure that throughout my digipak i used the same styled font; this is so that the audience associate this font with the artist making it memorable.

I believe that having a transparent photo sets me out from other Alternative rock albums because it unusual to see. Most Album covers consist of

Problems when filming

The weather conditions at the time weren't the best for filming, it was overcast therefore it was hard at times for the camera to pick up features and be in the right light. Therefore I had to reshoot on several different days to make sure that there was enough light within the scene to see the performer. One of the main problems I faced was the raining; at the time of filming there was a storm going over Berkshire, therefore I could only film during certain periods of the day. I tried over coming this problem by having someone hold an umbrella over the camera man; however this wasn't effective enough because the fake blood and clothing would change colour. Also the umbrella would blow around in the wind and get in the shot sometimes. The problem that the performer faced during this time was staying in role. This was hard to do because it was cold, windy and there would be a constant poor of rain on his face. Therefore I had to film over several days, so I had to make sure that the performer looked the same in every way possible, clothes, hair style, body expression and facial feature and attitude. This was done by looking over the previous filming and making sure each feature is the same, I did this to make sure that there is a good and constant flow throughout the music video.
 
The main problem I faced when filming was the rain, because I was filming most of my music video outside in a Forrest the rain would cause the Forrest floor to be muddy, slippery and would change how the location would look. Therefore I had to make sure that I took pictures of the location to make sure nothing changed and is something changed I would either fix it or change the location. What I found hard was keeping the costume looking the same throughout the music video. There were two points in the video where the performers fell over due to the slippery floor, due to the weather conditions. Therefore I would have to clean the clothes and make sure that any changes made were consistent and there was nothing that would be eye catching and ruin the video.

Comparing Adverts

I tried to go against the normal conventions of the typical type of albums for this genre; for instance typical Alternative rock albums have plain black background. This is done because usually on top of this is an image or drawing, which is very stereotypical because I didn’t go for that look as I wanted my Album to stand out. When doing my research I walked into a HMV store which had the Albums placed in there genre categories, therefore I wanted to make sure that my picture stood out from the rest of this genre. I did this so if it was in a shop store it would be eye catching and draw someone into it. This is done so that people will pick it up and looking at the picture and decide to buy the album. I therefore made my album look that little bit different and unique by used a projection screen to put an image onto the artist cause him to look like part of the background, which made him look slightly transparent. The picture I used was of a Forrest which therefore ties in with the rest of the theme of being in a Forrest which as you can see actually flows throughout my digipak.      

 

 

After looking at both of these magazine adverts side by side I feel that I have created a good representation and I have followed my initial plans which I created before, I also believe that I have tried to challenge the usual conventions of a magazine advert and digipak to create something that I think the audience would like or prefer.