Audience Research

My group decided to conduct some audience research so that we could get some useful feedback on our video so far and our website.

We asked five 16-18 years old from our sixth form to watch a rough cut of our music video, and to look at the website. We got them to write down their feedback/comments and this is what they said...

Music video feedback:

Good things about it

• The band looked like a real band, and it looked like the main singer was actually singing/performing
• The humour was a good element in the video, made it enjoyable to watch
• Looks well put together
• There is a good range of shots which makes it not boring to watch

Improvements

• Need a better quality song - we have already planned to do this when we have finished editing
• Possibly speed up the beginning of the video as it drags a little bit/is jumpy
• Could edit the video more e.g. - some shots in black and white etc

Website feedback:

Good things about it

•  Links well with the video
• Good amount of information on it and it's relevant e.g. - link to Leeds festival website
• Looks like a real band page with twitter/facebook links etc

Improvements

• Embed the finished music video link onto the website - have already planned to do this when we have finished editing the video
• Could be a clearer relationship between the website photos and the music video (the colour and tone of the photos/video)
• The band logo could be better

We are taking all this feedback on board and we are going to make appropriate changes/modifications in order for our work to be better!

Research into websites of Indie/Indie Pop bands

We have now decided to do a website instead of a magazine advert for one of our ancillary products.

 

 

Below is The Kooks official website -

 

   

The website incorporates tumblr into the site; the photos on the homepage can be reblogged and liked by tumblr uses. This feature helps the fans feel interactive with the band.

 At the top of the website on the right hand side are the links to various sites that The Kooks use/have accounts on e.g. - the bands twitter, Facebook page and their Instagram. These links provide the fans with other ways (social networking) to interact with the band and for them to find out about what the band are doing
.

There is a link to iTunes in which people can click on and then be directed to a page that they can purchase the bands singles/albums - this is important as the band are trying to sell their music.

The website uses a simplistic layout that uses the colours black and white, therefore making the website look modern yet indie.

 

 

 

 

The Vaccines website uses a white and red colour scheme and a simple layout like The Kooks website. The pictures at the top of the website are black and white 'vintage' looking pictures, this suggests straight away the band is of an Indie genre.

 

The website has various headings on the menu at the top, which allows for the fans to find out things about the band e.g. - when they are touring, what music they have available to buy/listen to etc.

 

 

Further down the website is an advertisement for the bands latest single, below this there is an iTunes button - if clicked it directs the website user to iTunes where they can download the single.

 

The homepage mainly features 'News' posts that tell the website user what the band have been up to.

 

 

 

Two Door Cinema Clubs website uses a pastel colour scheme of white, pink, turquoise and green. This is slightly brighter than The Kooks & The Vaccines websites, however it still looks and fits in with the Indie (Indie Pop) genre.

 

There is a banner at the top that plays the bands latest music video automatically; this is interesting as it is advertising their single/music video without the website visitor even clicking 'play' to watch it.

 

Further down the website is an advertisement for the bands latest single (just like The Vaccines website).
Next to this is a QR code while allows the website visitor to download an app that the band have created, which allows fans to use the website etc on their phones without searching for it on the internet.

The Strokes website uses a red and white colour scheme, the red is very bright and connotes the idea of danger. At the top of the website there is a slideshow of various things such as newly announced gigs, lyrics to The Strokes' songs, and also links to listen to the bands songs.

On the right side of the website is the advertisement for their new album, with buttons to buy and play the album.

Further down the website is some news about the band and a gig listing that allows fans that have signed up to the website to tell the band if they are attending the event - this is a good feature as it allows fans to feel a sense of belonging (McQuail's 'Uses and Gratifications theory')

At the bottom of the website is links to the bands Facebook page, Twitter account, Myspace, YouTube channel and Vevo channel.

Conclusion
After researching Indie/Indie Pop websites I have found that most websites contain the same generic features e.g...

• advertisement for latest single/album
• links to the bands Facebook/Twitter accounts etc
• News posts that tell fans brief information such as announcing a gig or letting fans know that a single/album have just been released
• links to additional pages

Also the colour scheme tends to include the colour white as the main colour, and then brighter colours mixed with the white eg. - red, blue, green.

I will be thinking about these features when I am creating the website.

 



 

Stuart Halls - Reception Theory

This theory was developed in the 1970's and it considers

• How texts/products are encoded
• And how the text/product is then decoded by the audience

The theory suggests that when a producer creates a product e.g. A music video, it is carefully encoded with a meaning and messages. The purpose of this is that the audience will correctly decoded the message that is being communicated, and they will understand what the producer is trying to say. However, in some cases the audience will either fail to understand or they will decided to reject the idea.

Hall identified 3 types of audience readings of the text (how the audience decodes it)

1. Dominant: This refers to when the audience broadly agrees with the message and understands it correctly. Example - The audience likes a music video and understands what is being shown to them.
2. Negotiated: The audience accepts, rejects, or refines elements of the product in light of previously held views. Example - The audience agrees/likes some parts of a music video, but doesn't like/disagrees with other parts of it.
3. Oppositional: The meaning is correctly retrieved by the audience but it is rejected for either cultural, political, or ideological reasons. Example - Total rejection of a music video.

How this links to the coursework

In our music video their is going to be a message encoded within the video about how the majority of young people think/feel a romantic relationship should be like. We hope that our audience of young people will successfully decode the message and accept it.

Push/Pull theory

Push 
In a push system information is pushed towards/onto the consumer. Therefore the marketer and distributor are in control of what the message is, how it is seen, and when & where it is seen.

Pull
In a pull system the consumer seeks out the product and then pulls it through the delivery system.


Traditionally the music industry used a Push model of marketing products, however with the significant increase of social networks (and their use) like Twitter and Facebook, the music industry is having to come up with new ideas in order to change to a marketing system that uses Pull strategies just as much as Push strategies.

Examples of Push marketing:

• Magazine adverts
• Television adverts
• Online offers
• Tweets from an artists Twitter account

Examples of Pull marketing:

• Fan sites/blogs
• An artists website
• Email subscription
• Peer to peer recommendations

However some examples can be argued that they are both Push and Pull e.g. - Email subscription. The consumer firstly has to sign up to the subscription which is Pull, but then information from the email is pushed onto them which is Push.

One reason for the change in how products are now marketed is that consumers like to feel that they have created something or found an artist that they like. With sites such as Spotify, consumers can create their own playlists which they can then share with other people - therefore the consumer is pulling the music towards them.

How this links to the coursework

For the coursework we have to create 2 ancillary products, one of them being a magazine advert. This theory suggests that both Push and Pull ways of marketing should be used when my group is creating the magazine advert. As the genre of our song is Indie I think it is especially important that we use Pull strategies, as many listeners of Indie music like to feel that they have found bands/music that they like by themselves, without the media exposing the artist to them. 

Analysis of preliminary piece and ancillary products

In this post I am going to analyse and evaluate the preliminary music video and ancillary tasks that me and Molly created in the Summer. I feel that by doing this it will give me an idea of what is a good idea and what isn't a good idea to include in our actual music video and ancillary products.

Analysis of preliminary music video

I think that the lip syncing looks great to say it was our first time at attempting to match up lip syncing with music. Another thing I like about the music video is that it contains both narrative and performance. The mix of the 2 makes it more enjoyable to watch; because me and Molly like this we are using narrative and performance shots in our actual music video.

One point for improvement is the location in which we filmed it in. The brief for the preliminary was to film it in school, so we had to film it there. However if we'd of been allowed to film in a different location I think this would of improved the video a lot, as it would look more realistic. 

Analysis of ancillary task - Magazine advert

After researching magazine adverts we concluded that our magazine advert had to include the iTunes logo, the bands record label logo, and a QR code - these little details make the advert look more official.

If we had more time I would of improved a lot of things about the advert. Firstly I would of chosen a different/better font, as I don't feel like the one we chose for 'Gives You Hell' is that suitable for the genre of the song. The next thing I would have changed would be to add more information on to the advert e.g. a review with a star rating. Not only would a review filled the bottom space more, it would of contributed to the advert looking like a real magazine advert.

 

Analysis of ancillary task - CD digipack 

One thing I like about the CD cover is that it has synergy with the magazine advert and the music video; in all 3 product the band members are wearing the exact same clothing, this means that a viewer would instantly make a connection between the products if they had seen one of them.

Another feature of the digipack I like is that the inside of it contains the lyrics to the songs. This is a common feature of CD singles that are released.

Conclusion

Overall I was quite pleased with how our preliminary pieces turned out, and I'm glad that we had the opportunity to practice making a short music video as it prepared us for the coursework task.

From this analysis I have decided that there are some key features that my group are going to include in our music video and ancillary tasks - 

• Synergy between all of the products
• Official logos of record company etc, a barcode, logos like iTunes and Spotify
• A variety of performance shots and narrative shots
• Include a wide range of shots and angles
• Make sure the lighting is good for the photos for the ancillary tasks

Case Study of Music Video Director: Ray Kay

• Ray Kay (Reinert K. Olsen) was born on 10th July 1978
• He is Norwegian music video director and photographer
• Some of his music videos have won awards such as Much Music Awards and MTV Awards
• He has worked with some of the biggest artists currently around e.g. - Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears and Justin Bieber
• Some of his most well known music videos are: Justin Bieber - Baby, Lady Gaga - Poker Face, Cheryl Cole - Fight For This Love, and Jessie J - Domino

Distribution Process of music videos

Production Process of music videos

There are 3 important stages within music video production that must be followed in order to create a successful product.

Pre-Production
Plan - A clear and precise plan is the first step in production, without a plan things will start to go wrong. The plan should include the production aims, style, target audience and key messages.

Concept - It is essential that the concept of the music video is detailed and finalised.

Casting - Casting is extremely important; if the acting is of poor quality then the audience won't want to watch it or listen to the song, and if the audience doesn't find a connection with the actors then the music video won't be memorable to them. Many music videos that have a narrative storyline use actors in order to translate the concept to the audience. For example - the video to 'Same Love' by Macklemore uses two male actors throughout the music video, the use of the actors emphasises the meaning of the song.

Storyboards - Storyboards enable an idea to be mapped out step by step. Typically music videos that use storyboards tend to be the videos that are more carefully planned and successful. Last year in Media my group used storyboards; they helped me to be organised as a director as I knew exactly what shots we needed to get etc.

Location - It is essential that the location(s) for the music video are decided on in advance, this allows for the idea to be based around the location and what it has to offer. A few weeks ago my group decided that we want to use a creative arts studio as the location for the performance shots in the music video.

Production - This is simply the filming of the music video. When it comes to production it is important to take into consideration how long it might take for all the shots to be filmed.

Post Production 

Editing - The main part of post production is the editing. For music videos the video must be synced with the song so that it looks like the actors/artist is singing the song. If the lip syncing isn't in time with the video it will look fake and unprofessional. In our preliminary music video we practised this, and it was a success.

Colour grading - This involves correcting the colour or editing the colour saturation to enhance the concept of the video. My group are considering changing the colour saturation of some of our shots in order to show the audience that the shots are flashbacks.


Who produces music videos?
Directors such as Francis Lawrence (Directed - 'Cry Me A River' by Justin Timberlake and 'Bad Romance' by Lady Gaga) and Mark Romanek (Directed - 'Scream' by Michael and Janet Jackson) are the people that direct the music videos. However there is obviously many more individuals that help with the production of music videos eg - editors, casting directors, location scouts etc.

Research into magazine adverts

Here are some magazine adverts for various singles and albums...

This is an advert for Kings Of Leon who are an alternative rock band. The picture is a mix of the 4 band members and a picture of a bird. The picture is interesting to look at as it's slightly strange, which is quite typical of a band that isn't a Pop genre. The font stands out as it is in capital letters, as does the 'Released September 22, 2008'. It is important that this stands out as the main purpose of the advert is to promote when the single/album is released.

 

This magazine advert uses a photo of the artist Ellie Goulding, by using a picture of the artist it is promoting her as well as the actual album. The advert uses a gold colour theme which relates to the album title 'Lights'. This advert is different to the previous one as it doesn't state when the album is released, however the album might of already been released when this advert was published.

This is a magazine advert for the rock band The Verve. The picture is nice to look at as it looks very professional. It doesn't contain a picture of the band at all which suggests that the band want to sell their music without promoting their image as such. The advert states all the essential things for a magazine advert eg - when it is released, the single name, and artist name.

 

The Killers are a rock band; this magazine advert is similar to the one above it as it does not use a picture of the artist. This is typical of an advert that is not for a Pop artist. This advert doesn't contain much writing, however it's effective as it is straight to the point and could be quickly read by someone. The font stands out and is easy to read.

This advert is for the artist Jessie J's album. She is a Pop artist so for this reason a photo of her is used on the advert, this is because her record label are trying to promote her and her image. When glancing at this advert the first thing I notice is the picture, this has been done on purpose so that people see this advert in a magazine and immediately know which artist it is for before even reading the information.

After completing this research I have concluded that when my group create the magazine advert for 'She moves in her own way' we should either use a simple photograph of the band, or a photo to do with the song but isn't of the band. We will also make sure that the font stands out, is clear, and is also easy to read. The advert should also contain things such as the record labels logo, website address, and possibly a rating.

Research/Planning into clothing/style

Today my group are discussing who we think will be appropriate to be the actors in our music video.


As well as this we are researching what the actors should look like and what they should wear.

 

These are some pictures of 'The Kooks'. In each picture it is clear that the band are an Indie band...

• They are all dressed in skinny jeans
• All wearing darkish clothing
• Their clothing looks thrown together and not carefully planned unlike Pop bands
• They are dressed very casually. Eg - Jeans and casual jacket
• They do not look clean cut as
• The bands poses do not look planned, instead they look chilled and natural.

- The Killers  - Arctic Monkeys

 - Oasis     - The Strokes


Here are some photos of other Indie bands. These photographs are similar to the pictures of The Kooks which shows that Indie bands tend to look a certain way. Just like The Kooks, these bands are dressed in dark, casual clothing and they are simply stood with a blank expression looking at the camera.


As well as what the band is wearing, it also important that we style the female actor in our music video appropriately. Below are some clothing ideas of how I think she should be styled.





Comparison to other genres

 - N-Dubz   - The Saturdays

- One Direction



These are photos of bands of different genres - The Saturdays and One Direction are both mainstream Pop bands, and N-Dubz was a hip-hop group.
N-Dubz are posing in a 'cool' way to emphasise their hip hop background, and they are wearing dark baggy clothing that suggests they aren't too bothered about their appearance.
The 2 pop bands are both  dressed in mainstream fashionable clothing: One Direction in smart jeans/chinos and t-shirts, and The Saturdays in short, girly clothing. The 2 bands are both obviously posing to promote their image.

Conclusion
After researching into different clothing and styles it is clear that style is extremely important to identify what genre of music the artist creates. When we create our music video we are going to pay close attention to what our actors are wearing.

CD singles

Today I am researching CD singles to look at the sort of information they contain on the front, back and inside.

Front

The front of CD covers always contain 1) The artists name 2) The song title, they also usually have a 'Indie' looking picture. The font for the band/artists name is always the same font on every product/cd of theirs as it is a brand name. Whereas the song title font changes on each cover for each song.

Examples of Indie Pop covers -




Back

The back of a CD typically features

• A barcode, as the product is for sale
• The artists record label logo - this promotes the label
• The name of the song (sometimes the song length is stated)
• Sometimes additional information about who has produced and recorded the song etc.

Examples -




Inside

The inside of a CD single can very hugely from containing - song lyrics, thank-you messages to the fans etc, song credits, collage of pictures of the artist, additional details about the artist, links to the artist e.g. - the artists twitter/facebook page/website address.

Examples -

Analysis of single covers - The Kooks

Here are some single covers by The Kooks...



When looking at these single covers there are obvious similarities and differences between them all, but you can generally tell that they are for the same artist.

Similarities
- All have a dark colour scheme consisting of mainly black, white and grey.
- Use the same font on every colour, it's bold and easy to read.
- 'The Sofa Song' and 'You Don't Love Me' look more or less the same as they consist of a plain black background with bright coloured writing. 'The Kooks' is written in white on both covers, but the song title is coloured differently which is obviously expected in order to differentiate them. These 2 songs are 2 of the earliest songs that were released by the band, I think this explains why the covers are simple and do not include a photograph - the band were trying to establish themselves and probably were unclear of how to market themselves effectively by their single covers.
- 'Ooh La' 'She Moves In Her Own Way' and 'Naive' all look very similar. They all have a black and white picture which look quite mysterious. The covers again use a bright colour for the name of the single.

Differences
- 'Shine On' is significantly different to all the other examples - it looks less indie as it has a collage of pictures of the band members, this isn't typical of 'The Kooks'.
- The singles that were released earlier have plain single covers.


After this analysis I have concluded that when my group create the single cover for 'She Moves In Her Own Way' we will make sure the cover has an Indie vibe to it, a simple font, and a picture that doesn't give too much away about the song/the video.