Audience Research

This is a folk rock survey which I sent to a range of people to develop my understanding of what the audience think of music videos. As the majority of the people who completed the survey where from a specific demographic range there is not a particularly high range of age groups which where surveyed. However, most of the people we surveyed were from the age range of which our music video is going to be targeted at - so it was important to understand what they already knew about folk rock and whether or not they like that particular genre of music. This survey was also sent to teachers in the school, all being in the 24+ category, this will create a better understanding of the differences of age groups and what genre they prefer as well as other factors like artists, bands etc. 

Advertisement Research

This music magazine advertisement for Biffy Clyro has used a varied number of mise-en-scene and cinematography techniques to fully promote the Album or Song being advertised. The title of the artist is positioned in large text in capital letters in the middle part of the top of the advertisement - this is evidently used to let the audience know immediately what artist the advertisement is promoting. In the long shot, there are three different men pictured in the advertisement - all representing three different extreme actions. This idea could possibly symbolise the intense nature of the album, and the constant feeling of thrill when listening to it. The fire in the middle of the advertisement acts as depiction of what the record label thinks Rock / Indie Rock is all about - dark, mysterious lyrics. The standard text underneath the picture illustrates to the audience when the album or song is coming and and also the website of the artist - this is a common convention of a music magazine advertisement as they want to promote the artist as much as possible to allowing additional information to be looked at on an external website is a good way to publicise the album release.

At the top of the magazine music advertisement for this album release for 'Opeth' the price of the CD is shown as well as when it is available for the public to purchase. This is a common convention for most music magazine advertisements as they will want the audience to know exactly when the album is out so they are ready to purchase it either electronically or on the HMV website. This music video has been specifically designed for HMV - they have full rights of this album and artist and they may perhaps be the only one stocking this album. As well as a long shot of all the band members in the background of the advertisement, there is also a small box containing the CD cover of the album. This is also a common convention in most music magazine advertisements because it will allow the audience to know exactly what the album looks like so when they come across it in stores they can easily recognise it and purchase it. 

The advertisement also includes a short paragraph explaining the release of the album - therefore promoting is as much as possible. HMV allow their customers to purchase this album in three different ways (which is clearly marked on the right hand side of the advertisement). The audience can either 'pop into their shop, have a free UK delivery at hmv.com or download the album and hmv.com' - the idea of allowing the customers to access the album in many different ways suits their needs as a customer, they are able to purchase it online if they do not have time to go into a shop and purchase it themselves.

A dark and treacherous atmosphere which is created through other Indie Rock music advertisements, is also present in this advert for a band called 'The Horrors'. It may become clear to the audience that the title of the band and the album name is printed directly on top of the image of the band, in large white writing. This is a convention of music magazine advertisements as the title must always be striking and bold to stand out as much as possible to catch the eye of a potential consumer of the album. Another common convention is also represented in this advert, a long shot of all band members is shown so that the audience can easily recognise the band if they are looking for them on another source. As well as this, the album release date is another thing which is striking and promoting to the audience - it is in large text to fully emphasise the date of which customers can purchase the album, this is important to any band or artist because they want as much coverage of their new album as they possibly can.

Record Labels

Analysis of 5 Music Videos

Analysis of 3 CD covers

Conventions of the genre 'Indie/Folk Rock

Conventions of the genre Indie/Folk rock on Prezi

Indie/Folk Rock Moodboard

In order to represent any initial ideas we had as a group, I created a moodboard for our chosen genre: indie rock. To create a moodboard symbolising this, I researched artists of this genre and also images which reflected the genre chosen.

Andrew Goodwin

This music video from Beyonce - Love on Top is a perfect example of Illustration. The shots always cut on the beat (in the beginning of the video it begins to cut on the clicks). As well as this, the images shown definitely illustrate the literal meaning, the lyrics are about being in love and the images on screen are of Beyonce dancing and singing with her backing dancers, which relates to the lyrics because they create a happy and cheerful atmosphere.

This music video is an example of Amplification. This is due to the images on screen nearly always cutting on the beat of the music to create an upbeat and lively atmosphere. The narrative of the music video is shown highly throughout and it is clear - by using the images on screen - what this narrative is about. In the entire music video, the main singer (Olly Murs) is attempting to persuade a girl to dance with him after he has been arrested. Olly Murs also takes on a fictional role of being someone who has been arrested and sent to prison.

This music video represents disjuncture as the shots in the music video contain a main character played by Katy Perry and she is being portrayed as a 'nerd' with large glasses and a large head brace - this contrasts highly to what Katy Perry is like in real life, she is world widely known as a highly successful music artist. As she is already a well known artist, this 'nerd' character works well, it wouldn't work as well if the audience didn't know Katy Perry that well - using this disjuncture has worked well for this music video.

Carol Vernallis: The Kindest Cut

Carol Venallis analysed editing in music videos and in hollywood films - she identified distinct approaches to each and found some differences between the two.

In many music videos, according to Vernallis the order of shots were unconventional and not in any particular order. It shifts more freely between shots as the editor cuts from one thing to another very different shot completely diverse from the previous shot. However, in Hollywood films the order of shots are usually conventional. There is a 'typical shot order' which most films adhere to, this would be: Film opening = establishing shot, followed by two shots/medium shots and close ups. 

In this example from the music video of Conor Maynard ft. NeYo - Turn Around, the shots are not in any particular order and they follow from one shot to a completely different shot.

There is no continuity between these shots in the music video from Conor Maynard. The shifts therefore move more freely between the shots - there is no direct narrative in this video there is only a slight love interest in one part of the video, however the rest of the shots contain unconventional shots.

The long shot of Conor in mid air is then followed by him in another location with a different costume and stood next to Ne-Yo in a mid shot together - this unusual continuity between shots is very common in music videos, if it does not have a strict narrative then the continuity is not taken under consideration as much as a hollywood film.

As well as the order of the shots being unconventional, time, space, character and narrative are revealed incompletely in many music videos - this is the opposite to most Hollywood films as they usually have a unity of time and space, and usually introduce these things right at the beginning of the film in the first few minutes.

In this music video from Jessie J called Domino, the shots do not give the audience any idea of time or location, the background is an array of colours and motifs which are colourful and abstract.

 These three different shots from the music video reveal three different backgrounds as well as three completely different costumes - which indicates that the time of the music video is unknown and there is no narrative, it is just a set of shots put together quite 'randomly' with no continuity at all.

The lack of a narrative in this music video is not particularly critisied as the shots move with the beat of the song so are quick and entice the audience with the vibrant colours and the constant use of abstract patterns.

Discontinuity in pop videos draw us away from the narrative by foregrounding other structures and elements, whereas in Hollywood films the continuity of the film draws us into the narrative. As well as this, visual hooks create continuity, non continuous shot are linked by a single feature which is then unified by figure, shape, colour and setting.

In this music video from P!nk, it is a prime example of discontinuity as the constant lack of continuity definitely draws the audience away from the narrative by putting the shots in a completely different order to create discontinuity. 

Bordwell and Thompson's Theories of Editing

These are the music videos of the four examples I used.

Spatial Editing: Rihanna - We Found Love



Graphic Editing: Katy Perry - Wide Awake



Temporal Editing: Katy Perry - The One that Got Away



Rhythmic Editing: Tulisa - Young

Low Budget Videos

After watching two different low budget videos there were some practical tips that I picked up on from them and I am now able to consider these things when filming my own music video.

These included:

• In both music videos, the editing of the shots matched the music and all shots were in perfect sync and free from any errors - making the video extremely professional. 

• There were some good special effects used in one video in particular, in 'Imogen Heap' - the effects that were used helped create an atmosphere that was truely eerie and daunting.

• The framing was carefully considered for both music videos, which seemed to make it look more professional.

• The costumes, props and the locations used were most definitely appropriate to the song choice and of course the genre, for example in 'The Fix' video all the characters in the music video were wearing the same suit, to show they are all part of the same group. 

• As well as this, they also used a dance routine that was thoroughly practiced which allowed the continuity of the music video to be of a professional standard - it looked more professional this way.

• There were some times when the close ups of the band members singing where important to include to show their facial expressions and to also show off their lip sync skills - which were indeed really well practiced.

These are the two low budget videos:

'A-ha!' - Imogen Heap:

'Just Got Paid' - The Fix:

Conventions of a Music Video

Rock Music Video: Axewound - Cold

Rock Music Video Analysis: Slipknot - Dead Memories

The shot begins with a monumental building in full focus revealing the location of the music video - in the distance the viewers are able to notice the American flag which evidently reveals the country in which this video is set.

However, the camera then reveals a mid-close up of one of the band members in dark clothing in full focus, therefore making a focus pull from the building to the band member. The identity of the band member is slightly unknown at this point, as his hand is covering most of his face - therefore portraying a mysterious atmosphere which has been evidently created. Rock music videos represent this style in a very similar way, by mysteriously introducing the band members to create an eerie atmosphere.

In this shot, the viewers notice the same band member as before walking right in the middle of the road, the long shot reveals this and it also reveals the large space around him. The idea of placing someone walking in the middle of a road symbolises his intrepid nature.

The dark, eerie atmosphere is further emphasised in this shot from the music video, displaying a group of mirrors next to one another with one of the band members in front of it with their identity covered up with a face mask. Rock music videos are commonly portrayed as being quite daunting and dark to the viewers, and this music video is no exception. The low-key lighting used throughout reinforces the eerie atmosphere, therefore promoting dark imagery from the words in the song. 

The location of the music video soon becomes clear, it is in an abandoned large house in the middle of no where, the use of an abandoned house is very common in rock music videos - it creates a sense of eeriness and danger as usually rock songs are about dark things like death and danger.

Rock Music song analysis: Chevelle - The Red

Rock Analysis Chevelle - The Red on Prezi

Will.i.am feat. Eva Simons: This is Love