Audience Research: The Questionnaire

Questionnaire write up: Music Video

Music video

When asked about already existing music videos and what makes them memorable the majority said that the video should have a strong and interesting narrative. However keeping it simplistic so it is easily understood by the audience and keeping the originality running through from the video. In our music video we intend to keep the simplicity and the originality elements and making them easy to understand by the audience due to multiple possible interpretations. The simplicity of our narrative will be using the simple ‘double life’ from everyday work to clocking of into a different world which is wacky and colourful. This is where the originality comes into the video because the multiple double life characters will meet at a tea party in the middle of a desolated area where nothing was before the characters turn up.

When components of the video are concerned every single person asked said they thought that a balanced mix of performance of narrative and performance make a good music video so in our music video we shall adhere to this finding. Making sure that the amount of band shots and narrative are split evenly, as close to 50-50 as possible. To show the splits in our video we shall use natural pauses or ends of chapters in the narrative to slot in the performance making it more organised and this will also make sure that the band performance isn’t always on the chorus of the song to show some originality and variation.

For the Indie genre the audience expect to see guitars, shirts buttoned up to the top with no tie and skinny jeans which is more related to the band’s costumes which is something we are definitely going to include in the performance elements of our video. They also expected to see vintage/quirkiness, a unique attitude and colourfulness which will be more inclusive in the narrative of the video and then incorporated into the Digipak and advert photography just because they link the song lyrics, band ethos and video narrative together nicely.  

Whereas for the Alternative genre the audience expect to see more guitars, hear a heavier sound in the music and a lyrical connection to the video which are all aspects which we will use in our music video. We will get use the heavier sound in our video because of our song choice will have a strong indie/punk edge to it. The lyrical connection will be more of an explanation of our interpretation of the ‘double life’ theme in the lyrics themselves.

When asked about colour to be used in the video as an extra theme to tie everything together the theme of dark meets bright/light was the majority’s response. However the suggestion came through to use darker colours like dark blues and reds instead of using the obvious black. However no specific light colours shone through but vibrant ones like green and purple did therefore the colour scheme throughout could be kept to a similar pallet of blue’s, red’s and purple’s to keep consistency throughout the whole project.

For the narrative the audience said that it must explain what the song is about giving it a meaning of the lyrics allowing them to link directly. As a whole it should be emotive however the love theme is overdone and doesn’t link to the lyrics of our song therefore we will not be using that as our narrative. Love theme being overdone would stop us constructing a narrative that was unique, ambiguous and dramatic. Our Idea of the double life characters gives us the chance to make it very different and possibly a little bit odd, but in an arty-ambiguous way, creating a memorable narrative.

The expected style for a music video in general should have an overly used theme, which in our music video will be the evident symbol of double life with the changes that go on throughout the narrative. As well as the double life there will be the subtle changing of light as the sun is setting, along with the actual sunset. The main other consensus which came up was the work vintage. We have decided as a group that the vintage vibe goes with our song choice as the Futureheads are more alternative. We could create this by using extravagant, unique and overly individual costumes and props for the double life aspect, similar to that of the Smirnoff advert and gives the double life theme an extra dimension.

The shots that our audience expect to see in our music video are establishing, close up’s of the band, high angle and head shots. In our music video we will use establishing shots to introduce a new character in the narrative as it will allow us to highlight there boring life and what they do day in day out. We will use close ups of the band, especially the lead singer and the instruments, when their strong lyrics and strong instrumentals come up in the song. The close ups of the lead singer along with the instruments draws the audience into the music and makes them feel the power of what it is trying to get across through the lyrics. The high angle we will be using for the performance as one of the multiple angles we will use to show variety as well as using it for the Tea Party at the end of the narrative because it will show the change to crazy-manic.

The lighting for the performance should be unnatural using stage lights to add colour and professionally to the performance component of the video. Using colours will give the moody atmosphere which links to the alternative genre and heavier sound of the song giving it a stronger ambiguity, or use a dimly lit location to fit with the sunset of the narrative and lyrical connection. One of these ideas we will use for our performance as it gives us a direct link to the bands ethos and way they perform with relation to the alternative genre because it gives it an edge compared to basic stage lighting; Whereas for the narrative elements of the music video the lighting will be all natural light except for that of the indoor parts where the fluorescent light bulbs will take over.

Advert Analysis: The White Stripes

The White Stripes - Icky Thump (abum poster)

The poster continues the band’s colours which are also conveyed in the music video by using simple shapes to create a simply designed poster. The black in the background gives the poster an easy background which links both to the genre as well as allowing the colourful text of the album title to overlay on top without becoming unnoticed. The text of this poster is all simple and sharp with the album coming before any reference to the band allowing to make reference to how well known the band actually is. The way that they use just the month of release of the album instead of a specific date makes the suspense go on for longer which is similar to the way distribution companies advertise films.

The main image has no direct reference to the band at all except that it is coloured the band colours therefore it entices people to read the poster’s information by giving them something random and abstract to look at that makes no obvious sense. In doing this they make majority of the background red which if people catch it out of the corner of their eye they will take a second look as the colour triggers ‘danger’ in their mind.

Digipak Analysis: FranKo – Vote FranKo

FranKo’s Digipak is simpler using a constant colour scheme of black and white through creative graphics which incorporate the text into the visual element. However even though the image appears to be a graphic image created by computer it is actually photography heavily edited and re positioned on a program like Photoshop. This gives the image on the main pane individuality as if an artist has wanted to present the band’s sound in an image as it is edgy, alternative and defiantly rock and roll. Thanks to the image the text layered on top large, black and linked together allows it to stand out when standing on the shelf. This layout has the Band Name as the main text taking over all three thirds of the pane because FranKo aren’t so well known therefore need to get the name of their band out there.

The main information pane’s background continues the colour scheme as the background is black and the writing is white however the style of writing has changed. The font for the list of bands has changed from the elaborate creative on the front of the Digipak to a gothic styled scripted like writing which takes over one two main thirds of the pane. At the bottom of the page you can find the small writing of the credits with the copyright symbols to who produced the album and performed on it.

The other panes within the album are plain black except for the disc itself which in this Digipak is counted as one of the panes. This pane continues the colour scheme with the black background and white text for the album title written in a similar style to the text on the front signature/front pane which is in the middle third. The rest of the information on this page inverts the colour scheme around the outside and tells you the year at the bottom and the band’s website at the top.

Digipak Analysis: Paul Weller – Wild Wood

The colour and the lighting of the images on the Digipak are very important as it shows the artist in a dark, creative and arty way from the signature images silhouette.  The image also allows the design of the pane to keep the colour scheme whilst coming together with the information to be visually pleasing and eye catching when on a stand in a shop. The text on this pane is white allowing it to stand out on top of the black of the artist’s photographed silhouette but has a shadow allowing it to give it 3d element making it stand out prominent in consumers eyes. The shadow on the text is a clever method of keeping the text visible and prominent when being laid across the top of vastly contrasting colours within the image itself.

The side pane to the Digipak is small so only shows precise information in relation to, the artist album title, product number and distribution company. The most of the information about the album is found on the back main pane which classically lists the songs in order to one side of the page, in this case to the left. This pane also contains the barcode in the top right hand corner however depending on what the design of the album art can be fitted in any corner. The small image in the top left is a logo of the distribution company and along with the small text at the bottom of the pane are the typical codes and conventions for this specific pane on a Digipak; the small writing at the bottom includes more important information about the year of production to distribution, the full company name as well as copyright symbols along with the countries in which it is distributed in. the whole pane continues the colour code on from the small information pane and the signature pane by the background being solid black and the text being white. The text itself also continues the same style being simple and ‘Arial’ like but it now does not have a shadow as the information it is telling doesn’t need to stand out to the reader as much, however some of the more important or popular song on the disc are written in larger writing than others.

The method of opening the Digipak is different to the common Digipak as it opens the opposite way to which you open a book however it fits with the genre in which the artist is trying to be part of, alternative rock. The rest of the panes of the Digipak are all picture panes except the disc itself which is plain colour however all use a variety of colours and lighting. The images panes are a mixture of shots consisting of black and white, red tinged and a tiled effect montage but are all taken in the same studio location and are all of Paul creating the album. 

Music Video and Advert Analysis: the Futureheads

Music Video Analysis: Christmas was better in the 80's

The video uses a circular structure as it starts with a black and white old school Christmas song music video as which also overlays the band members over each other. This adds depth to the video as it shows that even though they are young they are taking their music seriously but more importantly and specifically the lyrics of the song in which they have written. The black and white colour code instantly shows to that colour and lighting is significant having the flash backs of old footage of Christmas as well as old photos in colour but allowing the colour to not be as bright showing that they are old.

The performance elements of this specific video are singing and ‘dancing’ mainly using mid shots of the individual singing. The only instrument featured within the video is at the very beginning and at the very end with the image of keys on a piano being played but all you can see are the hands making a very artistic shot. With the band crossing over the two genres of punk and indie they use elements of both conventions within their location choices. For example the desolate are with old metal pylons and the way in which the band are positioned in the mid ground within it is a very indie vibe however the connotations of isolation which the location gives sides with the punk genre as it’s different and stands out. Body language from the four and the costumes also lean towards the indie genre as they seem very relaxed and more like normal people instead of insane punk rock and roll stars however the greyness of the location gives it a gothic edge.

The positioning of the band throughout the video changes but the main one which stands out is the lead singer standing in mid shot whilst the rest of the band are slightly out of focus looking small in the background. This shows that the lead takes more screen time within indie and punk rock music videos and is relatively simple to recreate the convention.

The narrative element to the video is memories of Christmas time and family being together especially when the children are young. To achieve this in a realistic way the footage of the past for these flashbacks comes across as armature film snippets from a range of different characters because of the occasional grains appearing on the screen on top of the footage as well as the contrast of the colour looks a little bit groggy or grey. This again gives the video a minor gothic edge especially this image of an adult figure wearing all black shovelling the snow in what appears to be complete isolation.

The video as a whole product uses the lyrics well to make the video link perfectly to the song by picking out the main lyric ‘Christmas day in the 1980’s’ as their inspiration. All the characters costumes show the typical and memorable costumes of that era with the large multi coloured jumpers and mix and match patterns within outfits. The props they use for the characters mini films which have been cleverly edited together as multiple montages which supplements the performance element of the band. All the editing as a whole is at a fast pace but matching the changes in tempo of the song’s jumpy rhythm created by the guitars and bass.

Advert Analysis: The Futureheads

This being the band's first studio album launch explains the multiple use of the band’s name on the poster in the top third as it repeatedly reminds the consumer who they are. The image being of each individual member of the band is also significant as it develops the consumers’ awareness about the band itself allowing them the possibility to explore them further.

The poster as a whole is very bright, light and indie as they use the space sparingly and include bright colours for the text, like the bright pink. The colour itself gives a fresh face to alternative rock and contrasts there music.  The text itself also contrasts the genre of music as it is semi rounded however the image which is also used on their album art has graphic elements to it but in more of a youthful and bright manner making it more sketch-like, this attracting the younger audience.

Music video and Advert Analysis: The White Stripes

Music Video Analysis: Icky Thump

The video uses a lot of close ups combined with point of view shots from the first moment that the main character is dropped off at the gates of Mexico as if the person telling the story of the narrative changes. This specific close up shot is the second one used in the video and immediately highlights the sinister/gothic nature that the band and the director are trying to convey. In doing so it highlights the individual nature that The White Stripes have created for themselves over the years by always doing their own thing. 

Red and White are the videos two colours which are used in the colour scheme running throughout for every character including the band, except for the male lead who is wearing black. This is because the colours are the White Stripes’ band colours. Also the red and White colours are used to show the significance of love/lust merging to innocence and along with the main man wearing the colour black makes it all have negative gothic connotations. This is because when mixing innocence with love/lust just leads to danger or bloodshed which is the message they try to insinuate throughout the video.

Icky thump explores the risky matter of prostitution through the narrative which is something we couldn’t possibly think of insinuating within our own music product as it would be deemed as offensive. However the way in which director came across this idea because it is mentioned in the lyrics, so when we become creating the narrative for our music video we will look for inspiration within the lyrics. This as a whole allows the song to link to the visuals which you are seeing on screen as part of the narrative element of the video.

The Performance element of the video is split up and breaks up the narrative at regular intervals. It uses mid shots to show the general playing, wide angles to show the elaborate style of playing which they are used to and close up shots for when the song itself comes to a point of significance for a particular instrument and then it proceeds to jump to it. The shots are used in a montage together but all carefully selected to fit with the timing of the song. 

The props and costumes in this music video are very significant as they create the creepy world in which the lead male appears to be stuck. As well as the sinister looking skeleton puppets everywhere the low lighting and near black and white elements of the video give it a very gothic theme. This is added to by the jerky camera movement and the soft focus used on the band at random times.

Advert Analysis: Icky Thump

The poster continues the band’s colours which are also conveyed in the music video by using simple shapes to create a simply designed poster. The black in the background gives the poster an easy background which links both to the genre as well as allowing the colourful text of the album title to overlay on top without becoming unnoticed. The text of this poster is all simple and sharp with the album coming before any reference to the band allowing to make reference to how well known the band actually is. The way that they use just the month of release of the album instead of a specific date makes the suspense go on for longer which is similar to the way distribution companies advertise films.

The main image has no direct reference to the band at all except that it is coloured the band colours therefore it entices people to read the poster’s information by giving them something random and abstract to look at that makes no obvious sense. In doing this they make majority of the background red which if people catch it out of the corner of their eye they will take a second look as the colour triggers ‘danger’ in their mind.