Audience and Target Market - Secondary Research

Before I start planning my video, it is important that I know my target audience and can identify aspects of music videos that appeal to them. This is a highly important aspect of targeting for music and is used by large media corporations such as the BBC. One way I have tried to do this is by analysing music videos in the genre (pop-rock) that I want to create my video for. From my two sets of analysis of 'Rude' and 'What I Go To School For', I have noticed a few common aspects that helped make these videos successful;

• A combination of narrative and performance. This is to add depth to the video and synergise with the lyrics while also advertising the band and their instruments.  
• The band or lead singer are involved in both the narrative and performance. 
• The lead singer or 'star' has the highest screen time and is in the centre of the performance.
• Clear mid to long shots of the band performing live with their instruments.
• Simple shots and cuts to keep the video smooth.

In summary, we can see that generally pop-rock videos are filmed in a common setting such as a school, town or club and follow a simple narrative along with shots of a live performance. This is to appeal to a younger target audience from around 13 to 25 years old with a more fun video, compared to some videos in perhaps the rock genre that can be a bit deeper and thoughtful. 

To support this theory, I decided to look back at my AS coursework and the questionnaire that I undertook to learn more about music tastes from different ages. Here is a couple of results that helped me decide on my target market, as we can see that a survey mainly answered by young people came up with pop and rock in the top three most popular categories. Of course, this data may be considered dated as it is a year old and is not representative of music videos specifically, but it gives me a notion that pop-rock as a genre is more of a younger taste.

Dolby

Excellent work so far George- I have made some comments on your posts so read and reflect on this. Overall I would say that the labels and headings on the blog could be more specific and that you need to start thinking about audience research more.

Existing Advertisement Analysis

In the project I will be creating a magazine advertisement to help promote the artist and inform the reader of the new album. This has been a feature for many years, as there are plenty of music magazines spanning over all genres, such as NME, Billboard, and Vibe. The readers of the magazine will usually listen to the same sort of music that the magazine caters for, so labels will place their artists deliberately in the most suitable magazine.

The style of magazine advertisements is usually similar for all products; a large image of the product or artist and a small amount of bold text, sometimes in the form of a slogan. This trend results in a striking advert that readers will notice as they turn the page, and won't be put off by a wall of text.

The music industry tends to have a similar trend, with a large image of the artist and then the vital information such as the release date added in bold text. The advert I will be taking an in-depth look at is by Stereophonics, ahead of their new album Keep Calm and Carry On. I have chosen this advert as I like the overall visual effect of the page, and works within a media package as the album shares the same image. This is something I can take forward as it is important in my project that the video, digipak and advert share similar aspects. This is to create almost a brand for the band and improve the response from the audience for all three creations when seen in tandem or apart.

Here are images of the front and back covers of the album; as you can see the band and label have decided to use the same setting and image across both the advert, front and back covers of the album. I think this works quite well as the image is quite memorable and can improve the chance of someone recognising the album in a shop after glancing at the advert in a magazine.
The back image on the album is shot at the same zoom and height yet the band has moved from their seats outwards and are laughing and joking. This again shows the band resonating with the album title and adds to the quirkiness of the cover. Furthermore, the viewer gets the contrast as they turn the album over to the back page and see the band almost off camera compared to them sat around having the main promo picture taken.

Existing Digipak Analysis

In this section I will taking a look at two album digipaks; 'Stereo Typical' by Rizzle Kicks and '#3' by The Script. I have decided to take a look at these two albums as they are British groups with fairly similar target audiences to what I am familiar with.

Stereo Typical

This is the album cover for Stereo Typical, the debut album from duo Rizzle Kicks. As you can see, the album is filled with the same colour beige even on the artist's clothes, Rizzle Kicks logo and the background. This is to fit with the retro style that Rizzle Kicks use and actually makes the album more recognisable as the colour is rather unique. 

The cover follows a fairly standard layout of a large image of the artist over most of the cover, with their name and album title above. This is used by most as it sells the artists' image and helps make the album tied to them as a duo; when someone sees the album in a shop they will see the image of Rizzle Kicks and can tie the image to when they may have seen them before. 

The clothing worn by the lads is reminiscent of their genre and stereotype (notice the album name too) with hoodies and the snapback hat. This ties into the codes of what most expect from a hip hop style artist. They have further tested this idea in their facial expressions; the duo are staring blankly into the camera which could be a tip towards the idea of 'local yobs' who hang out on the streets. 

Overall, I like the overall effect of the cover and think the way they have taken the conventions of their main genre and played it subtly is very clever. I think that for my digipak I will try and do something similar, even if I'm not doing a hip-hop song.   

 This is the back cover for Stereo Typical, and as you can see the beige colour has been continued from the cover. This helps to keep the continuity from the cover and make the album look more professional. For the top of this side, they have included the album name again in the same style as the cover. However, they have changed the red A to a B for this side, which could be a reference to A and B sides on old records. This is a clever addition and helps to accentuate the retro style of Rizzle Kicks.
Included on the rest of the side are the songs, organised in a clear order in terms of when they appear on the album. They are again a beige colour to fit with the styling of the album. I prefer the organised form of the song list as I find it confusing when the songs aren't put in order or organised in a funny way.
At the bottom of the album is the barcode, information on the record label as well as the URL of the Rizzle Kicks website. This is reasonably standard, however it is important to include things such as the website as the Internet is a big factor in marketing and selling in the modern day.

Finally, this is the CD for the Stereo Typical album. The first thing you may notice is that the CD is not the beige colour of the rest of the digipak, and is instead a medley of a dirty shoe and general litter. This adds colour to the album and also reflects the urban nature of hip-hop music. Again, the name of the album as well as the Rizzle Kicks logo make an appearance to help keep the continuity and make sure the CD can be identified.

The inside covers of Stereo Typical are actually quite plain; the left inside panel is basically a copy of the back cover and includes the tracklist on it again, which I can see being quite a helpful aspect as it means the user can double check what track they want to hear first as they take the CD out of the case. Below it is more contact links such as their website and Facebook page, as their target market is likely to have the Internet and social media accounts to share about the album.
The second pane on the right is a continuation of the CD art, as seen from the back of the shoe and the packaging. This means that when the images are lined up, the Rizzle Kicks logo and album name will be the right way up to make it easier to read. I quite like that the owner of the CD must line up the CD properly in the case to make the image look right, which also keeps the artist name much more on show.


#3

 The next digipak I will be looking at is #3 by The Script. Released in 2012, this album gained Platinum status in the UK and included a variety of popular songs. The first thing I like about this album cover is the color scheme; the black, white and grey all work together to provide a slightly moody and darker image of The Script. Furthermore, we can see from the facial expressions of the band, who are organised into a slight collage within each other, that the album may be a more serious one.
The text font is different for the band name and album name, which i'm not sure about. I think that the album would look a bit better if they had chosen the same font for both, because it would make the album more uniform. However, both texts are easy to read on top of the white background and the album name is easy to remember.
Finally, on the bottom right of the album is a sticker that mentions the lead single of the album 'Hall of Fame' as well as some bonus tracks. I think this is a good feature for an album, as The Script can sell more copies of their album off the back of the single's success. The name of the song is written in much larger font for that reason.
Overall, I think the visual effect of the album is very strong due to the colour scheme and would definitely look good on a shelf, and I really like the use of a sticker to help entice the customer with the lead single.

The back cover of #3 follows on from where the front left off; using a black and white colour scheme and a collage of the three band members. However, the image has been changed to keep the same style but in a different order, This helps to keep the album fresh and unique while having a clear identity and style that a person would recognise. 

In the top right is the track list, which is placed into a black box to fit with the style of the album. Like the Rizzle Kicks album above, I like the clear vertical order of the track list and makes it a lot easier to read and understand. One thing I noticed is that all of the 'E's in the tracks have been turned the other way. This fits in with the name of the album and adds a little extra quirk to what can usually be a fairly plain list. 

In the bottom right is another black box with the band website as well as the Sony Music name and logo. Again, this is very important for the branding of the band and helps to keep a digital presence for the artists.  

This is an image of the inside covers for #3. Differing from the outside covers, the inside uses two longer ranged shots of all three members, which is a popular choice for groups. I like the overall effect of how the outside cover of the album changes so much from the inside, except for the black clothes and filter on the band.
The left panel clearly denotes who the frontman of the band is by having him stood facing and looking towards the audience, slightly in front of the other two guys. This can also be seen on the front cover as the other two members are placed inside the shape of the frontman's head. I can understand why this has been done as Danny O'Donoghue is easily the best known member of the group thanks to his involvement in shows like The Voice UK, so it makes sense to have his image as the main focus.
On the right pane, a long shot of the band casting long shadows can be seen when the CD is taken out of the case. I like the effect that this can give on the listener as they will be reminded of the band image when they take the CD out to listen to it. The posture and positioning of the band against the plain background makes it seem as if when the CD is played the band can be all that you need to see and hear, which is a clever and strong effect that I quite like.

Existing Music Video Analysis

Busted - What I Go To School For



The first current music video I have decided to take a look at is the song What I Go To School For, The song was released back in September 2002 and peaked at number 3 on the UK charts. The song itself is about a teacher that one of the band members had a crush on, and this is reflected in the simple but effective music video, set primarily in a school of course. I have chosen this song as I am looking to create a pop-rock music video and there are many aspects of this video that I can learn from, such as narrative, camera and lip-syncing.

The narrative of the music video is fitting with the lyrics of the song, and begins in a dark room during a sex education class. This is clearly a message to the viewers of what the song is going to be to do with, and plenty of shots of the teacher help us to see who the song is about. The three members of the band sing their lyrics as they act in the narrative, for example when one of them sprints to his seat at the front, the line about being sat at the front is said in the song, while he lip syncs it. The overall effect is really good to help the viewer get involved more in the song.
The chorus of the song is mainly sung in the school playground, with the band in front of a huge crowd of students at the school. This helps to keep the setting simple and fit with the song. The band and extras are all bouncing and raving which really helps to capture the energetic nature of the song.
The final section of the song involves the boys in the band visiting Miss Mackenzie's house late at night to spy on her. This is a scene that has been seen in many popular love films like Romeo and Juliet, so this acts as a play on that just with the students climbing up a tree to spy on their teacher! This adds to the slightly tongue in cheek nature of the video and sums up Busted as a band quite well, which makes this music video achieve the goal of promoting the artist.

The mise en scene of the music video is quite simple; the first half of the video is set during a typical school day so all the band and extras a wearing school uniforms. However, the band have customised uniforms that identify them as quite roguish, fitting in with their brand image and target market.The video is shot primarily during a school day, with overcast weather. This has been done to fit with the typical British weather during the school day most likely...

In terms of camera and editing, the shots used in the video include close ups, mid shots and also a few specialised shots such as a high angle shot over the crowd in the second chorus. In this section I'm going to take a look at a few shots that I liked and explain why they are effective.

The first set of shots that I noticed came right at the beginning of the video; a close up of a hand writing 'sex education' on the board before switching straight into another close up of the teacher's eyes. This have been used as the establishing shots in the video, which immediately focuses the audience on to the teacher and can immediately gain a strong idea of what the video is about. A shot like this is very effective in setting up a good narrative and I may do something similar for my video.

Another shot that I liked was a mid shot on one of the band members lip syncing during the class. This idea was used a lot during the video where they followed the lyrics and acted them out, for example the pencil dropping shot above. I think this adds to the overall effect of the video as the audience feels like they are seeing more of a story and not just a random narrative tacked on to the performance.

A final shot that is especially good for bands is the slightly widened mid shot of the group all playing, with a large crowd behind. This shot is popular in many videos in the genre, for example also being used in Wheatus' Teenage Dirtbag. It allows the audience to see the band play and sing the song as if they were live in front of them, and shows the energetic nature of the song by having all the actors bounce up and down as if they were in the crowd at a concert. Busted opted to only use this shot during the chorus, leaving time for more unique shots and narrative opportunity throughout the rest of the video. For any band, this type of shot is a must as it is important that the viewer can see the band all playing their instruments together, unlike in the first verse where each member is solo in each shot. 

MAGIC! - Rude

For my second music video analysis I have decided to review the song 'Rude' by MAGIC! The song is one of my favorites in its genre and is clearly very popular overall, recently surpassing 1 billion views on YouTube. The video is simple to understand and synergises with the lyrics and mood of the song. Below is a Prezi presentation detailing what I have found out about the song. 

Copyright Email

Here is a screenshot of the email I sent to The Hoosiers' manager, in order to ask permission to use their song. By sending this email, I can gain fair use of the song and not break copyright law. This is highly important, especially in the modern era of the Internet, where even background music in a YouTube video can be flagged for copyright infringement and action taken against the poster. 

After getting a quick response from Erik, the band manger, I was informed that the band don't actually own the rights to the song, and that I should email Sony Music as their label published the single. Below is the email I sent to them;

Music Videos - Research

In this new project, we have been tasked with creating a music video for a song of our choice. To help me understand the task better I decided to undertake a little bit of research into music videos, their purpose and history as well as research on intertextuality and the types of music video.

Why are music videos so important?

Music videos have become a big part of selling a song; even The Beatles in 1965 started releasing music videos for songs such as Help! which were successes. Music videos became a way to see your favorite artists without having to turn up to a concert. 

In 1981, MTV became the first designated music channel that showed music videos all day. This, coupled with the appeal of videos from hugely popular and influential artists like Duran Duran and Madonna, meant music videos became a main source of consumer access to music. The video to a song also helps the artist and their marketing team to produce the desired image of themselves and the song towards the audience, seen in a variety of conventions (more on those later in the blog).

Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music. This can be seen through the use of a lot of close and mid-zoom shots of the artist to help the viewer recognise them. Videos can be purchased on many music providers such as iTunes and Google Play, allowing viewers to watch their favorite artists all the time in return for a a fairly pricey fee. 

With the rise of sites like YouTube and Facebook, many music videos are seen first and earn greater popularity online than anywhere else. For example, there are 28 music videos with over one billion views on YouTube, some of these gaining credit off the back of the music video alone.

As the purpose of music videos has changed over the years, the cost of filming a music video has increased from just a film of the band playing to miniature films and narratives. As you can see from the table below, artists such as Madonna dominate the most expensive videos ever, probably due to the glamorous image she has had over the years. 

Source: Wikipedia

Types of Music Video

The next aspect of music videos I explored was the types of music video that can be made;

Performance Based, Narrative Based and Concept Based. 

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is, put simply, the relationship between a variety of texts or other media. This is used to create an effect on the reader or viewer and provide a broader experience in a piece of text or video, and add layers of depth. Intertextuality occurs in almost any type of media, from similarities in films such as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter (an ageing wizard mentor in Gandalf/Dumbledore, and an inexperienced group of friends as the protagonists) or across different media. 

For example, in Iggy Azalea's video for her song 'Fancy', she pays homage to the 90's film 'Clueless', as seen below. As well as the mise-en-scene, other aspects such as the opening to the video are extremely similar. I like what Iggy Azalea has done with intertextuality, and I think it creates a really nice effect if the audience notices the connection to Clueless as well as being a good video in its own right. 

top: Fancy, bottom: Clueless