Music Video

Below is my music video that I created as part of my A2 media production.

Flat Plans

Below are the different flat plans that I created in preparation for creating my media products.

Contract with Hal Smith

Below is the contract that myself and Hal Smith created so that I was permitted to use his song for my music video.

Shot List

Through the various existing music videos I observed I found a variety of camera shots that were common throughout most of the music videos. In order to keep with the common conventions of music videos I used these shots also:

1. Establishing shot of a dark alleyway with a male busker curled in the corner.

2. High angle Close up on the buskers face looking sad while people walk past in the background.

3. low angle shot of busker pushing against the wall and standing up.
4. Medium shot of busker walking towards the camera.
5. Medium shot of busker  walking around a corner.
6. High angle long shot of busker walking up set of stair, then panning around the busker.
7. Extreme long shot of busker walking along a road.
8. Close up of busker walking past the camera.
9. Worms eye medium - close up of busker walking down stairs and passing past camera.
10. Medium - close up of busker walking past camera.
11. Medium shot of angle shot of busker walking along a pavement (Camera is placed on the opposite side of the road and is viewing the busker from the side).
12. Medium shot of busker walking towards camera and then turning into an alleyway.
13. Medium shot of busker sitting back down.

Evaluation

Below is my evaluation for my A2 media production.

Background information on Hal

Below is background ionformation on Hal Smith, who is the musician and singer of the music in my music video.
Hal Smith is a young musician, he plays either as part of a band, known as "Two Piece" or as a solo artist playing acoustic guitar and singing. He has played many gigs both as a solo artist and as part of his band. He plays as a solo artist regularly at a local pub situated in Bodmin.

Props

Below is a list of props that I used when filming my music video:

A rock.
Lighting in the alleyway.
Seating in the bus stop.
Parked cars.

Storyboard

Below is the storyboard that I created and followed when filming my media production, while there may be some slight differences between the shots I used in my production and the shots on the storyboard, this is because I believe the shots that were changed were changed for the better and make it easier to express the connotations of the music video. However apart from the few differences I followed my storyboard and am pleased with it.

Shots 1 -6

Shots 7 -12

Shots 13 -15

Magazine Advert

After receiving some audience feedback I made some changes to my magazine advert.

As you can see I have now added retailers where you can purchase the album, I have also added a sub title including the feature songs of the album.

Film Shoot

Below are still images that are taken from some of he shots that I used in my music video... 

Institutions

Before creating my music video I had to research institutions that create and air music videos. The main channels that air music videos include; Kerrang, TMF, Box, 4 Music, NME and MTV.

The best channels to air my music video would be Kerrang, MTV and and NME because they show a lot of Indie videos. Also, I would put my video on YouTube, my artists website and Facebook because my youth target audience said they look for music videos using new media.  

I also had to think about which institutions I would but my magazine advert in. The main music magazine are Q, Kerrang, NME, Mojo, Classic Rock, Rolling Stone and Vibe.

I think I should put my advert in Kerrang and NME because as this information from their rates cards show their target audience is the same as mine:

Synopsis

After meeting with my client Hal, listening to his song 'I won't Forget' and looking careful at my target audience feedback I developed the follow synopsis for the narrative in my music video:

The music video for 'I won't Forget' will represent youth culture through following the story of a young man (who could be placed anywhere between 15-24  years) as he wanders lost around a desolate, working class town late at night. I chose this setting because it represents the majority of modern youth who live in urban surroundings. Also, the concrete connotes the oppressive feeling of the protagonist and the target audience.

The concept of the narrative is that something has happened in his life that has made him feel lost and that things are just going in circles, the viewer if left to decide the nature of the problem (Bathe's enigma) themselves. This makes it more personal because they can apply it to their own lives, whether they link it to a break up or loss of a loved one through illness or drink/drugs problems the connotation is left open. The style follows conventions of videos such as Ed Sheran's A Team because it will use dark colours, mise-en-scene, characters, shots and lighting associated with working class youth culture.

The cinematography will feature a range of shots of the protagonist as he walks from a darkened alley around town then back to the alley way. In terms of sound, there will be some ambient sound but the main sound will be the track itself. Hal Smith will not be featured singing in the video as I want to follow the conventions of videos such as The A Team (Ed Sheran) that let the narrative successfully represent the audience and sell the album.

In short, the tone of the video matches the dark tones of the track, successfully representing youth culture because as Hall pointed out; "Youth is a time of trouble and stress" (Hall, 1904).

Questionnaire

Above is my questionnaire which I created in order to gather information about my audience and find out what my target audience want they expect a music video to be and what they expect to be included within a music video. I posted my survey on FaceBook - this is a common way of gathering audience information in modern media driven society. Most of the people on my Facebook are in my primary target audience, making it a place to seek audience feedback. 

My findings were as follows:

Q1: 60% of people who did my survey were male, 40% were female.

Q2: 

60% were 13-18 

30% 19-24

10% were 25-34

Q3

0% were A

0% were B

30% were C1

30% were C2

30% were D

10% were E

Q4 the follow percentages show how my target audience defined themselves:

10% Self-actualizers

20% Innovators 

20% Esteem Seekers

20% Strivers

0% Contented comforters 

0% Traditionalists 

30% Disconnected 

This shows me that a lot of young people feel disconnected, this could be because of a lack of opportunities and youth being a time of 'Trouble and Stress' (Hall, 1904). I will reflect this in my products to represent this group. 

Q5 the following percentages show what music genre people liked best in my target audience 

20% Rock

20% Metal

40% Indie

10% Alternative

5% Pop

5% R&B

I think these results reflect current music trends because Indie bands are big at the moment; therefore I will use a Indie band/artist for my product. 

Q6 these percentages show how often my target audience watch music videos:

10% Every day

20% Few times a week

50% Every few weeks

10% Once a month

10% Whenever 

This shows that music videos are an important form of marketing because the majority of my target audience watch them a lot. 

Q7 these percentages show how long my target audience think music video should be:

20% 4 minutes +

30% 3-4 minutes

40% 2-3 minutes

10% Less than 2 minutes

This shows me the best length for my music video, to represent the needs of my target audience, is between 2-3 minutes. 

Q8 these percentages show what my target audience wanted to see in a music video: 

0% Spontaneity 

30% Seriousness

10% Light-hearted fun

10% Teenage antics

20% Romance plot

10% Global issues

10% Animation  

80% Narrative 

This shows me that my target audience want to see something serious with a narrative they can relate to. 

Q9 these percentages show the percentage of my target audience who wanted to see a moral message in the music video:

20% said yes

10% said no

70% said don't care.

This shows me that including a moral message is not a priority for my target audience. 

Magazine Advert fr Album

I chose to use the front cover from my album as the feature image for my advertisement as it is the most recognizable part of the album and is the image people will see when it is on shelf. Like the album cover the connotations of mystery and confinement have been included as I believe it will appeal to my target audience.

CD Album Digipack

For my CD Album digipack, I chose to keep the top half of the person hidden on the front cover of my album as it connotes a sense of mystery and not being able to understand what is in front of you. I also chose to keep the area around the lower half quite confined as it connotes being trapped and not being able to escape, which synergise well with the theme of the album. which is how brutal reality can be and how one can become trapped in a vicsious cycle. 

I chose to keep the character as far away as possible when designing the back of the album because I wanted to create the connotation of being isolated and that in life one can be misunderstood and looked down upon for the wrong reasons. Again I chose to keep the surrounding cramped to reinforce my previous connotations of cycles I stated above.

The inside cover however does not have the character in the shot and instead is simply an alleyway in which you cannot see the exit, I chose this to connote that once you have chosen a path it is not so easy to stop and choose another one and that it must be followed to the end, no matter how long and hard that path is.  

Music Video Analysis

Below is a video that I created analysing existing conventions of narrative, characters and representation relating to the genre of my music video.  The music video I analysed is Class A Team by Ed Sheeran, I chose this video because it shares similar connotations with my own music video, one example being the lead character looked down upon by society and finding themselves in a bad situation e.g. being homeless.


Music Video Analysis from Daniel Becker on Vimeo.

Budget

Below is a list of estimated costs of equipment and actors that are required in order to create my music video.

Canon 600D camera £575
Lighting Kit £120
Tripod £15
Actors (extras) £90 per day
Cost to hire recording studio £35 per hour

As the feature actors are the artists of the song and I am included within that group I do not need to pay for feature actors.

Because of the new developments in technology I have chosen to upload my music video on You Tube because many people view material on You Tube and it is free to upload.

Crew List

Below is a list of the cast and crew I used to create my media production.

Daniel Becker - Director, Editor, Producer, Actor (busker)
Thomas Coad - Actor (extra)
Callum Pinch - Actor (extra)
Hal Smith  -  Musician (Guitar), Vocalist

Equipment List

Below is a list of equipment and software that I used in order to create my media production.

Canon 600D Video camera
Tripod
Apple Mac
Adobe Photoshop CS5
Final Cut Pro
After Effects
GarageBand

Audience Profiling

When creating a media product, choosing the right target audience is essential to its success, as Hall and Holmes 1996 stated "Any media text is created for a particular audience and will usually appeal most to this target audience". It is also important to consider the different types of audience; mass and niche audiences and which of these types of audiences your media product is going to be aimed at.

A mass audiences are a large mainstream audience that consume mainstream or popular culture and this audience is largely made up of working class people, according to Marxist. Examples of mainstream media productions include: Eastenders, Premiership football , Hollywood films etc.

A niche audience is smaller than a mass audience but is still usually very influential, Marxist would define these people as being middle/upper class who want to see 'high culture' programs hence the launch of BBC Four which aimed its programs at this audience. A niche can however simply be a small dedicated who advertisers feel are worth targeting/marketing products for.

As my music video being of the indie-rock genre it will not seen perceived as being particularly mainstream, as such my target audience is a niche audience because those who will be most likely to consume my media production will be a minority mainly consisting of those who fall under 'disconnected' (Those who are detached and resentful and tend to live in the ever present now).

It is also important to consider the characteristics of your target audience so that it is possible to tailor your product to their needs, as I stated above my target audience shares characteristics with the disconnected social value group  because they are a social group that focuses on the alternatives and rebels against the status quo, therefore this supports the classification of a niche audience due to their social group and interests.

When attempting to categorise my target audience into one specific ideology its clear that they do not fit into one ideology because of their rebellious characteristics, as such I constructed my own ideology that classifies my target audience. This is based upon the four C's classification theory 'Reformers' as they are alternative and the MRI categories.

The classification for my target audience is very similar to that of 'Reformers' and 'Disconnected' because   they are an alternative audience that rebels against the status quo and mainstream ideals of society. They would typically fall into the Audience demographic group E which consisting of Students who would spend their free time going to pub quizzes, shopping, and hanging out with friends. However as the age range of my target audience is 15-24 I have to take into account stanley Hall's 'Storm and Stress Model' which states that young people take part in activities that satisfy their high sensation seeking needs i.e. Drinking, Coitus etc. All of which are quite sociable activities. As such I have concluded that the classification for my target audience is: Rebellious nature that goes against mainstream ideals, but at the same time are sociable towards others that fit into the same social classification as them as well as tending to live in the ever present now.

Music Magazine Auxiliary Survey

Below is a questionnaire that I created relating to music magazines and what the target audience actually wants to see in a music magazine. By creating this questionnaire I am able to find out what social grade the majority of my target audience is and what they want to see in a music magazine article, this allows me to tailor my advert to what my audience want and therefore make my audience want to purchase my product.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Qualitative Research Questionnaire

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

This is a questionnaire that goes into more detail about my target audiences needs and what they want to see in a music video, as well as what they do not want to see in a music video. This is so that I have a clear understanding of what my target audience actually wants to see in a music video and by considering these factors my music video will be more successful.