Target Audience Research: Analysis of our Survey Results

After receiving just 15 responses to our survey, we have decided we need to analyze the results and use them to help us make an effective and popular video. I have displayed the results to the questions in different ways.

What Gender are you?

 How old are you?

The response was from those 16+, as expected, meaning that his is our main target audience, however we must not rule out attempting to appeal to the younger audience also.

What is your favourite music video and why?

Apart from the person who obviously has an obsession with turtles, most the answers are good, and helpful. We have discovered what the popular videos are, and why they may be liked. Most the videos referred to, we have already looked at in 'the top 100 music videos', meaning we have quite a good understanding of them. We have also obtained a wide variety of different song and video types.

How often do you watch music videos in a week?

People don't particularly tend to watch music videos, as we know they often listen to music on various technologies when on the move, such as ipods and phones. However some people do watch them, and we do not know how many people within the 0-5 category watch music channels o times, and how many watch it 5.

Would you go out of your way to watch a music video?

For this question, we got the response we wanted. 13 people would go out o their way to watch a music video, in comparison to just 2 who would not. This shows that the music video is important to the popularity of a song. 

 On a scale of 1-10, what do you rate the importance of the music video, in relation to the promotion of the song?

The response to this question varied, however it seems as though more people consider a songs music video to be quite important- 11 of the 15 said they considered the importance to be between 6-10, so the majority think it is of high importance.

 What is your favourite musical genre?

As can be seen, the most popular styles of music were dance, followed by pop, then RnB and dubstep. However as there is a wide variety, with at least one person liking each genre, we figured we could pick any song genre we like, as each has an audience it would appeal to.

 What is you favourite music video style?

The most popular is comical, so we will try to make our video funny and entertaining, and people also like a story. The least popular video style is animated, so we will avoid this.

What makes a good music video in your opinion?

I put all the key words that answered the above question into a wordle, to see what came out biggest, and as most popular. As can be seen, people think controversy,comedy and fun are important, and also like originality and dancing. We will take all of this into consideration when we make our music video, trying to abide by the most popular responses, to appeal what is considered to be an audience made of the majority of our survey.

Filming/Editing: Editing the 'Oh Me Oh My' Sequence

To edit the 'Oh Me Oh My' part of the song, we wanted each person in a corner of the screen each, with their word, in the first instance having them the wrong way round, and so needing to swap. To do this, we had to import the pictures, make the the right size, ad then work out the speed to make it look as close to Tom and Charlie swapping words as possible. This involved slowing Charlie's down to 80% of its original speed. We expected it to look obviously slower, but thankfully it was okay. We also got Jake and Jake in the bottom pictures to look up and shake their heads at the above pairs mistakes.

Digipak & Advert: Digipak Photos

Whilst we filmed the other day, the chorus in front of the brick wall, we also took still pictures, to use for the digipak, one of each person holding the sign up smiling for the front cover, and one of them pulling faces for the inside.

Filming/Editing: Re-filming the 'Oh Me Oh My' sequence

Today we re-filmed our 'Oh Me Oh My' chorus sequence. Because we knew what we wanted to do, from a previous attempt, we were much more successful, and it took a lot less time. We also got all the photos we want for our digipak.


Once we had done this part, we planned to use the drama room, and instruments from the music department, to create a band scene, at the same time as another group, to help each other, however the drama room was in use, and so we were unable to do so. I will ask the appropriate teacher in the near future when it is possible to use the drama room, as well as making sure the instruments are available.

Filming/Editing: More Filming and Editing

Yesterday, we filmed our 'Oh Me Oh My' chorus film sequence. We had to ask Jake Williams Charlie Land and Jake Knowles, along with Tom to be filmed, and we also to stills of each of them, as this is what we are going to use for our digipak. They wore what we considered to be indie looking clothes. It went well, but when we uploaded it to Final Cut, we decided although it was okay, we thought we can do better. For this reason, tomorrow we are going to re film it, knowing exactly what we need to do to make it better, along with filming our band performance scene, at the same time as the other group do theres. We also had some problems on on Final Cut; the program kept cutting out mid process of editing, meaning we had to keep restarting. Hopefully this wont happen throughout.

Filming/Editing: Beginning to Edit

Our plan is to upload footage as we film it. Today we downloaded our song from Youtube, onto Final Cut, and uploaded our firework footage from last week, removing the sound so the music is all you can hear, and picking out the better bits of video. We have quite a lot so will have to cut it down once we have all our other footage.

Planning: Suggested Filming Schedule

Below is a plan me and my group drew up for when we will go out filming, and what costumes and props it will involve. We will attempt to abide by it, but realise that factors such as weather and school classroom availability may hinder our plan. We have also allowed at least 2 days between each filming session, because we will want to edit as we go along, and have had to think about what lessons and other work people have to do.

Theory Work: Audience Theory- The Effects Model

- The first of the theories we looked at that will help us to understand the relationship between text and audience is The Effects Theory, also known as the Hypodermic Syringe Model.
- The theory is that the consumption of media texts has an effect and an influence upon the audience.
- This is normally considered to be a negative effect.
- Audiences passively consume texts, and are powerless to prevent the influence texts have.
- The power lies with the message of the text.
- The model is also known as The Hypodermic Model because the audience are sitting passively, powerless to having a hypodermic syringe pumping and infecting us with information, and the intended message.
- We are drugged by and addicted to the powerful syringe-like media.


Examples
In the 1992 british general election, and the weeks leading up to the result, the labour party was dominating. Throughout, The Sun newspaper were against Labour, and on the  day of the result, they published the below front page headline.

The Conservative Party won my just a few seats, and below is The Sun's headline on the following day;

It was believed that the papers headline on results day influenced enough people to change their vote, providing the conservatives with the  victory.

Another example is television advertising. Certain adverts, such as Barry Scott for Cilit Bang, and Alexander the Meercat for Compare the Market are rememberable and a lasting effect on the audience, influencing them to purchase the product or use the service, as it is the one that springs to mind.

Theory Work: Audience Theory- What? Why? How?

Today in lesson we looked back at the model of the media that we learnt about some weeks ago. As part of the model, we discovered that text, such as tv, internet and newspapers are consumed by an audience. Over the coming weeks, we will be looking at why, how, and what happens, as well as theories surrounding the relationship between text and audience. There are three theories we will be considering and learning about;


- The Effects Model (also known as the Hypodermic Syringe Model)
- The Uses and Gratifications Model
- The Reception Theory


Before we look at these theories, in class discussion we considered the following;


Why do audiences choose to consume certain texts?
- To learn
- To entertain
- Because it's a topic of interest to them
- Because it's a personal preference


How can media be consumed?
- Watched
- Read
- Listened to
- Interact (the internet)


What can happen when an audience consumes text?
- A person can form a new opinion
- A person can change their opinion
- A person is influenced, or indoctrinated

Filming/Editing: Filming Fireworks!

Over this weekend, unscheduled, myself and Tom took a camera to my dads house. We were having a firework party and so decided to film it to use in our music video, towards the end. We got some good footage, and over the next few days we will be editing it.

Planning: Costumes and Props

We are going to need a number of costumes and props during the music video making process. We need to be aware of cost and availability whilst we consider what we plan to use.


Costumes.
For our video, because it is reality, costumes will only consist of normal clothing, particularly 'indie rock' clothes, to match our music. This may include chinos or skinny jeans, and indie tops, which are usually V cut necks, with pictures or writing in them, and converses.
The girl in the video, me, needs to be dressed in clothes which are nice, with make up on, to make her look like someone the ex boyfriend would fancy.


Props.
Props will help to make the music video more realistic and believable, as well as making it more interesting. The props we plan to include are below;


Band Scene- Guitar, Drums, Microphone- school music department; cost FREE

Coloured card (and marker pens) to write 'Oh Me Oh My' on- Art department at school- Cost; FREE

Newspaper, to buy in the shop scene, will have to be brought before, because the shop we are filming in is a party shop- Cost; 55p

The SeeSaw, in Valance Park, to film the part where Tom thinks he sees his ex girlfriend, but doesn't- Cost; FREE

Planning: Change in ideas

Since making our storyboard and discussing initial ideas, we have had a slight change in what we want to do. We were planning to do a scene where Tom sees my face on the advert of a side of a bus, only to look back and sees its not me. To do this, we had discussed using a green screen, which would be accessible through the ICT department at school, who have green screen material stored away. We were going to film the bus, and my face, individually, then merge them together. However we decided that there are easier things to do, that are less time consuming, but just as effective. Considering time, we have had to think about how easy the computer program to put the images together might take time to work out, use. So instead we are going to do the same sort of thing, but with a see saw in a park, where Tom in on the see saw, with me, but in reality he is on it alone. Although your meant to pity Tom's character, it is also quite comical, which will help attract a particular audience.

Digipak & Advert: Analysis of a Magazine Advert

Below is a magazine article that i discovered online. I think it is a good advert to analyse as it reveals a lot about the band, and the type of music they would be assosiated with.

Planning: Possible Locations

We have considered lots of locations that we could possibly film at. We have to consider what would suit the genre of the music video, which is indie rock, and we have to think about weather, especially now its winter and the weather is quite tempromental, so we might have to film some inside if possible. Below are some locations that we have thought about filming in, what we would film there, and how it links to our story/video.

- The Beach

We first thought about filming at a beach, such as Southend, Clacton or Brighton. However when we thought more about it, we thought this would be quite impractical as it would be really cold, and we couldn't really think of any storyline that we would want that would feature a beach. The main positive of filming at a beach is that it provides a nice setting if we have lip synching, however we believe we can overcome this.

- London
We like the idea of filming in London, particuarly at specific locations within London, that would be recognisable to those watching the music video. We will probably go to London, and film people lip synching or people holding up lyric boards. This locations is easily accesible, and we believe, will be effective. The urban vibe of using the city we think would provide the right mood for our video. Below are some pictures of the various places in London we have considered using as backgrounds.

- School
We will use our school, Robert Clack Upper Site, in our video, but will not make it recognisable as the school. We will use outside, a brick wall, for our chorus scene, and either use the drama room with its black curtains, or assembly room stage for our band gig/ performance.

- My Dad's House
We will film at my dad's house when we film the fireworks at my firework party (house shown below). The house is irrelivant, as we will only be filming the sky.

- Party GoGo (Shop)

This is where i work, and is the shop we hope to use, for the scene where Tom thinks he see's me when buying a paper, when it is actually the shop worker. We are going to ask permission and it should be okay, and we are going to ask the owner, my boss Theresa, to be the shop person at the till in the video. 

Planning: Our Animatic

Using the pictures we drew for our storyboard, we have created an animatic on Final Cut Express, demonstrating how we imagine the video to look, in it's basic form;

Planning: Our Storyboard

This is our storyboard of our ideas, put together in order.

Target Audience Research: Disappointment with our Survey

When our group once again checked how many people had done our survey on music videos, even though i had sent around a text to friends, it turns out only 5 people have completed the survey, which is very dissapointing. We will continue to ask friends and family to complete the survey and will collect results when we have around 20 results.

Planning: Genre Conventions

When making our video, we have to consider the genre of the song, and what sorts of conventional features it might have. Our song it indie rock, and so we have thought about having a live gig, or performance. We also want to have lip synching. However we have to consider what is possible, as in with location, props and costumes, due to time and funds. 


Looking at other video's of the genre, they often include;
- Black and white shots
- Feature the band performing
- Extreme close ups
- Lots of short shots/ Lots of edits
- Dark locations


Below are some bands and music videos that I have looked at, and consider to be indie rock, which include some of the above conventions;

Planning: Outline of our Ideas

Our main ideas focus around a story of a boy and a girl recently split up. The story follows the boy, who keeps seeing his girlfriends face in places, only to look back and realise it isn't her. We also want to feature firworks, people lip syching to the song in various locations, and people holding up boards with the lyrics on. These are our basic ideas, which we will develope and fine tune over time. To show our ideas more clearly, we will soon produce a storyboard, and an animatic.

Digipak & Advert: Our Digipak Front Cover Idea

We've recently had to think as a group about what we want our digipak to look like. This is very important as it determines how our audience will perceive us. We ;like the idea of using a shot from the music video, as a still, so that people can associate the two. Our teacher has advised us to take still pictures of the shot, rather than just using the shot, in case as a still its a bit blurry, which we intend to do within this week. Below is he ideal shot we think would be good, as a rough drawing.

Planning: Recent Work

Over the last two lessons, myself, Tom and Dan have created a storyboard with captions, and an animatic which we have edited and added transitions to on Final Cut Express. Over the next few days we plan to get to a stage where all work is completed that needs to be, and we can go on with filming and editing over the coming weeks.

Joe Barwick

We found out Today that one of our group members, Joe Barwick, has decided to leave the media course, meaning we have three members, me, Tom and Dan, like last year. His contribution to the group was minimal, therefore we feel perfectly able to continue our project.