Todays activity was to get some feedback on our draft treatment from our peers, using a website called Padlet. This tool allowed our class members to tell us what they like and dislike about our ideas for a music video, and what should be thoght of in the process. This activity was useful as it taught us that our ideas are on the right lines for a pop music video, yet some of our ideas will need consideration about the reality of our ideas being succesful. This feedback will impact our final video, as it has given my group an outside persepective of some of our ideas, and has helped us realise that we may need to make some changes when it comes to filming. One of the main issues that arose from peer feedback was that using a narrative concept may be hard to create when filming, as the nature of the song does not tell a story, and the lyrics are more compatible with a performance concept.
Todays activity was to begin planning ideas for our music video, an create a treatment that detailed our video from beginning to end, and also included what technical equiptment we would need, what acting props/costume we would need and locations of the video.
This activity was useful as it allowed my group to come together and look at what kind of ideas would be realistic and what kind of ideas would work in line with expected conventions. Creating a treatment will impact our final video, because we will have something to follow when filming, to make it easier for us to go with our original ideas.
Our activity for today was to design and ask some questions to a focus group, in order for us to determine what kind of things our target audience may want to see, including colour schemes, storylines, good/bad conventions to use etc.
From my audience questionnaire I discovered that my audience preferred 'Domino' by Jessie J. Based on this we created a focus group of four people, and asked them questions to get further information about what they would like to see in our videos. The questions included;
What do you think would be a good storyline for a remake of 'Domino' by Jessie J?
What did you like about the 'Domino' video?
Is there anything in particular that you dislike about music videos?
What setting would suit a remake of 'Domino'?
What are your other favourite pop music videos?
From the focus group I discovered that our target audience thought that a party narrative would be suitable for a remake of 'Domino'. The responses from the focus group altered our original desicions, because before the focus group, some of our ideas were undecided, as we were unsure what would be effective and create the greatest impact. However the focus group responses showed that a bright colourful upbeat image and atmosphere would be the best thing to create, as it would please our target audience the most.
This activity was useful, when it comes to the impact it will have on our finalised music video, as it provides a type of guideline for us to follow when we are thinking of concepts and narratives to follow.
Our activity for today was to do some research into pop artists and analyse some of the typical conventions they have used and why.
The main convention that this music video is conforming to is the idea that music videos portray a narrative. It is common for a pop music video to include narrative and/or performance as it gives more of a meaning behind the song. For example the narrative in this video is about Katy Perry who is with someone who changes their mind constantly, and it makes her frustrated. The narrative here allows the audience to have something to watch whilst watching the video. It is apparent that this is a pop music video convention because it can also be seen in Jessie J - Who's laughing now. I think narratives are used to focus the audience on the artists themselves rather than the lyrics, because pop music tends to be quite simple and straight forward and repetitive. Therefore the audience need something else in the music to complete the video. Here there is another typical pop music video convention, that the video simultaneously changes from narrative to performance, yet focuses more so on performance. It is an opportunity for artists to make themselves the object of the music video yet include the narrative. This reminds the audience that the music video is from the artists perspective. This is emphasised by the lack of lighting in this screen shot, yet the main lighting is behind the artist to make her stand out to the spectator. It is clear that performance is conventional in music videos as we also see performance mixed with narrative music videos in Jessie J - who's laughing now. While Jessie J has decided to keep her performance aspect of the music video in the same setting we still see the video cutting to her whilst she performs some of the song. This again makes the audience come back to the artist and are reminded of the intended message behind the music video. Another typical pop music video convention is produce placement. In this screen shot we see a close up of Katy Perry to emphasise the fact that she is wearing Diesel sun glasses. This is used because it is easy to influence the audience as they begin to associate brands with a certain artist. When the music video becomes popular millions of people will have seen that Katy Perry wears Diesel, which is a strong way of advertisement. It is evident that this is a pop music video convention as we also see it in Jessie J - It's My Party: Here Jessie J is pictured holding the Dre Beats Pill, which again is product placement. This product placement send the message to the audience that this particular product is needed to have a good time. When famous artists are associated with big brands it makes their audiences idolise them even more. A stereotypical convention of music videos is a dance routine. I understand this to be a fairly large and common convention as more often than not pop music videos include a dance routine, usually in a group. In this screen shot we see Katy Perry with a group of other 'brides' in some kind of dance routine to reflect the message of the song and the video. I believe this is a common pop music convention because it can also be found in Jessie J's song 'Do It Like A Dude', as seen below. I think this is a popular and common pop music video convention, because it is visually pleasing. It gives the audience something to focus on (usually during the chorus, when the lyrics become repetitive), otherwise the audience are likely to get bored.
Another typical convention of pop music videos, is this idea of a fantasy theme and unoriginal setting. We see this in Jessie J - Nobody's perfect. The video is set in an abstract, abnormal setting. This again could be in order to make the video more visually appealing. It is apparent that this is a pop music video convention, because we also see it in Katy Perry's 'Hot 'n Cold' music video, where at the end she is seen walking with a zebra in what's left of her costume. I think that this convention is used because it makes the artist distinctive and allows them to stand out with their own individual style. A typical pop music video convention, that is perhaps not so obvious, is the idea that at the end of a video that is partly/all narrative based, a huge collaboration of the music video comes together to dance/party for the last couple of chorus'. I can assume this is a typical pop music convention because it can also be seen in Katy Perry's 'Hot 'n Cold'. I think that this convention is used, as it is the last impression of the music video that will be left with the audience. It is essential that it maintains the upbeat and usually colourful theme if the video. It is also possibly the easiest way to end a music video, as it is generally assumed as a 'summary' of the music video. In both of these screens shots we can see a combination of most of the things we have experienced throughout the video, which summarises the meaning in the video.
Something that can also be found in pop music videos is the convention of an artist motif. This is something that establishes a pop artist as an idividual and someone memorable. For example Lady Gaga has her 'little monsters' and Taylor Swift and her 'country teenage innocence'. A member of my group Amy Smith noticed that Jessie J has a star motif, in which she pushes the camera away during her music videos, as though the camera is hand held. Below is an example of Jessie J's motif in action:
When we create our music video we will try to include this in our video, in order to be as simmilar to our ourtist as possible. This activity was useful, as it has given me some inspiration and possible ideas that could possibly be used in our music video, in order for our video to conform with the pop music genre as much as possible. These conventions will impact our music video as using these conventions will ensure that our video delivers what our target audience wants to see.
I appreciate that permission should be granted to use an artists music in my music video. As demonstration that I understand the importance of requesting permission to use a song, I have written a letter to the producer of the song we have chosen to use. I understand that we must request permission before using a song, because copyright is the exclusive legal rights and protection affiliated with the song we have chosen.
In order to analyse my questionnaire results I created a Prezi slideshow with a detailed description about how each bit of data will help with our music video. The information and data we discovered was really useful, as it pushed us along a great deal in deciding what we need to include in our video, with regards to visuals, performance, narrative, setting and themes etc.
My group and I have looked into the psychographics and demographics of our intended audiences. Psychographics: looking into the attitudes of our audiences, their music video preferences, what kind of artists our audiences aspire to etc. Demographics: researching into statistics related to audience groups, and general data and facts they have in common. To represent the kind of audience we think that Jessie J has, we created an Audience Profile detailing what kind of personality they hold. A great deal of the information we discovered was useful, because as we built our audience profile more and more, we discovered things such as; what kind of clothes to include in our music video, what popular brands our audience may want to see in the video. Audience Profile Prezi
Audience Theories: In class we have studied two audience theories, on is The Effects Model (or Hypodermic Model) by Croteau, Hoynes (1997) and Uses and Gratifications by Blumler and Katz (1974).
The Effects Model
This is the theory that media messages are 'injected' and fed to us - the audience, through media texts such as music videos, and television shows. My understanding of the theory is that the audience and the consumer are powerless to the media being shown to them. The media is a huge influence as it works like a drug and makes the audience feel addicted. This theory could be applied to music videos, because, for example, a young teenage girl who is easily influenced, watches a video of her favourite artist dancing in nice clothes and shoes, she will then feel as though she wants to copy this and recreate the message she has been fed through contemporary media.
Also music videos are generally narrative or performance based, both are equally influential. For example people may feel addicted to a singer who they want to feel as close as possible to, by watching their performances, or they want to know what is happening in their personal life so they watch the narrative videos to see this. In addition they may want to mimic what they see their favourite celebrities doing or what they're wearing.
Uses and Gratifications
This theory suggests that people consume media voluntarily. My understanding of this is that the consumer are active as opposed to passive. Blumler and Katz suggested that the four main reasons people want to consume media;
Information: finding out about events, seeking advice, learning, satisfying curiosity/interest, and security through knowledge.
Personal identity: reinforcing personal values, following role models, identifying with people in the media and spirituality.
Social interaction: finding a basis for conversation, identifying with others, gaining a sense of belonging, having a substitute for real life companionship, gaining insight into the circumstances of others, helping to carry out social roles, enabling one to connect with family, friends and society.
Entertainment: escaping, being diverted from problems, relaxing, getting cultural enjoyment, filling time, emotional release and sexual arousal.
I understand this could be applied to music videos as music videos provide satisfaction to fill these four criteria. Also people seek these things through music videos, therefore they want to view the media and be exposed to it, so it is voluntary. For example, the music video to 'Same Love - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Feat. Mary Lambert actually fits into many of the criteria listed above. The video provides information, as it keeps the audience up to date with Macklemore's beliefs and ethics, also it follows the Personal Identity reason for watching music videos, this is because the issue discussed in the song is homophobia, this video would be very useful to someone who is struggling with sexuality, or someone who wants to follow Macklemore's beliefs as he is seen as a role model. The video is also a good basis for social interaction. The song discusses controversial issues, which makes good conversation topic for the audience to discuss with others. If none of the others, then it simply provides entertainment for the audience. There is a narrative based video to go with the song, that when combined together, provide entertainment and escape. Application:
In one of our lessons we watched Chase and Status - Time ft. Delilah. The narrative to this video is about a family where the father domestically abuses the mother. It represents how it is affecting the mother and the children, in the end the daughter calls the police and has the father arrested.
The Effects Model can be applied to this video as it reinforces positive messages and it is automatically fed to the viewer. It communicates that domestic violence ruins families and it will never go unpunished. When messages are fed to audiences through media in a way like this, the message becomes automatically becomes an idea from society. A spectator choosing to watch this video would become powerless to the message from the video, the video represents the dominant representation of how bad domestic abuse is. The intention behind the video is to send a message to audiences that no matter what kind of involvement you may have in domestic abuse, it is still wrong.
Uses and Gratifications could also be applied to this video, as it can help those in the same situation to reach out for help, the charity that sponsor the video are shown at the end, which confirms that the message of the video is intended to help anyone in a similar situation. This video would also trigger social interaction, as it provokes a response from those watching. The video also enables those who need help to seek refuge in the mentioned charity, the video also has a powerful underlying message to help anyone who is in a similar situation, actually realise that what is happening is wrong, if they are perhaps being manipulated into believing that they are at fault.
The Effects Model could be applied to this music video because it is targeting a wide target audience. Britney Spears is a huge pop star and she is aiming her message at teenagers who feel trapped. Therefore the message that teenage girls need freedom and their own power in order to succeed is fed to her audience and they are powerless to picking up this message. This song and video can be a huge influence on those feeling overprotected. Uses and Gratifications could also be applied to this music video as the audience can relate to the message. All four criteria can be applied to this music video as it provides entertainment as well as conveying a message and meaning. This video communicates information and satisfies curiosity and interest through providing meaning. It also provides personal identity, and reinforces personal values, especially for those who can relate to the song and find meaning. Also the aspect of social interaction, because Britney Spears, as a huge artist would create 'gossip' and provide a reason to watch the music video. Also the music video is mostly performance, so someone may watch the video, simply for the entertainment aspect.
Studying these theories has taught me some of the ways in which producers intend for audiences to perceive their media texts. This will be useful when I am creating my music video as it will help to influence me when I am deciding how to play homage to some of the ways that a music video can depict certain messages.
My name is Bethany Brewer, i am 18 years old and my candidate number is 3030. i am currently studying at Swakeleys sixth form. For my A2 media coursework I plan to create a music video of the pop genre, this will include a digipak and an advert promoting the song/artist. I will be working in a group of three, the other two members of my group being Amy Smith (3055) and Simran Takhar (3206).
