Questionnaire result

Questionnaire for target audience.

What age range are you?

13-15    15-17   17-21   21-25   25-30   30+    Elderly
               

What is your gender?

Female   Male


What social class would describe you best?

Working   Lower    Middle    Upper
                                 *


Do you prefer mainstream or indie music?

Mainstream    Indie
                       

What genre are you interested in/watch?

Pop     Rock     Hip Hop     Rap      R&B     Indie
                                                         

How would you describe your personality?

Loud, extravagant, different, wild           Reserved, chilled, quiet
                       
Mainstream, follows latest trends,likes whats popular        Individual, unique, own style
                                                                                                                 

How often do you listen to music?

Everyday         Few times a week         When you feel like it             Rarely          Never



How often do you watch music videos?

Everyday         Few times a week         When you feel like it             Rarely          Never

                                                                             

What do you enjoy seeing most in music videos?

Clear Story line        Abstract/modern themed        Simple Live performance      Serious and meaningful  

                                             

Comical and lighthearted         Structured dance routine

What style do you like best in music videos?

Creative, artistic and abstract            Simple,modern,and minimalistic      

                                                                                   

 Cutting edge,different and outlandish              Original,traditional and in keeping

Influential music video - LONG LIVE A$AP - A$AP ROCKY

Long live ASAP is a visually clever music video it uses a black and white filter throughout which gives a dark and obscure feel. The brightness is extreme on the color white making the clarity high and giving allowing the shadow to stand out well. The use of natural locations enhanced with special effects and filters are present throughout that match to the beat of the music. closeups and fades are used for transitions between locations and whats going on. The build up to the drop of the main beat is really captured by the slow inwards pan towards to castle and the start. After this the pace speeds up and this is shadowed by the fast paced visuals. The props used are random but abstract and link to the lyrics in unusual ways, moreover they are very symmetrical which creates and artistic theme to the video.
Further into the video other characters are introduced such as women who are very elegant, the filter and shadowing enhances their body which sells the video to the viewers. Asap is seen to be the superior character who sits on a throne while women guard him, the status reference makes the video a lot more meaningful and deep. His expressions are monotone and serious bringing suspense and thrill to the video this is also shadowed by his walking towards the camera and gestures. Likewise towards the end of the video we see him situated in front a black screen, the alternating camera shots of high, low, diagonal angles and blurry focusing creates the bizarre feel to the video.


The drop of the water matches the beat of the song.




Long shots capture the artist in a superior way in this frame, the miss
en scene helps to reflect his status.




You can clearly see the women's bodies and elegant figures which attracts a male audience.



The facial expression and close up of the artist who is looking straight ahead keeps the audience interested and allows them to feel a connection to the artist.

Influential music video: Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans

Blue Jeans uses a black and white filter throughout the video, the chosen location is a summer scene in a wealthy home with a man and women who resemble a couple. The Pair are seen to be situated around the swimming pool, throughout the video there is a lot of reference to water in the way it is used, for example we see some above shots of the male diving into the water and the video opens with a blurred shot of Lana in front of a ripple of water. The water highlights the different use of light as the sun reflects off and we can see this through the black and white filter, also it gives the feeling of calming and relaxation.
As the video goes on we begin to see the use of special effects for example the male is seen to be blurry when he is undressing, Lana refers to him in the lyrics at this point, to heighten the passion. Moreover we see the couple floating around in the water together to show their deep emotion for each other, the use of the above shot here allows the audience to witness the beauty of their intimacy. The different paces in the beat make the couple either act soothing and loving or fast and rough, the male is seen to have pushed Lana underneath the water which occurs when the chorus kicks in, as this fades we see a corner shot from under the water of dancers who are very slow and therapeutic. This is made even more interesting by the inter cutting shots.

Influential music video - Born to die - Lana Del Rey

Born to die uses only 2 actors throughout the music video, the first one being the artist herself (Lana) and the second as her are lover. It begins with a gradual panning shot moving towards the artist herself who is seated on a luxurious high backed chair situated in a grand church interior. The pan allows us to take in the breath taking church interior full of patterns and exquisite beauty. Odd props such as lions are used in the video to help add to the quirky feel of a calming but dramatic atmosphere this can also be reflected from the narrative and her attitude.
The costumes used by the actors throughout are very elegant and graceful (such as long flowing white dress) for the Lana and masculine and rough for the male, this helps us to understand them and their mannerism. The music video is made up of 2 scenes, the first of her in the church alone and the seconds when she is outside in a field with her lover. The camera flashes off to this scene when she begins to get into the deeper part of her lyrics representing the "love" scenes. The play on light in theses scenes exemplifies their dark relationship which could be love or lust henceforth the intimacy between her and him really is shown through extreme close ups and close ups to really heighten the emotions and get a feel of their passions.
Nearing the end of the music video we are again shown another panning shot of the two in a car driving off into the night, again the play on the dark light and the flashing of brightness gives us a whole new feel to them. The video uses a mixture of Todorov's and Goodwin's theory as it has a small narrative but also includes random partials. The mixture of both theories helps the video as it is a slow song with a slow paced video. The variety of shots keep viewers hooked. The panning shot highlights the motion and speed and as we watch it from a distance. Finally to end the video shows her walking in a dim lit room which is where she originated in the grand church, this time her lover is their and she looks emotionless, it then goes on to show her ending the video draped in her lovers arms dead and covered in blood, we then hear here say "We were born to die". This end the video on a deep thought full of enigma and created mystery.

Goodwins theory- American boy-Estelle Ft. Kanye West

Goodwin's theory states that there are 8 key aspects to a music video, these are:
1.Links between lyrics and visuals
2.Links between music and visuals
3.Genre characteristics
4. Intertextual reference
5.Notion of looking
6.Voyeurism (direct gaze,others looking at the artist, insight into artists life, screens and mirrors)
7.Demands of the record label (representation of the artist)
8. Performance, narrative and concept based music video.

I believe Goodwin's theory is correct, from studying many music videos from a variety of genres all of these 8 points have been present. The reason for this is without these points a music video is not really enjoyable to watch, each point helps to keep the viewers satisfied. Some videos may present these features different but that does not mean they are not included. Furthermore without some of the points e.g.1,2 and 5 a music video would not really be easy to understand these features help for things such as brand identity and recognition of an artist. Without Goodwin's theory artists wouldn't be able to create visually pleasing and worth while watching videos.


Below I have applied Goodwin's theory to American boy by Estelle Ft. Kanye West.

Links between music and visuals-The theory suggests that the lyrics in a music video will refer to the visuals shown and reinforce to the audience what is going on, in American boy Estelle says " I really want to come kick it with you. You'll be my American boy" This refer to Estelle talking to Kanye West and the other men in the music video and her showing her feelings towards them about wanting to spend time with them.

Genre characteristics- American boy is a mixed genre of R&B and Rap as it is a collaboration between two artists, although there are two genres they can be put together well as they have similar traits. In the music video Estelle is seen to be wearing a figure hugging dress and looking glamorous which is a usual look for a women in these type of genre videos. Kanye West is dressed more casually in jeans a shirt although he has an over sized fur coat which is showing his wealth and a typical garment of a rapper.

Notion of looking- This can be exemplified in several ways, such as when Estelle is looking directly the camera giving an intimate feeling and allowing the audience to feel involved as we have her gaze. Likewise we see close ups of Kanye whispering in her ear where the camera fixes on this as it seems to be very romantic and sexual which catches the audiences attention.

Voyeurism (direct gaze,others looking at the artist, insight into artists life, screens and mirrors)-  As Estelle is the main singer in this song she is present through out, in addition she is the only female present as everyone is an attractive male- this can help entice female audiences. Estelle is shown to be wearing a short glamorous dress and at several points we see her dancing which shows of her body to the viewers, unlike the men shown in the video she is wearing the most revealing item of clothing compared to them who are covered up fully.

Performance, narrative and concept based music video- There is very little performance in the video as the lyrics are strong enough to amplify what is going on. There is no narrative throughout as the video is not following a story line it is solely the artist signing to the camera. Although Goodwin's theory suggests the need for a performance the video is very modern and uses a white background with only the artists shown in black in white which compliments in effectively and has a simplistic feel to it.

Genre research- Hip Hop

Our chosen genre for our music video is "Hip Hop". We have chosen this genre as we feel comfortable with the music and we can relate to the style which will help us to create a good music video.

Hip Hop is a genre of music which orientates back from the 70's in New York, it originates from a mixed African and Latino Community which we around in New York at the time. Hip Hop culture has 4 main elements, these are Rapping, DJing, Breaking and Graffiti. The reason Hip Hop began was due to DJ's isolating percussion break from funk or rock music so audiences could dance to it. Back when this first began MC's would speak before the beat of the music, telling jokes or phrases that rhymed this then became more stylized and was  known as rapping. In 1979 Hip Hop had become a popular genre that was widely recorded although the lyrics began to be an issue from their referencing to drugs, violence, sex and misogyny. Never the less the genre kept up its success and now is widely listened to as a mainstream genre. 

Here are some examples of Hip Hop artists and music videos:

Hip Hop is a huge industry with many artists competing against each other. There are stereotypical costumes and locutions used in this genre for their music videos, these are expensive designer outfits that are casual but involve jewellery or hats and locations either in wealthy homes, bedrooms containing sexy women who are usually in provocative clothing or graphically designed backgrounds.
Our music video will need to abide by this conventions of a typical hip hop music video, we need to chose an appropriate location which audiences will automatically guess the genre from watching, the cast will need to be dressed in casual clothes that are designer and have a casual look to them. Finally the editing can match the pace of the song and have a modern feel to it.