Questionnaire Analysis

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We conducted a questionnaire on males and females ranging from 16 to 18 years old. It is helpful that this was the audience questioned as their opinions are relevant as the main target audience of the track we have chosen. One of the first questions asked the interviewees how often they watched music videos, from this we could judge how relevant their opinions on the following questions would be. All of the people interviewed watched music videos at least 5 times per month, with most falling into the several times per week category, and some daily. 

We composed questions carefully in order to find out all of the key information that would help us to make the most important decisions about the production of our music video. This way, we would address all the key issues and find out our target audiences opinions in order to generate statistics that would allow us to evaluate their needs and wants. It is essential for us to take into consideration the target audience's needs and wants at all times in order to make a desirable successful music video. 

We found that the audience wanted the main focus of the video to be on the characters, and less so on the scenery. This links in with the fact that they would also prefer to see a story line with a beginning, a middle, and an end. This suggests in terms of narrative that the viewers want something they can follow and invest in from beginning and end, with most of the footage being relevant to the story line. The audience wanted to see lip-syncing in the video, therefore we need to make sure we include scenes of lip-syncing whilst creating the story board, but this ties in with the fact the audience wanted less scenery footage. They did not want instruments to be shown being played, and so it can be concluded that most of the footage we take will need to be centered around the characters and the story being portrayed. 

The audience wanted the lyrics to work alongside the story line. This helped us a considerable amount because we could now narrow the ideas we had for the story line down to just those that corresponded with the lyrics; therefore a story line based around romance is most likely to be suitable.

We also could narrow these ideas down further as we asked what kind of story line the target audience would prefer to see. We gave them 4 options, and the favourite was relationships. This therefore supported the idea that was emerging of a romantic story line and made it even more suitable. 

Questions were also asked about characters, and we discovered that both male and female characters were wanted in the video, and so we will keep this in mind when casting characters to appear in the video. The audience also wanted the characters to be a similar age to themselves, so the people we cast as the characters will be between 16 and 18, or appear to be between those ages. 

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Questionnaire Results

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After conducting the questionnaire into our target audience's needs and wants we conducted a series of pie charts to help analyse the results. 

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Questionnaire

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Overview: Textual Analysis

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I feel that I have gathered a lot of useful information in terms of music video production and the effectiveness of lyrics from the textual analysis I have carried out.

In both videos analysed, it came to my attention that the story derived from just looking at the lyrics was in-sync with the moving image that was the music video. I know from the questionnaire that the audience wanted to see a video that worked alongside the lyrics, and so watching how the producers communicated key themes through footage was useful. Every single line did not have to be paired with an appropriate image, it was instead more important that the message and beginning middle and end from the video, matched the overall message and beginning middle and end themes of the lyrics. I think this is important to note for the production of our music video. We do not need to detail every single lyric with appropriate footage, it is instead more important to look at the key themes communicated and establish a beginning middle and end to the storyline communicated by the song, and match this with the footage we get, so that the lyrics and footage both come to the same conclusion and suggest the same themes, emotions and ideas.

I think that I have also learnt a great deal about the importance of mise-en-scene such as props, setting, and lighting. Both videos I analysed were filmed indoors, however the lighting was very different to reflect the two environments. In the Two Door Cinema Club video, the lighting was very luminous and bright to begin with, but adjusted with the day/night which was a clever and under-stated way to suggest the progression of time. I also took note of the camera work in this particular video. The spinning motion also reflected the key idea of time, but it was simply done and easy to follow. Only one setting was used which I think was essential and a simple but effective way to show how this couple's daily routine changed and it was very effective in communicating the key theme of a deteriorating relationship. I also however, liked the musky colouring and effects in the Disclosure - Latch video. The lighting was again tailored to the storyline - it was about hiding something and so not only was the dark shadowy tones useful to suggest this, but it also went well with the genre of the song.  I think this therefore indicated to me that lighting is really important in reflecting a particular message, and also it is very important to match the lighting and camerawork to the message you want to convey so it is more obvious. Also I have learnt it is important not to over-complicate the storyline and introduce too many characters.

The storyline about one relationship worked well with just the male and female featuring in the video as the focus was on their relationship and there were no external factors. I think however that the casting of several couples to show the key themes in the Disclosure - Latch video was necessary as it was about wider issues, involving more than just one relationship, and by having these couples you could compare them to each other; which is what the producer would have wanted you to do in order to recognise that the love shown is the same regardless of the people in the relationship, regardless of race, or sexual preference etc. If our song does involve one couple's journey, I think we need to keep the focus on them and less focus on other people and we can do this by 1) casting the appropriate amount of characters and 2) using camerawork and editing to focus in on particular individuals as the music video needs to focus in on one storyline not several.

I think setting is very important as the audience need to be able to identify easily between different locations. We could chose to film indoors or outdoors but we need to make sure there's not too much variation in locations shown, as seen in both videos.

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Lyric Analysis: Eat That Up, It's Good For You - TDCC

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You would look a little better, don't you know?
If you just wore less make-up

As an audience, without even watching the music video we instantly can recognise that this song is about addressing the issues that the person singing has. I think that you instantly get the impression that the song is about a relationship and the deterioration of a romance, from the male participants point of view. 

But it's hard to realize when you're sky high
Fighting off the spaceships

The male from whom this song's perspective is written from is not holding back. 'It's hard to realise when you're sky high' suggests that the woman is not down-to-earth and in touch with reality, she is too self-absorbed in her looks and being something un-natural. 

And so you're drinking in your room to make it all go

This line introduces a different aspect on the previous lines. It suggests that the female has a troubled life, so troubled that the only way she feels as if she can fix it is to drink alcohol.

It didn't end too soon, you've got the next one
You're holding on too long, you've gotta let go
Your other love is gone and you know

This suggests that this male might be better off without her or that the relationship was no good for her. possibly because of the issued raised earlier about her being self-absorbed and 'sky high' 'You've got the next one' shows the anger that the male is experiencing. It's saying that it doesn't matter because she'll just move onto the next guy in the line; possibly suggesting that her feelings weren't all sincere. 'You're holding on too long' maybe suggests that she is holding onto feelings that aren't really there to protect him and now he's telling her how it is. 

It's too late, it's too late
You've got another one coming and it's gonna be the same
It's too late, it's too late
You've got another one coming and it's gonna be the same

'It's too late' is a lyric repeated several times and I think it is key to understanding the narrative of this song. He is saying it's too late to save their relationship, and 'you've got another one coming' ties in with the earlier lyric 'you've got the next one' suggesting maybe she didn't treat him right and he knows that he won't be the last, showing doubt in the idea that she may change from this experience.

I tried to find a quiet place that we could go
To help you make decisions

Re-itterates the fact that he put his all into this relationship and over-coming any problems.

But I didn't find it easy to tell them apart
With double vision

And so you're drinking in your room to make it all go

It didn't end too soon, you've got the next one

'You're drinking in your room to make it all go' could suggest that she's reacted badly to him confronting her and the mistakes that she has made in the relationship. 

You're holding on too long, you've gotta let go
Your other love is gone and you know

It's too late, it's too late
You've got another one coming and it's gonna be the same
It's too late, it's too late
You've got another one coming and it's gonna be the same

It's too late, it's too late
You've got another one coming and it's gonna be the same
It's too late, it's too late
You've got another one coming and it's gonna be the

'It's not the same, You've got another love coming and it's going to be the same' is a lyric repeated again and again frequently throughout the song and so our attention is drawn to it. He's doubting that she will miss what they had because she'll just move onto the next one. At this point i think the earlier reference to being 'sky high' could mean that she cant see how lucky she is to have this boy now and is searching for something more. 

It's not the same, it's not the same
It's not the same, you're gonna tell me that I'm right

'It's not the same' suggests this relationship has evolved into something un-enjoyable. He is saying here that inevitably he knows that he is right 'you're going to tell me that I'm right' He is predicting how she will react to this break-up and knows all her tricks to try an keep him telling him that he's right just to please him. 

You know, you're gonna come back down
And find yourself where you are again

This suggests that he thinks this break-up will bring her back down to reality one day and find her true self; possibly the girl he loved initially.

You didn't know, you didn't know
You didn't know, so don't pretend you saw it now

'You didn't know, so don't pretend you saw it now' suggests that he knows she will say she was aware of her problems and their relationship problems so she doesn't appear in the wrong or in a negative light when in fact she was oblivious to it all. 

It's not something you'd want to happen
Now you know who you are again

This indicates that in the future the girl will be bought back down to earth and realise what she actually had right in front of her, and if she had remained her old true self then she wouldn't have wanted to lose this boy and would've done anything to save the relationship, but at the moment she can't see it.

It's not the same, it's not the same
It's not the same, you're gonna tell me that I'm right
You know, you're gonna come back down
Find yourself where you are again

However it's not the same and it's too late. The end lyrics suggest that he has ended their relationship or is still contemplating what would happen and this is an elaboration of his thought process. However, I think that he has ended it and is waiting for her to come back down to reality and see the good relationship with a boy who cared for her that she gave up through being so self-absorbed. The lyrics themselves tell an entire story and this idea of a de-teriorating relationship is portrayed in the music video.

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Tutorial Feedback

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This following is information and feedback from the tutorial that has taken place with teachers this week:

• Strong lyric and textual analysis
• The textual analysis' completed by Millie and I are both at the same standard
• We now need to produce a questionnaire for the main task and collect the results 

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Two Door Cinema Club - Eat That Up, It's Good For You (Textual Analysis)

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Two Door Cinema Club - Eat That Up, It's Good For You

Two Door Cinema Club are a Northern Irish indie rock band, who released their debut album Tourist History in 2010. 'Eat That Up, It's Good For Fou' is the 9th track to feature on this album.

The lyrics give the impression that this is a song written about a break down of a relationship. It is shown through the lyrics that possibly one person in this relationship isn't aware at first of the problems in the relationship because they're self indulged at the time 'But it's hard to realise when you're sky high fighting off the spaceships' This particular lyric may show the fact that because this person is so self absorbed they haven't got an accurate perception of reality and what's going on in their relationship; and around them in general. 'You're holding on too long, you've got to let go' highlights the fact that maybe the couple in the narrative are holding onto something that they once had, possibly the memories. These memories are shown in the music video for this song. 'You've got another one coming and it's going to be the same' could be in reference to another relationship, and how this particular person is 'unlucky in love' and has the vicious cycle of meeting someone and then having to move on. This idea is supported by the camera work in the video which is constantly moving.

This constant moving of the camera is a key aspect of this video. It is used to represent the constant progression and the relationship evolving and moving every single day. This causes the viewer to become emotionally invested in their relationship. The music video is primarily used and about documenting the day to day life of this couple who appear to be in love. The idea of best friends in a romantic relationship is communicated. They're shown doing things like messing around, and watching movies, giving piggy backs, and all these things contribute to our thoughts that they're a young happy couple. This happiness is shown through their expressions, and they appear to enjoy each others company. It is a very relatable video for any viewer that has been in a relationship, especially as the settings and mise en scene are very realistic and 'normal' and so is the clothing. The characters are represented in a positive way,

The video tracks their relationship, and shows their relationship through the hours and days, and it is important to note that the camera is always moving in circles to the right, indicating constantly moving forward, and possibly their connection and emotions strengthening. At 1:53 the camera starts to spin rapidly as the music speeds up, and this shows their day to day life but also possibly communicated the monotony of everyday as they appear to be doing the same things over and over.At roughly 2:15 is where we start to see a change in the narrative, and an argument arises between the couple. After this is the first time that the camera moves to the left, which infers moving backwards, and the relationship breaking down. She throws his clothes out, They're shown lying back to back in bed, which contrasts their earlier close intimate relationship. They're shown arguing in several scenes and the video finishes by showing the male in bed alone, and then the camera scans the rest of the room. This is to show that his girlfriend is no longer there suggesting that they may have broken up, or she has moved out. It then fades to black, which usually infers the ending of something; in this case their relationship. This video does very well in communicating events that have happened through body actions and camera work as the setting is very basic.

The lighting in the video is reflective of the time and day and mainly used to show progression in time, from day to night to day and so on. It show how long they were together, and relationship evolving over time. The lyrics don't  necessarily  correlate in time with the action in the video, but the overall message suggested by the lyrics is the overall message suggested by the video also, so they don't contradict one another.
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Lyric Analysis: Latch - Disclosure

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You, you lift my heart up.

when the rest of me is down.

From the outset, the mood and theme of this song is communicated. Even though 'You' immediately addresses an unknown person, their identity is not important as we already know this song is being sung to somebody else. By saying 'you lift my heart up' this straight away introduces the theme of romance and love, and puts this unknown person in a positive light. 

You, you enchant me, even when you're not around.
If there are boundaries, I will try to knock them down.

We already know from watching the music video that this song is about the social restrictions on love, and primarily about how people who society deem shouldn't be together through their own prejudice views, are just the same as you and I or any other couple. This lyric therefore forms the basis of this song 'boundaries' and how they are being 'knocked down' 

I'm latching on babe, now I know what I have found.

Latch is the title of the song, and now it is being put into context within the storyline that the lyrics communicate. It is about attaching yourself emotionally to someone else, yet again communicating the key theme of love. 

I feel we're close enough.
Could I lock in your love.
I think we're close enough.
Could I lock in your love baby.

This section of the song is the build up to the chorus. I get the feeling that 'lock in your love' means make the relationship official, and dedicating yourself to somebody else emotionally and physically creating a bond. 

Now I got you in my space.
I won't let go of you.
Got you shackled in my embrace.
I'm latching onto you.

Now I got you in my space.
I won't let go of you.
Got you shackled in my embrace.
I'm latching onto you.

The chorus of the song re-itterates this idea of creating an inseparable bond. The mood and tone of the song is very serious and 'now i've got you in my space' portrays the idea that this person has been longing for this love for a long time, and now they are 'latching on' and don't want to 'let go'. They want to fully embrace the love they've found. The idea of 'latching' is again repeated; indicating it's importance to the songs meaning. 

I'm so encaptured, got me wrapped up in your touch.
Feel so enamoured, hold me tight within your clutch.

'Encaptured' and 'enamoured' are very strong emotional words to describe the effect of the other person's love. The love seems to be new but strong.

How do you do it, you got me losing every breath.
What did you give me, to make my heart beat out my chest.

The person who is singing the song seems to be mesmerised by this love, it appears to be deep and real. It becomes clear they do not want to lost this person now they have them, and the feeling appears to be mutual.

I feel we're close enough.
Could I lock in your love.
I think we're close enough.
Could I lock in your love baby.

I feel we're close enough.
Could I lock in your love.

'Could i lock in your love' portrays the idea that this individual is asking for acceptance and the permission to take things further. It is a line that's repeated a lot throughout the song which highlights it's importance. This person is deeply in love and is primarily asking the other person if they feel the same and if it's enough.

I think we're close enough.
Could I lock in your love baby.

Now I got you in my space.
I won't let go of you.
Got you shackled in my embrace.
I'm latching onto you.

Now I got you in my space.
I won't let go of you.
Got you shackled in my embrace.
I'm latching onto you.

I'm latching onto you.
(I'm latchin on...)

The last few lines describes the couple's journey. At this point they're becoming emotionally attached and 'latching on' accepting and admitting their feelings...

I won't let go of you.
(I won't let go...)

I'm latching onto you.
(I don't want to let go...)

At this point they don't want to let go, they're seeking the other person's feelings hoping they'll feel the same...

I won't let go of you.
(I won't let go I won't let go...)
(I won't let go I won't let go...)

'I won't let go I won't let go' is a line repeated to end the song. I think this is effective and important to the storyline. It suggests acceptance, and feeling that they need this person. They have gone from not wanting to let go, to not letting go, which communicates the sort of 'fairytale ending' to a romantic journey.

I think the lyrics clearly document the journey of a particular couple, however I also think they cleverly relate to a lot of the audience. Love is a wide and generic topic, and so it is likely that the person listening will envisage someone when they hear this song, and may have had a similar journey; this strengthens the audience personal relationship just through the lyrics alone, and this shows how effective lyrics are. 

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Disclosure - Latch (Textual Analysis)

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Latch - Disclosure

Disclosure are an English electronic music duo who have just released their debut album 'Settle' which quickly topped the UK album charts. Prior to the album release in June 2013, 'Latch' was released as a single in late 2012, and is the 3rd track on the album. 

By contextualising the lyrics, it's evident that the track is primarily about finding a strong connection with another person and falling in love with them 'now I've found you in my space, I won't let go of you' The 'now I've found you in my space' lyric may suggest that this love was unexpected and unplanned, which is supported by the opening scenes of the video where the young girl and boy are standing in the lift by each others side. Their connection is initially shown in a extreme close up of their hands intertwining and later they decide to show their love for one another in a passionate kiss. Also the two homosexual females in the video encounter one another accidentally, but when they find each other they're inseperable. The track is based around romance and the narrative of the lyrics suggest loving someone and feeling such strong emotions that you never want them to leave your side 'I'm latching onto you' 

'If there are boundaries, i will try to knock them down' has reference to any relationship as complications will happen, but the voice of the track gives off the impression that they are willing to do anything and overcome anything in the way for this love that they have found. When looking at the video, this becomes a clear message communicated throughout by the use of characters and the general narrative that is shown. The video  shows numerous couples embracing each other and sharing passionate romantic moments. However the clear focus of this is the characters involved. All three couples are introduced within the opening scenes of the video, one couple are a hetrosexual couple, the second is two homosexual females, and the third a man and a women of different races. Each indicate a past of trying to hide their relationship for various reasons, and eventually they step out and accept who they've fallen for. The hetrosexual couple have to wait until the lift is empty in order to show interest in one another, and as soon as people enter the lift again, they're apart. 

The lighting in the video is consistently dark and shadowy, possibly reflecting the fact that there are secrets and almost as if the characters are hiding. There is a constant hazy filter in the video which may have been used to reflect the societies distorted view towards these couples. There are flashing coloured lights throughout the video, and this along with the party setting reflects the genre of the track, which is electronic dance music. The costumes and party environments used introduce an aspect of verisimilitude for the viewer as they characters are stereotypical teenagers and so the the typical listener of this genre of music will be able to relate to them. 

The characters are represented in a positive way. I think that the aim of this video is to represent all three couples in an equal way and challenge representation in society of homosexual, or different races in a romantic relationship. There are a series of cross cuts used to show all 3 couples kissing, and at this point everyone else in the room is frozen. By showing them doing the same action would reflect the idea that all of their love is the same regardless of who they're with, and the frozen backgrounds not only put emphasis on the characters but it also shows that they're lost in each others company and nothing around them matters, communicating the lyric ' I’m so encaptured, got me wrapped up in your touch'  

The lyrics show strong correlation with the moving image for example when the lyric 'I wont let go of you' the couples are all shown holding one another in space with lights around them. In fact the video even adds and builds meaning into the lyrics, and so it is evident that music videos can be used to expand and communicate a deeper meaning than just the surface meaning of the lyrics. 
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4 Week Action Plan

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Week 4 – Preliminary Video

Lesson 1 – Film scenes of the music video

Lesson 2/3 – Edit footage together + sync song

Lesson 4 – Upload to Youtube and Blog with a  brieg explination

Week 5 – Textual Analysis

Lesson 1/2/3 - Conduct textual analysis on 4 different music videos (2 each)

Lesson 4 – Finalise and upload to blog

Week 6 – Questionnaire/Mood Boards

Lesson 1 – Plan and devise questions for questionnaire

Free Lesson – Collect data

Lesson 2 – Analyse data – create charts

Lesson 3 – first half: upload onto blogs

                    Second half: Create settings moodboard

Lesson 4 – finish settings moodboard and create character moodboard

(upload to blog)

Week 7 – Theory and Create storyboard

Lesson 1 – apply uses and gratifications/Andrew Goodwin’s theory to our findings

(upload to blog)

Lesson 2/3 – Begin to plan and create storyboard (draft)

Lesson 4 – university visit (absent)

Week 8 – Storyboard

Lesson 1/2/3/4 – refine and expand on draft, correct any errors and add in any ideas to the draft of the storyboard to make a second more detailed storyboard. 

Any additional blog work taken place in free lessons or in free time

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Preliminary Video

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Preliminary Video
Beyonce - Love on Top
Starring: Micaela Morris

We filmed this video in order to get a sense of camera angles and shots that are effective in a music video. Although not perfected, this was just a draft we could use to practice lip syncing in final cut pro. It made us realise that getting the track and the footage in time is something that needs to be done with extreme attention to detail because it contributes to the overall professional look of the video. Therefore lip-syncing is something we need to keep at the front of our mind when filming. Also on review, in the final video we need to include a variety of settings and camera angles to keep the audience interested.

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G324 Media Studies

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Music Video: 40%

CD Cover and Magazine Advertisement: 20%

Research and Planning: 20 marks

Main Production: 40 marks

Ancillary Tasks: 10 marks each

Evaluation: 20 marks

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