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Audience Feedback for Finished Music Video

To understand how effective and successful our music video was to our target audience, we had to ask a few questions and gain feedback from the members of the audience and gain knowledge of the aspects which were effective and parts of our music video that could have been improved. However, we gained little to no negative feedback on our music video; the audience seemed to enjoy it.

The questions asked were:

1. Did you enjoy it?
2. What did you think was successful?
3. Where do you think we could improve?
4. What was your favourite part of our music video?
5. What is your impression of this type of video?
6. What is your impression of the artist?
7. Do you think this video has been effective in branding the artist?
8. Would you buy the album?

Our feedback was predominantly positive, with feedback which would have made our music video more successful, yet our video could succeed without it. We gained information from our audience, such as how the two scenes at the beginning and the end with the train worked well together, which is what we had planned on, and so we are really pleased that the audience enjoyed those scenes. I was also very happy that the answers for branding our artist were very successful, for the audience thought the video really helped brand the artist. 

Our advice on how to improve the video really helped us understand what the audience wanted in order to effectively consume our product. We gained answers such as more of the storyline, choice of studio location, which we definitely agreed on, a different location, and we thought the advice was very useful in our understanding of our target audience. 

Another positive aspect from our audience feedback was that the answers we received for "Would you buy the album" was that most of the audience said they would buy the album, some said maybe, and some said no. When we asked the people that had said no, they replied that it is because it is not their type of music, which we was very pleased with. 

Comparing this to our audience feedback for our Rough Cut, we are very pleased with the answers we received. We have worked on the answers we received from the rough cut, and it seems to have worked as we gained positive feedback for our final music video, and so we are glad with the results from our target audience.

Finished Music Video

Audience feedback for our rough cut

We wanted to create a video format for our feedback to get accurate answers of our video to see what they really thought of the video. We started by showing some individuals the video to allow them to see the video before the questions. We decided to ask them two questions:

1. What Went Well
2. What Can Be Improved

After listening to their feedback and watching it through again, we decided to add more narrative to our video and make the video more interesting by gaining more footage of Kendall and James to successfully display their relationship to the audience so that we can use pathos and apply Stuart Hall's reception theory to our audience to get a preferred reading of our music video.

Digipak

Model of the Media

There are many links throughout the media, creating a model of the media.

Sexism in music videos

Sexism in Music Videos

Sexism is an increasing issue in the media industry, particularly regarding women. The issues occurring over sexism is based on the drastic difference on the presentation of men and the presentation of women. Laura Mulvey's theory is very significant in sexism in the music industry, especially her theory on the Male Gaze. The theory suggests that the male gaze denies women human identity, relegating them to the status of objects to be admired for physical appearance. This is when women are subjected to the male's entertainment: they are only there for sexual purposes, which can be in many ways, such as their sexual dance moves and skimpy costumes. Sexism in music videos is mainly targeted to gain male attention, and even when women consume texts, they have to be subjected to the voyeuristic treatment of the female body. Andrew Goodwin theory proposed that there is frequent reference of voyeuristic treatment of the female body, suggesting that women are designed to be 'objects of desire'. 

Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines

Robin Thicke's controversial music video for Blurred Lines created a massive debate on sexism in music videos. This video no doubt suggests that women are only for male's entertainment. The controversial lyrics, such as "I know you want it" and "Do it like it hurt," created such chaos which ended up in 20 university student unions banning the record. The girls in this music video are highly exploited to sexism as they are wearing very little clothing (in the explicit version, they are topless) which proves that women are just objects of sexual desire to gain the male audience's attention and gain more consumption. The men in the music video are treated differently as they are fully clothed, highlighting sexism issues in this video. This video supports Laura Mulvey's theory as the women are subjected to the male gaze in every aspect, and it applies to Goodwin's theory as the women have a dance routine, and they are subjected to voyeuristic treatment, two of his suggested characteristics of music videos.

Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball

Miley Cyrus' music video for Wrecking Ball caused a massive outrage due to the controversial sexism throughout her video. This video creates a debate over whether Miley was exploited by the music industry, or whether she was exploiting herself to prove a point. There is an amplified scene throughout her video of Miley swinging on a wrecking ball, appearing to be naked, and she also licks a sledge hammer in a very provocative manner. Audiences argue that this video sends a wrong message out to her younger fans; the fans who knew and loved her for her role as Hannah Montana. However, others say that Miley is exploiting herself to get rid of the 'Hannah Montana Sweet Girl' image and fashion a more grown up appearance, making the statement that she is no longer the innocent Disney star. Sinead O'Connor warned Miley to "Not let them prostitute you!" However, it seemed to me as though Miley was exploiting herself, conforming to Laura Mulvey's theory, to appeal to the audience by presenting herself as an object of erotic desire.

Lily Allen - Hard Out Here

Lily Allen created a very feminist video for her song "Hard Out Here" as it is making fun of videos which present women in a sexist fashion. Her video is a parody of current music videos which exploits women, such as J Lo's video for "Booty." Lily's video shows how hard it is for women to be treated fairly in the music industry these days, as women are expected to look a certain way. They have to be skinny; she sings "if you're not a size 6 then you're not good-looking," however girls have to also have a big butt and boobs, and a pretty face "or you'll end up on your own." This shows how women are treated unfairly in the media; they have to look perfect or they aren't worthy of people's admirations. Lily is trying to show the audience that sexism in music videos is a major issue, and although the women in her music video are sexualised by having barely any clothes on and sexual dance moves, it is to prove a point to the media, and show what happens behind the camera. This video conforms to Andrew Goodwin's theory as it presents a voyeuristic treatment of the female body and contains a dance routine.

What is a digipak?

A digipak typically consists of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD/DVD attached to the inside. It means the CD comes in a cardboard flip-out case rather than a standard plastic hinged case.

Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums and the tall DVD digipak is often used as a premium package for DVD's and DVD sets. 

What is included in a digipak?

A digipak often contains:

• Photographs/Pictures - usually at least one will be of the artist, and another will be of a scene which will reflect the mood/genre of the record. 
• Track list including song-writing credits.
• One box with a disc impression, like a circle over an innocuous background that shows where the disc will go or alternatively the design on the actual disc).
• A band/artist information section (names, instruments, additional musicians,  copyright, and year of release, etc.)
• Barcode, QR, and a logo for the record company.
• Possibly reference to other albums by the same artist.

This colour scheme for a digipak works very well for this band. The front and back covers are very eye-catching as they are black with a white illuminated light, which would be effective in grabbing the audience's attention. There is consistency throughout the entire digipak as it continues the black and white theme in every panel. Also, the information page is just a subtle black background with white writing on it which is simple yet it works very well for this digipak as it follows the same lines as the back page with the song titles on. As this band is the indie genre, they tend to not follow normal digipaks for boy bands, and so they did not have a picture of the band on the front of the digipak, instead they followed the simple, intriguing fashion for their front and back cover of the digipak, allowing the audience to gain more interest in the band, and also suggesting it's more about the music than the attractiveness of the band. The CD itself is fully black, however it did not conform to the rest of the digipak as the CD is matte black, whereas the writing on it "The 1975" is written in a shiny black colour which stands out and would catch the audience's attention subtly. The font used throughout the digipak is very distinctive yet simple, which would help the audience's familiarity with the band and make the band easy to recognise. However, the photo of the whole band is spread across the two inside pages of the digipak, the photo that would be on the left of the digipak and the middle where the CD would be placed. This is quite effective as the audience would recognise the band and would gain more interest in the digipak. Their outfits also fit the colour scheme, which creates consistency throughout the entire digipak.

This digipak for Katy Perry's album "Teenage Dream" is very effective for it relates to her song for "Teenage Dream." She has the colour scheme of a baby pink, which could make her seem innocent, however the photos of her surrounded by the baby pink contradict the innocence of the colour as she is naked in the photos, therefore conforming to Andrew Goodwin's theory of women being subjected to voyeuristic treatment, and Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze, which is also present in her music video for "Teenage Dream". Perry also has another trait in this digipak which relates back to her song, which is the use of sweet imagery. Her CD's are the images of a lollipop and a doughnut which again adds to her innocent look. Katy Perry's middle and information panel are a connected image of her sitting down in between some cakes, again presenting sweet imagery. However, the information section does not take over the whole page, unlike "The 1975" digipak, which could suggest that she is more famous than them but also that her image matters more to the audience than her music, which is the opposite of The 1975.

Rough Cut

This is the rough cut of our music video. We still need much more cuts and footage, and so we will be filming more, and continuing to edit to create a perfect successful music video.

Shot List

Shot List
Scene	Shot Number	Description
1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8	Medium shot of train station platform, 2 seconds long. Sound of train- digetic* Medium shot of the train approaching. 2 seconds in length. Sound of the train increasing. Diegetic/non Diegetic Closer Medium shot, Train continues to come, two seconds long. Non-Diegetic sound. Train arrives, long shot of artist from across the platform. Non-Diegetic sound. 2 seconds long. Medium shot of artist getting on the train, Non-Diegetic sound, lasts roughly a second to two seconds. Close up of face, one second in length, Song begins, Diegetic. Cuts to new location, Close up of face, Singing begins, 1.5 seconds long. Long shot of artist sitting on train, 3 seconds long, non diegetic sound
2 1 1 3 1 2 2 2 1 1 2	9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19	Frontal frame, close up of face, singing continues. One second in length. Non-Diegetic. Medium shot Cuts to train, sitting in a seat, no lip-syncing. 1.5 second in length. Medium shot of standing in front of a wall 1 second in length. Close up of holding hands walking 0.5 – 1 second in length. Medium shot on train 2 seconds in length. Copy of shot 7, 1.5 seconds length. Still medium shot of singing 2 seconds Close up of singing, 4 seconds long Medium shot, artist sitting on the bench with partner 2 seconds Medium shot, fades to just her sitting on the bench, 3 seconds Cuts to Close up of singing, 4 seconds long

Storyboard

Animatic

Narrative Theory

Narrative Theory

Narrative theory refers to how the stories within media texts are organised and how the audience views them. There are elements of narrative which are effective in the organisation of the narrative.

Elements of Narrative:

• Time: The time element refers to how much time the storyline covers within a film. A good example of this is A Space Odyssey as the film starts 50,000 years into the past and then fast forwards to the future so it covers a large amount of time.
• Closure: The closure element refers to the ending of the film, whether the problems have all been resolved or if there are any remaining questions that need to be answered.A normal Hollywood film would finish their film with closure, however, a film that ends with unanswered questions leads to the possibility of a sequel, and so the audience would be interested in knowing the unanswered questions, and so would watch the sequel.
• Enigma: Enigmas are questions or problems that characters within texts would need to overcome in order to gain closure. It is important for films to contain enigmas as it keeps the audience interested and wondering what will happen next and how the characters would get through the problems.

Linear and non-linear Narratives

Linear narratives are stories that follow the chronological order. This means that there are no flash-backs or any means of past events that could occur, the story simply shows from beginning to middle to end. Most Hollywood films follow a Linear narrative as they have a clear start and an obvious ending, and so it would be easy for audiences to follow.

Non-Linear narratives are stories that does not follow the chronological order and events do not occur in the correct order. A good example of this is "Run Lola Run" as it constantly flashes back so that Lola can start her mission again and correctly help her boyfriend with nobody dying. 

Todorov Theory

Todorov's theory was about the way he views media texts, and this structure is highly popular in the structure of media texts. These are the four stages:

1. Equilibrium: Everything is calm, peaceful, normal and the characters experience no problems.
2. Disruption: Something happens which disrupts the equilibrium and causes problems for the characters.
3. Resolution: This is when the main character resolves the problems.
4. The New Equilibrium: This is the ending of the media text, where everything is normal, however, it would not be the same as the first equilibrium.

Barthes Theory

Barthes theory was that texts could have many different meanings. He described texts in three ways:

• Open Texts: This is where there are numerous threads to pull. The film has no positive ending and so allows people to interpret the ending in their own ways.
• Closed texts: This is when there is only one obvious thread to grasp. The film has an ultimate ending, and most films have closed endings, where everything is resolved.
• Polysemic Texts: These are texts which can be read in a number of ways. There can be different meanings and different ideas which the audience can form about how they viewed the text. 

Propp's Theory

Propp viewed media texts and analysed them by the use of fairytales. Propp discovered that most films contained the eight different kinds of characters that had their own roles in the texts:

• The Protagonist (hero)
• The Antagonist (Villain)
• The Provider (Donor)
• The Helper 
• The Father
• The Dispatcher
• The Princess
• The False Hero

One good example to compare to is James Bond:

• James Bond
• Goldfinger, Jaws etc.
• Q
• There is always a woman (nicknamed a Bond Girl) who meets him and will help Bond on his missions.
• Q
• M
• The woman who Bond falls in love with
• A secret agent who is secretly working with Bond's enemy, such as Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale.

Stan

Todorov's theory can be applied to Eminem's music video for "Stan" which presents a very good narrative behind the lyrics. Stan is presented as an obsessive Eminem fan, and he tries to write Eminem a letter, however it gets lost in the mail, which is the disruption. His obsession gets worse and he writes a new letter to Eminem, explaining how Eminem never responds and all the while Stan's obsession grows into him falling into a mental state, abusing his wife destroying everything reminding him of Eminem, and ending with him driving off a cliff, killing both his pregnant wife and himself, which shows that there is no resolution or equilibrium. 

Propp's theory can also be applied to "Stan," as the characters can be viewed in the fairytale format. Stan is the protagonist, however he is not the typical hero, whilst his wife would be the princess. Eminem would be viewed as the antagonist in Stan's eyes, however in the end we find out that Eminem was not at fault for the problems. In Stan's wife's eyes, Stan would be viewed as the antagonist for he abuses her.

Barthes theory can also be applied to "Stan" as there are many questions that occur throughout the video, which are answered soon afterwards. These are questions like "Why did Eminem not receive the letters?" and "why is Stan destroying everything reminding him of Eminem?" It is a closed text as we can see the definite ending, however it can also be viewed as an open text ending for the little boy removes his hood and he has dyed his hair the same colour as Stan's and Eminem's, so the audience could wonder what will happen to the little boy? Will he be influenced by Stan?

Editing the Music Video

After filming our music video, we made a start at the editing process. We decided to have the train scene at the beginning of the video just before the music kicks in, which could tell the audience that she is leaving her past behind. We have finished the beginning of our video, and we have various ideas for the rest of our music video.

As music videos have many conventions, such as fast-paced editing and close-ups, the editing had to be perfect to make sure that our audience would not get bored. We used to-the-beat editing to create a professional effect and make the video aesthetically pleasing to watch. Also, we used many scenes of quite fast-paced editing such as the ending where "when i miss you" is one shot, "when i kiss you" is another" and so on. One part of the editing we thought would be subtle yet most effective to the audience was the placement of the train station at the beginning and the end. We thought that would be best as it presents the start of Kendall's journey and the song, and once the song finishes, we see her come to the end of her journey, which could be interpreted as Kendall trying to move on from her relationship. 

Filming the Music Video Day 2

Today we filmed more of the narrative of our video. We decided to shoot scenes of Kendall on her own and our male artist leaving Kendall. We also used a scene which was influenced by Taylor Swift's Blank Space, as Kendall and James had their initials carved in the tree, seeming as though their relationship would last forever. We shot a scene of Kendall by the carving and then walking away from it, showing that she has given up hoping that they would get back together.