Music Video Questionnaire Results

Song Lyrics

Music Video Questionaire

Music Video Questionnaire

1. Are you male or female?

Male [  ]                      Female [  ]

2. How old are you?

12 – 15            [  ]                   16 – 19            [  ]                   20 – 23            [  ]                   24 or above [  ]

3. What is your preferred genre of music?

Hip Hop [  ]                  R&B [  ]                       Indie [  ]                       Rock [  ]                       Pop [  ]                                    Dance [  ]                    Heavy Rock [  ]                       

Other [  ] [please state] ……………………………………………………………………..

4. How often do you watch music videos?

Not Very Often [  ]                  Once a week [  ]                      Twice a week [  ]               Everyday [  ]

5. On average, how long do you send watching music videos?

(Answer in minutes)

10 – 15            [  ]       16 – 30 [  ]       31 - 1 Hour [  ]            More than an hour [  ]

6. Through which medium do you watch music videos?

YouTube [  ]                 Vevo [  ]                       MTV [  ]                       TV Channels [  ]          Social Networking [  ]                                   Other [   ] [please state] ……………………………………………………..

                                          

7. How do you find out about new releases of music videos?

Word of Mouth [  ]                  Social Networking [  ]             Artist fan websites [  ]                   Online Subscriptions [  ]                     Blogs [  ]                      Official Artist websites [  ]

8. Does the genre of the song determine whether you watch the music video?

Yes [  ]             No [  ]

9. Do you prefer to watch music videos or listen to the song?

Watch music video [  ]            Listen to music [  ]

10. Why does your genre appeal to you the most when watching music videos?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

11. What type of music video generally appeals to you?

One that tells a story [  ]                     One in which the artist performs [  ]                                 One that is centred around a theme or idea [  ]

Song and Artist Profile (Peer Feedback)

Artist: Tom Tripp
Age:17



Song: Dreamsville
Genre: Underground/Hip Hop
Lyrical Content: Aspiration of a better life for himself, concept of enjoying life and the things in it
Date:   10th April 2012

As  part of the media production I am required to produce or create a video of an unsigned artist. The group brought together a track of their choice choosing the one that was most video compatible and sound and concept wise that would be possible to portray in a video.
The lyrical content of the song is all about the artist's aspiration and current life meaning that the general theme of the song is happiness meaning that the video must in-turn illustrate, colours, feeling, objects, people etc. associated with happiness.
The artist Tom Tripp is seventeen so from this small piece of background knowledge it will be easy to create an image of this you person with these motivational dreams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2zAE4CcVlY

Peer Feedback

Areas of Strength for the track and artist:

• Good Song, roots about happiness, optimism. 
• Lends well to narrative and performance based video
• Allows use of animation
• Use as a potential for suggesting a posistive message/representation of a black male and the stereotypes that come with it 

 Areas of consideration that need to be taken on board: 

• The male artist MUST be confident, it is key for the performance
• Possible use of additonal performers
• The music video MUST be fun, light-hearted
• Not alot of negative or depressing themes in the video

J Cole - Lost Ones Music Video Analysis

Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-vQ_VsTkn0&ob=av2e

Music Video Analysis: Lost Ones – J Cole

Artist: J Cole

Song Title: Lost Ones

Director: Bergman & Bohichik (BBGUN)

Release Date: 27^th September 2011

Genre: Hip Hop

Label: Roc Nation

This video was released on YouTube 25^th October 2011. It was also available on the artist Facebook page the artist website and viemo.com. The music channels that played this video were the, Big Top 40 Show, Channel AKA, MTV and MTV Base.

The music video is a hybrid of both a performance and narrative in the sense it tells this story through the lyrics of a couple talking after the woman has found out she is pregnant and addressed the controversial topic of abortion. At the same time the artist is performing on between the narrative sections making this video a hybrid. It therefore subverts from the genre of stereotypical Hip Hop. I addition there are arguably slight undertones that suggest this video could be a post-feminist music video in the sense that it addresses versatile subject while treating women equally.

The camera and editing techniques vary in this music video. Firstly the editing techniques there are cuts when transitioning between the performance and narrative. There is also split screen techniques to emphasis the emotion in the narrative and slow motion to make parts of the music video stand out e.g. the father leaving the child. Next is the camera techniques there are lot of close ups again to show the emotion the artist and performer show combined with a varied amount of medium and some long shots.

Mise en scene is used efficiently to adhere to some of the stereotypes of a hip hop artist he is dressed urban but expensive and does not connote the typical “bling” culture which subverts. Furthermore the woman is represented equally however in context of a feminist theory some would say she is made to play the “housewife” in the video. Furthermore the use of this theme for a hip hop music video not only conveys feelings of sadness but allows the track to portray hope which promotes a positive message further subverting from the stereotypical representation of the genre. As stated there is no dominance from either male or female in the music video they are both made to look strong within the narrative from the lyrics they mine and the message they try to get across to the audience.

The target audience would be quite a large one as this song and artist is widely mainstream combined with the fact the subject is controversial means that not only general fans of hip hop and the artist but also a modern audience looking into the topic. The Uses and Gratification Theory offers some reasons for why audiences would watch these videos such as; to relax, escaping from problems, filling time, finding a basis for conversation and social interaction, satisfying curiosity and general interest, getting intrinsic, cultural or aesthetic enjoyment, to connect with society and emotional release. This music video focuses on the social factors such as basis for conversation or connection with society however does not take away from aesthetic enjoyment as it is still enjoyable to watch

Disclosure - Latch Music Video Analysis

Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93ASUImTedo

Music Video Analysis: Latch - Disclosure ft. Sam Smith

Artist: Disclosure

Song Title: Latch

Director: Ross McDowell & Ben Murray

Release Date: 8^th October 2012

Genre: Dance

Label: PMR

The video was released on YouTube on the 9^th October 2012. The artist is not well known however the genre is not niche so it would’ve received quite a lot of recognition. It was also shown on the homepage of Soundcloud.com and the Official Chart Update where the track would’ve gained a lot of popularity.

The mainstream channels that would have distributed this track are those such as MTV MUSIC, MTV Dance, The Box, 4Music and KISS.

The music video is a concept based video around the theme of liking or loving someone and the embrace between them. It does not tell a story specifically however we as an audience see 3 different scenarios played out within the concept based video. The theme of the music video is all about the embrace which works well in the music video due to the successful use of editing and camera techniques in the music video. Firstly the editing techniques there are a lot of cuts to the different scenario have probably to portray the many of embracing someone in different situations. The transition effect allows for quick movement while keeping the viewer engaged. There is also a lot of slow motion used to suggest the feeling of the embrace to the audience. Then there is the camera work. There are a lot of close ups, extreme close ups and medium shots on parts of the body that  that embrace e.g. holding hands, kissing, hugging etc. this allows the theme of the music video to play portrayed well.

The mise en scene of the music video adheres to the genre. Dance music is for everyone in the sense that it’s catchy up beat and uplifting; it is obvious that the directors have tried to capture this in the music video by getting people from all walks of life in the scenarios. The audience is shown what seems to be a married couple, young lovers and homosexual lovers all in the music video. They are each dressed for their environment increasing the verisimilitude of the music video for the audience. Furthermore the use of actors fits into the theory of the male gaze but also the counter theory of the emerging idea of the female gaze. This is because all of the actors are physically attractive so will appeal to the audience.

The target audience for this music video as the casual listeners of the genre and the artist, however because of the type of genre the song is it is fair to say that the target audience is quite large rather than limited. The Uses and Gratification Theory offers some reasons for why audiences would watch these videos such as; to relax, escaping from problems, filling time, finding a basis for conversation and social interaction, satisfying curiosity and general interest, getting intrinsic, cultural or aesthetic enjoyment, to connect with society and emotional release. The main reason mostly social interaction as this video was widely popular and an emotional release as the theme of the song is all about emotional embrace.

Beyonce - Single Ladies Music Video Analysis

Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY

Music Video Analysis: Single Ladies – Beyoncé

Artist: Beyoncé

Song Title: Single Ladies

Director: Jake Nava

Release Date: 12^th October 2008

Genre: Dance-Pop

Label: Columbia Records

The music video was released on YouTube on the 2^nd October 2009 almost a year after the track was released. It would’ve also been available on the record labels website and the artist Facebook page.

Almost all of the mainstream music channels would’ve played this music video as it was seen worldwide. The larger recognisable distributors of this music video being MTV Base/Hits/Dance, Kiss, and Big Top 40 show etc.

The video is a performance based video essentially. It is about women and their independence so arguably begins to fall in the debate of post-feminist and feminist music video. The main idea is that women should celebrate their independence because they can do fine by themselves. As it is performance based it does not tell a story or convey an idea but gives visual aid to the audience watching and listening to the music video.

The camera and editing techniques present are in the few however it is because of this they are so effectively used. The camera tends to generally stick to a long shot so you can see all of the dancers and the artist herself, however the use of the camera panning,  movement and some angle change keeps the audience engaged as they feel as though nothing is hidden from them possibly making it more interpersonal as well as pleasing. The whole video is in black and white. While this may be visually unappealing it means that the audience then focuses on the actual performance by both artist and back up dancers instead of just the main artist. It is important to note that because he artist is female this would closely link into the theory of the male gaze. By making it black and white all the women in the music video are equal as you cannot tell any immediate differences between them.

The mise en scene of the artist is pretty simple. She wears a black one piece outfit almost similar to the one the back-up dancers wear. This subverts from the idea in the video of women and their independence however stereotypically adheres to that of a pop video. They are made to look highly sexualised. The last item is a metal gauntlet the main artist wears with a “Ring on It”. This is placed not only to give the artist individuality but ties in with the theme of the music video and title.

The target audience for the music video would be fans of the artist, which is a large mainstream fan base. Also as a result of the choreography there would be an even larger target audience. As usual fans of both the pop and dance genre would be part of the target audience.   As the song was at the top of the charts this suggests that the song is more mainstream therefore the target audience for this video is a lot wider.  Audiences would watch this video mainly because they like the track and artist in addition the simplicity of the music video works well with the audio making it a successful music video. The Uses and Gratification Theory offers some reasons for why audiences would watch these videos such as; to relax, escaping from problems, filling time, finding a basis for conversation and social interaction, satisfying curiosity and general interest, getting intrinsic, cultural or aesthetic enjoyment, to connect with society and emotional release. The main reason mostly social interaction as this video was widely popular and aesthetic enjoyment which again links to the theory of the male gaze.