Research in to an Artist/Band

Music Channels

Audience Research

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I have utilised a website called SurveyMonkey to specifaclly design a survey aimed at discovering my audiences interests and needs in relation to the music videos they consume on a regular basis. It will hopefully help me to refine and aim my own project into a format that will please the general conventions and audience of the genre.

Results of survey  |Create infographics

From my survey of male teenagers I have learned that my audience think that both narrative and performance based content plays an equal role in their enjoyment of music videos. They also think that is essential that the pace established in the song should be copied or matched within the video to maintain enjoyment, quality and consistency. Furthermore they also commented that it was generally conventional for music videos to match pace in and that it would seem strange and off-putting to watch. I further learned that the audience I looked into enjoyed bands such as The Arctic Monkeys, The Cure, Oasis and Area 11, most of which were conventional indie bands that fit the same conventions and appeal that my research helped me analyze and understand. In particular two of the bands, (Oasis and Arctic Monkeys) were bands I had researched into in depth which is going to be very useful when creating my music video due my existing knowledge of their work and techniques. In addition I also learned that some of my audiences favourite music videos were also strongly tied to indie genres and videos I have studied, for example my audience choose videos from The Arctic Monkeys and The Last Shadow Puppets "My Mistakes Were Made For You" a video which I analyzed in great detail early on in my blog. This like the band research is going to be very useful as background knowledge to appeal to my audience. Moreover my audience said that they choose these music videos due to their unique use of shots, simplicity narrative telling me that whilst it will be useful to stay conventional in order to appeal to my audience it will also help to add in new and original ideas of my own to keep the video engaging and unique. Also I learned most of my audience consume their music videos through Internet and specifically upload sites such as Vevo and YouTube because of the accessibility and ease of viewing that other platforms lack in terms of on demand content. Finally most of my audience claimed that it is not important for the music video to portray the artist as they felt that the song was a more important feature that the video had to reflect, including things such as lyrical content and genre.




 Transcript: Hi, I'm Barry, I'm 17 Years old and I'm a big fan of indie music and bands. I particularly like indie rock bands such as The Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines and Oasis. Some of my favourite videos include "The Importance of Being Idle" by Oasis for the unique and interesting blend between performance and narrative. Also I like to watch music videos on sites such as YouTube and Vevo using my smartphone because I love the on demand accessibility it offers. Finally I really enjoy music videos that feature a good balance of performance and narrative shots as I feel both are equally important within indie rock music videos.

 

Analysis of Previous Students Work

After analysing these 3 tasks I also looked at 3 previous students blogs in order to get an idea of how to utilize technology and construct an effective blog using them whilst also allowing me to look at some past examples of final constructions and break down what was effective and what could be improved about them:
http://www.fahminaali.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.i-m.co/kayjianoran/kayjianoran/
http://laraanisere.wix.com/media-a2-coursework-

After looking at previous students work and studying both their blog and final constructions, the importance of planning has become clear. The students who were most successful had clear and concise planning sections that used a variety of technology to present. Furthermore they also had a blog that was easy to navigate allowing the tools to quickly view tasks.

Inspiration and Influences-Film

Inspiration and Influences (Film) on PhotoPeach
The films I have chosen all relate to the element of British/social realism that many indie rock music videos try to portray in both their images and videos. Submarine,Train-spotting and This Is England all represent the working class people of Britain in an accurate and honest way, similar to the way that Indie Music represent the average person using their image and sound. In particular for Submarine I was intrigued by the way that locations were used to show the industrial and labouring side of British realism, in addition the setting of Swansea in Wales further plants the film in realistic British roots due to heavy focus on the more gloomy and downcast weather and abandoned industrial areas. Moreover the film also has strong links to British indie as the director Richard Ayoade also directed the "My Mistakes Were Made For You" video for The Last Shadow Puppets, an indie rock band I have looked into and analysed during this research task. Furthermore the films soundtrack features Alex Turner lead singer of The Arctic Monkeys and  The Last Shadow Puppets whose music videos I have looked into and featured as solid examples of the indie genre.
I also choose This Is England due to the use of costume being very much in connection with conventional Indie Rock clothes. They mostly consist of jeans and casual t-shirts further representing the realistic and honest attire of the working class public in Britain. Furthermore the themes of the film of the everyday struggles against social conflict and the government, all common and strong themes within many Indie songs lyrics.
Finally I have chosen the film Train-Spotting  for its use of editing to match the pace of the story, similar to the way that Indie Rock videos match the editing of the video to the pace of the song they are creating the video for. In both the film and the videos it makes the project more engaging and consistent for the viewer to watch because it allows for the visual element to be a reflection of the sound/narrative element. Furthermore Train-Spotting link in context to Brit-pop places it at a time when British Indie was at its height of success and popularity meaning that many pieces of media, including this film, reflected the indie scene and the political and social views that it represented.

Carol Vernallis and Andrew Goodwin

Research into the relevant genre

Inspiration and Influences

Bands: Inspiration and Influences on PhotoPeach

After creating this PhotoPeach I had a very clear and concise view of both my musical inspirations but also aesthetically the look of the band and their image. I have realised the look should be very casual and plain featuring mainly t-shirts and jeans in dark colours. In addition I now have a very clear idea of props, the primary features should be the instruments used in the song e.g: Electric Gutair, Drums, Bass, but also general equipment used for a bands perfomance like speakers and microphones. Finally the casual look also reflects the band members who are not made up or styled in any particular way.

Tracking an artist/band throughout their career

Detailed Analysis of Music Videos

Detailed Music Video Analysis

Research Into Existing Companies That Produce and Distribute Music Videos

Record Label Research-A2 by powell97

Conventions of a Music Video

Music Video Analysis A2 by powell97

History of Music Videos