Target Audience Research

This is the video that I created for research into the target audience for my music video.

I played 3 songs to the people answering the questions:
- The Pretender by Foo Fighters
- Call me maybe by Carly Rae Jepson
- No Tomorrow by Orson

And then I asked them three questions:
- Who would you say the target audience for this song would be? 
- What would you expect to see in this music video?
- Which song would you rather listen to in your own time?

I found out from doing this research that Orson-No Tomorrow(The song that we have chosen to make a music video for) would be promoted to the target audience of boys of late teenagers to about mid-twentys while other people would listen to it as well. Also many people would chose to listen to this song over pop songs like Call Me Maybe.

Editing Techniques

Album Artwork - existing artwork for Orson

The genre that we have chosen to make a music video for is Rock, which means that the artwork will most likely depend on the songs itself, if the songs are dark and gloomy then the artwork will reflect that and be dark and mysterious. But on the other hand the songs could be more up beat and more about partying and love, this way the artwork will probably be more colourful, and will reflect the songs themselves and show the mood of the album and the tracks on it just by looking at the artwork. 

As we have chosen to do a song by Orson I thought it would be a good idea to look at some of their artwork for their albums, to be able to compare my ideas to theirs and really see what I should or just as important should not be including in the artwork, it will give me more of an insight to what i should actually be including, or the kind of ideas i should be having on the matter. 

On the right is the front cover for the single 'Bright Idea' by Orson, I think that seeing as they are a rock band the cover is really bright, and colourful, this could be a good thing, but the fact is unless you know who they are and you are specifically looking for their album, if you are looking for a rock artist in amongst a lot of others in a store than you might not know that Orson are a rock band by just looking at this artwork. The use of birds and all the different colours just don't match with the genre in my opinion. However it does in a way match up with the lyrics in the song and how upbeat the song itself is. Below is the song, I think that the song itself matches the genre and is very rocky, just by the beats that are used and the overall feel of the song, but i just think the use of bright colours and bright red colours are not typically rocky. But then again the artwork does depend on the overall feel of the track and if you know who Orson are and you like them already, then this artwork might be the kind of thing you are looking for, and might be their way of doing things. But when i personally think of rock as a genre and rock music i think of darkness and bright lights, but the bright lights would be coming from the dark colours. The artwork for 'Bright Idea' just doesn't scream out Rock Music to me, as someone who doesn't tend to listen to Rock music. 

This artwork is also by Orson and this kind of artwork to me is more 'Rocky'. This image and overall feel to the artwork to me screams that its rock music. The use of the black and the costumes that are used and even the font of the writing and even the lights. They all come together and tell you that it's rock music that they make. This to me is what a typical rock artist/band would want their artwork to look like as it lets people know that they are rock artists.
The line up shows every member in the band, but it obviously shows who the main artist would be, the one stood right in the middle, this is obvious and even if people didn't know, after seeing this they would know that the man in the middle is the main singer, and the frontman of the band.
The costumes are dark and blend in with the black background, this kind of tells me that what they wear doesn't really matter, the music is the important part, and thats what they focus on, the costumes arn't particularly rock inflicted, rock costumes to me would probably be either leather or distressed denim. But the fact that the costumes arn't particularly Rock inflicted might mean that they are trying to move away from the labels of Rock music and that they are trying to venture out to different things.

The second one is probably the kind of thing i would rather make, this is because the whole point of artwork for albums is that people can tell that the album is full of Rock songs, and thats what i want to show on my album cover, i want big bold writing, and black spaces, the band or artist somewhere on the cover, maybe a silhouette version of them, and bright lights everywhere, i think that it would suit the song that i am making a video for, people could tell its Rock and it would look good, the point to any artwork. 

Potential Treatment 2

After we came up with the idea for our music video we looked into doing the party scene that we wanted to do, but unfortunately it was not possible to get that many people in a house and not make any mess and we couldn't find a house that peoples parents wouldn't mind about the noise and mess.

We have came up with an alternative idea for our music video, it will be to have a band that are going to have a rehearsal for a gig and one of the band members are missing, they are late.

- The guy will wake up and will look at his clock and realise that he is late and will then look at his phone and see that he has lots of missed calls and texts telling him that he's late, he jumps out of bed and the camera will pan around the room showing the mess from the night before, beer bottles/cans and just pure mess.

- He will then get ready and the editing will be in fast motion to show that he is rushing to get ready.

- He then leaves the house and gets pooped on by a bird, he then goes back into his house and changes his jacket.

- He comes back out of his house and then loads more poop come down from the sky, he runs through it and carries on.

- He then comes across a guy struggling to put a box in his car, he helps him to get the stuff in the car, then an angry guy comes out shouting, the other guy is a thief so the band guy looks at him, the thief puts a balaclava on and gets in his car and drives away.

- The band guy looks confused and runs away.

- He arrives in town and there is a guy dressed up in a beer bottle costume, he tries to hand the band guy a leaflet about drinking and alcohol awareness, this links to the beginning of the video because his bedroom was full of beer bottles and the night before is the reason that he's late in the first place. He knocks the leaflets out of the mans hands and the beer guy pushes him, there is an awkward stare and the beer guy chases him.

- There are different shots of the guy running away.

- The ban guy arrives in a safe place on the beach and there is a ritual for a cult going on in a little building, he sees it and goes in, the people that are dressed in robes turn around and stare at him, then the band guy runs away.

- He arrives at the studio smiling.

- He sees that no-one is there.

In between all this narrative there will be performance based things going on in-between the shots, it will show the rest of the band playing but it will also be clear that someone is missing, the guy that is late.

Potential Treatment 1

Today in our group we discussed the potential treatment for the music video that we will create.
First of all the idea was to have a house party kind of scene, this is because the song we have chosen to use 'No Tomorrow' by Orson is about raving and partying. So we have to use this kind of idea to keep in line with the lyrics of the song, they have to match otherwise it just won't look or sound right when compared.

I think this kind of image is the kind of thing we were thinking, people dancing, music playing and alcohol being consumed.
This kind of image would be good because its a typical party scene of a teenage house party. 
It also shows the typical 'making a fool of yourself' stuff that normally goes on at parties. 

But I suggested that it might be a good idea to make it different in the sense that we could make a video based around the party idea, but in the end it ends up that the band/artist were just imagining it all and that really they are just playing music on air guitar and pots and pans and singing into a hairbrush or bottle, this would put a twist onto the video and make it amusing to watch for the audience who would watch the music video because its funny instead of just downloading the track digitally and listening to it as an mp3 on their ipods, they would be more inclined to watch it. 
There could be a moment where the artist is crowd surfing as that is the kind of thing that happens at rock concerts or raves, like described in the lyrics of the song. 'Let's go to a rave and act like we're trippin' well in the video thats what they would be doing, raving and acting like idiots. 

So the artist will think they look like the men on the left, rocking out in front of loads of people, looking and feeling really cool, but really they'll look more like the man on the right, they'll look like complete tools, playing air guitar with a couple of their silly friends. 

 
And this will be the same thing, the drummer will think that they are cool and entertaining for everyone, yet they will really be playing the pots and pans in their lounge with a few friends.



The end of the video will most likely show them either walking out in shame and embarrassed, or one of their parents could walk in and look at them like what an earth are you doing? 

Song Choice

Today I looked at the song that will be the music video that I will be a part of making, we straight away came up with the song that we wanted to use which is 'No Tomorrow' by Orson. We chose this song because it is a song that we all know pretty well and it will hopefully be fun to be a part of making a video for this song. It didn't take too long to come across as it's a song that everyone knows when they hear it. 

This song was the final choice because a Rock song was the genre we chose, but we didn't want a rock song that was going to be too hard to film, I want it to look good and professional, and having a song that is really 'rocky' might mean that it has tonnes of different beats and things like that, this would mean that the editing would have to be absolutely spot on, and we didn't want to make it too hard on ourselves, so we chose a rock song that wasn't too fast but also a song that you know was rock when you hear it, this was a tough balance to come across. 
I think the song is fun and is memorable, so it shouldn't be too hard to remember the words to for whoever will be doing the lip synching for the video. This will be a good things because it means that the filming shouldn't be too hard to do, we will get the shots we need to get and then the editing will be the main part of the construction, even though the song isn't as fast as some other rock songs, it's still a fast song and therefore the editing will still have to look good and will have to match every part of what needs to be done. One bad thing or one thing that goes wrong could make the whole video look rubbish. 

Michel Maffesoli- Urban tribes

Michel Maffesoli 
He is a french sociologist, and he came up with a theory about target audience and it all comes down to groups of people that socialise with each other, he called this 'Urban Tribes' Urban tribes are smallish groups of people that have some kind of close association, this is normally based upon a similar lifestyle choice or activity they are involved in, this normally effects what music they listen to, how they act, what they wear, what films they watch etc. This theory is based on teenagers in urban areas because that's where you see most of the differences in groups and 'cliques'. These different groups normally have a whole media universe dedicated to them, certain films that only they tend to watch, certain words of lingo that they use, certain music artists or genres, clothing brands that they wear, everything is based upon the group that you belong to, here are some examples. 
He says that:

"urban tribes are microgroups of people who share common interests in urban areas. The members of these relatively small groups tend to have similar worldviews, dress styles and behavioral patterns. Their social interactions are largely informal and emotionally laden."

His theory in relation to music videos is all down to personal identity and that could cross over with Dennis Mcquials uses and gratifications theory, it can all boil down to how you and your identity fits into groups.

A Chav

A chav is normally someone who would live on a council estate, live in trackies and hang around on street corners causing trouble. A chav girl would normally be trending a hoodie and either trackies or a mini skirt, and not forgetting a buggy, because chavs are known for getting pregnant at a young age just to get a council flat for them, their child and their druggy boyfriend to get away from their parents, that no doubt didn't set a very good example. 

A chav boy would normally be found outside their local mcdonalds or hanging round in the town centre, sporting their trackies hanging just below their bum cheeks, and their baseball caps covering their faces, their pockets would probably be full of any 'loot'(stolen goods) they could get their hands on from the local 'offy'(off licence) and they normally hang around in larger groups to intimidate the local grannys. 

                                           Rappers

A rapper is someone who normally would listen to rap music obviously and would have hobbies such as breakdancing, some would skate and some would do graffiti, that is part of the 'rebellious' look they try and go for. They would wear big loose clothing including sweaters, caps, t-shirts, big trainers, earings, big blingy necklaces and would most of the time have tattoos, again to promote their 'rebellious' side.

     Punks

A punk would normally listen to punk music, or rock 'n' roll music, they try and act like they are against society, They would normally be styling Broken jeans, boots, broken bands, T-shirts, earings, tattoos and mohawk haircut.

          Gothics(Goths)

Normally goths would listen to goth music which is anything from hard metal to classical music! They might play rol games or believe in the devil, they would mainly be wearing black and chains, earings and dyed hair in general. They could be wearing eye liner or even 'guy liner'.

Indies
These type of people would normally listen to international pop rock music or indie rock, they would normally have hobbies like taking photographs and collecting old things, they would love the festival look, which would include expensive clothing, dresses and glasses mainly!

Heavies They would normally be middle aged men with beards and biker gear! You would see them out drinking beer playing the guitar or at a festival, they would be listening to heavy metal music and wearing jeans, leather jackets, chains with lots of piercings and normally would be sporting a band t-shirt.

Rah's
They generally emanate from good schooling and enjoy/aspire to flamboyant lifestyles that go alongside their loudly declared opinions. The artistocracy are covered in this Tribe but it also include the only relatively privileged; those attending grammar schools and more ordinary universities. The Jack Wills brand (self-defined as University Outfitters For The Fabulously British Lifestyle) is a sure-fire identifier Ugg boots also rule, as do year-round flip-flops for guys, rugby shirts, pastel colour and Ralph Lauren V-neck sweaters slung over shoulders. Big hair is important for boys and girls. One particular irritation among Rah haters is girl Rahs turning up for university lectures in what look like (and quite possibly are) pairs of pyjamas. Rahs of the more normal variety are also big festival goers – think mainstream indie like The Kooks and Razorlight. Indeed, the UK has a fine lineage of posh rock – Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, etc.

Trendies
These type of people would be the 'fashion statement' they would be seen as a fashion icon, everyone would copy their fashion sense. They would wear high street clothing such as river island, republic, topshop etc. They tend to listen to mainstream music that is in the charts and would almost be seen upon as the victims or modern society.



The above tribes are the main ones that would be known to many people, some might know of some, and some people might know them all and be able to spot one on the streets, they arn't particularly hard to spot!

Album Cover Deconstruction

Lady Gaga
This album cover is of Lady Gaga's The Fame album, she is a very out there kind of artist, everything is about her and she is the main thing to look for whether its in her music videos or at the music awards, the way she dresses is the main thing that people notice about her, so the way that this album cover has been made is almost strange because its just her face and nothing else amazing is really going on. The use of the sunglasses show that she's hiding behind them, almost meaning that in this album she's hiding behind her music, and the music is more important to her than anything else that is going on. The fact that its just her head though suggests that even though she wants it to be about her music, as the artist everything comes down to her. The way that half of her face is shadowed could mean that she wants to hide away in the shadows and let her music talk for her, hence why 'The Fame' is in the light and her face is being hidden away behind the shadowing and the glasses. Her body isn't in this cover, this could mean that she wants to strip away what everyone thinks of her, for being someone that people look at more for what she wears than for her music, she wants people to judge her on the music that she makes and not on what she wears. Her makeup is quite natural, this could mean that behind everything she is actually normal and like everybody else, minus the big glasses. However the fact that the sizing and the use of font of her name here is predominantly bigger than the album name goes against all of this because it just shows that once again it's all about her and her music comes second best, as the font and sizing used for the album name is a lot smaller than her name and at a quick glance you almost don't even see the album name.  

The Script
This album cover is by the script, the album name isn't what is normally a album name, this is more about it being their third album than trying to promote one single over the rest, the fact that its called #3 is showing that they are more proud of the fact that they have had the opportunity to bring out a third album full of songs that they knew people would love just as much as them.
The colours used here are all black and white, this suggests that they are simple and want to keep everything as simple as possible and about their music, this is also shown by the fact that their album name is larger than their band logo, this would show that even though they are promoting themselves by having an image of themselves and their band name etc on it, the album and they are all about their music, and that's what they predominantly care about, fame of themselves isn't as important as people liking their music. The amount of blank space on the cover and the fact that they are all looking in different directions into the blank space might suggest that they are looking into the future and there is still a lot to come from them, they are looking into bigger and brighter things. Also the way the image is arranged almost looks like a family tree would, this could suggest that they have all come together to make music, but in the end they have come this far, onto their third album stronger than ever, as family almost, and family stick together. The way that Danny's image is bigger than Mark and Glen's shows that event though they are like a family there is always one that seems to take over, but the other two don't mind because every band needs a front man. Overall this album cover shows that they are a simplistic band that over all think about their music and their love for it over anything else. 

Green day
This album cover doesn't really have a lot going on, the band or artist aren't on the front cover, which could mean that they want their music and what they stand for to talk for them and that's all that matters to them. The image of the heart grenade in someones hand could mean that they sing alot about love and the fact that love is like waiting for a grenade to go off, the breakdown of love or a relationship is like waiting for an unexpected grenade to be set off. The fact that someones holding it could suggest that someone has control of it, whether its you or the other person in the relationship, someone is in control of your heart, and they have a tight grip. The fact that the writing is all blocked and big and bold could suggest that they don't like to mess around on things they don't need too, they just like to get it done and over with, the sizing of the bands name is slightly bigger than the album name, this could mean that they want to promote themselves more than the album, but as the album name is only slightly smaller it wouldn't be a bad thing this would also be because of the fact that they aren't actually on the front cover, they have to promote themselves in some way. The colour use in the cover is pretty simple, just red, black and white, the red obviously symbolizes blood, this is shown because the heart is red, and hearts pump around the blood to your body, the fact that the album name is 'American Idiot' suggests that you are an idiot if you let your heart to be controlled like a grenade heart by someone else and American has been thrown in there to show that they are American and proud of it.