Questionnaire analysis

By Connor Sleet, Jacob Caria-Preen, Ryan Almond and Bradley Russell

We decided a questionnaire would be an extremely valuable resource for audience feedback which we could build upon in our discussions. The audience were varied with different age groups and genders being queried. Our questionnaire (as shown in the scan) incorporates a general idea of what the audience like in music and music videos so we can gauge what catches an audience's eye in a music video and what techniques we can use.

The first question was: What kind of music video do you generally watch? The majority of the answers were predominantly indie and pop- following the trend of the general public but some transcended genres and simply listened to songs that appealed to them or songs in the charts. It was interesting to see there wasn't the wide variety of genres that we expected as genres such as country, classical and metal were scarcely represented or not represented at all.

'Why do you watch music videos?' was our second and probably our most important question as we are in the process of creating a music video and the audience's opinion is vital. The music video, according to the feedback, heightens the meaning of the song and adds emotion and extra depth to the lyrics. A storyline or visual representation of the lyrics is deemed to be a main reason why people watched music videos but it can also be broken down, again, to something as simple as liking the song.

The third question was 'What genre do you listen to?'.  Although we are doing an indie/rock song it is important to classify our audience by what genre they listen to. Rock and indie were up there with the most popular genres but there was a wide variety of genres compared to the first question. Another interesting trend would be the similarity in answers between questions one and three.

The question 'Why do you listen to this genre?' can be described simply as striking a chord with the listener. The Uses and Gratifications Theory comes heavily in to play as escapism and entertainment seems to be a main reason for listening to the genre. The style of the song in relation to the general characteristics of the genre seems to help, as does relating to the person's feelings.

The final two questions explore the audience's favourite music videos and why. The videos tend to stick to the genre given in the previous questions but the reasons why differ massively. Some said the idea of the music video stuck with them whereas other felt the idea and concept of the music video helped enhance the message of the song.

Conventions of music videos

The conventions of music videos tend to vary between different genres and even between artists (to an extent). As well as there being 'set' conventions, there are also 3 main types of music videos: narrative video, concept based video and the performance video.

Although you often see the artist performing in the majority of videos, the performance video will mainly focus on the artist performing the song to a crowd, or to no one in particular. This is a very common video format in the rap, indie and rock genres and a lot of what makes the artist popular is their image and relationship with their fans.
The concept video is also very popular with the rock and alternative genre, often due to the nature of the lyrics. One example of a concept based video is 'crazy' by Gnarls Barkley. This video uses the Rorschach test as the concept, with each inkblot becoming the lead singers face. The use of the Rorschach test coincides with the title and lyrics, as the test uses inkblots to determine somebodies personality and whether they may or may not be insane,
The third (and probably the most common) type of music video is the narrative video. This video will tell the story of a character, often using the lyrics as a guide to what will happen to the characters in the video. One of the most famous uses of this could be 'Stan' by Eminem. The song itself outlines the messages of a highly obsessive fan who eventually commits suicide. The video consists of this fan writing the messages to Eminem, and getting increasingly frustrated when his letters are not returned. Anyone who has heard the song before viewing the video would most likely have some idea to how the video ends. Unlike performance and concept style videos, the narrative seems to be spread evenly throughout the various genres of music, as a lot of songs are about events rather than an idea.

There are also conventions in terms of camera work in the music video industry. Once again, these are mainly spread out throughout the genres of music, and often coincide with the type of video being filmed. The colours, characters and locations used are yet another form of convention used in the music video industry.
Close ups can be very common within music videos as they suggest a sense of intimacy, either between the characters, or even between the band and the viewer. Medium shots tend to dominate the music videos as  this way, most of the band is fitted to the shot, ideal for performance videos.

Depending on the song, music videos tend to be slightly longer on both ends of the song, especially in narrative videos, as it is essentially a short film, giving time for the characters to be introduced. One example of this could be 'The kill' by 30 Seconds To Mars. This video pays homage to the Shining, and there is both an introduction and an ending to the video. There are also short breaks in the song to allow for the story to unfold, unrestrained by the  songs length. This can be very common among some artists (30 seconds to mars have done this plenty of times in their music videos) therefore some artists often have their own conventions set out.

Research into music videos

Music videos were first created as a means of promoting an artist, with the use of still images being projected onto a sheet of canvas to accompany the performance of the song.

The first ever recorded use of a music 'video' was through the pair Edward Marks and Joe Stern, who hired George Thomas (among others) to help promote sales of their song 'the little lost child'. Thomas proceeded to project a series of images whilst the song was performed to an audience.  Although this was extremely simple, the music video would soon progress to becoming what many artists consider works of art, with plenty of time and money being spent on creating them.

Music videos can and often are censored by the BBFC, as they are basically a short film. Examples of censored videos include: The Kill ( 30 seconds to mars) and Stan ( Eminem FT Dido). The two videos were censored for either explicit language or content. If videos are censored, then they will simply not be shown during the day, and only after 9PM will the full version of the video (and song) be shown on television.

The television channel, MTV was the first channel that would continuously broadcast music videos throughout the day. This channel became a major competitor when it came to listening to and viewing music videos, as it is easily accessible by the general population.
In recent years, the introduction of Youtube to the internet has revolutionized the way music videos and songs can be viewed. For free, anyone with internet access can now view official music videos. Although the videos were initially uploaded by members of the public, copyright laws were eventually put into place and now official music videos can only be uploaded via the artists 'channel'. This has shown that companies are always in control of their 'products', and youtube has become a way of advertising their artists songs once again.

Music videos are created in very much the same way as a film or television programme may be made. More often than not, the video will be shot on location with an extensive lighting array ranging from lighting rings to spotlights and floodlights. The cast will also be on the set and ready for filming. Interestingly, the band may not always be 'the cast', especially during a narrative video, however in almost all cases the band will make an appearance as the music video is essentially an advert for the band and their image, as well as promoting revenue from royalties and sales.