1. Music Video Questionnaire By Drew Middleton

11. Question 3 Findings/Conclusions Conclusion: As you can see, a funny/light hearted perspective on music – presented through the video – is very popular; with 13 people choosing the more comical, laid back position of viewing. On the other hand, people also enjoy a serious, thought provoking video (as the choices were not one-sided). This element of thought could be used to our groups advantage, allowing us to adopt a humorous tone that requires a certain level of deliberation and examination from the audience – this is only a possibility. Furthermore, it would probably be in our best interest to fixate on developing a comedic and open narrative, acknowledging the audience and creating easy viewing.

12. Question 4 Findings/Conclusions Conclusion: Both of these options have been popular with our intended audience, with only 2 people separating the top choice (11 people for ‘links with lyrics’ compared to 9 people for ‘abstract’). It could be a wise decision to link our narrative, setting, properties, camera work etc. to the lyrics and the words/phrases in which the song conveys. Nonetheless, the song we choose for our music video can not be the only determining factor; it would not be fitting to base all media techniques that we put into place, purely on the song (and its lyrics). Therefore, a mixture of abstract video techniques and a link between camera work etc. and lyrics should be achieved; specifically through editing shots and sound together into one final product.

13. Question 5 Findings/Conclusions - Other examples; more thought provoking, to add interest, a bit of both. Conclusion: When asked about the subject of special effects/animation, people were once again split minded; with 9 people choosing ‘yes’, and 11’no’ for their top preference. Therefore it is not an essential aspect to consider, yet our group’s personal choice. To enable the use of effects and animation, and to input these techniques into our music video, our group will need a collective list of skills for us to do so. For example, creativity and technical ability (with the use of animation programs etc.) should be a necessity before undergoing this task. Furthermore, it may be possible to use a more simplistic program, such as ‘iMovie’, to compose such effects to our advantage. If we intend to adopt these techniques, they are likely to be presented in the form of transitions or collaborated with camera work – both achieved through post editing.

14. Question 6 Findings/Conclusions Conclusion: From this graph, our group is able to justify the important aspects of our music video; the ones which are of high/low importance and the ones in which we should decide to implement (lowest bar/rank, highest preference). The least attractive or enjoyable technique used is lighting –with 82 marks – which suggests its loss of significance in our final product. However, lighting will need to be consider, as all camera work is shot under a specific lighting set-up e.g. naturalistic, low key, high key. Camera work (52), settings (55) and sound (59) are generally taking into account when watching a music video; all these techniques should be monitored and administered, with care and with a professional outlook if our video is to be successful, attractive and enjoyable to our audience. The audience is priority. If they do not feel captivated by a media product such as this, boredom and dislike will follow, alongside low attention and a loss of enjoyment. A mixture of all media techniques is a necessity under both production and distribution circumstances of our music video.

15. Question 7 Findings/Conclusions Conclusion: From these 4 graphs it is certainly clear that people do not want to see fixed ‘negative’ or ‘quite negative (one person)’ representations of gender, age, ethnicity and disability. Most people would like to see both positive and negative portrayals, possibly as it presents an image of real life – nothing is ever perfect, everyone is different. Therefore, our music video should try to obtain and refer to mixed representations. Our group will take note of this in the planning phase of our coursework, ensuring that our choice of setting, song, camera work etc. will create an equal and unrestricted view of sex, race, age and disabilities.

16. Question 8 Findings/Conclusions Conclusion: Generally, the results show that ‘mixed themes/colours’ was preferred by 10 people (the most popular), followed closely by ‘bright themes/colours’ (7people). It is evidently clear that pure ‘dark themes/colours’ are not favoured, therefore our group will consider to adopt mixed or bright themes/colours. This may also relate to the song and/or its lyrics. There is tendency for a running theme, or narrative, throughout the music video; our choice of colours should revolve around this concept. It may also be chosen according to the genre; a pop song will tend to be vibrant, bright and colourful, whereas a rock and indie song will feature more low key lighting.

17. Question 9 Findings/Conclusions - Other exact examples; ‘funny’, ‘love’, ‘epiphany’, ‘competitiveness’ Conclusion: For this question, ‘happiness’ is the most important emotion to convey (11 out of 20 people – more than half). To state an immediate conclusion, our group should intend to emphasis a happy notion/feeling, through our video and presented to our audience. On the other hand, it also very clear that ‘sadness’ is not preferred by many people; therefore, to take a general view on the topic, our group should avoid negative emotions (sadness, anger, frustration etc.) and develop/elaborate on positive feelings and emotions. We should consider using a mixture of media technique to portray this to our intended audience. For example, we could use camera work (such as distances, movement and angles) to create a positive, bubbly atmosphere; or we may ensure that our editing keeps the emotion consistent.