Feedback

Yesterday I emailed The Riot Tapes (original artist) and asked for feedback on our video, what they liked and disliked e.t.c.
I also asked if we could keep the same track name and their response to this was 'Sure keep the name!'

We have now recieved their feedback which can be read in the comment box of the Audience Feedback Ideas post or below:

'So, here's our feedback... overall it's very cool! Yay! In fact we really like it!

I would consider one small change..

That shot at 50 secs, of the drummer... he looks a bit freaked out... if you could switch it with anything else, it might be cool...It might just be the way he shifts his gaze off camera..?

That's it.. the rest we like :D

It's really funny to see our doppelgängers, and we think the mix of "live" footage with the more staged stuff is really nice!

Hope that's helpful!

Good luck!

-The Riot Tapes'

Audience Feedback Ideas

As we are now in the phase where we need responses from our video to progress with changes, we came up with some questions to ask some of our target audience (16-25). Feedback from the other range (26-45) of our target audience is difficult to gain at this time, however it is still possible through facebook contacts.

As a group we have decided to pursue avenues of YouTube and Facebook especially to gather audience feedback on our music video. This is because we can reach mass audiences very easily and within a short space of time. This also enhances the 'believability' of the band if they are available on sites like these in a industry that nowadays involves so much reliance on technology.

I (Henry) thought I could use questionnaire type feedback but do it online for the above reasons. Here are some of the questions I came up with (to help focus the audience feedback we receive):

-What do you like about the video?
-What don't you like about the video?
-Do you think that the video fits well into the indie genre?
-After seeing the video, do you want to explore the band’s other work (i.e. their album)?
-Do you think we conform to or challenge stereotypes of indie genre within the video?
-Do you think the band members seem believable (i.e. do you think the band members could pass off as a real indie group)?

I (Grace) agree with Henry's questions. Some I had already included in the discussions board on the facebook page for the feedback I started collecting. The others I have come up with are almost identical to Henry's, but I was waiting to discuss them as a group, however now there is no need for me to post them.
The are a couple of questions I would add to the list:

- Can you think of any improvements to our video that would make it more interesting for you as the audience to watch?
- Which is the best part of the music video?/Which part was most interesting to watch? - I want to include this question as I feel that it will benefit us as a group to find out which part was most interesting to the audience.

Also I would re-word the question 'Do you think it fits well into the indie genre?' to
- Which parts of the video do you think fit with the indie genre and which parts do not?

I also asked Miss Mapp if she would kindly send out a message to her facebook friends to help us target the 26-45 age range as well as the 16-25 age range for feedback. From this we have had one response:
'Some of the edit at the start is a bit abrupt. Maybe look into fades or slow cuts. Attention to use of light is good. My main criticism is that unless abrupt cuts are purposeful, be careful of them.
Well done guys!'

Audience Feedback

So far we have recieved one comment back on the facebook discussion page:

'Watched it through twice - well done! It all works really well, the different shots/settings link together nicely. The beginning is much better as well in my opinion. Anyway, you're probably looking for improvements, so here's a few: during the shot of Jonny from 0:50-51 (timings on the Facebook video, btw), the music's quite powerful, but he's drumming quite 'lightly' - the image doesn't quite fit with the audio. From 1:47-52, the shot of the cymbal playing is nice but stays the same for quite long - maybe show the last two hits from a different angle/distance? Finally the 'sweeping' shot from 2:36-42 is a great idea, but the person in the lit window at the back slightly ruins the illusion that the band is alone practising (if that's what you wanted to portray). Only small comments though, very nice overall! x
Oh, and btw, I liked the detail you put into the 'CCTV' bits, changing the 'camera number' and the time for the two different shots - thought that looked good'

Progress

I have spent some time going through the video and taking stills.
I have now upoladed them to the our facebook profile and also the website.
I have also uploaded the video to both the website and facebook and requested feedback on the video from friends and made a discussion board to post the feedback. Following this i sent a message to the artists of the track to find out what their opinion is of the video and how they think it could be improved.

Meeting, Editing and Audience Feedback

This is a final copy of our video which we are now showing to audiences which will enable us to gain feedback so that we can polish it.

This video shows some of what we achieved yesterday. We had already got all shots into some sort of chronological order on Thursday and Friday, so our focus was to edit any shots which either didn't fit in the sequence or any camera shot which weren't great i.e. the steadiness of the shot or the framing.

We also managed to continue to look in to and make decisions on our digipak work. For instance, we had an idea for the front cover of the album so we tested this an took some photos. Our aim here was to get the depth of field right otherwise it won't work. Also at the time of taking the images there was not enough light, so the turn out was not exactly as we wanted it.

The photos below are some test shots for our digipack. We decided to test this idea as one of the suggestiong for the album name was 'Out of a hat' and the front cover was suggested to have the band members sitting on a hat. Unfortunatly we only has a Trillby to hand at the time but if we were to develop this further we would use a top hat.

This shot is too far away to create the illusion of the person sitting on the hat

This shot shows another postition and how more than one person could be placed on the hat

This image is the best that we have. If we have we have a shot in the field were there is only the hat then this shot should be successful.

This shot is slightly too far away to make it look as though the hat is being sat on

Rough Cut 1 Comments

I have just been checking the Facebook Discussions board for anymore comments as here is another that has been posted:

'Really like it! As I told Grace, my favourite shot is the one of Emily dropping the money onto the floor, really artistic, makes it a bit quirky almost. Anyway as for improvements, I'm going against the other comments a bit and saying that I think the silent part at the start is a bit too long; makes it look like that bit's unfinished. I'd personally alter it so that in each of the different shots of her walking, you only show her taking two steps (e.g. step, step, change shot, step, step, change, etc.) to shorten it, but you might have other ideas on it. Once it gets going it's really good though, well done'

This comment is good feedback. We have already adjusted the opening slightly from another comment that was made but this information on the silent part and how our audience think that it should go should be taken into account. I also like the comment about the money falling to the floor and it being artistic and quirky because this helps justify and link images in our video to our artist name 'Said the Hatter'.

Audience Feedback for Rough Cut 1

On the discussions board of the facebook page there has been a couple of feedback posts.

'i like the silent bit at the beggining, and thinks its mysterious/intriging that you dont' see emily's face for a while. i like the bit at the end of the 30 secs with the quick bits of different musical instruments.
hope that helps in some way :s'

'I also like the musical instruements that looks awsome and so does the car doors openiing etc. Also I like the bit and how it looks like a recording studio. However, I think there is too much silence at the begining and I like the idea of her setting up but i don't think u need the huge walk. Also I didn't get the car radio bit you would be better to shoe that you are turning on the radio but the song u have chosen plays out and you flash between in the car and in the studio. I hope this helps.'

'Opening's great... exactly what the first comment says. Although the continuity of the car doors isn't really right... One of the back doors is open before the person opens it! And can you actually fit a whole drum kit in the back with someone?'

This helps me to gain a better understanding of what the audience does and does not like and therefore helps me to improve the rough cut with the rest of the group.

I am hoping to gain more feedback than this but this is a start to helping us improve our video.

Audience Feedback for rough cut

I have made a Facebook page to help gain fans for our video and band and also to gain feedback easily. I have uploaded the rough cut to this page and also created a discussion on the discussions boards for easy access to people's comments. I have then sent a message to friends to check out the page and video and leave any comments they may have on the discussion board.

The message i sent out was the following:
'Please visit the Facebook page 'Said The Hatter'
please watch the video rough cut 1 then on the discussion boardleave comments about it.
Does it make you want to continue to watch?
Which bits do you and don't you like?
Can you give us anymore ideas?'

Feedback

As part of my audience feedback i sent The Riot Tapes a facebook message asking them to check out our first rough cuts on YouTube and their response was:

'It's awesome!!!

More, more, more!!!'

This feedback from the artist themselves is important to use because it gives us the motivation and also shows us that we are on the right track and that the artist is please with what we have achieved so far.

Filming and Editing

Today due to the weather we have been unable to film all the footage which we set out to do.

After a rather long and lengthy upload we have manage to put a small part (around 30 seconds) of our video, a rough cut, on to youtube.

Click here or look below to see what we've accomplished and leave any feed back as either a comment on this post or on the video itself or in any other format such as a facebook message to one of us or an email.

We have sent links to our friends and asked for audience feedback on what they do and don't like and also what we could do to improve the sequence.

Audience Feedback

I have started to collect some audience feedback on our song, as it seems as though this has been missed out during our planning stage.
Though Facebook I haveasked for (and received) audience feedback on the song, specifically:

• Whether they personally liked the song
• There genre preference
• What age group would listen to the song / the target audience
• What gender (if so) is this song aimed at
• Would it make any difference to sales if the band were to become signed

Current Chart Positions

I was searching for the current chart positions (for singles). This image shows the top 16 at this moment in time - what I note is that with the exception of No. 7 "Kings of Leon - Radioactive" there are no songs representing the indie genre. Even then, Kings of Leon are more rock based, so it could be said that indie is not popular at with any audiences at present.

If you look at the artist that are there, you have Travie McCoy, Eminem/Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Taio Cruz and Tinie Tempah that are all seen as artists from the RNB/Rap genre. This is overwhelming preference in terms of genre, this maybe because record labels are 'cashing in' on this wave that is currently going on. Indie is not representated by an artist there possibly because the music is more "independent" i.e. underground and not mainstream and appreciated by a band's fanbase and not general audience members.

Band Name

After having a rethink we felt that our artist names we had come up with were not really appropriate for the track and the style of music.

We consulted our test audience who are geeky, 20-30 year olds. They came up with some of the following:

• Rebel Alliance
• Last Bus to Leixlip - relating to the artist being Irish
• Achievement Unlocked

After another brainstorm we have realised that our name needs to further reflect the image of the artist and the genre. These names represent the 40s - 50s vintage image:

• Tuesday Night Riot
• Thursday Late Show 
• Said The Hatter (This name is based on the character from Alice in Wonderland - this would allow us to portray a quirkey colourful image. this could also link in heavily with the artist and video mise-en-scene.)

Track Feedback

We played the track to the rest of our media class and the images below show the types of images they think that we could use in our music video.

Some comments on the above images are not going to be possible to create an image for as we do not have access to places like the American countryside for example. Below is a list of our favourite images:

• Vintage radio/ car radio
• A car - image of artist driving
• Tuning a radio
• Walking through town/ down a street
• Performance in club
• Bar scene - alone
• Girl Close-ups
• TV shots
• Alone in car

General Audience Profile

Age range - 2 groups
1.   16 - 28  these will be the ones that go to the gig and by iTunes tracks but probably don't listen to the radio deliberately or much at all, though they may have heard them a couple of time on the radio at work or in the car. most likely found them either by the band supporting at  local gig or on the internet
2.   28 - 45 and potentially older  -  this group is filled with the audience that heard the band when they were younger and while not really going to gigs anymore, particularly 35/40 + margin, but have continued following them. They now get some of their music from iTunes and the internet but also by digipaks of particular singles or mini albums that they like (especially if they fall into the upper echelons of the age bracket 'defined' above). A lot though listen to the band when they appear on the radio when at work but particularly in the car when commuting as they tend to listen to the less mainstream radio stations. (local radio, radio 2, radio 6)


Gender
Their music is aimed at both sexes, male and female. The female lead singer would appeal to women as it is in some ways empowering but also gives a more 'listenable' voice. The music also appeals to both sexes but where as when there is a female singer with really upbeat pop princess music men will tend not to listen to this genre. But they will listen to this because the music is the gentle side of alt rock combined with indie rock.

Class - B middle - C1 skilled working - C2 unskilled working
These are the classes that we reckon the music would be aimed at. The reasons that it encompasses these three is due to the image of the artist but also the lyrics in the song. A lot of the lyrics are talking about a lack of money and an aspirational attitude toward other people. This is related to the lower classes because, as arrogant as it sounds, the working classes do not have the same disposable income as the higher classes. The difference between B and C1 is actually rather significant. however, the fashion statement made by the band is more commonly available to those of the middle class and to an extent C1. It is though harder for them but the fashion is often mimicked by cheaper brands. As music though the lyrics and listenability of the songs would appeal to all. it is the background of the band and the lyrics themselves that make them class specific.

Demographics
The younger fans are inclined to follow the band via internet and buying the music online. They do not buy every new technology that comes out but they like to have access to the music from the band which today, is often via iTunes. They don't spend all their time listening to music as they put work before music within the working day but they do not take work home with them. This allows for recreational time where they are usually involved with something local. For instance the local football club as an example or another kind of sport. The very young audience may go out as groups, skating and just hanging out but they are not the sort that cause havoc or vandalize property but just have fun as groups.
Buying the extra merchandise of the band is not a must but they may buy something related to a particular gig or album.
They are into fashion and will try to keep a clean tidy look. Care is taken over their look so that they dont give people the wrong impression. They will go more for the vintage image adding in individual features to make the look their own. They are likely to shop in the cheaper shops however some of their image will have a more expensive touch to it.

Personal Progress

Personal Progress

Honestly I've been a bit slow to get started this year. I'm not entirely sure why but I have. Much as with last year it took a while for me to get 'on a role' as it were. I find it much harder to be inventive and creative on the spot and to a deadline and I don't always have the enthusiasm that I perhaps should but this first month has been a beast to tackle. HOWEVER....I think I've finally managed to sort myself out and hopefully this analysis should prove this.

Despite this I realise that I still have a lot to do and probably a little to catch up on so that is what I'm going to be doing over this coming week....TRYING to get up to speed with everything.

So far I have:

• Helped with researching music and nearly coming to a decision on that. The music we have chosen has a female lead
• Researched into 2 genres (RnB and Indie)
• Looked at the clothing that the Indie genre is most famed for
• Looked at what artists fall into the genre
• Looked at Indie/Rock bands with female leads (Paramore)(Flyleaf and Evanescence coming soon to a blog near you!)
• Managed to acquire a willing female singer to star in the video (Emily Williamson) as well as a guitarist (Daniel Atlee) however I believe a drummer and possibly keyboard player are needed. To be looked into further.
• Through Grace's email partly at my suggestion we have obtained the original ideas behind each of the songs we are considering by TheRiotTapes and also what images/ideals they do not want to be associated with (with their permission they seem quite happy to let us do our own thing)
• Brainstormed a few ideas for videos in my head

Unfortunately due to technical problems I have explained prior to this I have not managed to blog all of this. More frustratingly I cannot take screen grabs of frames in videos of my laptop which has been a draw back during this last video evaluation. There is though the video embedded in the evaluation.

Next 3 priorities for me are:

1. Posting all the research I have as of yet not been able to
2. Make sure I am up to date with present research and that I am not falling behind
3. Go through as a group and define our target audience, that we may be able to do and finish the audience profiling more accurately and soon.

Music Video Analysis - Coldplay Talk

Coldplay - Talk

Genre: Indie (Rock)

The video can be seen in better quality on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3oL0AOO_J0&videos=pDuJwRN74LU. YouTube would not allow this video to be embeded so the above video is taken from http://www.redbalcony.com/.

Introduction 
Narrative: The band arrive on an unusual planet in their spaceship. While there they find a giant robot and effectively ‘wake’ him up. This video is based around the lead singer and the rest of the band is there to show them as a group. There are jump cuts from the lead singer singing to all the band exploring the planet. This video conforms with Steve Archer’s theory that ‘music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band to show ‘real connection’ with the music.’ However this is not completely true in this music video because the artist is performing in the narrative although there are jump cuts between him singing on his own and the band acting in the narrative.
The video attracts the audience by making the performance and action interesting and energetic. Many of their other music videos are just of the band performing and constant images of the lead singer singing so this video provides differentiation for the audience.
As the genre for this music video is indie rock (alternative rock) it is very individual to the artist and the audience. Audiences who listen to this will relate themselves to the artist.
Indie conventions show that indie followers tend to like to be fashionable like the artists. In the music video although the artists are dressed relatively plainly there is the fashion of blazers and jackets to add the smart image.

Links to other videos of the same genre: In the indie genre there are many different styles of music video. This music video is very narrative based like The Kooks ‘Naive’. Some videos are the opposite of this and contain only performances from the band for example Razorlight’s ‘Golden Touch’.
There are many indie conventions throughout the video including the black and white effect and also the camera angles which are close-ups and long shots.

Lyrics: The lyrics in this music video are suggesting that he has lost touch with his brother and that he wants contact and I think the video links with this by them going looking for his brother. However in the video he is singing to a robot – ‘Are you lost or incomplete?’ This could be signifying that because the robot is not moving there must be something wrong. In this video I think that the robot represents the ‘brother’ which they are looking for. However I got a surprise when I saw the ending because the robot eats the space ship the artists are in it which could link to the lyrics ‘I’m so scared about the future and I wanna talk to you.’ So another interpretation could be that they are searching this planet for the brother that the artist is calling out to and they come across the robot who effects their future.
Also as the lead singer is not looking at the camera but instead at the robot and it makes the audience feel for the robot and also the lead singer. The lyrics relate to the target audience because they are sending the message to the audience that you should never ignore people who are trying to be there and also sends the message that you should never stop trying to achieve what you want.
At one point he is singing 'and they're talking in a lauguage i don't speak' and this is when he is singing to the robot so on screen they have written the lyrics backwards to make it look like another language which is effective because it draws the link between the lead singer and the robot closer together.

Artist's Name: ‘Coldplay' in my opinion does not have a proper meaning for the audience but is there just so that they have a name to be known by. The band name came from a friend’s band who decided that it was too depressing as a band name. This does link in with the types of songs they sing. The band name could signify songs they sing that are not light hearted and that are broody.

Image of the Artist
The artist is trying to portray a relaxed and casual look. They are wearing duffle coats and blazer type jackets which an image which is easy for the audience to replicate. Not many full body shots are shown which is probable because the artist wants the focus on him but when there are body shots they are wearing straight leg jeans. A convention of indie is normally to wear lots of wristbands and accessories such as sunglasses but in this video they are not wearing much if at all. This could however be because they are on a planet where this is not going to be seen in their setting.
All the artists have potable instruments around their necks which signifies that music can be played anywhere and other activities can be done while carry the instruments. This could also show them to be an active group and that they like to tour and travel. This will attract the audience because they will find it unusual and also the audience if they are fans they are followers and so will follow the trends and fashion of the artist. As a big part of the indie genre is the way that the artist dresses then if they were to change this they are likely to lose respect from the audience.

The mise-en-scene plays a big part in the creation of this video. The black and white effect used throughout the video helps to create the out of space image along with the use of the root looking features on the planet. These both create the planet image.

The black and white effect is a convention of the indie genre.
The use of props such as the large torches helps to add the dark and also slightly mysterious effect to the video. The artists are on what seems to be an unknown planet and they are searching and exploring and this is why its all a bit of a mystery.
As said before the use of portable instruments adds the effect that the band are going to perform wherever they can and that they are looking to perform on this mystery planet. Also the use of a megaphone shows that the artist is going for an acoustic sound rather than an electronic sound. Also since they have no electricity supply they have use instruments do not require a mains electricity supply.

These props also connote that the artists are not heavy metal artists and although they generally use electric guitars it shows they are alternative rock artists which means they don’t play heavy metal. This is what the indie genre is. This image will help to make the artist popular because it is following the conventions of indie and so it is pleasing its audience.
These images also connect with John Stewart’s Theory of ‘the video allows more access to the performer that a stage performance can. The mise-en-scene, in particular, can be used to emphasise an aspirational lifestyle.’ This is true throughout the video as many close ups are used to make the audience feel close to the artists. Also the artists venturing into the unknown planet shows them to be active and so shows their aspirational lifestyle through this.

There is a dim backlight, created from three point lighting, throughout the video which helps to create shadows and make the setting as realistic as possible. This light is meant to create the light from the moon. On top of this there is the torch light from the torches the artists are using and this is used to light up the setting and also each other. When the robot awakes, its eyes are lit up which creates a large amount of light because of the size and height of the robot in proportion to the artists who are like a spec on the ground.

Camera Angles and Editing
The video starts with an establishing shot of space to show the audience that this video is set in space. Cuts are used to cut between different images. The next image is cuts to the inside of the space ship where the artists are seen from behind sitting down. This is the first introduction to the artist.
Theorist Andrew Goodwin says that ‘close-ups should always be included’ and throughout the video there are close ups of the facial expressions of the artists and also of the mise-en-scene. Other camera angles including a bird’s eye view of when the artists ‘rock out’ for a few seconds before getting away from the robot.

Long shots are also used throughout the video to show the setting and the artists within the setting. This helps to show that the artists are vulnerable in the setting which they are in because they are small to everything around them is fairly large. 
Typical side shots of the artist are also seen throughout the video. An example of this can be seen in the image above where the robot is sitting up.

There are not too many effects used in the video and most of the cuts are jump cuts which fit in with the music. Two of the biggest effects are the computerised robot throughout the video and also the flying space ship. At the begninning when the band are getting out of the space ship the use of a smoke machine creates a dissolve effect to change the scene from looking at them to their Point of View - what they are seeing. Another effect which is used is the 3D blur effect. What i mean by this is the band put on those red and green 3D glasses that you get from the cinema and change everything into 2D so they are working in the reverse to how they work for the audience. This is the only colour added throughout the whole video.

A handheld camera effect is used when the robot is following the band and this makes the camera shake as though the robot is big and heavy. This can be seen in the video from 3.05.

Also at the end of the video the robot sends out a beam of magnetic beam which is another special effect that has been added in to draw the space ship back to the robot.

Representation
I think that the robot in the video could either represent the brother the lead singer is talking about in the track or the robot could be the danger that he is singing about when he says ‘I’m so scared about the future.’ These are the only representations apart from the band itself which has already been discussed above. The robot is represented negatively in this video through the lyrics which talk about him as not contacting his brother who has been trying to contact him for a while or in the other way of eating the artists. This video has a positive effect on young people because through the lyrics it shows not to loose contact with people because things could happen and you may never see them again – which is in the case of the artist.

Sound
In this video the sound has not been changed. This means that is it the same as the original track which is a benefit for the audience because it means that it is recognisable. Indie music videos don’t tend to add in extra sound because they want it to be the same as the airplay song so like before it is recognisable and also indie songs tend to be produced for live performances and if there was the addition of extra sounds it would be difficult to replicate on stage.

Audience Profile

Audience Profile on Prezi