Final Idea for my music video

The final idea for creating a music video, is to take the lyrics of "Mr Brightside" by The Killers, and turn it into an original narrative, meaning the diegesis will change as there's no attempt to stay true to the original but take elements.

Speaking about story, this is about a young man, originally played by Harry Bowers but now by Peter because of scheduling conflicts who's in love with a girl played by Megan Wainwright where she cheats on him, and the mode of address is intended to play with the verisimilitude as it cross-cuts between the events and a song about this being performed in a studio.

Ellipsis will be focused around non-linear editing technique that's makes sense because of how the video is structured. Enigma code plays into the end as Peter is taken away by a couple of bodyguards at the end, hired by Megan after he becomes violent and it's not seen what happens.

Target Audience research - questionnaire results

http://prezi.com/vszk_ikohxn8/questionnaire-results/

Target Audience research - video questionnaire

As part of research into demographics, five people were asked to look at the video of "Mr Brightside", all in the age category of seventeen to eighteen, meaning they're close to the targeted age range and appropriate answers to the questions were given:

What are the most appealing elements of this video?

William Chong: Interesting concept and editing.

Harriet Bragg: The costumes.

Samantha Clarke: The editing and use of colours.

Least appealing elements?

Use of special effects.

Special effects.

Special effects.

What do you think about the use of stars such as Eric Roberts, who is sitting in the red chair at the beginning, does it offer more incentive?

Appealing to anyone who is into such stars, but I don't really think it makes much of a difference.

I don't know who Eric Roberts is, so I can't really comment on that.

This isn't needed for the music video, because not everyone that watches the video will know who he is.

Does the video make you want to show it to others?

I might show the song to others but maybe not the video. 

I would show it to somebody who I knew liked the style of the band/video.

No not really, this is because I don't alway watch the music video's, and it's not really a genre that I listen to.

Who would you assume is the general audience of this video? Consider age range, gender and socio-economic groups?

Early 20 year olds who like indie music.

Late teens to early 20's. 

20 - 35 year olds, and maybe a bit more for the boys than girls.

Do you think this is generally faithful to the style of The Killers, where their main genre is alternative rock that rejects convention and covers a variety of social themes?

Yes, they do it in quite an artistic way. 

Yes, it seems to cover those aspects in an interesting way.

Yes, they have use an artist style to achieve it.

How would you expect the video to be marketed, whether through social networking, magazine adverts and other avenues?

As it is quite an indie song, I suspect that the video would be used through social networking and other viral marketing. 

I think it would be marketed through visual advertising, e.g album advert on tv,or through social networking.

Viral marketing would suit both the genre, an their use of bright colours at it would catch people's attention before they skip it, so they will be more likely to watch it.

Have you seen the video before and if so how?

I have not no. 

No.

No.

These responses indicate what appeals to the target age range and are also analytical, especially in regard to gender consumption. To give an example one of the responses to the one of the questions of how the video would be expected to have marketing handled, because the response explained viral marketing would suit both genres, as would the use of bright colours in the video to help catch attention. This is from a female so it's proof as to how this video has inspired analytical responses from both genres.

Target Audience research - Reaching out to The Killers community

As part of research into the culture of the fanbase of The Killers, messages were posted on the official Facebook page, and sent to the Killer's manager and the forum administrator of the official Killer's website.

Jade Skellington is the forum administrator of the Killer's website and her response below gave me some good information on the Killer's fanbase.  

Target Audience research - listening & downloading

Research Into Target Audience

Two online music databases have been selected where research will be conducted and what the connotations will be: Lastfm and MySpace. Lastfm is the world's largest online music database, information is downloaded or transferred and each time this happens, it's recorded as a scrobble. The Killers have over 175 million scrobbles, the information is shown below. Mr Brightside - which is the song I've chosen to adapt into a music video -  is shown as the Killer's most popular song.


                                                                               

The statistics below show the consistency of the loyalty of the fanbase over the past six months, as there has been no peaks or troughs and also shows consistency in how The Killers have been able to encode their messages well. There's also a selection of some of the top listeners and their listening trends although it's not representative of the fanbase overall, as despite being the most popular song Mr Brightside isn't mentioned amongst the trends.

MySpace is a social networking site, allowing licensed music to be streamed and artists to upload their own music, making the website more personal for musicians and is a highlight of how convergence has worked. The song "Mr Brightside" has been played over five million times and at the time of writing is the fifth most popular Killers song on Myspace.

The implications of what has been found is that Mr Brightside is a very popular song so as has been mentioned, it makes it a logical candidate for adapting into a music video. As The Killers have over 175 million scrobbles on Lastfm that's an indication music websites are a good source of promotion, in addition to The Killers having a superb prominence on MySpace.

Target Audience - questionnaire

To get some general views from my target audience I asked 15 respondents to answer the following questions:

General Questions

What is your age group:

16-25 □ 26-35 □ 36-45 □ 45-55 □

Are you male or female?

Genre Questions

What are your thoughts on Dance-Punk (for instance in the style of The Ting Tings and The Prodigy)?

What are your thoughts on New Wave (in the style of The Killers and The Police)?

When you hear of a band such as The Killers what do you expect music to be like?

Do you prefer music videos that are driven by the performance of the artist □ creativity □ story?

Do you think a story based around a relationship would fit a music video based on the genre of New Wave (in the style of bands including the Killers)?

Magazine Advert Questions

What would be your preference in a magazine advert for a band from the following choices:

Artistic shots □ Band Members □ Information on songs □ Clear contact information □ 

How many magazine adverts would you flick through before you get disinterested?

Listening Questions

How often do you buy music out of the following:

More than once a month □ Once a month □Twice a year □ Never

What’s your preferred method of purchasing music?

I don’t purchase music □ Downloading □ Buying CDs online □ Buying CDs from a shop

What’s the main appeal of downloading music?

Digipak Analysis - Night Visions by Imagine Dragons

There's a simple focus surrounding the front cover, as there's little in terms of content but the content that is there, is stunning, showing how the mise-en-scene has been thought of carefully in relation to composition. Part of the mise-en-scene is there's a purple overglow close to the top, giving the cover a bit of a techno display that goes within the attitudes and beliefs of alternative rock, especially as it hints at apocalypse and relationship themes. A wide shot shows the main figure staring into the distance, denoting that he's contemplating about life, but as Death Of The Author mentions, there's no single interpretation that can be given by the artist.

The figure is surrounded by what appears to be temple formations. These are possibly connoting deeper layers about apocalyptic themes, as the mode of address appears to be engaging audiences from a detached perspective. Imagine Dragon's logo stands out as the representation has an unusual slant, although it also appeals to the target demographic, being an audience that's younger than the age of thirty. This theory could prove to be correct as although the band haven't compromised the content of the lyrics, there's an appearance about the digipak that means the target demographic is inclined to be younger. Going back to the font of the band, the colour is white, potentially symbolising religion as in post-apocalyptic times, a form of salvation is having faith in God. Night Vision's heading fades in slightly, as the colour is still white but the decrease in size diminishes the heading to an extent.

Imagine Dragons are aiming at a modern audience, given their style presumably a younger crowd so the lower end of my age range might be in their range. The audience I'm going after is modern also; people who are up to date so modern themes are more likely to apply to this crowd, although perhaps not entirely in my age range. This is as the sixteen to twenty five range puts a limit in themes that can be explored.

A dark background stands out on the back, essentially being a signifier for how the subject matter's going to be portrayed, especially standing out with the font for the tracks as bold white. Codes and conventions are followed for back covers, as the tracks are listed and a web address is given as well as the record label, providing the necessary information for audiences to be able to research the band.  headings which is suitable because it functions as a symbol for the subject matter that will be covered in this album. In keeping with the codes and conventions of albums, the tracks are listed using the same font as the subheading on the front, keeping with tradition as bands usually keep the same style or colour in some form across the album.

Referencing the inside panels of the digipak, it relates to the front cover through the use of cloud imagery, which conforms to conventions of there being a continuation of style, along with using the same diegesis. The inside panel doesn't exactly reflect the mise-en-scene of the front however, as although it uses the same lighting, positioning and other conventions, there are no temples or main figure shown.

Moving onto the CD, no information is listed apart from the band and album titles. There are lots of tiny circles, potentially symbolising an endless void and this is the iconography Imagine Dragons are attempting to represent. Copyright information is also commonly spread around the circle as the CD is the main content so audiences can know who the rights belong to, as well as other information. The font for "Imagine Dragons" and the subheading are kept in the style they're in on the sides of the album, the subheading a grey colour that is designed to distinguish it. This digipak doesn't signify enough creativity to be able to sell a large amount as it's the cover that looks creative, but the digipak combines enough to offer incentive towards it's audience and this will be a useful basis for knowing where the importance of attracting an audience is.

Digipak Analysis - Live In The LBC & Diamonds In The Rough by Avenged Sevenfold

This digipak has been chosen because Avenged Sevenfold use the genres of heavy metal and hard rock, already setting up the beliefs of the band. Some conventions are rejected for example the representation of the band's heading is slightly different from their logo, perhaps to give the digipak distinction. In contrast to the Avenged Sevenfold heading, the "Live In The LBC & Diamonds In The Rough" heading has typography that is slightly less distorted and more conventional. Mise-en-scene in the background already sets up quite an aggressive image.

Skeletons represent the band members and are drawn to reflect the ideology of Avenged Sevenfold, as well as their logo, a winged skull. To give an example, their songs are known for including fantasy elements, one of them in the digipak being about a man who finds himself in heaven. Therefore the composition of this digipak shows their style at it's most extreme, especially with the fire that rises in the sky. Niche marketing can be considered through the style, the audience potentially decreasing with the showing of a "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content" logo.

On the back the style develops. Yachts are seen coming towards the viewer with a dome in the distance and on the other side, a liner burns as a couple of other yachts are seen. The two sides clash as one can be seen as showing 'calm before the storm', while the other is more about themes such as war. With the sea being a darkened green continuity is maintained with the front cover, to express the distortion of reality. More conventions are followed where the contents of the DVD and CD are listed, detailing who directed and produced the DVD, the management, as well as giving credit to Avenged Sevenfold for producing the album. With the band having produced the album, the message is encoded as to what the themes might be.

The typography isn't in a distorted style and so contrasts with the front cover, however, the colouring used is a combination of yellow and white that follows the subheading styling on the front. The DVD has the same image as the cover, acting as an indication for what audiences should expect on the DVD regarding content.

Inside the digipak, they're acknowledging their attitude and logo as a winged skull appears and a dark red spreads across, connoting a clear sense of danger, possibly bloodshed, that makes it more of a closed text.

When it comes to the CD the traditional typography for the styling is used, while the subheading is a more sombre blue, maintaining conventions through continuing a typography style and having a sombre palette. Tracks are listed around a diamond in the middle, the composition having been arranged to place emphasis on the diamond, while the background has the appearance almost of a watercolour painting of hell. Avenged Sevenfold are using a certain diegesis as it can make the audience think of subjects including the occult. Summarising these points, the digipak follows a certain amount of conventions and the band are going after the same demographic which is an older audience than people aged 16. This puts a certain limit on my selected age range, 16-25 but works for knowing how far a style can be pushed within the limits of genres.