Target Audience Research

Summer Research Project on Media Issues

Music Video Analysis: Avril Lavigne - 'When You're Gone'

Technological Requirements for Project

Music Video:

• Digital video camera - with a high enough amount of megapixles to capture high quality video footage to use in a music video. The camera also needs to be able connect to a computer with a firewire, so transferring the footage onto the editing software is possible.
• A computer with a sufficient editing software program - an up to date version of Adobe Elements Premiere could be useful for capturing and editing footage to make a music video.

Digi-pack:

• A still digital photo camera - with enough megapixles to produce photos of a high quality, of which can then be put digitally onto a computer to incorporate them into the print productions and edited.
• A computer with sufficient photo editing software - an up to date version of Adobe Photoshop Elements would be able to deal with the image editing tasks.
• A computer software program which has the ability to design templates for the covers of the digi-pack - a simple example being Microsoft Publisher.

Mission Statement for Production

Through our production process we aim to be able to create a successful music video for an unsigned, British, Acoustic/Acoustic Rock genre artist, along with a digi-pack. We aim for these productions to appeal to a target audience within the British public.
As a sub-target we believe that with our knowledge on the Acoustic/Acoustic Rock genre of music and through the research conducted on the target audience, we can reach out to a mainstream audience in youth culture without being a mainstream artist; we believe through our efforts, and others alike, an artist with talent in this particular music genre could flourish in the music industry. We aim to show that it is possible for a new artist to gain support from an audience/grow an existing fan base and also produce effective music videos for the tracks they create.

Storyboards (REVISED)

Here are the sotoryboards I have drawn up (I also made my own template for the storyboards to make it easier and more understandable for me when filming) for our new plot:

Meeting Timetable (REVISED)

I discussed with my partners when we have the same free periods in school to work together on our project in, and after I drew up this timetable to keep me organised with when I'm working on the project.

Shooting Timetable (REVISED)

After arranging it all with my partners, I made myself this Shooting Timetable to help keep me organised, and also to help me keep the actors organised. My partners have made their own timetables similar to this also to help them know when we are filming. As for the actors, we have checked with them to confirm they can make it on those dates.

Location Scouting (photos) (REVISED)

After talking with my partners, we have already organised where we will film the music video, and when we will get photos of the locations. Here is the Location Scouting Timetable I made for myself after we had this discussion (we made our own timetable each so that we know when we need to do our roles in the location scouting).

Costumes/Clothing (REVISED)

As the music video is no longer set on the beach, and neither does it have that relaxed beach atmosphere to it, the actors no longer need to be wearing shorts, flip-flops and hooded tops.

Instead, we would like the video to show the couple in the music video as a real-life couple, so that the audience can relate to it.
To make this so, we have decided that the actors should wear normal, everyday clothes such as trainers, jeans and a t-shirt for the boy (maybe a hooded top or jumper if cold) and either skirts and leggins or jeans, strapped tops for the girl (maybe cardigans if its cold).

For the main couple in the music video, there are several different flashbacks/memories shown, the girl and boy in them will have slightly different clothes each time to show that they were seperate occasions.

Props (REVISED)

• Fire wood and newspaper - we are still going to use the idea of having a fire to symbolise romance ('a light/spark'), and to go with the lyrics of the song, as we were before hand.
• Photos of Charlotte Hodges and Guy Walker together - these will be uses as photos of the couple in our music video, which will be burned to show how the boy is in pain, and wants to forget about the girl.
• A swing in a tree - often this is seen as romantic in music videos and romantic films, so we managed to find one which we can use for our music video to show the couple being in love.
• 2 mobile phones - we need these to show the couple on the phone to each other while in bed, to give the impression to the audience that the couple always want to be talking/with one another, and that they miss each other when not together. One of the mobile phones is also used to show the girl rejecting the boys call, which will help show the breakdown of the relationship and how she doesn't want to be with him anymore.
• A bottle of whisky - often alcohol is used to show when people are sad (wanting to 'drown their sorrows'), so we will have the boy drinking whisky at the fire to show he is hurting.
• A phone box - also used as a means of communication between the couples. However, for our story, it shows the girl not answering his calls, and him being in the phone box - it shows him being 'trapped and alone' which we are trying to imply to the audience.
• A computer - this is needed to show the boys e-mail inbox being empty, which also helps show his loneliness and how the girl won't talk to him.
• A suitcase - to show that the girl is moving/going away when she is at the train station, this also helps emphasise that she will be gone for a long time, although it also leaves ambiguity on why she is going, where she is going, or how long she will be gone for.

Cast (REVISED)

We have decided to stick with the few reliable actors we had before, and exclude the others. The cast list is now:

Boy - Guy Walker
Girl - Charlotte Hodges

We have chosen Guy Walker as when we got him to audition for the role (he acted out a few of the scenes) he seemed comfortable in doing so, and also good acting skills - he is passionate about acting and acts in his spare time at the Playhouse in Norwich.

We chose Charlotte Hodges as she is reliable and will be able to commit to the music video. Also, she was also able to be on camera comfortably. Also, Guy and Charlotte are a 'couple' outside of the project, which means they have no problems/awkwardness with kissing each other/acting like a couple on camera.

Narrative of Music Video (REVISED)

After sitting with my partners and coming up with a new/better idea for our music video, I wrote this narrative along with the lyrics to show how the music video unfolds. (it may look like a lot to fit in, however the shots are quite short, and we have done this so that we can include a large variety of locations).

CHANGE IN MUSIC VIDEO! IMPORTANT!

Due to the lack in reliability of some of the actors, we were not able to stick to our origional shooting timtable, and as a consequence have had to change the idea of our music video. The plan is now to involve easier to get to locations and have less characters in it.

Storyboards

Here are the storyboards I created to help us fil our music video:

Research Into Target Adience

Here is a copy of the questionnaire I designed and used for my audience research:


For the following questions please circle an answer and/or write in the designated answer space:

1. What gender are you?
Male Female

2. What age group do you fall into?
Under 14 15-18 19-25 26-40 41-50 51+

3. What is your occupation?
Student Employed Unemployed Other
Other: ..................................................

4. What are your main aspirations?
University Promotion at work Earn a decent living (in your opinion) Be happy

5. On a scale of 1 to 5, how much do you enjoy listening to music? (1 = not at all, 5 = a lot)
1 2 3 4 5

6. What music genres do you like out of the following?
Rock Pop RnB Rap Reggae Indie Drum N Bass Acoustic/Acoustic Rock Punk Metal Folk Classical Dance

7. Which of the genres from the previous question is your favourite?
Rock Pop RnB Rap Reggae Indie Drum N Bass Acoustic/Acoustic Rock Punk Metal Folk Classical Dance

8. How much do you listen to music in a typical week?
Less than 1 hour 1-2 hours 2-3 hours 3-4 hours 4 hours or more

9. What most attracts you to a particular band/artist/song/genre?
Word of mouth Advertisements Reviews Music videos Attractiveness of artist(s)

10. On a scale of 1 to 5, how much do you like the genre ‘acoustic/acoustic rock’? (1 = not at all, 5 = a lot)
1 2 3 4 5

11. How often do you listen to acoustic/acoustic rock genre music in a typical week?
Less than 1 hour 1-2 hours 2-3 hours 3-4 hours 4 hours or more

12. Are there certain times of the year in which you listen to acoustic/acoustic rock genre music?
I don’t listen to it at all Summer Autumn Winter Spring Doesn't differ throughout the year

13. How do you consume (buy/get/listen to) music?
CDs DVDs YouTube Napster Limewire Mp3 player Computer

14. Do you read any music magazines? If so what magazine(s):
Yes No
Answer: ..............................................

Casting

I made the following poster/leaflet to help advertise our groups need for people to act in our music video. I used the light colour blue background as it has been statistically proven this this colour helps connote a calmer maore friendly impression, which may help increase the amount of people that want to act in our music video. I have also included the theatrical picture at the bottom of the advertisment to help attract attention and also make it look professional. The title also large and stands out to help gain attention from possible participants. Also, the exclaimation marks help imply the situation is serious. I placed a few of these around the drama area of our 6th form area, and got a friend to do the same at their 6th form. I also emailed it to a few known drama student of the school, and also to friends/people I know that act outside of school.

Here is our cast list:

Artist - Ollie Barton-Wood
Boy 1 - Louis Martin
Boy 2 - Andy Lake
Boy 3 - Christopher
Girl 1 - Charlotte Hodges
Girl 2 - Imogen Tompson

Props

Here is a list of the props I think we may need for filming our music video:

• Fire wood
• Fire lighters (a lighter/matches)
• Beach charirs/logs/beach towels/blankets for characters to sit on
• Acoustic guitar
• Casual/smart casual clothing (maybe shorts, sandals/flip-flops and short sleeved unbuttoned shirts for males, and similar sort of thing for females - to help give a relaxed/layed back atmosphere to the video)
• A digital camera (for characters to be using in the video)
• Bottled beers (crate of beer)/other alcoholic beverages

Location Scouting for Music Video

The following shot has plants/tall grass, along with a small image of a church on the horizon, which helps give the connotation of the characters being a long way from any settlement (they are all alone), which can indicate that the friends don't want to be disturbed by 'outsiders':

This shot could be good setting for the music video as it helps create a calm, relaxed atmosphere for the music video, which adheres to the conventions of a typical 'acoustic guitar' song. The ways in which this setting helps create this atmosphere is the image of the large empty horizon, with waves crashing gently on the sand, and the soft sand on which the characters can sit around a fire:

I think the area shown in the following photo would be a great place for the beach fire as it is circled-off with plants, and give the connotation of the characters being cut off from the outside world; the people are a close-knit group of friends, sharing a meaningful event in time together:

The following shot would work well to film our music video's couple together, but at sunset, to capture the red/purple coloured skies to help give the music video the connotation of being relaxed, and give a romantic setting for the lovers. Also, the particular lighting (sunset in background, means the lovers would be silhouettes:

The following shot would be great to show the two lovers walking along the beach, as it would just be the sand, sea and the lovers; no plants, no other people - it would give them the connotation of being completely alone, which would help to show how they have purposely secluded themselves from the group to get closer with each other:

The following two shots both look along the coast, and would help show the vast length of the beach in which the characters will be. This along with the light from the sunset would help contribute to the atmosphere coming across to the audience as romantic and relaxed:

This shot, but with the two lovers in the centre, would help the audience feel as if they are 'spying' on the lovers, giving the connotation of whats happening between the lovers as being intimate and private:

This shot would be look perfect for the 'feel' we are trying to create for our music video, when the sun is setting. The characters would be in the background, and the plant being in the front of the shot gives the connotations of the friends' being all alone in the wild/alone with nature (which also helps gives the group the connotation of being secluded from other people):

This is just a photo of my project partners taking photos of the location: