'The London Shoot'

On Thursday 22nd February, all three members of the music video met in london to film what will make up the majority of our narrative based aspect of the video. Our plan for the day was to film in various locations which we had discussed using different camera techniques and angles as well as getting a lot of footage so that we then have all the neccessary shots to cut into the video.
We first made our way to trafalger square in which provided various different effective locations for the shooting.
We were given just 30 minutes in this spot to film so we got straight to it, myself and Tom filmed danny walking around and looking lonely and depressed in a busy area which added to the mise-en-scene which we wanted to achieve. We then used one of the fountains as an eye catching background. The sun shone down to give a good look of natural lighting on Danny's face which we made the most of.
Upon our exit, we stopped to film in a platform of a busy junction. We got danny to stand still for 5 minutes and we just let the camera run with all the traffic including a number of red london buses passing in the background. When coming to edit this, we will create a time lapse to have a blur of the cars speeding by as Danny stays still which is one of the effects we had planned to create.
When walking around, we spotted a side road which led to a small square with nobody there. We thought this looked an ideal location so we filmed here for a while. We got danny to lip sync while in this area which looked good, as well it was covered of all wind which helped to maintain a good look and Danny's hair would stay in place. . .
We crossed the Thames and filmed on the bridge we cross with Danny looking out to the river as if to look for his loved one. The London Eye offered an attractive background in addition to add to the good look of the shot. The weather took a turn for the worst and we were worried about the lighting (as well as getting soaked in order to cover the camera instead!) However, since putting this footage on the computer, the lighting looks better than we expected which we are glad about.
Or final location was on south bank, just down the path from the eye. We ensured this was where we got the majority of our close ups. This worked well with Danny leaning on the wall looking out to the river. Again, he began to lip sync through the track. Taking predominantly side on shots, this enabled him to be able to listen to the track to make the lip syncing an easier task. The heavens then opened and we were being blown away by the wind so we packed up, very pleased with the footage that we had taken.

First Shoot: re-shoot

Having watched back our footage from our first day of shooting (the performance shots in the empty unit) we weren't entirely satisfied with the material produced. Whilst we were fully aware of the lighting being framed in the shot, and wanted to get this "lense glare" effect, the shot was framed so that the the bulb was half visible in the top left corner and so didn't really look as if it belonged in the shot. Also, the close ups we shot were quite grainy as the characters weren't lit well from the front, causing the eyes to look black and the face 'ill'. For this reason, we decided to return the location and re-shoot. This time, we lit the characters well from the front and behind so that both the lense glare/spotlight effect and healthy 'glint in the eye' were present. This was achieved by placing a light very close and directly behind the singers head, and directional lighting directly infront so that no harsh shadows were created. This meant that the shot looked as if the lighting was intentionally placed behind the character, as opposed to accidentally framed.
After this, it was quite late in the evening and raining, so we decided to film traffic over the A21 in Tonbridge which we would later speed up to show time passing. This effect has been used by The Script before and we belive it well suits the song as it shows time passing and ties in well with the lonely, longing nature of the track. Whilst it was very cold and we got extremely wet, our dedication to our music video prevailed and the end result was success. Medium close ups of traffic driving through puddles gave a nice aesthetic as the headlights showed rainfall and the connotations of the rain are sadness/lonlieness, again, suiting the track well.

Our First Shoot... Successful???

The shoot took place in an unused, semi-run down empty unit, the perfect location for conveying the meaning of the song. The sheer size of the unit gave the shots depth and the positioning of the band also helped creating the perfect shot.

The logistics behind the shoot were both stressful and tiresome as we had to organize effectivly the transportation of a whole band, and lighting, and the camera gear, from school to the locatation situated in Tonbridge. Due to rigorous planning and somewhat exceptional organisational skills we were able to complete the shoot by around 9:30pm, and packed up by around 10.

Problems encountered included the lack of mains power outlets, as we needed to run many external devices including lighting, amplifiers, and microphones in order to make the shoot seem as authentic as it could potentially be. Another problem, as silly as it sounds was the temperature, as there was no heating the camera lens had a tendancy to condensate, and the acting started to become sloppier as we were feeling the chill.

To conclude, i believe the shoot went extremly successful due to the hours of effort put in and the dedication by the members of our group, especially danny who managed to lip sync in the freezing cold for hours. If i were to go back and organize the shoot again i would take other things into careful consideration, including the lighting, as i believe it was not placed correctly in many instances; one of these being the illumination of the lead singer, as they are more important, than say for instance, the floor.

Animatic production

First of all, as a group we asigned segmants of the track to draw a storyboard for. This crucial stage of the planning enabled us to get a feel of how the track is going to breakdown and flow with the images over the top. We then listened to the track and put down some ideas in draft, giving a rough outline as where to start. Once the completed 3 part storyboard was complete we then filmed each box of the storyboard for roughly 10 seconds each, this allowing for space and tollerance regarding editing. After all of these shots have been taken they were uploaded to Adobe Premier, thus allowing us to edit the clips in sync to the track. The mp3 track was uploaded also and the clips placed over it. The clips were then cut down in sync to the track, matching the beats, in order for the track to flow accordingly.

Dates of Shoot

• Wednesday 14th January- empty unit - Group band shots
  
  
• for this date we will be getting all of the instruments and other miscellanious props into an empty industrialized unit. The props for this dat include; drum kit, guitar, microphone, clothing, amplifiers, lighting and a few other smaler things. The point of this date will be to capture most of the group band shots, the close ups of instruments, and close up shots of the band members. The approximate duration of the session will be around 2 to 3 hours, which enables us to shoot most of the band footage.
• Lighting needs to be taken into careful consideration when shooting inside. As a group we have decided to use omni and uni-directional lighting as these will create a more performance based feel about the shots. This, along with the natural lighting will create the effect that we want to achieve.

Tuesday 20th January- ASK (Danny and Mark) - Restaurant Romance

• This crucial session will contain intimate shots of the lead singer and the girl, epitomising the name of the song "before the worst". This will include a romantic, candle lit meal for two, red wine etc... These shots will be used for the flashbacks, therefore will be altered slightly post production, to get the required desaturated shot we are looking to achieve.

Saturday 24th January - Camber Sands - Early Morning

• Camber sands is the location we have chosen to use as it is a large, open and iconic place. The reason why we are shooting here is solely that it can have many different readings.
• we will have to shoot this early morning to make the most of the low level natural lighting.
• Also, shooting in the evening has been taken into careful consideration as the ideas of sunsets tie in with the main theme of the song.

Thursday 22nd January - London - desolate, isolated shots

• These shots play a vital role in the music video. They consist of the lead singer, along, but with people around signifying the theme of lonlyness and isolation. The hustle and bustle of the city contrasts with the idea of lonliness.
• Lead singer predominantly just walking around the city looking lost and deep in thought. Few shots of him lip syncing to himself.
• We will film these shots in the various areas around one of the key London stations i.e. London Bridge. These areas are always busy and this will fit well with what we aim to achieve from the shooting.

These are the main dates for filming the predominantly group based shots, as they require all 3 of us. However we may add days onto this schedule if we all agree on a filming date.

Weather is also an important issue when shooting as it can affect many factors. These being both the technical aspects such as the camera etc... But the wrong weather can create the wrong mood which we may potentially want to convey. So this is taken into careful consideration.

Animatic storyboard

As the next stage of our planning, as a group, we storyboarded the video before filming our animatic. The idea of an animatic is to visualise the video with the track playing in the background of our storyboard. We split up the track into three sections as we all wanted an impact on the storyboard. This worked because of our clear understanding of the narrative of the video and we all agreed what we want and when in the song we want it. In addition to the storyboard, it is only filler shots which we will incorporate when it comes to filming the video.

We filmed each shot for roughly the time it was storyboarded as and sometimes longer in order to make sure we had enough film time to last the whole track. Many of our frames were a square shape therefore we made sure we framed the shots with the camera as best as we could.

After putting the film on to Premiere Elements, we firstly watched our shooting through to make sure that we captured all we needed to before beginning to edit it in time with our track. To begin with, we cut the captured video so that we had a cut of each shot. We then had to shorten shots in order for them to be in time with the song, when we got the hang of it, this took little time.

We then put our Animation for The Scripts' 'Before The Worst' on Youtube. We can refer back to this storyboard throughout our filming to double check that we are sticking to the narrative.

Feedback #3

Danny - where is your eval? You must meet deadlines.

Technical Analysis: Ne-yo, 'Mad', 2008.

I decided to complete my technical analysis based on the music video for ‘Mad’, by Ne-yo (2008). I made this choice based on the fact that this video consists of some narrative shots, as well as performance shots, and regularly cuts between the two. As a group, this is our proposed style for our music video, and so although this is a different genre and simply one artist unlike our band choice, I believe that deconstructing ‘Mad’ shot by shot would proved extremely useful as it gave me an insight into the much more technical aspect of music video production in terms of the mix between performance and narrative based shots.
I printed off a chart with the headings; shot size, camera movement, mise-en-scene, notable shot length and transition so that I could watch and pause the video whilst taking notes under these headings on paper. Once this chart was completed, I highlighted which type of shot it was: pink for a performance based shot (such as the shots of ne-yo singing in a directionally lit studio), green for narrative based shots (such as the shots of ne-yo and his girlfriend looking at each other, arguing, and in bed) and blue for the shots that mix these two aspects (such as when ne-yo is singing on the bed with his girlfriend behind him, whereby he is delivering a performance about the narrative). This proved to be extremely useful as I could easily see the ratio of these 3 types and how they followed after each other.
From my technical analysis I have learnt that this video is shot using a handicam, resulting in no static shots. This gives the video a very intimate feel, which helps to reinforce the sad mood of the track and closeness that the artist is singing about. I am also now aware of the repeated use of similar shots. There are only a few locations; the apartment, the funeral, the studio, the street that the boy is ran over in and the street that ne-yo is singing in. This means that as the video is quite long (4 minutes and 41 seconds), and has fairly short shot lengths (mostly 2 or 3 seconds long), these locations are use throughout and there is a fairly equal blend of narrative and performance based shots. To avoid over repetition and boredom, this locations are introduced gradually as the track progresses and the tempo changed. For example, as the chorus kicks in at 2 minutes 42 seconds, the change in tempo is reflected with the introduction to a new location; ne-yo singing in the rain (2 minutes 50 seconds) and shots off a group of friends drinking in the apartment (2 minutes 56 seconds). This technique is used throughout and keeps the audience’s attention as it follows the narrative. The transition used throughout is a simple cut, meaning audiences are less aware of the editing and more focused on the track and the narrative presented.
The shot size predominantly used is a close up. This ‘meat’ shot is likely to be used as not only does it advertise the artist effectively, leaving no question for who the track is by, but it also meets the demands of the record label who aim on maximising their income through the video and need to ensure the artist gains as much screen time as possible. Close ups are also effective in reinforcing the sad mood that is evoked by the track as audiences are not only able to facial expressions much more easily, but feel much closer to the artist as if they can relate to him. This mood is also created by the fact it is a black and white video. No colour means that the overall feel off the video is quite dull, grey and sad, relating to the lyrics well. This relationship is also evident in the fact that the artist is miming to the track, and a number of cuts are in time with tempo changes and lyrics throughout the track. As mentioned earlier, new locations are also introduced as the track changes and develops.
The camera movement throughout is general handicam shake with some slight tilts (such as when the music kicks in and the camera tilts up in the point of view shot up at the paramedics and pedestrians). The camera also often follows the action, such as when Ne-yo storms out off the house, the camera is placed in front of him and moves backwards as he walks forwards. The slight handicam shake during this suggests that it has simply been shot with a cameraman walking backwards, as opposed to the use of a track which would give a much smoother aesthetic.
The narrative is constructed with the argument between Ne-yo and his girlfriend at the start. This is an example of how the video amplifies the track, in that this argument is not part of the track and is solely for the benefit of constructing the narrative in the video. This narrative is continued with shots of the couple in their home throughout the video. These cut to shots of the other narrative about the boy who gets ran over, with shots at the scene of the accident and at his funeral. These multiple narratives make the video interesting and maintain audience’s attention throughout as they are keen to establish what is going to happen next.
This exercise has proved to be extremely useful as it has shown me the technical side of a music video and how exactly this creates the overall production. Having now looked at the more technical side of a music video, as well as other issues such as aspects of mise-en-scene, representations and ideologies in my textual analyses, I am now confident that we will know exactly what we are doing when it comes to the shoot

Technical Analysis The Kooks SWAY

From looking at this video previously i was aware of the techniques used but did not really study the more technical aspects of the video including camera type shot and movement, but in this analysis i will.

By Watching the video and pausing on every single shot change i was able to gain an insight into the creative and technical side of the connstuction of music videos. By taking down this information by hand in a table printed off from Excel i was able to save time and efficiency, and make it easier to come to a conclusion.

The video opens with quite a long (duration) MCU, stationary shot of a beach, as the waves come in. The use of this sets the scene and mood of the video.
The camera tehniques used in practically every shot follow the same pattern; MCUs which are definitly not stationary. This Typical shot is used when following the lead singer, as emphasis is placed on him throughout. Others include CU shots on other objects of importance, such as faces, bottles, televisions, scaffolding. By using very fast cuts the video seems to flow very well, as most of these cuts are in sync to the audio track, and the facial gesture of the lead singer. A few oddities within the video include a shot towards the end which has a duration of roughly 8 seconds, as the main guitar solo comes in. This shot shows the lead singer walking (overcranked) singing the chorus, as ruble is falling down around him. i Believe that s shot like this is useful as it does reinforces the meaning and importance of the subject matter.

the full technical analysis will be photographed and placed on here ASAP;)

Group Discussion

Today we decided to get together and have a group discussion. The aim of this was to enable us to express our current views, thoughts and ideas to each other so that we could ensure that the entire group felt satisfied with the decisions being made about where our video is heading. We thought that this was a good time to have a discussion about this as we have now completed a number of textual analyses and our audience research, so we could confidently present ideas to the group.
The main aim of the discussion was to determine:

1. Who will feature in our music video and what role they will play
2. What the video will consist of (narrative/performance, camera techniques, mise-en-scene)
3. Possible locations and who in the group will take photographs of these to present back to the group for feedback
4. Clothing: As we have chosen a track by a group, we need to ensure that whoever features in our music video looks like a group, with an appropriate image in relation to the genre
5. How we will convey the mood of the track (isolated, confused, frustrated, lonely, desperate)

1. The Script are a three-piece band, consisting of Danny O'Donoghue (lead vocals and keyboard), Marc Sheehan (guitar and vocals) and Glen Power (drums and vocals). For this reason, it is clear to us that 3 people will feature in our music video, playing each of these roles. We have decided that we will play these roles, as this way we can control the circumstances as a group and do not have to rely upon others for our coursework. We are all determined to do well in this project and this way we can ensure that we do. The roles have been assigned as follows: Danny Vigar - lead vocals and keyboard, Mark Pratt - guitar and vocals, Tom Morton - drums and vocals. We all feel comfortable with these roles and are sure that we will deliver a convincing performance. We have also decided to include a narrative aspect to the video, with shots of the lead singer and his ex girlfriend that he is singing about. This means that we will have to find a female who is willing to act this role in the video, and although we are trying to minimise our reliance upon others, we each have a number of friends who are trustworthy characters that would be willing to play this part. Furthermore, this role will not be needed very much, possibly only in one location which will be used as a flashback shot. In theory, this should not take long, and therefore we are not asking too much. This will also present the hetro-normative discourse that is prevalent among mainstream popular culture texts today, representative of The Script.
2. Being heavily influenced by The Script and their music videos, as we want our video to be representative and similar in its style, we have decided that our video will consist of performance and narrative shots. These will be shots of the band performing the track, and shots of the lead singer with his ex girlfriend that he is singing about. This way, audiences will easily understand the track and the music video, and it will give a similar aesthetic to those in mainstream music today. We have chosen to film the performance shots in black and white, and the narrative shots in colour. This will reinforce the mood evoked by the track, connoting sadness and loneliness at the moment as he wishes he was back with his girlfriend when he was happy. The contrast in colour will not only illustrate these moods easily, but it will also avoid any audience confusion between the two aspects, enabling them easily recognise them. We may even include some shots of the lead singer walking and singing in the same location as the flashbacks, and cut between the two, so it appears as if he is walking through the same location he was at with his girlfriend because he misses her so much and is there for the memories. We are also keen to include a number of filler shots that will reinforce representation of the bands authenticity, through shots such as them laughing in a music studio, joking around together, tapping their hands/shoes to the tracks beat. We will also need to include a number of close up 'meat' shots of the group, especially the lead singer, as this is prevalent in the majority of music videos that we have studied as it meets the demands of the record label. This is key if we want our video to appear professional. As the tracks is called 'Before The Worst', and the lyrics, such as 'let’s take it back to where it all went wrong' suggest the song is about how the singer wants to resolve any issues his relationship had that resulted in a break up, we think it would be a good idea to have some off the flashback shots as an argument, between the lead singer and his love, as well as shots off the two appearing happy in their relationship. This would work well nearer the end of the track, as it would build up to a climax as audiences would follow the love story narrative.
3. In order to convey the moods of sadness, loneliness, and frustration we have decided that desolate locations would work well with this, where the only focus is the lead singer. The possible locations for this include: Coastal areas such as Brighton and Beachy Head in Lewis, as well as run down industrial estates such as that in Tonbridge, and the cliffs at Dover. Possible locations for the performance shots include the drama studio at the school as this has a plain black background similar to that in studios. Ideally we would like a studio for these shots, as this would give a professional aesthetic. However, this may be difficult to find with no budget, although some contacts may still prove to be useful. We also spoke of using the music studio in the music department as this would reinforce the authentic image of the band that we are trying to present. Luckily, due to this representation of the band, we do not need extravagant locations. Simple brick backgrounds will work well with close ups as this presents the band as 'normal' which is our aim.
4. As we want to present the band in terms of their authenticity and 'normality', we aim on dressing casually, with clothing such as jeans, hoodies, trainers and t-shirts. We have also considered how the shot will look in terms of colour. For example, if the background is bright (such as a white studio) we aim on all dressing in dark colours such as black. This will not only make us look like a group, but will help us stand out in the shot and draw the focus onto the group. In the flashbacks, the mood is very different, much calmer and happier. For this reason, we have decided that 'natural tones' should be used such as greens and browns. These autumnal colours will connote warmth and relate well with the love story that we present.
5. The chosen locations will be key in reinforcing the mood of the track. Isolated locations such as coastal areas, empty industrial estates and forests will help convey the sad and lonely side of the track. Shots in a studio that are edited to be fast pased will help convey the confused, frustrated and desperate aspect of the track. The contrast between colour and black & white shots will help to reinforce this, as will the clothing the characters are wearing and close ups of the couple show audiences the emotion on their faces.

During our discussion we also discussed possible lighting techniques. We understand that it may difficult to control the lighting on location, so we will have to boost/reduce this post production. However, we are keen to create high contrasting lighting effects in locations where we can control the circumstances, such as the drama department or even a studio if we can find one. Directional lighting such as a spotlight would be perfect in drawing the audience’s eye to the band members, ensuring that the focus is entirely on them. We have also thought of using coloured lights as this will help convey mood, such as red for anger or blue for sadness.
We also discussed the camera techniques we wish to use, and are keen to use the rule of thirds throughout our work, framing subjects in the far left/right corner of the shot as this will give a professional, almost photographic aesthetic. This would be perfect during the flashback shots with a slightly blurred wash over it and a heavily shaking handicam, giving the feel that the audience is looking back into the lead singer’s memory. A variety of camera angles will also make the video stand out. Rather than straight forward profile shots, we aim on placing the camera in original, innovative places and considering the depth of field. We aim on using a dolly with the tripod for some shots, such as during the performance shots, as although it may be hard with little experience and no budget, we are keen to a give a professional aesthetic to the video.
Overall, our group discussion has proven to be extremely useful and worthwhile as we have all left it knowing exactly what we want to and how we need to get there.

Technical Analysis (Mark)

The video which i have technically broken down is P.Diddy and Faith Evans' 'I'll Be Missing You', a song made to the dedication of the late Rapper Notorious B.I.G. The song is all about missing someone and it is for this reason that i looked at this video as the mood and feelings in the song are similar to 'Before The Worst' as it is also talking about losing a loved one. Therefore despite being a different genre of music, the meanings behind the song are similar to ours and it follows a narrative story with locations and mise-en-scene which we as a group have talked about having in our video.

It opens with the lead singer on a hilltop, a LS is used to establish the fact that he is alone straight away which conveys isolation and missing someone close to him. The shots then alternate between these LS's and a number of CU's of the artist lip syncing. A crane shot may also have been used as the camera pans down on him and moves closer towards him. In addition, various LCA's are used in the video which can connote the artist being looked up to, This angle gives a backdrop of just the blue sky above which looks effective. Also, there are 360 degree pans around him as well as movements from the ground upwards (the artist follows the camera where ever it goes.)

On many occasions, the shots fade in and out from one to the other and often overlapping shots are used which shows the artist twice in one shot. Another scene is in a dark alley with the camera on a handicam behind the artist to add a sense of danger. The female singer is shot in an underground car park which gives effective directional lighting, the majority of her shots are CU's of lip syncing. P Diddy is shot ona motorbike which gives a sense of movement as the camera would be on a track following the bike. He falls and sits in the middle of the road looking in to the sky which again relates to the lyrics of the song.

There are various different studios used for the filming of this video; One which P. Diddy is predominantly in has many flashing lights directing on to him and changing colour. The artist is wearing a fashionable jacket and sunglasses as well as more LCA's which shows his star persona. Another studio is a black room with CU's of the artists singing behind a few candles, again relating the video to the song showing respect. Throughout most of the video and these studio scenes imparticular, the artists maintain eye contact with the audience so they feel involved. P. Diddy also often points to the camera as if he is singing to the audience.

Towards the end of the video, it goes back to the hilltop scene but this time the artist is with many children. Techniques used here include; undercranking as they run up the hill, Steadicams following them, 360 degree pan to connote the artist is lost and a collection of HCA's which could show that the lost one is looking down on them. Again, the predominant shot is CU's of the artist lip syncing and often making actions such as praying, relating to the lyrics.

Finally you get P.Diddy alone in the middle of a street with only natural street lighting used. He dances around yet a stedicam is still used as are various more HCA shots. It begins to rain heavily which adds effect and ties in with the mood of the song, smoke also comes from the floor and surrounds the artist which also links in with the mood.

Audience Research

From looking at the way in which our target audience involved themselves in the group discussion it was evident that they showed a liking to the track and concepts put across. This gave me an idea into the people who would watch a particular video based on the genre and conventions apparent in similar videos also. On this basis i decided to look into the viewing figures (complied by EMAP) to gain a further understanding and insight into the type of people who would passivly or actively engage in such a video. The results are as follows:





As our focus group was well within this age range, it gave us understanding in what they "expext to see in a music video of this type". We used a semi-structured group interview style of methodolgy which enabled us to expand on our origional questions. This expansion was incredibly useful as it allowed us to collate detailed qualitative data giving us insights that we wouldnt be able to use if the data was quantitive, therfore the reason why we didnt use quantitative styles such as questionnaires due to this reason.

Audience Research

Some feedback from our focus group:

• Locations that would work well with the track include busy cities, train stations, street scenes, aswell as "lonely places" such as a forest, coastal area, and cliffs.

Some quotations from the participants following this discussion on locations and use of narrative:

• "A good story would be the lead singer trying to catch up with the girl he's singing about but he cant". This point was explained by the participant who said this would work well with shots in a busy city of "the man following the girl but things keep getting in his way, like train doors closing on him and groups of tourists blocking him".
• Following this response, another participant said that "it would look good if you had the man on one train and he see's the girl but she's on the opposite train moving away from him".
• Another said "Say he's following her, trying to catch up with her, and she gets on a train but the doors close on him and he goes up to the window but she can't see him"

The response about the kind of mood evoked was that although it was quite a fast song, it's still quite sad:

• One participant said "it feels quite sad, like the man has a broken heart"
• Another said "it's a sad, tragic story because it's about how he misses his girlfriend and wants her back"

When asked how we could show this mood through the video, participants responded:

• "Having the man walking down the street singing, infront of people he doesn't know"
• "Make it look really dark and dingey, like when it's raining"
• "You can see the dispare on his face as he's chasing this girl"

Other ideas for the video included:

• "For the bit about them being broken up, there should be something like flashbacks showing the memories they have"
• "You could have bits with the memories and then other bits where you can see the group, like the man singing and his band on stage or in a studio"
• "It looks cool when the lead singer is walking along a street and singing"

Some things that the participants liked in music videos:

• "When the camera goes all around them" (360 degrees pan)
• When shown the video to 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' by The Script, all participants liked the shots of the lead singer walking through the city singing about his loved one. One said "it looks so good because it's something that doesn't happen in real life, so looks really good in the video". Participants also liked the undercranking used in this video to show time passing. They especially liked how it made car headlights turn into one long line and one said "I've never seen that done before, it's wicked"

When the participants where showed the video to 'Closer' by Ne-Yo, they agreed that the text over the shots was effective and "looked good", but some thought "it doesn't really suit The Script, it's more for hip-hop/r'n'b videos". We then showed the group the video for 'She Moves in her Own Way' by The Kooks. Responses were:

• "I like it when he's looking out of the window, it shows he's thinking"
• "You can see how close the group are because they're having such a laugh together"

We finished by asking what the main thing that they expected to see in this video was, and were told:

• "A story, that we can see happening and matches what he's singing about in the song"
• "A bit of the band but mainly the lead singer and him singing into the camera"

Audience Research Feedback

During todays lunch hour we gathered five students so that we could pitch our track to them with an aim of gaining some helpful feedback in return. Our group consisted of four boys and a girl who we first played our song to and got them to write down any ideas which came in to their mind. We then began to ask some semi-structured questions to the focus group, aiming to get them to respond with as many ideas as possible.

The response to the track itself wasn't overly enthusiastic however the general view of it was that it was a good song and more importantly, they felt like we could make an effective video from it. Previous songs by The Script were talked about which the audience said they enjoyed, imparticular 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved'. We also went on to show the audience some previous videos by The Script to get them thinking about the genre of video.

When coming on to our music video, we first wanted to ask the group what feelings and emotions were evoked throughout the song. The main feedback we got from this was sadness and broken hearted as the song is an emotional one. A response we got was 'dispair' for losing a loved one and this can be shown through chasing the girl. A sense of loneliness is also created in the song which was suggested can be shown through reflection.

A key factor of a music video is the location which can go towards making the video aestetically pleasing. We had various ideas in mind before today however our focus group helped to reinforce these as well as introduce new ones. The main setting which was talked of was a busy city, walking down the street and even on public transport such as an Underground Tube. One member of the focus group suggested losing his girl in a crowd and another talked of the girl actually running away. An idea which I thought to be effective was to film on a rainy day, walking down a city street which adds to the sense of depression. To show the loneliness in the song, a beach was suggested in order to show iscolation. Another idea was to sit in the middle of the road while cars go by however this would not me practical when it comes to filming. Nevertheless, this talk of location did produce a wide range of useful feedback.

We then showed our group a few other videos; Ne-yo's 'Closer' and The Kooks' 'She Moves In Her Own Way' and The Scripts' 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' as we wanted to find out what sort of things they liked from other videos in which we could so something similar to in ours. Everyone agreed that a narrative based video would be ideal for the song so this helped us to make sure this type of video is 100% what we want to do. There was an undercranking effect in 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' in which time was sped up with the sky changing from day to night a number of times which the audience felt was very effective. Another suggestion was looking out of windows as this connots thought and wondering where it all went wrong.

We then went on to ask our focus group what they would expect to see in our music video. The main reply was the fact that the man can't get to the girl he loves which can be shown through iscolation. It would be expected that the girl is being missed and a suggestion was to show this by looking at old pictures and home videos as well as various flashbacks including these things. Some suggested few performance pictures however mainly narrative shots with the lead singer lip syncing. One put forward expectations of blurry city lights to show confusion which i feel could be effective. A thought was to be in a cinema with flashbacks coming on the screen haowever this would not be possible due to rules and regulations, no filming would be allowed in a cinema.

We progressed this further, we knew we want to do a narrative video therefore we narrowed the semi-structured interview down slightly to concentrate on what kind of narrative or story comes to mind through the song. This produced a flourish of suggestions which was really helpful because it really got us concentrating on more detailed aspects of the video. We had one media student in the group who added a few technical ideas such as a high percentage of 'meat' shots, undercranking and 360 degree shots.

Other members of our target group then added to what story they could see arising in our video. The mood of the story was mainly said to be a sad and even tragic one with one member saying the singers' love may have even died. Like other videos from The Script, the idea of walking and singing came up from a few people and one suggested this should be in the rain to add to the mood which i feel is a really good idea. Another suggestion was to do it on two trains going in different directions as the singer and his love part. In addition, the video could fade out towards the end to show the end of the story. This question really provided us with some valuable ideas for our video.

At the end of the thirty minute session, we collected in all the notes our audience made throughout in order for us to have their ideas for the future. Notes by the one female of our group i felt were really productive even though not many were heard when our audience was responding which shows the fact they wrote their ideas down was a good idea to do. She talked of the video being one big chase of the singers' girl however he is always too late and keeps on missing her. She talked of a city being the setting, seeing the girl go past in various ways including train, car, stairs and a lift. Another idea from her notes was to show memories of the relationship through flashbacks.

I then looked at some of the comments from the males in our focus group which weren't as in depth however various useful points were raised; A phone call to start the video and a band performance in a square were two ideas from one. One talked more of location and the idea of being on top of a mountain i felt would work well, he also suggested a number of performance shots. Other ideas were a bit more far fetched and less practical such as a sky dive. This may be highly enjoyable however I can't see it happening.

In conclusion, I have looked at what came up most within our focus group. We now know we will definately be going ahead with a narrative video with the majority being performance shots of the lead singer lip syncing and the band playing. Flashbacks also came up to show the fact that the song's about missing his love. Location wise, a city scene came up from everyone with bright lights and rain to show confusion. Some also talked of locations such as a beach or a mountain to show loneliness. I feel that overall, the focus group was highly helpful and informative as it enforced certain ideas we already had as well as introduced really effective new ones in which we will consider to incorperate when creating our music video.

Feedback on grade #1

Well done guys - the blog reflects excellent group collaboration, particularly on creative ideas for the track. The audience research is well planned, you have met all deadlines (apart from Tom- still incomplete TA1). As a group, you are working at a level 4, however Mark and Tom your textual analysis is at a level 3+ and 3 respectively which will impact the overall planning grade. you don't seem to have made changes to the first analysis that I recommended. Remember, the group as a whole may be a level 4, but your individual contributions in terms of deconstructions will determine your individual grade for planning.

Also - can you spellcheck, punctuate and on the textual analysis include a link to the actual video you are analysing.

Nevertheless, moodboard response was excellent and this is set to be a very promising project. The research is clearly informing the concept.