FINAL IDEA

The theme of my music video, which is to the song 'Regrets' by Everything Everything, will be horror with a slight thriller and creepiness aspect added to this. The video will follow the physiological journey of a teenage girl and how she is being engulfed by her overthinking thoughts. The thoughts will be deeply depressive due to the regrets she has been holding onto throughout her life, linking to the title of the song. The audience never finds out what the girl's regrets actually are leaving a sense of curiosity and mystery in the video. Though her thoughts are never made clear I will make her mental state obvious due to the low key lighting and intense flashing lights creating a dark and gloomy mood. In addition, her body language and facial expressions will also accentuate her melancholic feelings. At the beginning of the video she will wear neat and smart clothing with professional hair and make-up, which will eventually get destroyed. At the end of the video the girl will be left with ripped clothing, messy hair and smudged make-up symbolizing  the struggles of her life and the physical effects of her regrets. I may also include evidence of physical abuse or self-harming such as cuts and bruises to continue this idea.
The main cause of the girl's overthinking about her mysterious regrets is due to her devilish guilt conscious playing on her mind. The guilty conscious will be acted out by a middle aged man who will lip sync to the lyrics of the song, particularly the repetition of 'regrets, regrets'. This means my video will be both narrative and performance based. I want the man to appear intimidating and frightening which I hope to portray by using a low angle shot to heighten the actor connoting power and strength. The man has power over the girls thoughts and causes her to remind herself of her dreadful past consisting her regrets. To create this this character I took inspiration from the evil laugh that feautes near the end of the song, which reminded me of villains in action and horror films.

QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS ANALYSIS

MY RECORD LABEL - VAC RECORDS

In order to give me ideas and inspiration to create my own logo to represent my record label 'VAC Records' I used the internet to source images. Using an search engine I researched 'indie record label logo' as this is what I wanted to replicate and therefore present. I found lots of unheard of record companies whose logos were all similar in the fact that they were artistic, quirky, bold, cartoon-like and abstract. The general colour scheme included black and white, with sometimes bursts of random neon colours. In addition to the companies name an icon was added such as cartoon dogs or plants to make the logo more iconic and rememberable, which serves the purpose of a logo.
I created three different logos that I will put to my audience to gain feedback on their favorite design, via social media. I created the three logos separately using Microsoft Word which is a format I am very comfortable using. I had access to a number of shapes that I could customize according to thickness, colour and size and as well as a range of different font. I stuck to a monochrome colour scheme throughout, with subtle pops of colour in one of the designs. I feel all the three logos are quirky and reflect my companies in promoting indie pop music through the colours, images and fonts used.

MY THREE FINISHED LOGO DESIGNS:

SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDBACK:

I took to Instagram and posted a picture of the three logo designs I created and asked people which was there favorite. I received a lot of response where the majority voted that B was their favorite. Without the social media feedback I was unsure what logo to use as I didn't know which design represented my company the best. However I agree with my feedback that B is the best logo design as it is bold, colourful, clear and precise - everything a successful logo should be.

FINAL RECORD LABEL LOGO:

The aim of my record label is to support up and coming artists from the Indie and Indie Pop music genres. Supporting the artists involves distributing and marketing their products well in order to reach their niche audiences. VAC Records is a reliable company that is professional and successful in their work. The chosen logo triumphantly reflects that my company is dominantly musical based (from the mini record icons) and adventurous with the artists they sign and the music they produce (from the bright colours and bold font).

PROGRESS

I now beginning to conclude on my final ideas for my music video which I will explain in a separate blog post later. I am also asking a range of different people to answer my questionnaire where I will analyse the results to help me find out more information about my target audience and the current music trends. Gaining feedback throughout my project is essential in order for me to make the correct decisions and choices, making sure I am addressing my target audience at all times. After collecting my questionnaire results I will finalise my final idea and create storyboards, planning out every scene within the video. In addition I also need to establish my target audience in detail and the star image of my artist.

RESEARCH INTO RECORD LABELS / INSTITUTIONS

QUESTIONNAIRE

As a part of my A2 Media Studies coursework I need to gain feedback from my target audience about themselves and their expectations of music videos. The song I am using to create my music video to is ‘Regrets’ by Everything Everything. Could you please answer the questions below in order for me to reach my target audiences successfully, thank you.                  




Questionnaire – Audience Research


1. What gender are you?

• Male [  ]
• Female [  ]
• Prefer not to say [  ]
   

2. How old are you?

• 0 – 10 [  ]
• 11 – 20 [  ]
• 21 – 30  [  ]
• 31 – 40  [  ]
• 41 – 50 [  ]
• 51 + [  ]
• Prefer not to say [  ]
   

3. What music genre currently appeals to you the most?

• Pop [  ]
• Rock [  ]
• Indie [  ]
• Alternative [  ]
• Indie Pop [  ]
• Dance [  ]
• Hip Hop/Rap [  ]
• Metal [  ]
• Classical [  ]
• Other [  ] __________________________
   

4. What are the typical features and conventions you expect to see in an ‘Indie Pop’ music video? (e.g. performance, narrative, colours, lighting, costume, location etc…)
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________


5. How often do you watch music videos?

• Never [  ]
• Daily [  ]
• Weekly [  ]
• Fortnightly [  ]
• Monthly [  ]
• Yearly [  ]
• More than yearly [  ]
   

6. How do you watch music videos?

• Websites e.g. YouTube, Vevo
• Television Channels e.g. MTV
• Social Media e.g. Twitter, Facebook
• Other ________________________

PERFORMANCE IDEAS

Below are a collection GIF's from music videos whose style I admire and will use as inspiration. The clips all show use of either dramatic lighting, dim lighting, flashing lights, silhouettes or projected images. I have tried to use clips that are from my music genre so that I can portray a similar approach and target audience. By doing this it has helped me to realistically visualize my ideas and take inspiration from others.

Passion Pit - Lifted Up
 Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
 Beyoncé - Countdown
 Queen - The Invisible Man
 Taylor Swift - Style
 P!nk - Just Give Me A Reason
 Ciara - Speechless
 St. Lucia - September

LYRIC ANALYSIS

MOODBOARD

I collected a selection of images from the internet to create a moodboard that reflects my interpretation of the word 'regret'. I searched words taken from my brainstorm such as 'homelessness' and 'drug abuse' and added to them to my moodboard which I created using PowerPoint. I took images from campaigns such as anti-bulling and homosexuality acceptance, which I feel give off powerful messages in my moodboard which I hope to express in my music video. By creating this moodboard it has helped me to visualize my ideas and to put them into realistic context. Some of the images have helped to inspire me for different shot types, costumes and most importantly lighting and colours which are very dark and dull reflecting the depressing atmosphere.

REGRETS BRAINSTORM

INITIAL NARRATIVE IDEAS

INITIAL PERFORMANCE IDEAS

COPYRIGHT LETTER

FOCUS GROUP 1

I conducted a focus group consisting of teenagers aged 14-18 to gain more feedback in addition to my social media findings, about my song choice. I played the group out loud 'Regrets' by Everything Everything and asked them to write down; how the song made them feel, any storyline ideas, performance ideas, colours they envision and anything else that comes into their minds. Again, I received constructive ideas that I will use to inspire me when planning and constructing my video.

SOCIAL MEDIA FEEBACK

I asked my male and female peers (aged 17-18) five questions about my song choice in order to gain feedback about my decision and ideas for my video. I used Facebook to publicly ask people  questions as well as privately instant messaging a couple of friends for their feedback too. I asked all five people the same five questions and hyperlinked my song choice underneath so that they could listen to it.The resonsponses I recieved were very helpful as the questions were answered thoroughly. Some gave advice and ideas for my video which will help me to plan the narrative of my video, which I am still unsure about. I found it useful to hear from people of my target audience how 'Regrets' made them feel so I can hopefully present these emotions in my video. It was also useful to find out people's expectations of my chosen song's video so that I can deliver a suitable video for this age group which I am aiming to target. The ideas and suggestions given from my feedback will be added to my visual brainstorm of narrative and performance ideas.

MY QUESTIONS:

Hello, for my A2 media studies coursework my task is to create a music video. I am thinking about using the song 'Regrets' by indie/pop band Everything Everything (see link below) for my music video. In order to help me make my decision and receive audience feedback could you please answer the questions below, thank you.

1. How does this song make you feel and why?

2. What would you expect to see from this song's music video? e.g location, colours, people, time of day, performance, narrative etc...
3. If you could create a storyline to go along with this song, what would it be? e.g. an argument, drug abuse, homelessness etc...4. What age group does this song appeal to and why?5. How would you picture the artists of the song to look like? e.g. age, star image, clothing etc...

INSTANT MESSAGING FEEDBACK:

 

 

FACEBOOK FEEDBACK:

REFLECTIONS / MY CHOSEN SONG

My chosen song that my music video will be based on is 'Regrets' by Everything Everything.
I can now conclude that I have chosen my song that I will be creating my music video to. The song is called 'Regrets' by art rock/art pop/indie rock/electronic rock band Everything Everything. The track was released on the 29th April 2015 as a second single from the band's third studio album 'Get To Heaven'. The song premiered on BBC Radio 1 on DJ Annie Mac's Hottest Record in the World show in which the song was broadcasted to thousands of awaiting fans and regular listeners.  The song was produced by a combination of Everything Everything and Stuart Price, a three-time Grammy-winning British electronic musician, songwriter, and record producer. The album 'Get To Heaven' is under SONY RCA record label therefore I will have to email the company to ask for permission to use the song, for copyright reasons.


Over the past six weeks I was able to reflect on my media coursework and deeply think about what I want to create. I watched many music videos particularly from the indie genre as this is my favourite genre that I want to replicate. I have chosen 'Regrets' because I feel I can create a narrative based on the lyrics which I feel have many different interpretations. I feel the song thrives on a lot of passion and frustration which I hope to express through my music video. The repetition of the title throughout the song emphasises the emotions evoked by the band. The other lyrics are also very powerful and meaningful which help to give the song its catchy tune. The repetition of 'regrets' is so poignant I want to base my narrative around this word, showing someone regretting an action or decision they have made. The song also has a very dramatic drum beat which stood out to me the most when listening to the song. I hope to include performance clips of the artist playing a drum to enhance the instrument. I also like that the song is slightly quirky and bit strange where I want to apply also out of the ordinary narrative to it. Everything Everything is known for its extremely eclectic and dynamic style which this song has under its intricate rhythms, vocals and beats.
I  now need to come up with a more detailed and complex storyline, to decide what the 'regret' is going to be. I firstly want to gain audience feedback and conduct a focus group to find others opinions on my song choice. 

HISTORY OF MUSIC VIDEOS

MUSIC VIDEO GENRE AND CONVENTIONS

INITIAL IDEA 2

Everything in reverse...

My second idea for my indie music video is based on the subject of turning back time, in other words showing everything in reverse. This means the end of the narrative would be at the beginning of the video and the start of the narrative would be at the end as the story is reversed. I want to follow a story line of either domestic violence, arguments, crime or loneliness that would involve lots of different events and scenes. This however depends on the song I choose (possible songs related to this idea are listed below), for example if the song is about getting drunk the narrative would be about alcohol abuse.
The video would have moments of slow-motion to show the most effective clips being reversed such as smashed glass bottles which I would include as a close-up shot. I would record the whole video as normal then edit the all clips backwards via an editing software such as Windows Movie Maker.

POSSIBLE SONGS:

• Everything Everything - Regrets ---> regrets; arguments, mistakes, drug/alcohol abuse, wrong                                                               decisions made, looking to be forgiven
• Ed Sheeran - Drunk ---> alcohol abuse, drunken arguement, hangovers, partying
• Catfish and the Bottlemen - Fallout ---> domestic argument, relationship break-up

INSPIRED VIDEOS:

The four music videos linked below have all been recorded backwards, edited in reverse or acted out backwards. I am able to take inspiration from the different shots that appear effective when reversed such as jumping, smashing glass bottles, dropping objects, running water, getting dressed, floating feathers, walking, car accidents, violent arguments and dancing.

INITIAL IDEA 1

Running away...

After watching and analysing several music videos I have come up with my first initial idea. I plan to create a narrative music video following the story of a girl running away. I have not yet decided what she will be running away from but either from a relationship, home, domestic violence or just troubled life in general. Throughout the whole video I will film her running through lots of different locations such as tube, buses, bridges, streets, playgrounds and fields. The video will be very fast paced as I will edit each location to follow on from the other to make it appear as if the girl has run miles and miles. To make the video interesting I want to show the girl going through obstacles on her journey such as jumping over benches or sliding down children slides. The video will be begin at sunrise early in the morning when the air is dewy which will hopefully create a natural filter and effect. The video will then progress over the duration of the day and end at sunset/night time to give the impression the that the girl has been running non-stop all day.
Now that I have the basic storyline of my music video I now need to find a upbeat song whose lyrics relate to running away. I also need to develop my idea further so that my narrative is obvious in my video therefore I need to have a more clearer plot.

POSSIBLE SONGS:

• Circa Waves - Young Chasers
• Galantis - Runaway (U & I)
• Bruno Mars - Runaway Baby

INSPIRED MUSIC VIDEOS
Despite the lyrics to these songs not being based on the idea of running away the videos involve young adults/teenagers running away and appearing trouble free as if they've left their problems behind. 'Leave The World Behind' especially shows a man leaving everything behind as he uses different modes of transport such as a car and swimming to do so. Even though these music videos are not from my chosen music genre of indie I can still take inspiration from the locations and camera movements/shots used that are suitable for a fast paced video.