Audience Conclusions

To conclude on my audience research:

It is quite clear that the patterns of their music consumption remains pretty much the same. For example, as found out when researching what customers also brought, it was clear that they only brought items within the same genre more often than not, as well as if they brought singles, then they went on to buy more singles, and if they brought albums, they went on to buy more albums, usually within the same name, for example, 'Now'.

Furthermore, as discovered from my audience questionnaire, it appears as though people tend to listen to music through free downloads, rather than actually own the CD, or buy the songs on-line. There was only 10 out of 20 people who selected that they consume music by buying CD's, and it has to be noted that they could select more than one option on this question and as a result they probably only buy the CD if it is seen as being 'high quality' for example.

It appeared as though the band liked the artist Example and that the majority of them had heard music, as well as viewed videos at some point. This is a positive factor to take into account as it means that the artist and the songs produced are liked by the audience, meaning that it will be worthwhile to produce a new music video for.

Audience Research- Other musical interests

To gain more of an insight into audience consumption as a further part of my audience research, I completed some quick research using the website Amazon. Here I have simply analysed what customers also bought along with a selection of CD's within the Dance genre.

The Very Best of Now Dance
2.5 out of 5 stars
£14.95

Customers also bought:
NOW Dance 2008
3.5 out of 5 Stars
£12.99

Now Dance 2007
No customer reviews
£12.67

Now Dance 2004 Vol.1
4.5 out of 5 Stars
£15.99

Now Dance 2001 Vol.1
4.5 out of 5 stars
£9.99

Now Dance 2003 Vol.2
5 out of 5 stars
£10.82

The rest of the list carried on and were all more or less 'Now' CD's, showing that customers were continuing to purchase the same type of CD's.

Example- Kickstarts [Single]
No customer reviews
£2.49

Customers also brought:
The Club Is Alive [Single]
3.5 out of 5 stars
£2.49

Won't Go Quietly [Single]
No customer reviews
£2.49

All The Lovers [Single]
4 out of 5 stars
£2.49

I Like It [Single]
5 out of 5 stars
£3.49

All Time Low [Single]
5 out of 5 stars
£2.51

As is clearly visible from looking at what other customers brought, it is clear that customers buy the same type of CD. By this, I mean that everybody who brought the Kickstarts single, then went on to buy other singles, rather than full albums. Vis versa when customers brought full albums such as the very best of now dance, customers went on to buy other now albums instead of anything else.

Audience Research- Questionnaire Results

Here is a summary of the results to all of the questions that were asked on the questionnaire. The questionnaire was handed out to 20 people in total, and was handed to 50% Male, and 50% Female to try and get a fair and accurate set of results.









Question number five asked:

Out of the list above, which is your most common way of consuming music?

The nominees could select any of the following five answers:
CD's
Free Downloads
Paid Downloads (Itunes etc.)
Listen to it on the internet
Music Channels

The most popular answer given by all nominees was 'Free Downloads'

Audience Research- Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Gender: Male / Female
Age:
0-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
60+

1) Have you heard of the artist Example?

Yes

No

2) Have you seen any music videos from the artist Example?

Yes

No

3) If Yes, do you like the music videos?

Yes

No

Never watched a music video

If Yes, What are your reasons why?
If No, Why not?

4) How do you usually consume music? (Tick as many as apply)

CD's
Free Downloads
Paid Downloads (Itunes etc.)
Listen to it on the internet
Music Channels

5) Out of the list above, which is your most common way of consuming music?

6) If you buy CD's, where do you purchase them from?

On-line
Music Stores
Supermarket
Other (Please State)

7) When listening to music, do you ever listen to the lyrics and take in the true meaning of the song?

Yes

No

8) Do you prefer it when the music video is random and does not particularly match the lyrics to the song?

Yes

No

No Preference

Thank You for completing the questionnaire

The questionnaire was sent out to 20 people in total. There were a number of questions where the nominee could select more than one answer.

Institutional research

"In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protection of sound recordings and music videos."

As part of my institutional research, I have researched some of the record labels that 'Example' have been signed with.

Below is a screen shot taken from Wikipedia. It shows the most current record label that 'Example' are signed with from 2008 to present, and the songs that they have released while with this record label.

Data Records is a fully owned subsidiary label of Ministry Of Sound.

Producer "Kickstarts"- Sub Focus

Nicholas Douwma, better known by his stage name Sub Focus, is an English drum and bass record producer.

Other labels that 'Example' have been signed with include:
All the Chats (2004–2006)
The Beats (2006–2007)

Below is a screen shot obtained also from Wikipedia to show the chart performance of the song 'Kickstarts', the song that I will be producing a new music video for.


"Kickstarts" debuted on the Irish Singles Chart at number 8 on 18 June 2010, making Example's most successful single in the country, after "Wont Go Quietly" reached a peak of number 36 in January 2010. Likewise, "Kickstarts" recieved similar success on the UK Singles chart, debuting at number 3 beating the previous single's peak of number 6, but also at number 1 on the UK Dance Chart and UK Indie Chart, marking his second consecutive number 1 on both charts. The single also managed to reach a peak of number 11 on the European Hot 100 Singles chart.

Lyric Analysis- Infinity, Guru Josh Project

Here's my key
Philosophy
A freak like me
Just needs infinity

Relax
Take your time

And take your time
To trust in me
And you will find
Infinity, infinity

And take your time
To trust in me
And you will find
Infinity, infinity

The time goes by
So naturally
Why you'll receive
Infinity

Here's my key
Philosophy
A freak like me
Just needs infinity

Relax
Take our time

And take your time
To trust in me
And you will find
Infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity

And take your time
To trust in me
And you will find

The time goes by
So naturally
Why you'll receive
Infinity

As you can see from taking a first glance at the lyrics, the versus to the song are very short. Furthermore, the song only has four versus that are just repeated again to make up the full length of the song. This is probably due tot the fact that the song is quite fast paced, hence the short lines and versus.

The word 'Infinity' means 'time without end'.

All in all, due to the fact that the song is fast paced, it has very short versus compared to the likes of 'Kickstarts' by Example.

*Lyric Analysis- Kickstarts, Example*

You want me to come over, I got an excuse
I might be holding your hand, but I'm holding it loose
Go to talk then we choke its like our necks in a noose
Avoid the obvious,we should be facing the truth

Start to think it could be fizzling out
Kinda' shocked because I never really had any doubts
Look into your eyes, imagine life without ya

And the love kick starts again
Starts again

The Love kick starts again
Starts again

Its the same old you the same old me
You get bored and I get cold feet
Get high get wandering eyes
Forget I've never ever had it so sweet
I realize what I got when I'm out of town
'Cos deep down you're my girl in a golden crown
My princess and I don't wanna let you down
No I don't wanna let you down down down down

You want me to come over, I got an excuse
I might be holding your hand, but I'm holding it loose
Go to talk then we choke it's like our necks in a noose
Avoid the obvious, we should be facing the truth

Start to think it could be fizzling out
Kinda' shocked because I never really had any doubts
Look into your eyes imagine life without ya

And the love kick starts again
Starts again

As is clearly visible when looking at the lyrics, the first noticeable factor is the fact that the lyrics are not very long at all. This is due to the fact that the song is made up of two main verses, surrounded by two main choruses that are then repeated to make the length of the whole song. It has to be noted at this point that not all songs within the dance genre are written in this way, as can be proven during the other lyric analysis. However, songs within the dance genre are mainly written in this way due to their fast pace.

The song is written in 3rd person prose. This links in with the whole romantic meaning behind the song as previously explained during the video analysis.

Furthermore, another interesting factor about the lyrics themselves is the sentence 'imagine life without ya'. This is due to the fact that the word 'you' is written 'ya' instead. This could again be linked with the fact that the song is within the dance genre and therefore is fast paced. Moreover, when listening to the song this word is slightly drawn out as it is at the end of the verse and gives a smooth, built up transition to the main chorus of the song. There are also numerous other words in the song that are also written grammatically incorrect such as kinda' and 'cos.

Videos within the Dance genre- Mood board

Just like the mood board created to summarise my findings of common features throughout various dance CD album covers, I have done exactly the same thing here, but to summarise my findings of common features used within music videos within the dance genre. Once again, it includes key words in relation to some of the features I found were used throughout the genre during my analysis of music videos.

CD's within the Dance genre- Mood board

I have created a mood board to summarise the main findings when analysing existing dance CD covers. It includes key words in relation to common features that I have found are used throughout various album covers within the dance genre.

Textual Analysis of Magazine Advertisements

When trying to find exiting magazine advertisements, this was quite difficult to do so. As a result, I have analysed magazine advertisements in general, rather than adverts that are promoting CD's purely within the dance genre.

Conclusions from magazine advertisements analysis:

1) The group/artist/band name is clearly visible in order to grab the readers attention

2) A common feature throughout is to include song names that are well known on the advert, again as another way of engaging with the reader.

3) Adverts do not include a huge amount of detail. The release date etc is included but apart from essential details such as this, the adverts mainly concentrate on getting the reader interested

4) Bright colour schemes are used to make the advertisements stand out from other pages within the magazine

5) All three adverts that I have analysed have all been designed to fill a whole A4 page (A full page in a magazine) rather than being designed to fit in the corner of a page with an article on for example. This is a very easy way to attract the readers attention due to its large size.

6) Further techniques are sometimes used to persuade the audience into buying the product. The way of doing this is to include star ratings from other well known music magazines/other artists, as well as persuasive quotes about the product such as "The greatest album of all time" for example.

Textual Analysis of CD Covers

Conclusions from CD cover analysis

1) All bright in colour, visually appealing. Fits in with the dance genre due to the exciting and up-beat nature.Colour scheme of Purple, Blue and Pink appears to be popular within the genre.

2) Computer generated images of women, typical feature across CD covers within the genre.

3) Backgrounds to the covers usually very bright in colour, represent disco lights, strobe lights etc.

4) Many dance CD covers include examples of the artists included on the disks, gets the audience interested in buying the product

5) Simple, big bold fonts commonly used for CD titles to ensure that they stand out from any other detail on the cover.

Textual Analysis of Videos Conclusion

After analysing four different music videos within the dance genre,two of which songs by the same artist, here is a summary from the analysis.

1) The video is used as a method of showing the songs message. More often than not, but not in every case, the actions within the video match or at least have some connection with the songs lyrics.

2) There is a wide range of shot types used throughout each video, but more noticeably in every video that I have analysed, there is always a number of close-up shots to show in more detail either a person (the main focus of the video) or an object.

3) As dance songs are quite fast paced, the cuts between each shot tend to be quick as well in order to keep in time with the pace of the music. However, this is not always the case as with some of the four videos I have analysed as it also seems more common to go in the opposite direction and use video footage that is in slow motion, possibly so that the meaning behind the song is clearer.

4) It appears as though the men within the music videos are most commonly dressed in casual clothing, while the women within the videos tend to be dressed in clothing that is smart-casual. This could be to do with the fact that women stereotypically care more about how they look than that of men, however it has to be noted that this is not always the case.

5) The videos often use have some sort of feature to make them more interesting and as a way to make them fit in more with the pace of the music. For example, out of the four videos that I have analysed, features such as slow motion, split screens, and other transitions were used as common features throughout the genre.

6) The videos often focus on one or two main people.(obviously other people are involved in the videos also but these are just to add a sense of realism). If two people are the main focus, this appears to be a man and a women rather than for example, two women or two men.

Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina "Stereo Love" Analysis

Once again, I chose another popular dance song within the genre. Furthermore, it is from a completely different artist and therefore once again it is interesting to see if any of the features used throughout the genre are used in this video as well and if so which ones.

One of the first noticeable features that I have picked upon throughout all four videos is the way in which it focuses on two main people, in this case a man and a women.

The song 'Stereo Love' concentrates on some of the meanings behind love. The song is sang by a women, and is put together in such a way that it appears as though she is singing about her 'perfect' man. The setting in which the video is set is a typical romantic type of setting, therefore fitting in with the whole meaning behind the song.

Furthermore, the video is also in slow motion, in complete contrast to the pace of the song itself, of which is quite fast paced. The use of slow motion fits in with the whole 'romantic' theme behind the meaning of the song and the setting in which the video is set. As with every video, there are a range of shot types used within this video, but one of the most noticeable is the use of close-up shots to give the viewer a greater insight into an object or person.

The clothing worn by the two people in this video is smart-casual. This type of clothing is quite unusual for the environment in which the video is based (the beach) where the weather is shown to be sunny and impermeably hot and therefore as a viewer would expect to see them wearing an even more casual style of clothing, especially for the man who for example you would expect to see wearing shorts instead of trousers, and just a T-shirt rather than with a cardigan. However, after analysing the other videos as well, it appears as though smart casual is the chosen style for most music videos and therefore this could well be the reason why the style has remained the same for this video.

At no point during this video do the people included mime to the lyrics of the song. This is in total contrast to the two songs by 'Example' where at some point during both songs the people within the video do mime the words to the song. This song is much slower than the previous three however and this could therefore be the reason why it was decided not to include narrative within this video, as well as to make it fit in with the whole romantic theme more possibly?

Guru Josh Project "Infinity 2008" Analysis

Continuing within the dance genre, I decided to look at another popular dance track, especially within pubs/clubs. I thought it would be quite interesting to look at another artists official music video to see if any of the techniques previously mentioned are carried on throughout the genre, and if so exactly which.

After watching the video for the first time, one of the first noticeable similarities is the way in which the video focuses on one main person throughout. Like 'Watch the sun come up' by Example, there are other people shown in the video, in the case of this video in a club, but the main focus is on one woman. Videos within the dance genre seem to focus on either one or two people throughout the video to create a story. In some cases, as with the Example videos, the people in the video do actions that match the lyrics to the song.

Furthermore, the pace of this video is quite unusual in relation to the pace of the song. The song itself is quite fast paced and upbeat, however, all the parts of the video that focus on the main woman are in slow motion, completely contrasting with the pace of the music.

The setting used for the video is quite unusual to. There is a sense of loneliness created and it is obvious that there is nobody else around in such an environment. However, although there is a sense of loneliness, the pace of the music completely covers this fact, where as usually, if this type of scene appeared in a film, it could appear quite scary and build up a lot of tension for the viewer, but this is not the case here.

In places, the video uses smooth transitions from one cut to another. As one shot is disappearing, another is also appearing so that the two are visible through each other before appearing or disappearing. This is similar to effects used in previous videos where special effects such as split screens and 'sketched' effects are used randomly throughout as transitions to make the video more interesting to view.

Moreover, like other videos within the genre, a range of shots are used, but the one that stands out is the use of close-up shots to give the viewers a clearer picture of the person/object.

All in all, this video has some of the same features of other music videos within the dance genre, but also does some things in the opposite way, such as slow motion action with fast paced music as a pose to fast, quick cuts with fast paced music, often the way that videos within the dance genre are put together. However, although this makes the video different to others of its kind in the same genre, it works well with the music track and does not appear out of place in any way.

At no point during this video do the people included mime to the lyrics of the song. This is in total contrast to the two songs by 'Example' where at some point during both songs the people within the video do mime the words to the song.

Example- "Watch the sun come Up" Analysis

As I am following Example, I decided to choose a second music video to analyse, for their song 'Watch the sun come up'. I chose to do this due to the fact that I will be creating a new music video for another of their songs 'Kickstarts', but also to see how similar or different the videos are in the way that they are created, due to the fact that they are both for the same artist, and both songs within the dance genre.

The first noticeable thing about both videos, is the fact that they both concentrate on two main people throughout the story behind the video. Obviously in the video 'Kickstarts' there are more than two people in the video due to the nature of the song, but even within that video, there is still a focus on two main people, particularly at the start. This is also the same for this video, apart from the fact that there are no extra people(apart from those in the background of scenes), the video is purely based around the two main people, the man and the woman. Furthermore, the style of the two videos is exactly the same, however, this could well be to do with the fact that both videos are for the same artist. By 'style' I mean the way in which for example both videos use two locations, switching between the two throughout the video.

Moreover, the use of special effects throughout the video is very noticeable and makes the video much more interesting than if these were not included. The transition from video footage of the guy walking down the street for example to the 'sketched' version of the same footage makes the video very surreal, which makes the music video look very professional and adds an interesting aspect to the video, which some other music videos within the dance genre may not have. It would be interesting to note here that special effects are also used in the music video for 'Kickstarts' as mentioned during that analysis, where effects such as split screen are used to make the video more interesting and appealing to watch to fit in with the music track.

As with the previous video, the clothing style is exactly the same. The woman within the video is dressed in smart-casual clothing and the man within the video is dressed in casual wear.

Narrative is included in this video. However, it is only the man that actually interacts with the lyrics of the song. There is no point during the video where the woman mimes any of the lyrics to the song.

* Example- "Kickstarts" Official video Analysis *

The chosen genre for my music video is 'Dance'. This is due to the fact that my chosen artist 'Example' are also from this genre and therefore this is the genre of music that I will be following. As a result, I have chosen to analyse four existing music videos within the dance genre, one of which being 'Kickstarts' by Example, the artist and song that I will be creating a new music video for.

I have put together twelve screen shots for each video showing different techniques that are used throughout each video.

The song 'Kickstarts' concentrates on the reality of relationships when they break down, as well as when they 'start again', hence the meaning behind the line 'When the love kick starts again'. The meaning of the song is much clearer when studying the lyrics, of which I have also done as part of my research into the genre within this blog.

The video for Kickstarts is very interesting and in some way a little different to how dance videos are usually put together. The use of split screens is one of the main features this video uses that makes it different to other videos within the genre due to its excessive use. At some points within the video, the screen is divided into as many as 16 squares. This is done a lot in this video to fit in with the fast pace of the music, as well as to fit in with some of the meaning behind the song, as the split screen feature enables the producer to show off all the 'varieties' of feet, connecting with the word 'Kickstarts' throughout the lyrics.

In addition to the way in which the video is interesting and different to other types of music videos, the use of split screens and different shots of a number of peoples faces put together is one of the factors that makes the video fun to watch, fitting in with the genre, Dance, an exciting, uplifting genre of music.

Furthermore, to fit in with the fast pace of the song, the video uses fast cuts between each shot. This helps towards making the video fun to watch so that the viewers are not given any chance to get bored of watching, as the fast pace ensures constant flow of the video with the music.

The clothing worn by the main woman within the video is smart- casual. On the other hand, the clothing worn by the main man within the video is just casual. However, it could be suggested that it is stereotypical of women to care more about how they look and what they wear than what men do and therefore this could be the reasoning behind the different clothing style between the two people.

The narrative within this video is mainly mimed by the main man within the video. This remains the same until a bit later on in the video where the split screen feature pieces faces and legs of different men and women together, and at this point the other people within video are miming the words to the lyrics as well.