Music Video Research

Research findings

 i conducted some initial research into music video productions so that i would have a developed understanding of what makes a music video successful when it came to creating my piece. I analysed the theories of Carol Vernallis and Andrew Goodwin and applied them to music videos which were of the same genre as my chosen song. Collecting these findings will in no doubt give me a more solid foundation to begin effectively planning my piece. Vernallis and Goodwins theory will help me to develop a more expansive understanding of the various styles of music videos, there editing techniques that they use in there own work.

My first step was to apply the theories put forth by Goodwin and Vernallis to a selection of music videos, from the same genre as my chosen song, to videos from other genres of music. Doing so will help me to produce reliable results, as exploring only one genre of music video will severely limit my findings. Accompanying this i conducted an analysis of the other aspects of the video's, camera shots, editing choices, mise en scene, and how they impact the video itself.

I also created a short survey or questionnaire which allowed me to gather primary date alongside the secondary evidence recorded in analysis of the music videos. The survey results rely heavily on the participants personal choices and preferences, and some clear trends were obviously highlighted.

Above are the questions i featured in my questionnaire, i wanted to ask the participants what the favourite genre of music was, and from there, analyse what the enjoy from a music video from each genre. The data i find here will directly influence my music video. 

The Date 

A week after i published and shared my survey i went back to check how many participants completed my survey. 23 people had completed my survey, whilst this isn't exactly enough participants to call my data 100 percent reliable,  i think it will give me a strong enough average to expand upon. 

(Q1 What age range do you fall under?)

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(Q2 What is you're preferred genre of music?)

(Q3 What is you're preferred style of video)

(Q4 Do you think the songs creators should be featured within the video)

 (Q5 Should the visuals on screen be a direct representation of the lyrics in the song)

(Q6 Where do you most commonly listen to music)

(Q7 On which platform do you most commonly watch music videos)

(Q8 Which of these are more important?)

The data i received from my questionnaire provides me with a deeper insight into an audiences personal opinions on what makes a music video appealing to them, and provides me with a deeper insight into what i should incorporate in my my music video, and what genre i should explore for the unit.

After choosing and analysing several music videos revolving around my chosen genre (Indie), I created a basic outline plan of what i intended to create for the unit. I sat down with a focus group with my HNC classmates (all in the same age demographic, with there own personal tastes on music videos).

After showing them my plan i received various suggestions of how i could improve the video,  one of the most important suggestions i took from the group focus was that the visual aesthetic of the video would have to be experimental, due to the cryptic nature of the song itself, attempting to create a narrative for it would be extremely difficult, and would lean more to the unintelligible rather than the "open to interpretation" that resonated with the questionnaire participants. Another suggestion put forth by the focus group was that the song was extremely long (6;43 second), and should be cut down slightly. At first i disagreed with this but after discussion i realised that by cutting the song down i would be following the experimental style both visually and with audio.

The research i conducted for my music video has proved invaluable, the primary research has shown me exactly what resonates with audiences, what styles to take with my editing techniques and what Music services they use to watch music videos. 

And my secondary research provided me with an expansive list of re occurring traits that flow through my chosen genre.