Ancillary Tasks: Discussion

Whilst we are awaiting more results for the audience research, my group and I have begun to discuss the ancillary tasks in extended detail. Further considerations have taken place regarding all three options once more, and we have again decided that the two we previously highlighted as the two we would attempt are still the ancillary tasks which we will concentrate our attention on, following progression of our main task.

Why not a website?

A number of factors have led to our undisputed decision not to produce a website as an ancillary task, and instead opt for a cover for the release of the CD, and a magazine advertisement.

Firstly, we all have first-hand experience in producing a magazine advert and/or a CD cover, which implies that these are the areas in which we could most exploit or abilities. We are not all familiar with creating websites, and while this would undoubtedly be an exciting task to complete, it would potentially require more time than we can afford to use, due to the fact that we would not only be improving and developing upon previous experiences, but learning for the first time in many cases.  

In addition to this, we believe that technical difficulties would be more likely to occur if we were to create a website. While we are not naïve enough to assume that technical issues do not occur in producing a CD cover and a magazine advert, the chances are less likely.

Therefore, this decision was not a difficult one to make, given that the tasks will almost certainly be a better finished product should we opt to do a CD cover and a magazine advertisement, as opposed to the website, given our respective abilities and the reliability of technology.

Questionnaire: Music Video

This questionnaire is intended to help my group and I get an insight as to the audience's preferences for music videos. If you could respond to the questions to the best of your ability it would be much appreciated, as it could determine some of the decisions we make on our production.

1. Which of the following age brackets applies to you?

[ ] Under 16           [ ] 16-19                 [ ] 20-25                 [ ] 26-30

[ ] 31-40                 [ ] 41+

2. What is your gender?

[ ] Male                  [ ] Female

3. How much do you spend on music per year?

[ ] £0-£5                 [ ] £6-£10              [ ] £11-£20            [ ] £21-£40            [ ] £41+

4. Do you find music more accessible when it has a supplementary video?

[ ] Yes                     [ ] No                      [ ] No Preference

5. Do music videos help you feel more involved in the music?

[ ] Yes                     [ ] No                      [ ] No Preference

6. How frequently do you watch music videos?

[ ] Daily                  [ ] Weekly                              [ ] Fortnightly                       [ ] Monthly

[ ] Rarely                [ ] Never

7. Via which means of media do you watch music videos? (Tick all that apply)

[ ] Music channels (TV)                      [ ] Internet                             [ ] Portable Media Player

[ ] Games console                               [ ] Other (please state):

___________________________________________________________________

8. What is your preferred genre of music? (Tick all that apply)

[ ] Rock                   [ ] Rhythm and Blues           [ ] Hip-Hop            [ ] Blues                 [ ] Jazz

[ ] Folk                    [ ] Indie                                  [ ] Hardcore          [ ] Punk                  [ ] Pop

[ ] Pop-Punk          [ ] Drum and Bass                [ ] Electronic         [ ] Other (please state):

___________________________________________________________________

9. Do you prefer music videos which have a more direct involvement of the band? (E.g. live shots of the band, members of the band acting, etc.)

[ ] Yes                     [ ] No                      [ ] No preference

10. Which features of music videos most appeal to you? (Tick all that apply)

[ ] Special Effects                [ ] Animation                        [ ] Realism            

[ ] Expressionism                [ ] Fantasy                            [ ] Other (please state)

___________________________________________________________________

11. Do you prefer music videos to have a story line?

[ ] Yes                     [ ] No                      [ ] No Preference

12. What is your favourite music video, and which feature(s) of it most appeals to you?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

13. How do you prefer males to be represented in music videos?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

14. How do you prefer females to be represented in music videos?

___________________________________________________________________

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Response From George

I've just received a response from George regarding the questionnaire:

Audience Research: Music Video Questionnaire

Unfortunately, the other two members of my group are not present today, so in their absence, I have constructed the following questionnaire. I will email it to the two of them, and get some feedback on it to see if they have any suggestions as to how it can be altered in any way to make it more effective.

1. Which of the following age brackets applies to you?

[ ] Under 16           [ ] 16-19                 [ ] 20-25                 [ ] 25-30

[ ] 31-40                 [ ] 40+

2. What is your gender?

[ ] Male                  [ ] Female

3. How much do you spend on music per year?

[ ] £0-£5                 [ ] £6-£10              [ ] £11-£20            [ ] £21-£40            [ ] £41+

4. How frequently do you watch music videos?

[ ] Daily                  [ ] Weekly                              [ ] Fortnightly                       [ ] Monthly

[ ] Rarely                [ ] Never

5. Via which means of media do you watch music videos? (Tick all that apply)

[ ] Music channels (TV)                      [ ] Internet                             [ ] Portable Media Player

[ ] Games console                               [ ] Other (please state):

___________________________________________________________________

6. What is your preferred genre of music? (Tick all that apply)

[ ] Rock                   [ ] Rhythm and Blues           [ ] Hip-Hop            [ ] Blues                 [ ] Jazz

[ ] Folk                    [ ] Indie                                  [ ] Hardcore          [ ] Punk                  [ ] Pop

[ ] Pop-Punk          [ ] Drum and Bass                [ ] Electronic         [ ] Other (please state):

___________________________________________________________________

7. Which features most appeal to you in music videos? (Tick all that apply)

[ ] Live shots of the band                                    [ ] Shots of the bands in an acting role

[ ] Actors other than band members                [ ] Animation

[ ] Special effects                                                 [ ] Storyline

[ ] Other (please state)

___________________________________________________________________

8. What is your favourite music video, and which feature(s) of it most appeals to you?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

9. How do you prefer males to be represented in music videos?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

10. How do you prefer females to be represented in music videos?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Music Promo Video Research

My group and I have today begun our research into music videos. Currently, we are getting a basic idea of the type of music videos produced in the genres which we prefer as a group; Acoustic, Indie, Rock, and Folk.

One of the videos which stands out so far is for the song 'Balloons', by a band named Foals. The live shots of the band are something which we are strongly considering featuring in our own video. The setting (which appears to be a room in a house) is something which is appealing at this stage too.

Animation seems to be a regular feature amongst the videos we have been viewing, and the videos for Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl? and The Fray - Heartless the kind of animation we find aesthetically pleasing, and believe we could construct ourselves. The animation in the video for Gnarls Barkley - Crazy can be seen in several music videos, and while it looks great, it is perhaps quite challenging to create with our limited resources. One of our favourite bands as a group, Local Natives, have also produced a music video for their song 'Airplanes' which really captures our attention, especially the animated skulls through the portraits of the band members; one example of this is at 0:23.

One observation we have made is that stop-motion animation is present in a number of the music videos we have looked at. Personally, I am a massive fan of The Maccabees, and stop-motion is one of the main components in their video for 'Precious Time'. They have used a combination of photographs and drawings in the video, and although we are still at the research stages of our production, following consultations with my group, we believe the use of drawings and stop-motion animation is a feature which we can utilise. In another song by The Maccabees which uses stop-motion, 'Latchmere', the shot (at 0:27) where the paper runs up the wall is something which catches the eye.

Advanced Level Media Studies Portfolio

Welcome to my blog. This is the central component of my A2 Media Studies production; it will contain all of the thoughts and processes that progressively go into the project. My group consists of two other people in my class, namely Elliot Thornton-Smith and George White. I chose to partner these people primarily because they are close friends of mine, and I see them frequently outside of the classroom, which will potentially prove to be a great convenience. Furthermore, they both possess a number of the skills required to successfully complete the task which I have decided to do (mentioned below), for instance, they are both talented musicians, and participate in the same band, Belingo, which will also come to our aid later on in the production.

Media Production Brief

The following is the brief which I have decided to follow production:

A promotional package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

• A website homepage for the band
• A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD)
• A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package)

My group and I have decided to do the latter two options (a cover and a magazine advert), as opposed to a website.