Comments I received in my focus group

After completing the editing for the music video I shot in the studio, I gathered a group of my peers that I consider to also be 'music nerds'. I chose four of my friends, all in which are arts students at Russell group universities themselves, so I wanted their educated opinion on the art I created.
I chose for my arts students friends to give me feedback because I knew they'd understand the work a lot more because they will have studied something similar, or even more outrageous pieces, before. They already have knowledge and experience with films like these. Though it may sound elitist and pretentious, I didn't choose a passive, relaxed audience to give me feedback. This is mainly because they weren't my target audience anyway.
My demographic was split between male and female and all four were of similar ages. This is because the main target audience for alternative (good) music is young adults/adults and although music is male dominated, women make up a significant amount of the fanbases, despite not many actually being musicians.
I received a variety of responses:
Jenny W (20 - student at the University of Birmingham for Art History)
'You definitely achieved the monochrome look Yoko had in the 60s. I even got it before you said. It looks like something John and Yoko would have done. They would've made a minimal piece of work to make the audience think for themselves, rather than forcing something to heavy of a meaning to the viewers. One thing I'd say is that adding maybe a grainy filter would have helped add to the nostalgia and realism.'
Lee S (19 - student of History and French at Manchester)
'I can see why someone would think it is boring but I really liked it. It did drag a bit but the fact that it always looked like something was going to happen made it more interesting. The main part that interested me was thinking that you were going to do something or say something, maybe even start singing. But the fact that we were just left to feel however we wanted to feel about the video, that was pretty good. The visuals fit with the song fantastically, I loved it.'
Jamie F (19 - student of History at Oxford University)
'It looks to a really high standard and quite professional and I think the main reason you were able to achieve that is because you didn't aim to do an awful lot in your video. I think this video is a great example of the whole 'less is more' saying, because I think if you tried to do anything more to it that it could look tacky or really obviously like a project rather than a professional music video.'
Tash M (20 - student of Politics at Sussex)
'This video is really aesthetically pleasing and you did a really good job in making it look similar to Yoko. It would have been a pretty cool idea though if maybe you had a variety of models and said it was maybe linked to like the Beatles' wives at the time because it would've added a little bit of variety to the video and would probably make it easier for someone from a non, like, artsy background to watch. Or maybe subtitles about like thoughts to do with the song, that would've maybe added just a bit more to it.'

Conclusion of findings from focus group
In conclusion, the response for my music video was positive. The only negative response was that it could be perceived as boring, which I expected anyway. Even I manage to find watching it boring, but that is because it isn't meant to be an easy watch.
My focus group is technically a poor representation of what the general public would think of my music video. This is due to the people I asked being of the same age range, same ethnicity, same class background and having the same artistic/cultural interests. However, as my intended audience is artistic young people (young people because they are the main target audience for music videos anyway), I feel like my focus group selection is good and a good representation of what artsy individuals will think of my video.

Music Video Analysis: C'mon Billy - PJ Harvey

Much like St Vincent's music video I previously analysed, PJ Harvey's music video for her 1995 single from To Bring You My Love is a spectacle. The mise-en-scene is on point, the acting from her is perfect and it is shot spectacularly. The song itself is about a woman who is begging for her partner to return (where he is is undisclosed, whether he left her for another woman or is at war etc is not confirmed) and meet his son. It is a desperate cry for him to come back.
The first shot shown in the music video is close-up shot of a man in a cowboy hat playing the violin. Though it may seem insignificant, this shot sums up the genre of the track. It has bluesy-country sounds to it, whilst having a melancholic string section to it. We then see Polly in a satin lilac dress and feather boa - an outfit that is reminiscent of a sex worker in western times, which is abundantly the role Polly plays in this video. Interestingly enough, even though she plays a character who is a sex worker, she still remains not excessively sexualised (unlike most music videos today). She is surrounded by men and behaves in a seductive way towards them.
This entire scene contrasts greatly against the next scene in Polly's bedroom. We have a birds-eye-view shot of her bed as she lies down, in her underwear, singing about the man she misses. Her loneliness and lack of men surrounding her contrasts greatly from when she was at the bar (?). We then see Polly standing in a dark room with one small lit square on her face as she changes into a loosely fitting shirt which we can only assume belongs to the partner she misses. Her makeup is greatly smudged, fitting into the high emotions she must be feeling at the moment. She slides down the wall, her face leaving the lit box, to then sit and watch footage of her and her partner. The footage is very pure and happy, whereas Polly's reaction shots are very dead and unhappy. In the footage she is smiling and lifelike, whereas the Polly watching the video is a completely different person.
After a brief few shots of the home footage, a sudden jump is made in the narrative of the music video. Polly has captured the man she is singing about and has managed to tie him up in a way so that his arms are embracing her. This is a very literal metaphor for her managing to make him stay and make him love her. As the song is already a desperate cry for him to return, it seems Polly has to take desperate measures to make him come back. An important thing to note is that Polly's child isn't present at all throughout the video aside from in the old home videos. Perhaps, her partner only stayed because they had a baby and now the baby is no longer there, he feels there was no reason to stay.

Final Music Video - Explanation and Evaluation

(link if youtube link isn't working: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lns-vBNUDE3PZFsEIuUUmEEyQ5qRYyLc/view?usp=sharing )

Above is my final music video, in which I filmed in one sitting. I cut down 10 minutes of footage down to fit into a five and a half minute video. It is heavily inspired by Andy Warhol's test shots.
My editing process consisted of editing different shots to match the beat of the song. I believe this was successful mostly throughout the video and is definitely evident.
I wanted to follow the lustful vibe The Beatles created with the song originally. Also, I knew the song was already about Yoko Ono, so I went for the similar aesthetic to her most well-known photos.
Black and white, minimal and lots of dark hair. I thought I fit this look anyway (having been called Yoko Ono multiple times already anyway), so I thought I'd be best to model in my video. I also thought that it would be easier to just use myself as it would be easier to portray the image I want if I am fully in control of it.
The lighting in the studio I chose to use was butterfly. This was because it allowed more of an emphasis on my face and was the most flattering choice of lighting to use.

Evaluation

I feel like my music video was good. It looks high quality, 'high fashion' and professional, despite having been filmed, edited and completed in a total of four hours. I knew that this wasn't going to be something that would take so long so I knew that if I set aside at least 2 days, I would be able to complete it to the standard I wanted it to be. I didn't set an unrealistic expectation of special effects or over the top editing because I knew I wouldn't be able to achieve it. Production has never been a strong point for me and I wanted to produce a video that still allowed the audience to create their own meaning towards the song, rather than creating my own and forcing the audience to relate to something I have been through but they have not.
Initially, I planned to involve projections in my music video. I then realised I was slightly strapped for time, and that finding and filming footage for the projections would take extra time that I could spend on writing a good evaluation and polishing my research work, so I avoided adding projections to my video. I also felt that, for the final song choice I used, projections were unfitting. Projections would've been more ideal for an upbeat or electronic song (New Order - Fine Time or Aphex Twin - Produk) or for a song I would've put a more narrative based theme to (Kanye West - Runaway).
Making my music video as minimalist as possible can be incredibly powerful, so I feel like it was a good choice. Although it seems dire and maybe like an easy copout, I feel like allowing the audience to think for themselves and create a meaning of a song themselves. The only meaning I brought upon my audience through my video was lust, purely because the song is abundantly about wanting someone. Whether it be wanting someone sexually or in a bad way, the audience is allowed to develop this meaning themselves because both can be applied to the music video I made.
The minimalism could be perceived as boring or lazy to an audience who would prefer a more narrative based music video, as proven by my questionnaire. Though it is subjective, it definitely makes my music video lack in narrative progression. It makes it a bit boring.
The video is intentionally an uncomfortable watch. I did this because, although it may sound incredibly elitist and pretentious, I didn't want to make it too easily accessible to an audience that do not have such a strong understanding and appreciation of art. This links into my focus group with my arts friends, as they all consistently enjoyed it and were able to appreciate it they way I would have wanted it to be. The difficult-watch aspect of the video is also referential to John and Yoko's relationship. It was a strange relationship, in which Yoko was very much the focal point. She suddenly became such a huge part of John's life, and in this video, the dominance of Yoko's image in John's life is made clear by the fact that it is literally just her (me) and nothing else in the video.
My editing was almost perfect, I think. It wasn't as precise as I would've liked for it to have been, but it was pretty much on-beat for the majority of the video. As already stated, editing isn't a strong point of mine so to have even opened up Premiere Pro would be an improvement for me from what I would make before. Aside from cutting, the visual editing was perfect. I wanted the video to be black and white to fit the monochrome minimalistic aesthetic, and I did exactly that. I also managed to include the crossfade at the end for both the video and the audio, as otherwise the song would've ran over seven minutes long which would have ended up dragging a lot. I know my music video could be perceived as boring, dependant on the audience, but to make it last longer than it already does would make it incredibly boring regardless of audience perspective.
One issue I had with the making of my video was the lack of variety in models. Ideally, I would have had multiple girls rather than just myself, but that didn't really work out in the end. It was hard to find other people who fit the 60s minimalist aesthetic and I wanted to save the hassle of telling people to be posey etc, so I just used myself.
Another comment of criticism I will give to myself is that I could have edited blemishes out. This would have made the final piece of work look a lot more polished and professional. I could have either wore makeup (mise-en-scene) or edited it in After Effects or Premiere Pro.

Test Music Video - explanation and process

Above is a test music video I shot at home, mainly just in case I wasn't able to produce a more professional music video. The video is heavily inspired by my own personal home video tapes of me as a child, as I often used to like to film videos of myself singing with our old video camera in the Philippines:

Above: evidence of me both being a musical genius from an early age and also being the cutest child ever born.

The music video was filmed in one shot, which is why the performance wasn't phenomenal. I thought to myself that if I was definitely unable to create anything along the lines of my initial plan, that I could go back and re-record this music video with more oomph. I was pretty dead and it is definitely clear that even just pretending to perform isn't a strong point of mine, so if I was to proceed with this music video style then I'd have to either act up a lot more or get someone else who could do a lot better than me.

My choice of music was Big Time Sensuality by Bjork. I chose this song (and my Garfield sweater) to fit in with the 90s aesthetic and playfulness/silliness of the music video's concept.

The editing process was simple. 

I applied a lot of noise, channel blur and excessively sharpened my video to add the typical old VHS style look to my video to replicate the videos I would make as a child.

A criticism of this video is about my performance. I used this video as an example of a possible music video in my focus group and the main comment I received was that my performance was very lifeless and boring to watch. If I did have to go back and use this video as a base to work with, I would improve it by providing something more performance based. But it was also said that my editing to make it look 'vintage' was believable and of a high quality, which is definitely a big plus as editing has never been my strong point.

Music video analysis: Los Ageless by St Vincent

Above is St Vincent's 2017 single Los Ageless. The music video is a real spectacle, with so many aesthetically pleasing shots and with a beautiful mise-en-scene. As one comment in the Youtube comments section states, it is a like 'Black mirror in a pastel setting'. The music video doesn't have really have a narrative, it serves more of an aesthetic purpose. The visuals in this video play a huge part in the promotion of her album Masseduction, in which the visual theme is very dominatrix-based. The theme is achieved by a wardrobe consisting of mainly tight PVC outfits, no men in the video and quite emotionless expressions from Annie.
Annie has never actually stated specifically what or who the song is about, but from my own interpretation, I gather that there are 2 meanings to it. The chorus "How could anybody have you and lose you/How could anybody have you and lose you and not lose their minds too?" is abundantly about losing someone and not being able to cope greatly afterwards. However, the verses have different meanings in my opinion. However, it could also possibly be about being jealous of someone having their lover, in a more dominant manner linking into the dominatrix theme this album holds. The verses talk about Los Ageless, where "the winter never comes" and "the mothers milk their young". It is describing the current state of Beverly Hills, with a possible reference to the Kardashians (mothers milk their young - could be talking about Kris Jenner's empire made from her five daughters) and the fact that it is always sunny, as the winter never comes. The music video further backs my theory as it shows emotionless people in hair salons and Annie sitting in a chair in a plastic surgeons' office with her face being pulled at by people. The other women in the video being emotionless is significant because it is a common stereotypical trait of young people who follow the Kardashians etc these days.
Annie is in the centre of most shots, purely because it is her song and the focal point needs to be on her. According to Goodwin, star appeal is very important as fans of an artist will flock to whatever media the star produces as long as they play a part in it. In this instance, it is particularly important as the music video has a slightly sexual nature. Due to this, the video becomes even more appealing as it can appeal to a more passive audience that might only be interested in her music and the video because of what she/the rest of the cast looks like. There is also a sense of star appeal with her use of her Ernie Ball signature model guitar.
The bridge end of the song confirms my theory about one part of the song being about losing someone and not coping well afterwards. The lyrics "I'm a monster and you're my sacred cow!" suggest that Annie feels as though she has done wrong to the one she has lost and is aware of that. The lyrics hold a sense of guilt. However, it could mean something else in line with the whole dominatrix theme of the album, as could the chorus. It could all just really be about a BDSM relationship or dominating someone. Much like the Bjork music video I previously analysed.

Questionnaire results

The first piece of research I conducted was a very short, brief questionnaire on www.surveymonkey.com
I chose to do a short, brief survey because I felt like a quantitative form of data would be easier to analyse in the end. It was also easily accessible to a larger group of people as it wasn't a survey asking people to listen to three 5 minute long songs and asking for their in-depth opinion about them. Due to this, I was able to get a fair few responses. Though not as in-depth as some, I still gained a lot of response to work with.
I provided a link on my social media accounts, of which don't have the biggest outreach because my social medias are all private, and received 31 responses which I think is a good amount. Due to the only people I asked being the people from my social media, it would imply that my demographic is mainly alternative music fans bar maybe two or three people who took it. It also means that the main age demographic is 17-20 year olds, aside from one person. Due to this, it could be argued that my survey isn't an accurate representation of a mainstream audience - which is completely right, however I wouldn't want my music video to appeal to a passive, mainstream audience.
The first question I asked was; What genre of music do you prefer?

My findings for this question were that more people prefer classic rock suck as The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, etc. In second place was rap music. These two were no surprise as these were the most popular genres of music out of the five. The purpose of me asking this question was to help me understand what kind of song for a music video my audience would prefer.

The second question I asked was; What gender do you identify as?

Though this question doesn't necessarily host any direct relevancy to the music, I felt that it would be relevant in understanding my outreach and the demographic of people I am focussing on. And, as no surprise, music remains male dominated for both fans and creators.

The third question I asked was ; What kind of music video do you prefer?

This question was incredibly relevant to my research, as I was torn between making a performance-based music video with someone acting as the artists chosen or the projector/artsy/visual style music video. I included the option of story-based to allow people to vote for it as I knew that it would be something people would prefer. Even still, more people preferred the option I originally intended to go for anyway, thus further encouraging me to pursue my original idea.

My fourth question was ; Which decade do you feel had the best music?

I asked this question because it would help me narrow down what song to use and it would also help me narrow down what era's music videos to analyse. Though 80s had the strongest outcome, I chose to mainly analyse music videos from the 90s and 2000s. This is due to these music videos being easier to recreate (as it is the most recent eras out of the ones available) and I started the analysis before beginning my research.

My fifth question was ; Do you watch music videos?

I asked this question to allow me to understand if music videos are actually still relevant in today's society. Music videos are something I personally thought were outdated as channels like MTV and 4music are hardly relevant today, and MTV doesn't even show music videos as much as they used to. I also thought because of the rise in streaming platforms, music has become a lot easier to listen to and the need for music videos was no longer a thing. However, I was wrong, and it is proven by my findings above. People still watch music videos on youtube.

The sixth question I asked was ; Does the quality of music video impact whether or not you like the song?

I asked this question to gain a little bit more insight onto what people thing about music videos and what they want to see. My results suggest that music videos are still relevant, but just not as important. Music videos act as a nice addition to a song as opposed to being the main reason why someone would like it. Music videos have a far more promotional purpose.

The seventh question I asked was ; Do you prefer it when a song has a special meaning to you or would you rather they be more of a story being told by the artist about their lives?

I found from this question that my music video should remain not heavily narrative based as it could be. It won't allow my audience to be able relate to them and develop a meaning specific to themselves, which is what people seem to prefer from my findings.

The eighth question I asked was ; Out of the two, which style of music video do you prefer?

Asking this question allowed me to understand whether or not I would create a performance based music video or a more artistic video. I didn't provide the option for a narrative based video because I knew I wouldn't want to do that.

The ninth question I asked was ; Which song do you prefer?

Abundantly, this question would help me to decide out of the three which song to focus on. And, by a very very tiny gap, The Beatles won, and due to this, my music video will be focussed on them.

Andrew Goodwin's music video theory

According to Goodwin, music videos have 5 key aspects:

• Relationship between the song and the visuals
• Narrative and performance of the song
• Technical aspect of the music video
• Star image from the protagonist (celebrity musician) with a lot of shots of the musician to make them the centre of attention
• Thought through beat (seeing what the lyrics mean in the audience's head - this is the first step)

Thought through Beat
This is the first step, in which the music structure is analysed, allowing an understanding of the verses and chorus to be made. Second, the voice of the song must be analysed. The artists' voice can be incredibly unique, providing a sense of identification for the artist or allowing a trademark sound, linking into their star image. Thirdly, Goodwin notes the artists' mode of address. Songs can be perceived as stories and the artist is the storyteller. An example of this is Babooshka by Kate Bush, as attached below:

Though the music video doesn't follow the narrative of the song, the song is still telling a story.

Star Image
This is when the artist has a significant look that can be seen in many different types of their media whatever it is. It is a vital aspect to music videos as it allows people to associate different traits to certain artists. Meta narrative displays the artist's development over time and plays an important part in the music video production process.
Examples are:

Above - Depeche Mode (1990) and in 1988. Leather and 'bondage' fashion is significant of the band and black leather was something that fans were able to associate with the band and even followed the style themselves, as seen in the film 101.

This further highlights the importance of star image and fan interaction.

Narrative & Performance
Songs don't provide a complete narrative. Songs only provide parts of the meaning of the song and we make up our own opinions of the meanings we associate to the songs. Goodwin states that music videos should ignore common narrative, as it is important in their role of advertising to do so. Music videos should have coherent repeatability. Narrative and performance work hand in hand, making it easier for the audience to watch over and over without losing interest. At least, for a passive audience anyway. The artist acting as both narrator and participant of the music video helps to increase the authenticity of the video. However, lip syncing and other mimed actions to follow the song much remains the main common convention of music videos.

Technical Aspects
These are shot types, camera angles, mise-en-scene, editing and other special effects.
Music videos often have editing that follows the beat/pace of the song, close-ups and quick editing cuts for dance sequences or close-up shots for music videos that have sexual themes. Linking into star image, lots of close-ups of the artist's faces are used to allow the audience to identify with their favourite artist. Mise-en-scene can also link into star image because the artist may be wearing clothes of their trademark style. Mise-en-scene also needs to look professional and of a high quality.

Relationship between the Song and the Visuals
There are 3 ways in which music videos work to promote a song:
-Illustrate
Music videos can use a unique set of images to illustrate the meaning of the lyrics and genre.
-Amplify
This is similar to repeatability. Meanings and effects are manipulated, being constantly shown throughout the video and drummed into the audience's vision.
-Disjuncture
This is when the meaning of the song is completely ignored and a visual that is irrelevant to the song is used.

Bibliography
Goodwin, A. (1993). Dancing in the distraction factory. London: Routledge.