Proof of communication with client - 1

Above is a screengrab from my iMessage conversation with my client Mel Barlow, secretary and committee member of Bentley Road Sports and Social Club. Here I am asking him if I can join Will's team in filming and editing a promotional video for the establishment.

Promotional Video Analysis: Softbank & Tommy Lee Jones (With analysis of Japanese advertising)

This advertisement is from Japanese mobile phone network providers Softbank, featuring the American actor Tommy Lee Jones and the famous Softbank dog 'Oto-san' (means Father). He is the patriarch of the family, in which Jones plays an alien who has come to earth to study human beings. Japan is known for having such bizarre commercials and this definitely is in that category. Though, this is more normal in comparison to some.
The commercial is advertising the new and improved Softbank connection, and shows a customer getting frustrated about his area not yet receiving upgraded connection. The commercial has a comedic and lighthearted approach, rather than an overly informative and boring approach. The advert doesn't actually provide any information until the end, which is even still not alot of information other than the fact that the connection is upgrading from area to area.
An effective convention Softbank use is having a familiar face throughout their advertisements. That familiar face is Oto-san, the dog. Softbank have done over 100 adverts with the dog, which is a friendly face for both adults and children in the audience.
Japanese commercials are typically more outrageous because advertisers do not prioritise the message, they instead prioritise entertainment. A Japanese advertiser's thought process is that if the product or company is associated with happy thoughts, it is a positive thing. This is why Japanese commercials have catchy songs (see below for 1. Giga Pudding song), bright colours (see below for 2. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu KFC commercial) or famous celebrities advertising products (see below for 3. Ayumi Hamasaki commercial). Japanese commercials are also typically shorter than western ones, so they either have the choice of cramming in alot of information into an incredibly short space of time or creating an image or song that sticks with the audience's mind, thus typically ending up being rather whacky or significant. Here are some more examples of Japanese commercials:

1. Giga Pudding

2. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Krushems

3. Ayumi Hamasaki for Panasonic Lumix

Promotional Video Analysis: An Idiot Abroad 2

Above is one of the commercials from Sky for Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington's An Idiot Abroad. It is a simple clip from the first series in which Karl insists, whilst on the phone to Ricky and Stephen, that he will not participate in a second series. The advertisement is ironically funny because it is literally advertising the one thing he said he wasn't going to do.
This type of advertisement is a preview, but not specifically for the forthcoming series as it is a clip from the series prior. The advertisement must have been incredibly effective as the first episode of the second series had an audience of 2.66 million, almost double the final episode of the first series which was 1.6 million.
The clip ends with Ricky and Stephen laughing loudly at Karl's refusal to do another series. Karl says they've "got his heart going now". The pair's laughter is foreshadowing the next series, whether it be staged or not, it fits well with the whole comedic concept of Ricky and Stephen managing to get Karl to do things he never would have done without their influence. Very similar to how It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia episodes start. An example is below:

Aside from right at the end, there is no voice over or no description or no specific language used to sell the TV show. It is just audio from the phone conversation between the Karl and Ricky about Sky wanting a new series. This is because the three are already famous, they need no introduction. The first series was already quite a hit (with the average episode attracting 1.5 million viewers) and their radio show on XFM was incredibly popular, alongside shows like the original UK version of The Office and Extras, the trio have already gained enough popularity for their star appeal to be effective. The voiceover at the end just announces the name of the new series, "An Idiot Abroad, The Bucket List, the new series, coming soon, Sky 1 HD". This is literally all the information the audience needs as many of them will have seen the series prior.

Promotional Video Analysis : Depeche Mode Tour PV (Event Coverage)

Above is one of the many commercials for Depeche Mode's one off 2017 show in London's West Ham stadium. The promotional video consists of a montage of the band's 2009-2010 Tour of the Universe to live audio of the band's songs Sooth My Soul and Never Let Me Down Again It is a very simple commercial, providing only really the essential information required: the date, location and who is performing. The voiceover reads "Don't miss your chance to see one of modern music's most influential bands play live in London", which is a technique of convincing customers to join the bandwagon. It almost suggests that the band are never coming back to London, despite them actively going on world tours every four years. Telling the customer that they will "miss out" is singling them out and encouraging them to join the bandwagon.
This commercial is short and sweet. Depeche Mode are already an internationally well-known band and their name sells themselves, so they do not need a huge advertisement campaign like a lot of artists. This commercial in particular was not shown on TV but was shown only on the Live Nation Facebook page and Youtube channel. Even with this, the concert sold out incredibly quickly (66,000 seats sold out in under an hour) alongside the later dates announced.

Defining my business objective - Initial Plans

The objective of my promotional video is to advertise and promote Nervous Records record store in Hinckley. Nervous Records is a predominantly secondhand music shop that has been open since 1978. The shop is definitely one of my favourite places to spend time whether it be actually looking for a record I want or looking to discover new music. I feel that the shop is a hidden gem in Hinckley and considering there aren't many record stores like this around, it should be attracting a lot more visitors but unfortunately it doesn't. I have noticed, as have been a frequent visitor for the past few years, that not many people are in here when I visit. The shop is popular amongst die-hard music fans, but not so much more, as other shops like HMV and Amazon are readily available for those who are unfortunately not bothered by where they are sourcing their goods.

Nervous Records currently has a Facebook page and a Discogs page, but no other social media. Posting the promotional video I intend to make will hopefully increase the shop's social media following, thus further increasing the amount of customers the store receives.

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.