21. Feedback on pop promo package from the band HOUSE.

Of course, those opinions who's matter most is our clients - the band HOUSE. If we were to make a music video as a real job and were getting paid for it, its the most important thing to make sure the client is happy with the final product because they are the ones on screen who will ultimatly want to make money off it, promote themselves and impress followers, fans or potential buyers.

My group and I were fairly nervous on the way to meeting our band, hoping they are happy with the work we have created - plus we havnt seem them since filming them a few months back! The whole band apart from the lead singer turned up to view our video, which was unfortunate because the singer was the main focus throughout. Our band, plus a few members of another band crowed round our sceen in excitement to see their very first music video, when the video ended the first thing I heard was 'Wow! that was really good, I'm really happy with that!' - Lead guitarist.

We then needed to get some feedback - hopefully with complete honesty, it was evident the band seemed genuine throughout the discussion, but we needed to bare in mind that the band did not have the same knowledge of media terms as we do

1. Are you happy with how you are portrayed?
"Yes, it was awesome! I honestly didn't think it would be like that - I really liked it." (Lead guitarist)

"Yeh I've never made a video before so that's really cool, we look like a proper band - Do you have this on Youtube? I wanna show people (laughs)" (Drummer)

2. What did you like best about it?

"Well I really liked the shot with the camera tied on the end of the guitar with the close up of my fingers playing it, it's such a cool shot - I've never seen that before! It looks like I'm actually playing it...but honestly, I liked all of it" - (Lead guitarist)

"Yeh I liked that shot, I also like how you have so many different shots - there was loads" (Guitarist)

"To be honest I cant even remember making that video (laughs) but yeh it's quite good isn't it!" (Alex - Guitarist)

"I like the shots of all the people kissing, the narrative bit. I didn't realise you were going to do it but it works well, it would of just been boring if it was us playing the whole time" (Drummer)
"Oh, and that end bit - where you zoom into my hand after the last strum of the guitar, that's pretty cool" - (Lead guitarist)
"I really wasn't expecting the quality of the cameras to be like that either" - (Guitarist)

3. Is there anything your unhappy with?
"Hmm I'm not sure really, I think there was too many close up shots of the singer James if im honest - there's too much of that" - (Lead Guitarist) (All agree)
"I'm not too keen on that hand held shot of James either really" - (Alex - Guitarist)
"I can't really think of anything, but as a musician, I could tell we wern't really playing live - you can tell I wasn't hitting the symbol" - (Drummer)
"Yeh I noticed that too - the same with the guitars that wern't plugged in. You notice these things and it didn't look proffessional. I guess thats not your fault though!" (Guitarist)

4. What do you think of the pace and rythm?
"Yeh it worked really well with the song, it was quite fast and there were loads of shots so there was so much to look at. How did you do that?" - (Guitarist)
"Well I wish we could have chose our own song because I'm sure we could make a better rythm! - but yeh, I like what you've done with it" - (Drummer)

5. What would you have done differently?
"I'm not sure really, I would probably use more props, make the set more interesting I rekon" - (Guitarist)
"Yeh I probably wouldn't want to do it in that same set, It would of been good to have a proper location" - (Alex - Guitarist)
What about outside?
"Yeh, yeh outside! that would have been good" - (Alex - Guitarist)
"Yeh outside would be good, but I suppose it would be hard to take all the equipment out wont it, plus it was winter!" (Lead guitarist)

6. Would you make a music video again?

"Yeh deffinatly! it was quite tedious at the time having to do it over and over - but now I've seen how it turns out, yeh!" (Lead guitarist)

"Yeh I would, it was fun - I feel like a proper musician now, I wish I could do more! (Alex - Guitarist)

"I wish we could do it again, I wasn't feeling well at all that day so I wish I could have put more energy into it" - (Drummer)

7. Would you hire us if you become famous and need a music video? (laughs)

"Haha, yeh I dont see why not - you done a good job!" - (Alex - Guitarist)

(written by Emily Stansfield)

3. Group target audience report.

Male and female group target audience summary.
After much deliberation a summary of our typical audience has been produced.
The typical audience for the genre of our pop promo would be of someone who enjoyed this type of music obviously.
Newfound glory and bands similar sing and write songs about having fun, not working too hard and being rebellious.


A lot of the participants that we asked in the survey who were fans of this particular genre said that what they enjoyed most with the pop punk genre is the live performances that they give. This was helpful toward warning our band HOUSE to increase their performance energy during their video shoot to really impress followers such as those we had answer our questions.
Therefore the typical age range of listeners I would put to this type of genre/band would be of the age of 14-30.
Why I have chosen so young is due to the age of adolescence and that one begins to find themselves and start to make their own choices and actions at this age.
Typical pop punk bands such as newfound glory play on their immaturity not only in their songs but also the music videos that they make. Being the age of 14, newfound glory may appeal more to younger ears and to those who have grown up listening to other pop punk bands such as NOFX and Blink 182.
　

If needed to be categorized then our potential audience would be classified to be of a social grade C2 and their VALS to be between strivers and experiences as this covers more of what our believed audience will be, which is a young age with expendable money to buy new clothes, food and in general enjoy what life has to offer but also want to achieve something as well as emulate those that they admire such as the artists of the pop-punk genre. Both of these have definite aspects that were easy to use and relate to the followers of the pop-punk genre.
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

Rough idea of the pop promotional package

Our music promo is covering a broad spectrum of shots and characters. The main bulk of the video contains the band performing their song in a studio. With this a black curtain has been used to block any light from reflecting of the walls. Hard lighting as well as soft lights were used to focus most of the viewers attention onto the members of the bands.
The added extras to the music videos are to have a part narrative of a couple in love walking and flirting in a split screen sequence (similar to that of the TV series 24) but also to have a vast collection of shots of couples and friends kissing, seeing as this is the main idea of the song.



The CD cover and magazine advert will both be similar in the sense of the design.
The design will be stills from our music video (mainly of the bands performance within the studio).
These will be arranged into a collage covering the entire front and back of the cd. The colours used will be very vibrant and uplifting just like the mood that is felt when in love.
Inside of the CD will be a booklet which is found amongst all other CD’s that are brought but in ours it will be a variety of stories from our kissing couples on how they met and their feelings to one another.



The magazine advert will be the same design as the CD cover but with the addition of details which will include tour dates. Release dates of singles and album and reviews from magazines and interviewees.
The band will be placed within the background so that it can develop as much understanding to the public as possible of who these people are and what they look like. This way the target audience/listeners, which will be those that listen to rock/Indy music will be able to instantly associate themselves due to the similarities between dress sense and hairstyles.
More importantly website addresses, face book and twitter accounts will all be printed amongst the magazine advert so that it makes it very difficult for the band to not be found.

Test footage of the split screen effect

Our main idea was to follow suit of a dance track ‘alors on danse’. this dance tracks music video is all split screened and the way it was done was fantastic.
With this in mind we as a group were determined to set out to achieve a split screened narrative of our music video.
Firstly we did some tests, some with no movement whatsoever so that we could get a general understanding of how to accomplish the split screened effect. (It was quite tricky to begin with just getting your head round the filming two different footages from either the left or right side of the camera).
Then we got to trying the effect whilst the person walks. This is what created a problem!
Reason being that the equipment that we had on offer wasn’t able to provide a stable enough shot once the camera person began to walk also. All we had were steady cam’s but these were of the lowest quality therefore hardly providing any aid once movement began.
The walking effect was also lost during the filming stage but the still split screen test luckily wasn’t.

22. Completed pop promo

21. First audience review of our rough edit viewing

First viewing of our rough edit to an audience received many good reviews which helped increase the groups confidence as a whole due to our previous ‘scrapping’ of our original narrative idea. Once we had to re-think an idea for more of a performance based narrative and not a conceptual type, the confidence we had had before was beginning to waver due to the music video beginning to feel not as strong as it had been. Therefore our first screening definitely helped to boost it back up to previous levels.


Firstly the overall belief was that it faired well with the genre of pop-punk. That the band was definitely performing to their fullest, such is seen from previous pop-punk bands such as blink 182 and sum 41 (bands that have been analyzed in previous posts) Also an overall sense of achievement was felt once the audience likened it to ‘Newfound Glory’ and the type of music videos they made. This was excellent due to ‘Newfound Glory’ were the band that our band were covering!
There was also agreement that the clothes worn helped to convey a more comfortable approach to a band performance instead of having them wear matching tops or accessories etc which was good to hear, especially as the band had wanted this also. The production values were favoured. The shots used especially the zoom into and out of certain band members performing was enjoyed as again it helped to convey a more comfortable perception of the video as well as creating a point of view approach to the music video and also helped to compete against standard conventions of music videos that are seen today. Due to zooming in and out of band performances is a rarity now.


Mise-en-scene such as location used was favoured throughout. The fact that lighting had been used from the top of the studio and from the back of the performers helped to cast a shadow upon aspects of the bands face as well as giving of a slightly angelic effect upon their skin, causing it to glow.
One piece of cinematography that truly stood out to many was the handheld shot of the lead singer. This was created by giving the camera to the lead singer to hold when performing as if to express the feeling that he is singing to you the viewer and you only.
The chosen narrative to replace our previous idea was to collect a large amount of shots of kissing couples from the general public. This again was to convey a more comfortable/natural approach to the music video which was agreed as a whole from the audience. This certain aspect was considered one of the best parts of the music video.


Editing was suggested as good overall and that the pace of which it was being cut too helped to make the music video a success. Specific parts of the video the audience favoured due to the editing is when the chorus of the song begins to end. In this we chose to cut between the different shots that we had of the band to the quickened beat of the song as the chorus ends and the next verse of the song continues.


Specific improvements that were advised to take were as follows. It wasn’t necessarily the band performance that was required to change but the performance based narrative that we had chosen. Firstly a blur into the shots of our kissing couples was believed to be felt a good idea as this would soften the transition from band performance to kissing couples. Secondly, the colour of the kisses should be different. This was due to the colour of the band performance was mainly of a black backdrop with lighting involved to add character to the shoot. This added a more black and white approach to the performance.
These shots of our kissing couples were full of colour and it was criticised by the audience as creating a slight juxtapositioning to the two different shoots. And lastly there was a desire by all to add more shots of kissing couples as it was felt that there wasn’t enough in the music video.


Overall, not too bad a review for a first viewing of our rough edit!

7. Similar music video analysis

The music video I am analysing is ‘blink 182 all the small things’. This is another band similar to ‘newfound glory’ and its genre, pop-punk. They are also signed to Geffen records, same as ‘newfound glory’.

The videos main stand out feature is the continuous parodying of artists that do not follow the same stylistics that make pop-punk. These consist of Christina Aguilera’s ‘genie in a bottle’ video, backstreet boys ‘I want it that way’ and more. This music video by blink 182 helps to establish them as a comical pop-punk band. After my continuous research throughout pop-punk music videos, this seems to be the style/look they all tend to strive for…..a humorous one. The interesting use of locations mimicking the artists they are parodying makes it interesting to look at as it entices you to see more as well as whom else is going to be targeted next. One that works very well is the evening shot of the band lying on the beach picking daisies together. This is the Christina parody shot. Specific dress attire used again mimics the artists they are copying such as the all white suits previously worn by ‘backstreet boys’. This is very beneficial as it makes the viewer instantly aware of who is being copied. Only the popular music videos are what’s being parodied as this will be easier for the viewer to notice. On most of the performances the panning shot is used (left to right and vice versa). Some including a fish bowl lens. Similarities of performance cinematography can be seen between the sum41 song ‘into deep’ and ‘all the small things’.

Throughout the music video the action that is seen on screen cuts to the beat of the song perfectly. This is something that every music video does simultaneously apart from the ones that are deliberately trying to make it uncomfortable, even then its pretty closely cut still. Solo instrumentals are specially used on the drummer and the majority of the artists singing along to the song. Its possible that the drummer is used due to the fact that they are usually at the back of the band when performing therefore not spending to much time in front of the camera. This way, the inclusion of him erases the possibilities of excluding him from the public eye.

This music video is to be sold as a parody of past artists music videos. Blink 182 have been promoted especially in this music video as a band that do-not take themselves too seriously. Something that has been stressed to the fans of the music also. Again, as mentioned before, pop-punk genre seems to follow this mantra through their music and music videos alike. If a newfound glory video were to be watched and then a blink 182 or a sum 41 music video next. There would be instant recognition that pop-punk is what’s being viewed just by the style of childish humour that’s gets expressed.

Voyeurism is rampant throughout the video, mainly of the band but also there happens to be a lone women in the shoot who just so happens to be semi naked and attractive. As well as this there also contains a lot of hip gyrating from band members to entice a sexual meaning from this, or to just take the pee out of past music videos. This video might appeal also to a gay following due to the alluring glances of the semi naked band even though it is all in humorous manner.

The use of Intertextual references is the main idea/purpose for this music video. As mentioned before, a large deal of the music video is filled with parodies of past music videos such as Christina Aguilera’s ‘genie in a bottle’. The way in which its used is by using aspects of the locations, lighting and clothes that were from the previous music videos and integrating them into the bands imitative take of it. Blink 182 music video ‘all the small things’ is performance based. It sees the band performing but to how the original artist they are imitating would have done so. Such as Christina Aguilera was laying by a beach surrounded by flowers. In this the lead singer of blink 182 does the same thing. Overall the music video promotes the band very well. They show what type of band your dealing with which in this case a band that doesn’t take themselves too seriously and what’s to make pop-punk genre something where fun is all that is to be had. From previous pop promos such as ‘what’s my age again’ there seems to be a continually naked themed approach to some of blink 182 music videos. This helps to initiate their fun approach to music/life and this is also re-initiated into ‘all the small things’. This therefore keeps the audience/fans of the band understandable of what to expect when watching them.