Music Video Pre-Production

The Nature and Purposes of Research in the Creative Media Industries

Primary research is the finding of information by the people who are using it first hand. This includes questionnaires, interviews and surveys and provides qualitative data, as it is  for the specific subject you are researching for.

Some examples of primary research I did would be the surveys I created after the production of the videos.

Examples of primary research within my projects would be the surveys I created for my ESting and Unilever Cif advert, in order to gather feedback from people who watched them.

Secondary research consists of obtaining previously recorded research, such as censuses, statistics or commonly accessible documents and information. This research provides quantitative data, as there is an abundance of it and less time and money is required to perform it. This research isn't specific to the target audience or subject in mind, however, as the research was previously done for a different reason and may not fit your specific purposes.

Some examples of secondary research I did would be researching through websites and documents, looking up statistics and searching for details of laws and regulations that I would need to follow.

Examples of where I have used secondary research in my projects would be the extensive research I did on mental health, for my Three Minute Wonder, and the research I did on Unilever, for my Cif advert, in order to decide which product to create an advert for.

Quantitative research is numerical data, often found in secondary data. This data can include surveys, statistics and reviews. Examples of quantitative data would be the surveys I created in order to collect feedback regarding my ESting and Cif advert.

Qualitative research is more detailed data, often containing facts, opinions and criticisms. This may include results from interviews, detailed and elaborative answers to questionnaires and explanations of previously supplied quantitative data. This would include the questions in my surveys where I asked the participant to supply their opinion of the product.

The Broadcasters Audience Research Board, or BARB, are responsible for the compilation and documentation of audience statistics and television ratings. They offer information on viewing figures for most, if not all, channels, in weekly and monthly increments. 

The Radio Joint Audience Research (RaJAR) company gather audience statistics, much like the BARB, only with regards to radio listening figures as opposed to television viewing figures. 

Kantar Media (formerly TNS) are a Philippines-based media statistic research company who focus on a wide range of media outlets, including social media and advertising. They cover a wide variety of countries and are similar to the previous two companies, but focus on in-depth reports, as opposed to the simple format that RaJAR and BARB favour.

Audience and Market research focuses on finding out preferences of the people towards whom the product is aimed and allows for a product to be specifically made to suit the target audience or market. The use and analysis of demographics and psychographics is included in this and helps define the specific audience which the product is best aimed at and aids in audience profiling. Audience and Market research also consider the positioning and effects of different kinds of adverts, in order for them to effectively connect with different kinds of people.

Most Production research is done in pre-production and focuses on organising all necessary requirements in order for actual production to commence. This includes planning out the content of the media product and whether what you've planned is appropriate, feasible and flows well. Budgeting for production comes under production research as well, as you need to have a thorough understanding of how much financial support you would require. You would also have to confirm the release of locations and talent, so that you can legally use the content you have.

Styles, Conventions and Techniques Prezi

The Purpose of Music Videos

Videos have been used as an accompaniment to music since the invention of the Panoram Soundie, in 1941. Since then, the development of the music video has progressed, notably, throughout the decades, starting with the musical themed films of the 50s. The early 60s heralded the dawn of the British music chart shows, such as Top of the Pops, and American television soon followed suit. In 1975, Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody sets the bar for modern music videos, introducing visual effects which were ground-breaking for the time. The 80s made way for further development, beginning with the launch of the ever-popular television channel MTV and many top quality music videos were released throughout this decade. The 2000s bring forth a new opportunity for musicians, with the creation of video distribution platforms, such as YouTube and Vimeo, which still provide even the smallest of artists access to distribution and recognition. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the purpose music videos and the means at which these goals can be achieved.

Producer strategies are the means at which a creator strives to release their product to an audience. An artist will use their video as a means to broadcast their art to their audience and even further afield, to people interested in similar music genres or even people wishing to broaded their musical interests. By having an identifiable icon or logo, the band or artist can form an image that fans and the general population can associate with their music, such as Bulletproof Bombs graffiti logo, in the music video for Suitcase. Bands such as Gorillaz use music videos to make their image or gimmicks known, and became popular very quickly due to them. Gorillaz use a unique animation style to create an identifiable and image that intrigues a prospective audience. The fact that the band members consist of 4 entirely virtual characters and a famous comic book artist and the lead singer of an incredibly popular BritPop band adds to the allure, as this lineup - along with their alternative broadcasting style - is completely unique to this band. Artists also may decide to use a specific director, due to the fame of director and the publicity gained from their popularity and previous exploits. Lady gaga often chooses well-known individuals from the artistic sector to direct her music videos, such as photographer Nick Knight, who worked on the video for Born This Way. She also selected famous director Francis Lawrence for her Bad Romance music video, because of his involvement in the film I Am Legend and her admiration for Will Smith.

Different artists use different production methods in order to attract the right audience and maintain their image. Mainstream artists, such as Beyonce, have a large fan base but less control over what they produce, due to the control their record label has. Although the label can provide them with abundant funding, the artist will need to appeal to the wider target audience and must keep up an appropriate appearance for the diverse following. This would mean that broadcasting through television, on channels such as MTV or MTV2, would be a popular choice for mainstream artists. The YouTube channel Vevo uploads many popular mainstream musicians' videos and is one of the most popular forums for mainstream music publication.
Independent artists are more likely to have less funding, due to either not belonging to a record label or, at least, not a well known one. They also have a more specific or niche audience and their videos, due to the lower budget, would most likely have a more rustic, unpolished or homemade appeal to them. These types of music videos are most likely to be featured on the artist's personal website, social media or YouTube channel or on any of their independent record label's websites or social media. Self-producing artists, like Area 11, have only their own funding and resources available, in order to broadcast their videos to their audience. Although they don't have the financial support from a record label, this also means the artist has the most control over the creative content. You will most commonly find self-producing artists' music videos on sites such as SoundCloud or YouTube.

Extension of income is the concept that, even though the track may have been released years prior, the artist (and their record label if they have one) still gets the opportunity for income, in the form of royalties, every time their song is played or the video is aired. Access to these royalties has become easier over the years, as music has spread from radio, to television and to the internet, with billions of people accessing this media every day. When an artist's audience initially came from solely audio, the ability for people to put images to the music created an innovative method of gaining income and publicity, which was only further accelerated by the ever-developing platforms upon which people can view these music videos. Now, there are many outlets available, including many varying music television channels, which broadcast 24/7 and publicly accessible sites, most notably YouTube and SoundCloud, which can be accessed whenever and wherever, globally.

Synergistic marketing is the method at which artists and  record labels can collaborate in order to increase each others popularity through association. Whenever a product is featured in a music video, like the Beats Pill featured in Miley Cyrus' music video for her song We Can't Stop, it creates a mental link for the audience and creates a association between this product, the popular artist and their song. Often, the artist and label are paid to feature this product, along with being given samples, and the company then gets a boost is sales, due to this form of promotional adverting. Seeing your favourite artist with a fancy new product is likely to cause the audience to desire it, in order to appear high class and fashionable.


To conclude, music videos offer an insight into an artist's message that may not be able to be offered by audio alone. The choice to have a popular director can spur on the growth in popularity of an artist, likewise, if they use a unique gimmick or image. They can be used for extending the target audience, depending upon what platform the artist decides to upload on and are a key source of income for many musicians. Marketing within the videos can add to the artist's image and popularity also, but this should not overwhelm the video, so much as it just becomes a glorified advertisement.

Introduction to the Band and Analysis of Music Videos

I chose Versus by Area 11, because I found the song had more of a meaning than other, more basic songs. I had also listened to this song so many times that I already had a vague idea of how to create a narrative music video for it. I have enjoyed this style of music for many years now and I feel very inspired to create in collaboration with it.

Area 11 are a Bristol-based band, in affiliation with popular YouTube gaming group The Yogscast, who create content based upon videogames, roleplay and comedy. Area 11 formed in 2010, in Nottingham. Initially, the band’s creators based the majority of their songs on Japanese animes, which allowed them to create their own genre of music; Gaijin or ‘foreigner’ rock. Initially, the band consisted of singer and synth player Tom "Sparkles*" Clarke, Luke Owens performing lead guitar and vocals and Alex "Parv" Parvis on rhythm guitar. Later on, in 2010, Leo Taylor joined as the drummer of the band. In 2011, Tim Yearsley joined as bassist, but left part way through the year, to be replaced shortly after by their current bassist, Jonathon "Kogie" Kogan. In late 2012, Owens left the band and Parvis took over the role of lead guitarist. Initially, the band was signed to the Yogscast Studios record label, due to Clarke and Parvis' employment by the group but, following their resignation in 2014, Clarke went on to create is own label, known as Smihilism Records.

Shi No Barado was released in April, 2013 and reached number 1 in the UK Breakers charts during the following month. It beat Macklemore, We The Kings and AWOLNATION to the spot. In the performance scenes, the band members are sporting matching formal wear, consisting of black waistcoats, white shirts and black ties. In Beckii's scenes, she is wearing what is known to the Japanese as the otona kawaii style, which is a form of mature yet cute attire. In the dream scene, she maintains a cute look, but with a more alternative theme. The majority of the filming was done on the Isle of Man, with locations including Beckii's house, the Villa Marina, a forest, a harbour and, during one of the last scenes, a lighthouse. Beckii wore normal face-up, with accentuated eyes. She used eyeliner, mascara and false lashes, to make her eyes seem larger. This song is a love song, in the genre of Gaijin Rock. I believe the image they were trying to achieve is similar to that of Japanese music videos, but blending their commonly used themes with that of popular music videos from western culture.


This video was released in November of 2013. Heaven-Piercing Giga Drill was released on the album All The Lights In The Sky, in January of 2013, and then again, as a single in November of 2013. The band members are wearing casual clothing, in consistent black and white. This clothing choice is most likely due to the fact that this is a performance video and casual clothes allow a wider range of motion and more comfort. The entire video was shot in front of a green screen, to allow for effects to be projected onto the background. The lyrics are inspired by the anime Gurren Lagann, and have a lot of reference to it. This song is also of the Gaijin Rock genre and they have strived for a contemporary or modern image with this video.


The video for All The Lights In The Sky was released on the 1st of January, 2014. The video consists of shots of the song’s production. There are also artistic shots of Clevedon Bridge, sots of the band walking across Bristol Bearpit, along with travel shots of different areas. Te main footage is of the band walking across Bristol, with different angled shots. The footage is all black and white, with the band members wearing their own clothes. There is no solid narrative to this video. The song is a love song, with talks of sacrifice for love. The genre is Gaijin Rock, and this will be one of the last songs that they publicise as Gaijin Rock.

Research Dossier

Primary Research

Here is a link to my Cif survey
Here is a link to my survey results
Here is the questionnaire for my ESting

These are all examples of primary research, as I performed these and collected the results for myself and they are specific to the product.

Secondary Research

Here is a link to my "Research and Planning: ESting and the Brief" post.
Here is a link to MIND's anxiety page
Here is a link to MIND's depression page
Here is a link to MIND's body dysmorphia page
Here is a link to MIND's Schizophrenia page
Here is a link to MIND's Disassociative Identity Disorder page
Here is a link to MIND's self harm page

This is a prime example of secondary research, as I collected the information from an external source, mind.org.uk, and was preexisting and readily available to me.

Research & Planning: E4 & The Brief

E4 is owned by Channel 4 and was launched on the 18th of January, 2001, making the channel 15 years old. Shows regularly featured include American SitComs, like The Big Bang Theory, 2 Broke Girls and How I Met Your Mother, and popular British shows, such as Skins, The Inbetweeners and Misfits. These shows are generally aimed at teens or young adults and mainly include SitComs and teen dramas.
The primary target audience of E4 would be the older teens and young adults, probably of the B, C1 and E demographic categories, due to the mature nature of most of the content and the comedy aspect included in these programmes. These people would probably be of the Aspirer or Explorer Psychographics. The secondary audience of E4 would be Middle aged adults, because they would relate to situations occurring within the shows, as they are more likely to have experienced something similar already. Channel 4 are also responsible for other channels, such as Kerrang!TV, Film4, More4 and 4seven.

An ESting is a 10 second channel ident, used to identify and advertise the channel. The ident is placed before and after the adverts, so as to frame each section of the programme that is playing at that point in time.

I liked the hyperactivity of the dog in this animation, as the jerky and jarring movements are incredibly eye-catching, especially when paired with the bright and vibrant purples that the entire animation is composed of. The bold lines add a childish charm and the cartoon character's manic actions and behaviour would appeal to many.



I enjoyed this cartoon, because of it's link to a popular urban legend and the simple art style used. The use of an alternative-genre clothing choice would appeal to people in their teens, including myself, as it's not the social norm and it wouldn't be expected. It's a cutesy take on a not-so-cute legend and I really enjoyed the overall feel and the effects of the E4 logo toothpaste splat, on the mirror.



I really like the bright colours used in this ESting, and the rainbow gradient on the floor is very well done and fits nicely into the visuals. The entire thing had a very 80s feel about it, like He-man, and I really like the silhouette at the end, especially how the cat's eyes appear to glow like a real cat's. The animation style was nice and simple and the skeletons' movements were sufficiently creepy.

This was our test footage of our live-action stop-frame animation. We were experimenting with different kinds of movement, to see our limitations when working in this medium.

The animated ESting that we have planned will be an object-based stop-motion animation, where makeup items and other random products, most popularly found in girl's room, would come out of box or bag. They would then proceed to slide across surface into logo. Using objects is an easier method, as there are no talent releases required and, where animating with people has issue regarding continuity because of fatigue and the subjects moving between shot, objects are far easier to control and remanipulate. We would film the entire animation backwards, as this makes it easier to form the logo, without worrying about whether or not there are enough objects or getting the right shape and positioning for the logo. Our location is flexible, because the setting is easily adjustable, depending upon the availability of a table and unchanging lighting.