This specific music video grasped my attention due to the amazing after effects and other special effects used to create this music video. It captivates your attention due to the imaginative and abnormal happenings/scenes within in the video which can confuse you and make you struggle to understand what is trying to be conveyed. But by the song title ‘Up&Up’ and the first 2 lines of the song ‘fixing up a car to drive in it again, searching for the water hoping for the rain’ – To me it sounds slightly negative and repetitive in the sense of wanting ‘change’, it could be change within a person or as a world/race. I also gather a sense of dreams and accomplishment within this music video, and by sticking to your dreams and not giving up you can conquer your goals by having that persistence which could also shown through the surreal graphic clips making the video as they are obviously fictitious visualisations which are out of reach, or are they?
I also looked into what other people thought of the song and an interesting point caught my attention which is that although the lyrics state ‘waiting for a chance to pick your orange peel’ can also be heard as ‘waiting for a chance to pick your Irish field’ which opens a whole knew door and perspective/meaning within the music video, the reason being; The use of graphics within the video seem very psychedelic-drug inspired this would correlate with waiting to pick your Irish fields in which magic mushrooms are commonly known to grow, referencing the flower of life. In this case the lyrics below would make much more sense;
Down upon a canvas, working meal to meal
Waiting for a chance to pick your orange peel
Up and up, up and up
See a peal form, a diamond in the rough
See a bird soaring high above the flood
It’s in your blood, it’s in your blood
Underneath the storm an umbrella is saying
Sitting with the poison takes away the pain
Up and up, up and up
See a “Pearl” form, a diamond in the rough, is what you would be searching for if picking mushrooms in an Irish field. Reading what other have thought has made me maybe think this song is an ode to the magic mushroom. This could also correlate with the name of the album which this song is released ‘Head full of dreams’ I think there is a connection with the album and the style of music videos used for Coldplays songs with all having an abstract feel towards them within the videos ‘Birds’ and the intro to a head full of dreams. To me the target audience would be both gender from the ages of 17-50 as Coldplay are a very famous band which music relates to a wide audience, also people who are interested in graphic manipulation would also be attracted to this above visual video as it’s very cleverly done with clever technical minds.
Arctic Monkeys – Do I Wanna Know
This Arctic Monkeys music video was a favourite of mine since it was first released as it lured me in with the fairly simplistic animation of the guitar strings at the start which slowly then progresses to line drawing animations with the use of mainly black and white, to then more complex and whacky animations which build complexity throughout the video as well as solid colours being introduced as the song goes on, precisely at 3:30 minutes into the song. These visual effects used in the video and the way they build up can portray that exact feeling almost like in the same sense as the crescendo effect within sound build up, which makes the song a little more exciting.
The song starts with the Alex turners (the main singers) initial voice and as background singing enters, so more than a single voice is included – more wiggly lines form either side of the middle one which correlates movement with Alex turners, and the other singers voices appear; this can give sense of the animation having it’s own voice and has an aesthetic effect. Colours also change on certain beats and parts of the song which link together very well. The target audience would probably be of those within the age range of 15-30 years old of both sex, or alternative rock viewers.
Twenty One Pilots – Stressed out
I’ve always wanted to try kinetic typography and think the visual effects used along side with the typography can analogize to create more of an understanding of whats being emanated, an example from the above video would be where the lyrics ‘all my fears would shrink’ has a shrink effect within the video to convey the word, also the line ‘wish we could turn back time’ – shows a little animated graphic of a clock going backwards which supports the text , making it more interesting to watch and keeping hold of the viewers attention. Another example of this effect would be included in the kinetic typographic ‘we would build a rocket ship and then we’d fly it far away’ the words build and outline a rocket ship, then it changes to an actual graphic animation of a rocket ship which flies away. The tone and text font changes through different parts of the song, e.g the chorus the letters and font has increased in size representing its the main part of the song.
The song below is also produced by the same youtuber who produced the Twenty One Pilots typography video above. The below video was created with Adobe After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop.
Again I like the effects they’ve used while portraying text within the song to make it visually more aesthetically pleasing such as; the word ‘bars’ had physical bars running through the word to project the idea of the word more so. ‘Venom’ was another word that was used that had the green colour with a dripping effect on the letters which makes it more satisfying to watch. When the rapper sang faster, the words on the screen squished closer together which is also an effect which I liked and could potentially use in my music video. The target audience in my views would be from the ages of 16-20 as there wasn’t a substantial vocabulary used so all 16 year old’s would understand the point he’s trying to show, and would be generally interested in the background track used which also targets the younger audience.
The song links pretty fluently with the animated music video in my opinion with clever edited layers moving within the background. The colours used within the black and white animated video help lead the eye to specific objects/parts which stand out. The video tells a story of the young boy ‘Luke’ finishing school and spending time with his dad, the story explains how he’d much rather be with his dad in his own little world, rather than struggling at school with dyslexia being bullied. I think this style of video would be fairly feasible to with go, but would be 100% animation, in which is not the task set – although I could maybe create clips within my video influenced by the above. I think the target audience would be within the age range of 16-30 – although it’s an animation which could be seen more suitable for the young, the message conveyed in the music video could maybe only appear clear to people round my age and above.
Arctic Monkeys – Fluorescent Adolecent
This music video for the Arctic Monkeys 100% film with no animation or other graphic features, it was made in 2007 which is obvious from watching as it has that old school feel towards it. The song links with the music video and tells a weird story about a clown and another person who were friends in their childhood, but something happened which changed their friendship to hatred. I like the use of slow motion within certain fight movements which links well with the music playing which is a useful effect which I could use within mine. I also like the still pictures shown of the two blokes towards the end of what they used to be which emphasizes the change that’s happened, this also breaks the video down and is another effect which can keep the audiences eye. I think the target audience is more suitable for middle aged people as it’s violent with fight scenes involved.
This music video by Oasis was made in 1995 so is fairly old, but still does just a good a job at correlating with the sound compared to music videos released now-a-days. This video (I think) has used a type of rotoscope animation, which would make sense as rotoscoping was an early technique of animating. Rotoscoping appeals to me as it can can make a normal video a lot more interesting and unique when this effect is applied. The use of zooming in and zooming out of specific scenes is a noticeable feature used, this is good for changing scenes and linking to the sound when the song speeds/slows, increases/decreases volume. The target audience I would assume would be for the elder age category, as Oasis are on old band, old enough to have split up as group. Parents know a lot more about Oasis as they would have been in their youth when they were most popular although I like Oasis and so do my friends, so the target audience would be varied from 16-50 year old’s I would say.
The above and below music video’s both use a green screen effect, the difference is large and you can see why the below video had a larger budget to produce. The ACDC music video was published in 2014, and the Action Bronson video below was created in 2015 – that’s only a years difference but the difference is vast. I like the fact that the Action Bronson music video shows vaguely how the green screen effect is manipulated to create the awesome visuals.
At the University College IOM we are lucky enough to have a green screen in which I could maybe recreate the effects above and below to a much lesser extent which could prove beneficial when it comes to the making of my music video as these effects intrigue me and are easily done and can similarly be imitated. Again the target audience would be to an elder audience as they were popular when 30-60 year old’s now-a-days were growing up. The Action Bronson video would be more so targeted at rap/hip-hop fans in which this genre and style of music has increased as I have been growing up, therefore I think the targeted audience would be teenagers and people under the age of 30.
2 Pac feat Dr.Dre – California Love
The music video was made in early 1992, which can be figured quite easily with the camera quality a long with the actual film, with the lips not quite in sync and fairly simple filming techniques. I think the video could be made a lot better within the modern day an age of today, but If I chose an old song, it could link to the target audience more so if I took influence on the way this video was made. 2 Pac released his first album in 1991, and sadly passed away in 1996. But within that time amongst other rappers such as Dr.Dre, Eaze E; these young black males had a massive influence within the genre, hip hop, gansta rap, political/hardcore/west coast hip hop. This is because they were a few of the first successful black males to succeed and have an impact on the way people, especially African American people perceived them and had great love and respect for them, the target audience would be heavily made up of the supporters in which I have mentioned above.
Lisa Mitchell – Neopolitan Dreams
The video above and below is by Neopolitan Dreams, the one below is a remix so has a completely different feel too it, you can understand this by watching both video’s. Although they both have that chill little beat and can manipulate that with the hypnotic, floaty and dreamy camera shots, different effects are used within the video’s such as the remix version had a clip where the girl touched help a plant, pulled it backs slightly and let it go (obviously causing a swing back movement) which it corresponded fluently with the music by the original recording being reversed and played back which glitched/jolted coherently with the beat. I like how the vignette has been used within the original music video above, this add’s to the dreamy effect and suits the outdoors environments, almost looking fictional and magical, the odd housing furniture within the forest also helps convey this idea and so do the ‘dreamy like’ actors who cut in and out of the video.
The remix version also has a cool effect which interests me at the start and throughout with zooming in and out of focus which links smoothly and efficiently with the music, I also liked the camera shots taken, switching at the correct time to emphasize the music within the remix version. Target audience would be linked more so for the female sex, as the song could be seen more so feminine with the soft gentle notes and the fact it’s a ‘boy girl’ song. Males will also listen to it and be an influential factor within her audience, as she’s a young, attractive female, myself in fact being a target within her audience because I am a fan of chilled and slow-vibed music which many other males are too.
Lilly Wood & The Prick and Robin Schulz – Prayer In C (Robin Schulz Remix)
The video above has many views on Youtube as it is a very popular song, I also think the amount of views are influenced by this very well cut video with slow motion helping convey the feeling of the chilled relaxed music. The music doesn’t correlate with the visuals, but does link pretty perfectly to the mood of the song. Also at the start of the song as the beat picks up the camera shots change which reflects the music pace and beat, as I mentioned the motion manipulation within this video is really captivating when it comes to the similarities of the video and the song timing. Target audience for this genre of music is vast with a ‘summery’ hip hop, chilled relaxed feel to it which can be liked by all ages from say 13-50.
Route 94 – My Love (Official Video) ft. Jess Glynne
This music video by Route 94 was a great achievement which has thousands and thousands of hits because of it’s unique and curious music video. There is one significant effect within this video that seems to catch the eye of viewers; this being the high tech thermal/heat censored camera which isn’t meant for pop music but for scientific purposes, this idea was a great success. The music is greatly benefited by the intriguing camera recordings, especially when the beat reaches 00:40 seconds and is guided excellently with the visuals. This was a great idea and would look awesome, but has been manipulated with high end software which is very expensive and complex to use, so this effect would be a limitation when considering my music video. The target audience would be for the younger aged demographic as it’s very ‘pop/dance’ which is a likely song to be played at a dance club which is filled with the majority of ages from 18-30.
Gorillaz – On Melancholy Hill (Official Video)
The Gorillaz have a unique way of being noticed which is by the very specific, unique type of animation used within all their videos, which has become a symbolic item and a way of the band being noticed as a whole (a sort of trademark). The music has a very chilled and soft feel to it, the animation manipulation and use of after effects within the video above links in really well together, complementing one another. The target audience covers a lot of ages, as comments on youtube suggest people have been listening to this song since they were 12. Also the Gorillaz are a world known band in which people are familiar across all over the world as you can see by their fan base by looking at the comments concerning this video from people living in Russia and Spain;
You can also see how popular it is with fans from across the world commenting on how it’s a ‘masterpiece’ and how they love the animation as well as how the song makes them feel
Section Boyz – Section Music 2
I don’t really like this video as I don’t see why this group are trying to intimidate and look cool and ‘hard’ to their audience, although this would fit in well with their targeted audience as they would take influence from the above video and mimic the above ‘trend setters’. Some effects used within this video help add to the feel of the type of song such as the blurred focus and quick camera angle/shot changes. The above group ‘Section Boyz’ look to be rebellious youths who are making the most out of their talent within the hip hop rap genre.
In the name there is a ‘Z’ used instead of an ‘S’ for ‘boys’ this can be a sign of not conforming to general norms of society as well as smoking marijuana when it illegal in the majority of places in the world, especially in UK where these lads are from. I can’t see a white male within this hip hop group, which makes me think the targeted audience is more suited to those with darker skin, although I know of people who are from different ethnic backgrounds to the group above who do also like their music.
This introduction for the American sitcom ‘family guy’ is cleverly made in a way to stick to the viewers memory in which it clearly does, showing people within the comments quoting the lyrics. The target audience for this pop culture parody tv show ‘family guy’ would be aimed at a vast audience audience with it being very popular allover the world. The animations and camera angles also correlate with the music, syncing the video and music more fluently – which is a specific aspect that interests me.
David Guetta – Shot Me Down ft. Skylar Grey
This music video mainly consists of still manipulated images, made out of several layers which have slight varied movements on different layers within a chosen image which makes the animations come to life you could say. Depending on the part of the song depends how violently or fast a image/layer is moved which correlates coherently with the visuals, which is an aspect I like. This technique of moving layers separately and accordingly is easily feasible and I have some knowledge of the effect so should be able to express this effect within my music video if I choose too. The kinetic text varying with colour, size and font within the speech bubbles is another simple effect which I think gives the video more character and leads/guides the sound within the video. I am thinking of using text within my music video, on top of my video footage, to a similar way the speech is shown in the video above, as I feel this captivates the viewers attention more so and makes it more interesting to watch.
Potential songs;
Below are the songs in which I thought I could potentially revolve my music video around – these all being songs that I like which include different genre’s and target audience’s and context in general. Above shows the very rough plans and possible themes I could include within each of the videos.
The target audience for the Arctic Monkeys in my opinion, would have make up the younger generation, consisting of 15-28 year old’s who take a liking and can relate to their ‘I don care’ attitude about life – taking it as it comes, which most young people can relate to this attitude. The video for this song is shot mainly in the car, and doesn’t seem to have much effort put in the making – but maybe that’s another factor showing that they aren’t really bothered with making a fancy expensive music video, appealing to their required audience who have the same outlook. I still think the video is unique and interesting in that manner, the video being black and white, brings this ‘old school’ rock and roll feeling to it which I like, and also the interesting/disorientating cuts throughout the video are nice to watch.
Nathan Grisdale – Miss Understood
This music video makes up of Nathan Grisdale with the woman he’s talking about within the song, so it makes the story line clear to the audience and is relatable to the context which is always a good thing. I would say the genre in which Nathan’s song/music is classified would have to be indie-pop/acoustic-pop which is a popular genre amongst younger people. The lyrics are also relatable and would attract a younger audience, due to relationships and love story’s being a big part of younger people’s lives – also the crisp, vibrant colour grading throughout the song is very bright and aesthetically pleasing on the eye (for me anyways) making me assume this effect was applied to attract the younger viewers – again the target audience I think would have to be those around the age of 15-30.
Eminem’s target audience in my opinion would be those from the age range of 13-22, who can relate to his music, or take on Eminem’s music on board as a tool to relieve stress. Eminem made it in America as one of the first substantial white rappers – from living in a trailer park, soo obviously he found it hard to get where he is, and people idolize and look up to him as a role model in that aspect. I think the target audience of Eminem would consist mainly of the white american ethnicity and those who come from lower middle class to upper middle class backgrounds.
Jack Johnson – Better Together
This song was a contender in which I wanted to use because I heard it recently after not hearing it in a long time and I realised how interesting and good the song was as well as being chilled easy on the ears – I though that maybe I could capture film of the beautiful environment available to me living on the Isle of Man which would correlate suitably, complementing the song.
Neopolitan Dreams – Lisa Mitchell
This whole song by Lisa Mitchell has a dream like world setting (hence the song) within a forest – to achieve this dreamy feeling throughout the music video lots of different mere but subtle effects are used throughout the 3 minutes and 12 seconds of film. One of the effects being the sepia colouring used within the video which seems make the feel of the video older and more dream like supported a long with the slight vignette effect which slightly blurs each corner of the video, these two enhance and help make out the over all ethereal dream like environment.
This seems to be taken in one shot, so I assume this would’ve taken a while to get perfect! The only reasoning for this that I can think of is the fact she wants to convey the whole song as being in a dream, as it all happens in one smooth manner, like dreams – they aren’t segmented or split up breaking down the context. She herself, Lisa Mitchell is the focal point the camera man tracks back slowly throughout the video allowing her to walk through a surreal forest environment with objects that shouldn’t be found and things happening not being the norm and having an unusual over all style, yet again to convey what happens in dreams and linking it to the song title.
Another aspect within the setting that I have picked up on and really tried to focus on and relate further too with a segment of my target audience, would be the fact that because it’s all dandy and hazy like within the video giving an aesthetically pleasing watch, correlating with ‘the dream world’ this allows the mind to wonder with the objects found in the video adding fantasy like feel and the environment giving an over all child-like impression – the basket she’s carrying and the clothes she is wearing seem very girlish and something a younger child would wear, as well as her voice, being so unique and easy on the ears, something that a child could fall asleep too backed up also by the soft instruments especially the hypnotic, nostalgic xylophone throughout. Even the way she moves throughout the video is very child-like and can be seen as delicate and ‘cute’ when she gets onto the bed all her movement you could imagine being imitated from a child.
Towards the end the bedroom scene/setting is something else that you could imagine being used within a children’s show or program with the spotty green/turquoise background which shows a window frame to then dancing sunflowers – which would all be appropriate factors that would attract children. Throughout the video the colours are nice to take in, being vibrant and bright occasionally which is also a factor that children are more captivated by.
Thus being the reason I am wanting to relate the recreation of this music video that I produce to a younger target audience.
Initial Ideas, Idea Development;
Above shows initial mind mapping of my music video and aspects in which I needed to focus on being the graphics involved, animation.. visuals in general
The above storyboards where potential themes that I could’ve revolved my music video around, one being a heavily based lyric video of text appearing within day to day objects and the other having a common theme of someone who used to be there, not being there – portrayed through shadows and opacity changes – this was planned for a sad, love song.
I knew from the beginning I wanted to include these inforgraph/motion visual graphics.. but picking the song for it was the hard part. Above show thumbnails for the first verse of the Arctic Monkeys song ‘R U Mine’
Once I had pin pointed my song.. well at least that’s what I thought I begansome in-depth analysis of the lyrics within the song, trying to figure out what the song is about and what Lisa is trying to convey.
I then could start focusing on the target audience of Lisa Mitchell based on the genre of her music over all being; ‘Indie Pop’, ‘Acoustic Music,’ and ‘Folk Music’. But that was in general. I then starting researching in depth the type of genres making up her single – Neopolitan Dreams, which consisted of ‘Alternative/Indie-pop’ and ‘Australian folk’. Once having this information I could then explore the characteristics within her audience, and focus on relating the music video to the satisfactions individuals who are into the genre Alternative/Indie -pop).
These are the story boards I created based heavily on the lyrics. I created 2 possible visuals for each line in the song on every verse, this giving me broader idea options being able to merge certain ideas/rebuild if I didn’t really like an initial idea.
I then had a mid-project crisis on which I didn’t know if I had picked the right song.. It wasn’t late enough to not be able to produce a load of new ideas, but was short enough to the end of the project to be a little rushed. After thoughts and considerations I realised the song i had chosen initially was in fact the correct one.
Below shows further complex reserach specific to Neopolitan dreams.
Neopolitan Dreams;
The video above simply shows the musical notes played within neopolitan dreams – I am wanting to include little graphic visuals/animations which will be overlayed on top of my film footage which will portray a similar style as shown above, so the visuals communicate with the sound and flow more aesthetically. I may even add specific shapes and icons relevant to the beat and instrument being played, to emphasize the sound within the video.
This video supports the same effect I have covered in the above video, concerning the sound being complimented coherently with graphic visuals/icons- having the icons relate to the beat also guides the viewer with the beat and almost gives the song more understanding and fluidity.
The video above of a Youtuber playing the xylophone to the song neopolitan dreams influenced me with the graphic I am planning on using within the song, as you can hear the xylophone throughout the song I am planning to have the little visuals to back it up.
Dora the Explorer – graphic visual influence
Within the kids animated TV programme, you join Dora on her adventures – filled with interacting visuals, engaging the younger audience by showing puzzles offering choices in which the viewer can help solve Dora’s mission or ‘mystery’. The reason I am looking at this research is because I want to create the same visuals which can be seen throughout Dora the Explorer (question sections) which connect the audience with the story and helps communicate the context being conveyed.
Throughout the episodes as you can see in the above video; basic animated graphic visuals are used which correlate with the narrative/speech. They are very easily created (or is easy to portray the same effect should I say) and are individually very good with speaking to the audience. With my current knowledge and skill-set within Adobe Animate, I will be able to duplicate the style and portray the same characteristics of animation within my music video, which will help to convey Lisa Mitchell’s Neopolitan Dreams story line, engaging with my specific targeted audience.
Infographic animation – (motion graphics)
The above and below videos show motion/infographic visuals, which correlates and links effect I am wanting to communicate whilst creating my video to the song ‘Neopoliatan Dreams’. As the story is being told through the sound, the visuals are immitating the sound, so the message is clear to the viewer which can be easier to watch and take in – engaging with the audience more so than just with sound and video which can sometimes be boring and the viewer can lose interest – especially with my target audience being partially aimed at a younger audience, this will benefit my music video as this effect should keep a large segment of my audience’s attention.
Infographic/motion graphics TargetAudience;
What is an infographic design?
- Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly. They can improve cognition by utilizing graphics to enhance the human visual system’s ability to see patterns and trends.’
- Infographics are a visually compelling communication medium that done well can communicate complex data in a visual format that is potentially viral. They take deep data and present it in a visual shorthand.
Infographics is quite simply a picture that has a meaning. Similar to a stop sign, a manual or a diagram. A picture whose primary function isn’t to look pretty but to provide its audience with a message. Regardless of if it’s a customer, a citizen or a pupil.
In contrast to text, pictures are universal. They cross the language barriers and everything else that stands in the way of efficient communication. They can also be a tremendously efficient tool if you’ve got something to tell.
Infographics as a tool can be used in most situations where you come across tricky information regardless of it’s printed or published on the web. For example annual reports, ebooks and presentations, or posters and websites. Why not an entire wall?
What are motion graphics?
- Motion graphics is a digital technique that combines pictures, words, sound and video. Examples of motion graphics abound online and in real life, from the credits in Hollywood motion pictures to keynote addresses. Motion graphics combine the languages of film, animation and graphic design.
Motion graphics and videos can hardly be missed. But why? Perhaps we should thank the sabre-toothed tiger. People look at moving objects not just because of a society dominated by mass media, but because we have needed to detect threats immediately to survive for thousands of years .
As if that wasn’t enough we watch more and more videos every day. Video is quite simply a medium that suits us well, both when it comes to entertainment and communication.
Anything is possible in the world of motion graphics and the abstract can become just as easily understood as the concrete. Do you need to explain an IT service, a new way of working or a complex context? Motion graphics can help you reach your target audience using explainer video, educational videos, case films, GIFs for social media, motion graphics or a new way we’ve not even thought of yet.
This very well rotoscope animated video for Justin Biebers ‘what do you mean’ has the influenced style of line drawing style that I want to include – It’s simply sketched over the initial video footage, which is appealing to me as I can convey this style of animation quite easily within the Adobe suit programs that I have , as long as I have footage to manipulate this style with. The effect used isn’t overly complex or hard, and can change the whole mood and character of the song with a few little scribbles. I have started seeing this effect used more within the past year, and within music, or general videos targeted at a younger audience which is relevant to my choice of song.
Justin Bieber is a good looking young man, making his target audience even more huge, filling the category of mainly female teenagers/younger aged women. I’ve noticed in his trend that his music videos have been eye-catching and interesting; different from others. (maybe that’s a view of the younger generations?) This is because he has so much money to help convey his music within his videos and the trend of various animated effects within music videos as a whole within contemporary society has increased substantially. The use of visual effects which look to have been produced in after effects are also noticeable, with the boards with text/lyrics that the women continuously pulls away from the background of the video, the water lyric effect and so on – I like the idea of varied methods to show the type within this video.
This music video is appealing to me as it uses a simple effect throughout – which is time consuming yet pays off if it’s completed correctly which in this video it is. This effect is the time-lapse in which I am wanting to convey in parts of my music video. I like the fact how it links with the time being an important feature within the lyrics and meanings of the song; ‘life will pass me by if I don’t open up my eyes’ which helps convey the message within the music video, a long with the lyrics. I also like the lyrics and the font which accompanies the song as it has a positive effect on the mind when reading a font which links to the visuals and sound. During the chorus a more up beat vibe is presented due to the festival/concert vibe, which gets rid of the time lapse and shows people moving faster and partying which correlates with the sound.
The still animated visuals throughout the music video above I think is a good idea as it is different and unique. They convey a message and are also backed up by the speech bubbles which make the lyrics up and match with the meaning/feel of the song. I like how they are individual graphic illustrations merged together, with different layers being able to pan from different angles giving it a 3D effect and a motion characteristic – this could be beneficial when trying to create an animated motion effect as it allows you to focus on 1 or 3 visuals which can be used a for a a couple of seconds, rather than hundreds of frames for 6 seconds or so (obviously it would be in real life animated time). It also has a comic theme style, well I find it does – which is supported by the video transitions from visual to visual. I think this music video would be attracting to a younger audience varying from 7-18yrs old due to the visuals portrayed and the fact it’s a classic pop song which is attractive to the younger generation.
This video is purely animation, which style has a similarity to which the one in which I want to portray. The animations are simple and help the song put across the desired message. The song is slow and relaxed allowing the animations to be so also. I like the varied fonts used without this video, But I wouldn’t expect no text within a full animation I like this should be a focused
This is a youtube tutorial on one of the effects I am planning on manipulating within my video as I think it will appeal to my desired audience. Current artists supported by a young target audience have been using this effect more recently over the past few years, building it’s popularity and becoming more common – it is a simple effect which I will be able to replicate, but I have never used it before so this will be something I have to learn which could prove relevant to future projects and animation I complete.
https://smallbiztrends.com/2014/06/psychology-of-colors.html
As I want to make sure the music video is as appealing to the younger audience as possible, I have looked into the meanings of individual colours and what they convey and who they are most attractive too. I am planning on colour grading my final end video in which will be more aesthetically pleasing to my specified audience.
Uses of Lisa Mitchell’s song; Neopolitan dreams
The introduction to this Australian reality format show, ran by MySpace includes the Neopolitan dreams song within the introduction of the episodes, it’s only say 5 seconds long but I think is enough to keep and engage the viewers attention. The viewers being a younger target audience from my initial understanding. Reason being as MySpace is a prominent social media site in which mainly young people but people of all ages too, communicate via. The reality series seems like it would be an attractive program for the younger audience as well funny and exciting, neopolitan dreams thus being a good song to introduce with.
This advert is very chilled out instantly, due to the coherent bright and calming video footage which correlates with Lisa Mitchell’s chilled evocative song. The video has slow camera cuts according to the song which adds emphasis on the advert over all making it more interesting and better. The advert is initially for a phone company, this makes the target audience a large reach with ages varying from my point of view being from the ages of 14-35, consisting of mainly a younger audience as they are the ones who use phones the most – although a lot of people are using and keeping up with the modern technology these days, so a large audience is necessary.
This advert is very bright and light, making the song choice perfect in my view – also the advert is advertising a scented fragrance, which is being shown as dream like and a desirable smell which does in fact correlate with the song – bed sheets are also used within the advert, as a means of being able to use the fragrance on. Also bed sheets are linked with a bed, in which dreams and peacefulness occur, being relevant to the song, visuals, and the subject matter which is the fragrance, I think this advert conveys the message it is trying to very well.
Colour Grading;
–Color grading is the process of altering and enhancing the color of a motion picture, video image, or still image either electronically, photo-chemically or digitally. Color grading encompasses both colour correction and the generation of artistic color effects.
The colour grading within this Kodaline music video gives the over all feel of the visuals a sense of freshness with a crisp and sharp colour scheme. This colour grading applied in the above video, is to a similar style I want to include in my video. Neopolotan dreams is an emotive song which can give feelings of nostalgia and memories according to my classmates Ed and Louissa, and also fans commenting on the Neopolitan Dreams comment section on youtube;
The way I am going to film my music video is going to attempt to give off that nostalgic, dreamy like feel – which matches accordingly with the song with the aim of expressing the emotion within the song furthermore.
These survey questions were carried out by me, questions asked at different points a long the way, giving me additional research to back up my target audience – although mainly gaining results from peers around college, which could be seen as slightly bias – I think it’s not so much of a bad thing to have gathered this data of a younger audience as after all I am aiming aiming to target my music video at the people within education facilities as they are categorized within my desired target reach . I did however get some responses from elders and people associated with work, and different aged younger people not in full time education, to make my survey more rounded – which has made the responses I have gathered more valid and equal.
The responses have supported the majority of my secondary research on target audience which is a plus, enabling me to feel confident with my audience and allowing me to start doing further research with the information I have gathered.
Neopolitan Dreams Target Audience;
Lisa Mitchell is an Australian folk pop singer/artist who found fame through the TV show Australian Idol 2006 who’s songs are quirky with a wide range of pop songs.
Key points to find;
- Who do I want to target with the visuals/animations and text I produce?
- How do I want the audience to react and feel?
- Who does Lisa Mitchell aim to target in general, as well as specifically ‘Neopolitan Dreams’
- Gather primary research – surveys of target audience, linking to work I’ve produced, find secondary target audience research (demographics, psychometrics)
Lisa Mitchell target audience;
- Indie pop
- Acoustic Music
- Folk music
Neopolitan Dreams target audience;
- Alternative/Indie
- Australian folk
- Pop
Almost 30% of all music consumed in the U.S. was classified as Rock, making it the most popular genre in the U.S. for 2014; followed closely by Hip-Hop/R&B (17.2%), Pop (14.9%), and Country (11.2%).
The link below shows a relevant site revolving and covering in-depth genre evaluation, covering target audience The only negative aspect of this site is the fact that the statistics are covered across the United States – although the US and the rest of the western culture share the same music, gaining an Australian/English or worldwide view would be beneficial also.
‘Music is something that touches the soul in a truly unique way. It’s one of the few things in this world that can engage the entire mind at once. Although many people tend to listen to multiple genres of music, they each tend to have a preferred genre that they will listen to more often than not.’
Is Indie Music Taking Over The Music Industry?
- When crossover artists are included with the statistics of music genre, country music is the #1 genre in the United States, accounting for 27.6% of all music listened to regularly.
- Classic Rock from the 1960′s to the 1980′s, which is typically #1 in this type of category, came in second place by a full percentage point.
- Indie music, which when listed as its own genre is the fastest growing music genre, still comes in below current Top 40 hits and popular music from the 80′s and 90′s.
- 18-to-25-year-olds are twice as likely to say they are fans of country music.
- For teens, country music in the US ranks as their third most popular genre of music they regularly listen to.
- More people listen to music from their generation when they grew up when compared to new music that is released today.
- Only 3 music genres saw increases in listenership. Besides country, hard rock and 90′s hits saw increases.
^”Part of the joy of listening to music is to remember all of the good times that were had while growing up. That’s partially why nostalgic music genres are so popular, especially when compared to modern music. There’s also the fact that the older generations simply don’t like the electronic modifications that have been incorporated into today’s music. It goes beyond the ear-burning auto tuner that is sometimes included with vocal tracks. Bass distortions, low frequencies that weren’t always included, and even software instruments from a DAW all take away from the “traditional” components of music from a nostalgic sense. When there’s nothing good to hear, the next step in the journey that people tend to take with music is to listen to their favorite childhood songs.”
http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-folk-music
http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-pop-music
Indie pop
Indie pop – Indie pop is a sub-genre of alternative rock or indie rock and a subculture that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. Reference -The term “indie” had been used for some time to describe artists on independent labels (and the labels themselves), but the key moment in the naming of “indie pop” as a genre was the release of NME’s C86 tape in 1986.
Reference – Indie rock’s more melodic, less noisy, and relatively angst-free counterpart, Indie Pop reflects the underground’s softer, sweeter side, with a greater emphasis on harmonies, arrangements, and songcraft. Encompassing everything from the lush orchestration of chamber pop to the primitive simplicity of twee pop, its focus is nevertheless more on the songs than on the sound, and although both indie pop and indie rock embrace the D.I.Y. spirit of punk, the former rejects punk’s nihilistic attitude and abrasive sonic approach.
Lisa Mitchells’ songs in general do seem to have this independent feel towards the style she takes on, with a unique feel towards her songs which can be relatable to a vast audience, especially an audience seeming to focus on the love aspect of life and relationships and independence. Record labels also providing Other relevant reference.
- Indie Pop is said to be originated/massively influential of the 1918’s UK indie rock genre
- Includes; Edgier, Melodic, smoother aesthetic sounds.
- Said to also have inspiration from ‘girl group music and powerpop’ from the 1960’s
- Main instruments used typically piano’s/guitars that the artist can individually play.
- Audience gender is varied between both sexes – male and female
- Aged 16-22 the general audience which is targeted, audience don’t follow a specific crowd, get on with being themselves, inspired by this genre of music.
- Indie)pendent music – targeted at an independent age which varies from 15-21 year old’s due to higher education purposes – a very independent age whether it be through education or part time work.
Acoustic Music
-New Acoustic Music is a music genre that blends influences from folk, bluegrass, jazz and world music and uses only acoustic instruments. Beginning in the 1970s it has been developed by artists such as Bela Fleck, Leo Kottke, Tim Ware, Tony Rice, Mike Marshall, Darol Anger and others.
reference; Acoustic music videos, differ greatly from other genres. Their videos tend to include; • Nature – landscape shots, natural, outdoor settings. This gives the video a calm and tranquil feel. • The artist featuring in the video, acting out the story of the song • Many often use the black and white technique, to make it look older • This leads me on to colours, which are usually very natural, and certain effects are sometimes used to make the videos look vintage. • Videos also use clips of festivals and concerts • Guitars or pianos appear in most acoustic music videos • Focused on one person, singing about another person – emotion. • Settings tend to be natural, isolated, run-down or a link to the person featured in the song. • Slow-paced camera shots – this is so we can understand the meaning of the song.
Acoustic music is very varied, as there are many different approaches you can take towards it. However the conventions of the music, keep the songs fairly slow-paced and always have a significant meaning behind them. I think this is one of the reasons I chose this genre, as I like music to tell a particular story, and allow you to connect and feel the emotions of the song.
Similarities with folk;
- Bohemian style
- Natural pose/lighting/setting
- Muted colours/earthy tones
- aimed at teenagers/mainly girls
- subtle patterns
- Authentic backgrounds/candid photos
Folk Music
Defined as- Music that originates in traditional popular culture or that is written in such a style. Folk music is typically of unknown authorship and is transmitted orally from generation to generation. (ref)
- Age demographic stems from age 16-35 and potentially older.
- This genre of music tends to look at the meaning of the song and delves into current issues and personal battles which occur when finding an identity.
- The target audience of folk music was originally non-conformist and laid back, left in a state of confusion and unaware of their ambitions. Now it seems that it is non-conformist to not like folk music, it is becoming ever more popular in current society due to its link with the indie genre, molding the sub-genre of indie-folk.
- Allows audience to openly interpret song lyrics and meanings, rather than other genre’s trying to inject a direct message.
- The main audience for music videos as a whole will be the teenage to young adult range as they are simply the audience that will find the music video, as they use the technology more than the older generations.
- Audience expanding furthermore due to popularity increase over the last year or two.
Target Audience cont-
Genre’s of music considered to be within Neopolitan Dreams, concerning target audience –
Over all key information to focus on, which intertwines the 3 Genre’s;
- Through my research to 16-25 year olds average on being the main focus which is relevant throughout the ‘pop music’ genre and ‘alternative/indie’ yet I am wanting my main target reach to consist of a younger audience including teenagers and young adults. The reason being that within the official Neopolitan Dreams music video as a whole, I find it can relate and be relevant to a younger audience, as well as the target audience being those who are fans of Lisa Mitchell’s ‘indie’ genre of music, the term ‘indie’ is is short for ‘independant’ which describes the small and relatively low-budget labels on which it is released and the do-it-yourself attitude of the bands and artists involved.
- Within the Indie/alternative-pop genres there are similarities that overlap between the styles – Both I think can take on the uses and gratifications audience theory as the target audience of a specific artist within this genre follow the artists story line, respect and consume this story line and take it on however they wish.
- Linking to Neopolitan Dreams; viewers could relate to ‘boy,girl’ general relationship problems who can relate to the narrative, or those who take the music on board as a device to relax and ponder, or a release of emotion through listening of the song. Those most likely to listen and relate to relationship problems through this music would be the people within high school. The general feel to this song is labelled very chilled and nostalgic, being an outlet of emotion for many of the target audience. As I know that her fans make up a large amount of these indie(pendant) people following in her footsteps and relating/looking up to her – I am wanting to emphasize the evocative characteristic through my music video which can help narrate the context and sound within the song. I will be able to complete this effect by capturing sweet and soft nature and landscape shots, which I’m hoping adds to the nostalgic and ‘chillax’ characteristic of the song itself.
- With also trying to relate to the audience within this genre more so, I am planning on manipulating and editing graphic visuals, time lapses, relevant font of text, and an over-layed animated line drawing throughout my video to help portray the emotions I am wanting to back up within the song.
- As i’m targeting a younger audience I have planned to use line drawings throughout my music video to keep it exciting and interesting, as well as animated visuals to help convey the narrative and add excitement within the end product.
Font within Music Video
The above fonts consist of-
- Aisha Latin
- Coquette
- Sanvito Pro
- Avant Garde
These fonts where initially the fonts I was trying to link with the text on one of Lisa Mitchell’s vinyl covers being shown below..
I wanted to portray the closest font which was influenced by the font and type used within the cover above, as this font will be most relative and familiar to the audience making it relatable and recognizable to her audience. This font obviously being the font I use within the lyrics of my music video.
The equipment above is basically all I used, excusing the wacom tablet which was a tool I used largely throughout this projects and the other two. I had a play with the different cameras, experimenting which ones offered me the best time lapse and general landscape shots which I planned to use in my video.
Experiments:
I created this after effects composition, enabling a star wars style beam to fly out the end of the nerf gun creating an interesting effect. This was more a less the first time I had used after effects, but I know learning the basics is very beneficial as because when thinking ahead, the line drawing style animation I want to convey within my music video is most easily produced within Adobe after effects so getting used to using the program is a good factor, increasing my confidence. I am not planning on using visual effects within my music video, however this type of effect could also be convenient and relevant to the younger target audience of my choice.
Within one of the first graphics lessons of the year we were introduced to the application ‘motion’ which is an exclusive apple product, which is a pain for me as I have a PC. Within motion it allows you to manipulate shapes and objects, whether that be concerning motion or simple 3-D effects. The advantage of this program in my opinion is the fact that it is easy to find your way around the software and not being initially intimidating, like the more advanced complex software’s can sometimes be, such as Adobe After Effects. If i was thinking of using 3-D in my music video – I know that the option is available for me, and I would probably use this software to do so as it has a familiar feel to it. You can also replicate motion within Adobe applications like I have mentioned but can be harder to understand, I am lucky that I have quite a good understanding within Adobe Animate and my knowledge within this software is increasing. I will be producing the motion and all my animation within Animate.
Stop motion was something else I have considered within my music video – the simple animation above took me around 30 minutes to cut out the desired objects of my character (being orientated around food) and make this short animation. It can take some time to create this effect, which is a negative.. But if it’s completed well and with care the outcome is usually good. Another stop motion clip I made is shown below which was simply made by cutting the ivy, inch by inch off the wall – which also took time but the end outcome is nice.
Above was the first ever line drawing animation I created which was in Adobe Photoshop, at this point I hadn’t done further research on other applications which could produce the same effect, if not better – I was yet to find out how to replicate this style within After Effects, which made the process easier and more feasible as larger files need to be used and after effects is used to these larger files. This style of animation is fairly easy to manipulate, a least I know i’m capable of creating this effect which gives me confidence when it comes to producing the end product.
Alteration of speeds is another effect I looked into which is simply done within these high end editing softwares with a click of a button, being super easy creating a nice outcome.
This shows how I made some of the visual graphics and animations which you can see in my music video, sped up significantly as each animation correlating with a sentence/word in the song took a while to create.
Will Morris Media 