Audience Research

We have decided that it would be a good idea to gather some research form those who aren't involved with our video, we can then get non biased opinions across about our video so therefore we can get a good response from our video once we show people.

One way we have decided to gather this information is by creating a questionnaire which includes personal opinions on the RnB and Pop genres and what they expect and what to see in music videos of that genre and also what they like and dont like about the music videos involved around that genre.

By gathering this information we can use it to keep note on what people would like to see and to avoid anything that they would not like to see int he music video, this then can help us create a final product that pleases the audience.

Mirror Shots

Our video includes a series of mirror shots and in order to get the best looking angles and shots we have  gathered some information from other music videos that we could use in ours.

In Justin Timberlake's song Mirrors they seem to take the shot at a slight low angle but also keep the person in focus whilst the reflection in the mirror is slightly blurred but also remains in focus still.










There are also other mirror shots that use lighting to create a dark shadow across the side of the persons face so we are unable to find the identity of the person until we look in the mirror, in these shots the reflection is in focus more than the person itself.












This music video is particularly good with filming mirror shots as they use various techniques which we  could use in our video, one of which includes a superimposed image placed over the top of a reflection in the mirror in order to support the narrative of loving someone you've lost which fits in rather well with our narrative.

Possible Locations to Film

As a group we have looked for suitable locations that we believe would be good for us to use for filming some of our shots. Grace has found a great studio in Stansted Mountfitchet where we could use the mirror for a few of our shots, these include the mirror shots that we have decided are going to be definitely used in our video. We have also decided to use the Newport Graveyard in order to film our graveyard shots which is involved with the videos narrative. We have yet got permission to use the church and the graveyard but hopefully we will be able to get that soon. Our narrative also involves a scene based in a bar, as we are limited in the amount of possible places we are finding it quite difficult to find a suitable bar and get permission to film inside it. 

Possible Names for Our Artist

As a group we have decided to come up with a name for our artist, we want the name to be similar to most names that are associated with the RnB genre for example Rihanna and Beyonce. Here are a few examples:

• Lyla
• Lhani
• Nyla 
• Jasmine

We hopefully will be able to come up with a suitable name for our artist.

Uses of Black and White Filters in Music Videos

As a group we have decided to have a black and white filter throughout, this is mainly due to a limit in lighting equipment, I have decided to have a look at a few videos that use the black and white filter and see how it looks when the video takes place in various areas and times. Beyonce's 'Sorry' uses a black and white filter throughout the video, this use of the filter makes it much easier to create shadows and various different light tones that would look good in our video as our videos narrative covers a rather dark topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxsmWxxouIM

Useful Narratives used by Other Artists

One other narrative that we have come up with was the idea that the women would be seen as the dominant figure rather than the stereotype of which the men are seen as the more dominant figures. The artist Pink uses this narrative in her video 'Please don't leave me' where she is in an abusive relationship with a guy and the video tells us the story that no matter how much she abuses him and hurts him he'll always stay with her. However at the end of the video she ends up being far more hurt than her lover due to her own actions whilst she was trying to hurt him. From this video we have gathered information from the narrative which we think would be a good idea to use in our music video. This is because the lyrics in our chosen song tell a story about a girl who needs a man to do everything for her, the lyrics also depict a slight sense of this psychopath who may have killed her previous lover due to the fact that she did not get what she wanted.

Costume Conventions of an RnB Music Video

Male


Smart/Smart casualThe majority of R&B music videos nowadays have male artists dressed in smart/smart casual clothing. This could be to represent class or status in society. Artists such as Drake, Chris Brown, Usher, Ne-Yo and many more all follow the Smart/Smart casual look.


Tattoos Tattoos are a big part of R&B culture again, with the majority having lots of tattoos all visible to the public. This could be used to show creativity and independence from other artists. Even if two artists sound similar, the tattoos and personalities they have could set them apart from each other so much that they wouldn't be seen as similar anymore.

Jewellry Jewellery is one of the most conventional piece of clothing in both R&B and Hip-Hop genres. In every R&B video you see, some sort of jewellery, whether that be a watch, a necklace, or an earring, the artist will have some form of jewellery, showing wealth and status in society.

Women

Classy/Very Little clothing                                                                                                             Depending on the sub-genre of the song, and the song itself, the women in music videos are usually dressed in accordance to the song lyrics or narrative of the music video. Women in the videos generally wear classy but revealing clothes, making them attractive to the males, who are the target audience for the conventional R&B music video.

JewelleryAgain, women also follow the idea of having jewellery in the music videos, whether they are the main artist or just an actress. This catches the eye of the male, which is who the target audience is, therefore doing its job in making the target audience watch the video, even if it is just because of the women, and not the actual song itself.