Analysis
- 1. After I created the first draft for my music video I also made a survey to accompany it and to gather feedback so I could polish and tweak any parts that were generating a negative response from viewers. Here is my analysis of the 12 responses I collected: 1. Initial thoughts? (Please write as much or as less as you’d like, a few words/sentences or whatever). • I really liked it! • Lots of walking around but I like the effects • It was very good • I like it. And the song is awesome • A romantic and sweet video that will appeal to a wide variety of audiences. • It was very good • Basic… wooden actors. • Great song and a not too bad video. • Thought it was presented very well. • Excellent, wouldn’t have guessed that you had a reduced amount of time – it doesn’t show!! Watched it a few times! When you making the next one? :p • I liked the quality and the effects on the video. At times I didn’t really understand the story line but by the end I managed to interpret some ideas of what may have been happening! • Very good, nice content that moved well with the music. • Firstly, love the artist! She has a beautiful voice. I read the description on YouTube and am aware you had some problems so I’ll try and keep that in mind when watching it. 2. What do you like and dislike about this video? Like Dislike Different kind of shots and split Split screens look stretched. Might look screens. better if you crop them. Fancy effects. Girl walks around too much. Mysterious ending. Too slow. Camera angles and split screens – Repeats of the same images/clips. they help to tell the story. Split screens look stretched between When the characters are split and 44 – 50 seconds. then come together. Male character lacks emotion. The narrative. Actors don’t portray storyline well. Quirky shots, they break into Bumpy car footage, but that can’t really sections. be helped I guess… Split screen effect. I didn’t find it easy to understand the Effect where he disappears towards storyline. end. Not sure about rural location. It didn’t The way the screen went into two work for me. Walking across fields and halves, boy and girl separate and farms? Personally I think a wet, dreary
- 2. then together. night in the city would have been Different angles of shots (e.g where perfect. girl walks across road at start. Storyline was too predictable. Needed Fading in and out between shots. some twists and turns, needed Slow motion clips. something to possibly make it a bit Pace of clips match song, well more sinister. matched with lyrics too. Balance of close up and long distance shots. Effects, especially split screen and blur effects on lights! Good change of lighting when she sleeps and wakes up. Good ending. Effects and split screens. Kept my attention. 3. If you could guess as to what the narrative behind the video is what would your guess be? • Two peeps in love. Not completely clear I don’t think but I get it’s something to do with a girl and boy having problems as one or the other of them disappears every now and then? Or they’re going through a break up? • Perhaps a relationship split, girl can’t forget about the boy. • A girl is having flashbacks about times with her boyfriend? She seems upset (particularly when she goes to sleep on the sofa alone). However, the mystery car at the end seems to be a cliff-hanger… was she expecting the car? Was it her boyfriend? • The different sides of companionship? • It seems like a sad story about 2 people who are apart and then come together. I think it may have had a happy ending because I’m not sure if that was him coming home. • A couple getting together???? • Something about being apart from a loved one. • Girl missing boy (probably from break up) • A girl that always has one thing on her mind that she can’t help think about (well shown in the dreaming) – the one person that she really cares for and loves. She wants to be with him all the time and is upset/misses him when she isn’t. • It may not be right – the guy and the girl are together and then the guy goes away for a while? The he returns right at the end? • Boy girl together, apart. • Girl reminiscing about walking across fields and driving in cars with her ex boyfriend. But now she’s all alone on the farm.
- 3. 4. If I were to tell you that the aim of the narrative was to show a relationship that was long distance/unable to work then would you agree? (Or can you see this in the narrative at all?) Other (please specify) answers: • Relationship’s are different – may work for 1 couple but not for another • No, there was NOTHING to suggest a long distance relationship other than driving a car, which most people do daily. 5. If you could make an improvement to this video what would it be? • Change the stretchy bit. • Maybe not such long stretches of the girl walking about. • Hmm, I don’t know but make it a bit more pacy/more frequent camera changes if you get what I mean…? • N/A • None • Take out the silly shot of the girls face, as she seems to be trying not to laugh. • More pace. • Can’t think of anything. • Umm, one of the things I said before… maybe the stretched upwards too much bit. • Making the story line a little clearer (maybe a scene where the girl is writing a letter to him or something?) • Have a deeper, almost unexpected narrative to the song. Too many love stories around now-a-days! Set location would be changed to what I said earlier (night time city). I’d also give a reason for the walking (e.g. they reach a destination). It seems pretty pointless walking to be honest. • Happy as it was.
- 4. 6. Do you feel the split screens are effective? Other (please specify) answer: • Very, especially the way the girl moves over so they’re together in the right split shot. 7. Do you think the footage is smooth and flows with the music? Other (please specify) answer: • It was a bit too slow, could have been a bit more tempo and still fitted in…
- 5. 8. Do you feel the ending rounds off the video well? Other (please specify) answers: • It was a cliff hanger, is this what you wanted to achieve? • Yes, but maybe could have been him leaving with bags e.t.c and saying goodbye to show long distance element a little? • No. She wakes up, looks outside to see a car arrive (presumably her boyfriend). And yet he’s literally been there throughout the whole video. Unless they’re different days and she has one outfit. 9. Final thoughts/words of wisdom/advice/anything else you’d like to say? • The bit where they’re walking along the street near the street lamp works really well but there is one part where you can see the camera move a little where it changes from the shot where they are walking to the shot of the street where there is no one there. Overall very good though Winterrr. I’m loving it (ba da b aba baaaaa) • Really good video Hannah. It’s fine as it is but knowing you you’ll want to tweak it more!! • It was very good Hannah :D • A good choice of song and some of the shot and really exciting/effective. • No pretty much covered it. • Well done, it tells a story really well and suits the song. Should be very proud of yourself :D • It was a really good music video and I enjoyed watching it. I love the way the split screen was used in the part where they were holding hands in the field and there was a gap between them – I kind of see now how that fits in to the whole ‘distance’ thing • You’ve probably hated my criticism, but that’s what surveys are for! Good effort, but needs some refining.
- 6. • Very well done. Conclusion: From these results I have gathered that although I can still see a large amount of faults with the video that people still enjoy it and think it’s a decent video. This has helped to restore some of my confidence in the video and has also allowed me to gain valuable insight into how ‘fresh’ viewers of the video view it. The main parts of the video I now want to return to and alter are the split screens between 44 and 50 seconds. I did think these looked stretched before so I’d like to change that as it does distract the viewer from the main purpose of those split screens, as it was a key shot I wanted to include. This survey has also taught me that my perceptions and the perceptions of others are all completely different. Some people liked aspects of the video that others didn’t and some people could interpret my reasons for including certain clips or choosing of locations where as some people were very quick to jump to their own conclusions and had quite a narrow view point. However, largely the response was positive and I obtained some great feedback that I can now apply to my video and use to make improvements. I’d also like to come back to the clip of the female characters face at the beginning and possibly alter that as it’s one that was starting to aggravate me and other viewers have picked up on the fact that she was about to laugh. I feel this ruins the overall mood of the video and is another distracting element. I’d like the viewers to be able to focus on the music, lyrics and visuals all harmonising as one and not parts of the video standing out for negative reasons and in turn ruining the mood of the song and video.