Research into Adverts

Research into Digipaks

Tracking an artist/ band throughout their career

Music Channels

Audience Research

Survey Feedback

From creating this survey and analysing its results I have learnt a few things, one being that most people watch music videos to understand how the artist wants you to perceive the song or to experience it in a different way. I now understand that people watch music videos mainly for the narrative and not for the performance, however people also like to see a blend of the two.  The majority of people also like to see how the artist is represented through the music video as the song will usually relate to aspects of their lives. Ben Howard was the most popular indie folk artists. This could be because of his recent popularity meaning more people know about him more than any other artist as it is quite a niche genre. The link between peoples favourite music videos was that they were visually appealing and enticed  them to watch the whole thing. This means that for my music video i'll have to think about how I combine both narrative and performance to create an exciting video that people want to watch.

Hello, my name is Andrew and I am seventeen years old. My favourite genre of music is Indie Folk. Some of my favourite artists are Ben Howard, Mumford and Sons and Foster the People. I like their music videos as they tie in their performance into their narrative creating a very interesting combination. I mainly watch music videos on YouTube because of how easy it is to access. I think the way that the artists are represented within their music videos are important, but not as much as how the song is presented in a visual way.

Analysis of Previous Student's Work

1. Molly Perryman- Imagine Dragons- "Radioactive"

What went well:
Good use of camera angles and various shot types.
Editing-Visual effects were good and the cuts matched the pace of the song.
Good use of lighting.

Even better if:
If the lighting could of been slightly better.
If there was a narrative it could of been a bit more interesting to watch, but technically it was very good.




2.Hannah Tapscott- Ariana Grande- "Baby I"
What went well:
The rate at which shots were cut matched the pace of the song.
Performance was good.
Variety of camera angles.

Even better if:
If all shots were in focus.
If there was more shot types other than mid shots.
There were more locations.






Sophie Pring- Miley Cyrus- "Wrecking Ball"

What went well:
Good balance between narrative and performance shots.
Wide variety of camera angles.
Editing- Use of fades to transition between shots.

Even better if:
If some of the shots were not shaky.
If all shots were in focus.

Ben Parsons-Demi Lovato- "Give Your Heart A Break"

What went well:
Lots of camera angles and shot types.
Lots of locations.
Good mixture of narrative and performance shots.

Even better if:
Some of the shots didn't match the quality of others which could of been replaced or removed.
Editing- If the pace of the cuts matched the pace of the song.

Jodie Hall- Taylor Swift- "Trouble

What went well:
Narrative was strong.
Editing- On screen text suited genre.
Editing- Pace of cuts between shots matched pace of song.

Even better if:
There were more locations.
More camera angles and shot types.
Lighting could of been better.


After looking at previous student's blogs and music videos I have learnt that my blog needs to be very clear in displaying all my posts, so that anyone viewing, can easily navigate between posts instantly. I have also learnt that when making my music video my conventions also need to be strong and clear. I also need to make sure  all technical aspects such as lighting, camera angles, shot types, etc need to be perfect so that my music video looks professional. This task has clarified for me, the steps  I need to think about and take, for when it comes to making my music video, so that it looks as good as possible.

Inspiration and Influences

Inspiration and Influences on PhotoPeach 

By looking at several sources for ideas for what look my music video should include in terms of aesthetics, I have learnt that my artist needs to come across in a smart/causal way. This look could be achieved by choosing my costume having a combination of items such as, a waistcoat, jeans, shirt, trousers, and overall a bright colour scheme. I also think for my performer to have the right look, the will need to have with them certain props like an acoustic guitar, to make the performance feel authentic and genuine to the viewer.

Research in to the relevant genre

Influences of Style

Influences of Style

Research in to an Artist/ band

Research in to an Artist- Band

Analysis of Music Videos

From doing this task I have learnt a few things that I need to think about when making my music video, for example I need to make that, from my research, there are more narrative shots than performance shots, but I still need to have frequent performance shots. Another thing I learnt is that any shot being either performance or narrative doesn't typically go on for more than three seconds. I have also noticed that most music videos will use close ups for the performance shots and mid- long shots are used for the narrative shots.

Research into existing companies that produce and distribute videos.

Ben Howard- The Wolves

Ben Howard released the song "These Waters" in June 2008. It was released before Ben was signed to a record label on and album called Games in the Dark. Then in 2011 it was re-released as  "The Wolves"  on his next album called Every Kingdom. At this time Ben Howard when The Wolves was released he was signed with Island Records. Island Records was originally a UK based label but as of today it has branches in the UK, US and Australia. Island Records has now even signed artists as big as Bob Marley, Rizzle Kicks and Ariana Grande.

Mumford and Sons- The Cave

In august 2009 Mumford and Sons signed to Island Records like Ben Howard .Mumford and Sons released their song "The Cave" in February 2010 on their debut album Sigh No More. It was their second single to reach the US, after "Little Lion Man" and  sold over 1.6 million digital copies by September 2012.



Noah and The Whale- L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.

Noah and The Whale have been signed to multiple record labels such as Young and Lost, Cherrytree Records, Vertigo Records and  Mercury Records. In 2011 Noah and the Whale released their third album called Last Night on Earth. "L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N." was the first official released single from the album and it was released under Mercury Records. Mercury Records is an American-based record label owned by Universal Music Group. In the United States, it operates through Island Records; in the UK which as I have previously mentioned, owns other Artists within the Indie Folk genre. Mercury records have signed big names such as Rihanna, Jay-Z and Taylor Swift.

Foster the People- Pumped Up Kicks

In 2010 Foster the People was an unknown indie band who couldn't find an outlet for their music. However later that year they released the song "Pumped UP Kicks" free of charge onto their website. Thanks to social media it wasn't long before the song went viral, and the band was soon flooded with record labels trying to sign them including labels such as Warner Bros, Atlantic Records and many more, however the band decided to go with Columbia Records. Columbia Records is an American based label under ownership of Sony Music Entertainment. Columbia Records own artists such as Little Mix, Rita Ora and Adele.

The Lumineers- Ho Hey

In December 2011 The Lumineers released what would be their number one single "Ho Hey". At this time they were not signed with a label, but just two months later The Lumineers passed all major label offers to sign with the independent Dualtone Records. Unlike the previously mentioned record labels Dualtone Records actually focuses on artists within the indie folk genre. 

In conclusion I can see that most mainstream record labels such as Island Records or Columbia Records have no main link in terms of genre between the artists they sign, but instead focus on which artists will be successful. With the exception of Dualtone Records which at the moment only chooses artists within the indie folk genre.

Conventions of a Music Video

Conventions of a Music Video

History of Music Videos

 The four music I have to chosen to compare are;

"Walk This Way"-Aerosmith  1980
"Smell Like Teen Spirit"-Nirvana 1990
"Californication"-Red Hot Chili Peppers 2000's
"Maps"-Maroon 5  2014

"Walk This way" by Aerosmith has a very strong performance based music video. This was probably because of its rock genre, which focuses on the atmosphere of concerts and how the fans react to seeing them. This music video had only a little bit of narrative at the start which develops into the performance shots which take up the majority of the video. Next is "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, which despite being ten years later, has a very similar music video in which the music video is made up of just performance shots. However "Californication" by Red Hot Chili Peppers is a huge difference in video content. For example the only performance shots we see are in the top left corner of the screen which is hardly noticeable compared the video game themed narrative which the the main focus of the video. It features the members of the band as characters within the CGI world taking traditional music videos to a whole new level. Lastly "Maps" by Maroon 5 has the strongest narrative based video, featuring zero performance shots. The narrative shots show the lead singer in a narrative based world as a regular man, not as a performer e.g Aerosmith's StevenTyler. This shows that over thirty years music videos have changed quite dramatically over the years from pure perfromance, performance, with little narrative, narrative with little performance and finally pure narrative based music videos