Group restructuring

Due to a member of the group discontinuing with media studies we have had to make alterations within the production of the music video and digipak. Our team member was responsible for helping making decisions with editing and helping create the digipak, therefore my group member and I will be put at a slight disadvantage.

New Song

When editing our video by chance we came across the Song Save You by Matthew Perryman Jones and experimented with it as the track for our music video. As a group we were all really fond of it. We felt that the video gave the lyrics more meaning and the fact that the song was shorter allowed us to fill the video with our footage without the need to film irrelevent shots for the video.

This song talks about 'saving' the idea links with the death of our male actor and the female actress wanting to have saved him. The female actress is looking back and it was 'a mess' because she couldn't prevent him from leaving her to go to war and she couldn't prevent him from dying.  'i want to fly away' suggests the idea the female actress wants to be in heaven with her loved one however she is not she is 'stuck on the ground.' The lyrics show the female actress wants to let go but is unable to because she is having flashbacks of their time together.

New song and Music video;

Old song and Music Video;

We played both of these versions to our class and all of them agreed that they prefer 'Save You' because it evoked more emotion. My class ranges in ethnicity, gender and age so i was able to get a wide variety of feedback.

Change of Artist- Matthew Perryman Jones

Matthew Perryman Jones is an American songwriter who falls under the genre of pop rock, folk rock and indie music. He has as of present five albums, his most successful being 'Swallow the Sea' featuring his most popular song 'Save You.' His music has been featured on a variety of television programmes including; Greys Anatomy, Pretty Little Liars and One Tree Hill.

Audience Feedback

After getting a sample from an audience varing in key representative groups e.g Age, Gender and Ethnicity we got some constructive feeback which will aid us in our final decisions for the music video.

The general feedback i got was:

Music Video Survey

Do you think the video matched the song?
I think the new song was a better match for the video.
Yes. The song effectively evoked the emotion of the young woman.

Yes.

Yes

Could you see a theme throughout the video?
I could see a clear 1940s theme in the video.
There was a clear theme throughout with both colours and editing.

yes

Yes

Was the storyline clear?

The storyline of a couple separated by the war was clear in the video.

The storyline was very clear.
It was a mostly clear narrative
Yes

What would you change about the video?

I would add their first meeting into the video.
I would change/tighten up a couple shots of editing to synchronise with the changing of the tempo. 

Make the shots with the husband black and white

Do you believe the right editing techniques have been used? If not specify why.

Yes, I do
The editing effects were effectively done to show the two different timelines in the narrative.
Yes the editing was good
 Yes

What do you feel after watching our video is our targeted audience?

I feel that your target audience is anyone aged from 12.
I think this video would appeal to most ages as the song is current, yet the storyline is set in the past.
All ages 16+ mostly female

Do you think the song suits the narrative?

Very much so
Yes, the song suited the narrative.

The lyrics matched the video well
yes

How did the music video make you feel?

Melancholic

The video made me feel sympathy towards the young woman.
Sad
sadness for the woman   

What do you think about the costumes?

They were faultless.The costumes suited the locations
Extrememly relelvant to time period.  
Do you think the lighting is appropriate throughout the video?

Some of the lighting could have been better but overall I think you did the best with what you had.
The costumes were amazing; all except Max's nose ring!!
YesSome shots could be darker

Do you think the filter suits the video?

Yes, under no circumstances should you put the flashbacks in black and white.

There is a clear distinction between the warm tones when they are together and the cool tones when she is on her own.
The filters suit the video well.
Yes, although maybe the scenes with the husband should be black and white or desaturated
yes

What did you dislike about the video?

Nothing

I didn't dislike anything in the video.
Nothing I can think of
Some of the shots seemed irrelevant  

Do you think locations were appropriate?

The locations were fantastic.

The locations were well planned and elegantly played out and shot.
Yes, I liked the old fashioned look
Yes 

Is the music video realistic?

Absolutely

The music video is a clear interpretation of feelings during war time.
YesYes

Do the actors suit the music video?

Perfectly.
yes.  
Yes they did
Yes

Does the music video give meaning to the lyrics?

Without doubt
The music video does create a heightened understanding of the lyrics, although the lyrics from the last choice are more reflective.
Yes I thought that the video helped the message of the lyrics. 
Yes.  

From this survey i can conclude that when editing the video for the final draft i will endevour to take out any irrelevent shots. There is one scene in the video where the female is on the phone, although i really like this shot it doesnt have much relevence. Similarily in the scene where the male actor is reading a letter. Either we film the female actor writing a letter or take out the shot entirely as it doesnt connect with the narrative. As for the black and white filters i think it is a good suggestion but personally i like the colouring of the subjects and background and feel that black and white would drain the video of this visual element making it less engaging and appealing. 

First Cut Of Music Video

Music Video Survey

Music Video Survey

Do you think the video matched the song?

Could you see a theme throughout the video?

Was the storyline clear?

What would you change about the video?

Do you believe the right editing techniques have been used? If not specify why.

What do you feel after watching our video is our targeted audience?

Do you think the song suits the narrative?

How did the music video make you feel?

What do you think about the costumes?

Do you think the lighting is appropriate throughout the video?

Do you think the filter suits the video?

What did you dislike about the video?

Do you think locations were appropriate?

Is the music video realistic?

Do the actors suit the music video?

Does the music video give meaning to the lyrics?

Change Of Song

During the editing of our music video, we came to the dilemma of which song suited our video best. The decision was between 'Hourglass' and 'High Hopes.' Although our original song 'Hourglass' had been the inspiration for the narrative of our story line we felt that when putting the music to a rough cut of the video it did not flow as well as when we paired the song 'High Hopes' with our video. I think that this was due to the fact that 'Hourglass' is largely an acoustic song with only one chorus that features a short instrumental part therefore it is hard to make the video flow well with it as it doesn't have that musical element that makes the song dramatic. Our narrative itself is dramatic therefore we felt we needed a dramatic song that evokes more emotion than 'Hourglass.' While conflicted we decided to ask a sample of our audience for their preference and played them the our music video with the new song and with the original song. ALL of the people who watched the video decided they much prefer 'High Hopes' so this set in stone that we would change the song. Although difficulties come along with changing the song- such as we need more footage for a longer song and we need to research our new artist 'Kodaline.' The changed song fit the video so much better that we as a group we more than happy to face the consequences that come with the change. 

Advantages of changing the song:

• Flows better
• Dramatic effect
• Keeps audience engaged 
• Audience preference 
• Lyrically fits the narrative well.
• Have already explored and analysed the song and music video in previous post. 
• No explicit language in new song.

Disadvantages of the change:

• Need more footage
• Need to do research on new artist and song.
• Need to justify changes of song and re-do post on chosen track.