G324 - Initial Ideas On Genre and Audience

Genre:
The first decision that we had to make before creating our music video was which genre of music we would target. This was a difficult decision for us to make as we both listen to completely different styles of music. To help us decide which genre of music we would make a music video for, we considered conventions of multiple genres before comparing these with each other.


We decided that we wanted to be able to have a simple narrative which would enable us to focus on showcasing our skills with camera work and editing. This prevented us from making a rap video as the majority of rap videos we have seen before have complex narratives which intertwine with one another. In addition, the narrative of rap videos are usually focused on sex, drugs and violence which are not themes that interest us in any way.

We also knew that we would have very limited resources and equipment for shooting the video due to low budget. This took away our option of creating a pop video as we felt that we would not be able to produce a realistic pop video without having lots of props and locations as well as extensive use of lighting and SFX.

We decided against making a rock music video due to Sam's utter dislike for rock music. I accepted that forcing him to make a video for a music genre he doesn't like was unfair due to the amount of time and effort we would be having to spend in creating the video. Not only this, but due to his dislike of the genre, Sam doesn't know much about it and this would have made the entire process much slower.

Finally, we decided against making an indie video due to indie music usually being quite slow. This would make it hard for us to cut the video on beat and limits our opportunities in terms of camera, narrative and editing. Therefore, it became clear that making an indie video would be far too easy for what we aimed to achieve.

Due to it's low budget production, simple narratives, and combination of both slow and fast beats, folk music appeared to be our best option. In addition, we both like folk music and therefore this will make the process more enjoyable for us both.


The official definition of folk music is music that originates in traditional pop culture or that is written in such style.

Audience

We have decided to target both males and females from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and social classes between the ages of 15 and 25. This is because we believe that the song itself is more directed at this age group without paying regard to other information. It clearly indicates the importance of remembering memories and taking a record of them, through the repeated symbolism of polaroid pictures, which makes it appear that it is aimed at younger people who potentially don't understand this importance. There is a sense of nostalgia surrounding the video as well as it appearing to be a form of passing on life advice, more appropriated to a slightly younger audience.

Audiences tend to attract and captivate audiences using one of two potential methods. The first of these is through spoon-feeding of information via the Hypodermic Needle Theory. This prevents the audience from having to concentrate on what is being shown to them. When Hypodermic Needle Theory is used, the audience are likely to be attracted through intriguing  and extravagant images yet simple narratives. The second potential method is through use of the Uses and Gratifications Theory. This relies upon the participation of the audience for the narrative to be understood and accepted. When Uses and Gratifications Theory is applied, the audience are more likely to be attracted by more diverse and harder to understand narratives which require attention. The chosen method used will help to establish genre and give the audience an idea of what to expect from the video.

For our video, we intend to adopt the Uses and Gratifications Theory as this suits the folk genre a lot more than the Hypodermic Needle Theory. Not only this but it allows us to develop a more sophisticated narrative with deeper connotations than we would be able to create if we had chosen to attempt to follow the Hypodermic Needle Theory. We think that this will also suit our chosen audience as we believe that it is this age group that are most likely to watch music videos and pay attention to them, rather than just placing the video on in the background of their other activities.