Firstly I wanted to get some feedback on the music videos I have recently been looking at, these are Foals 'My Number', Mac DeMarco 'My Kind Of Woman' and also Kodaline 'Lose your mind'. This is because I am essentially taking inspiration from all three therefore I wanted to know what a consumer enjoys about the video and what makes it memorable so that I can apply elements of them into my own. So I went ahead and created 5 questions and uploaded them to Facebook with the attached videos in order to get some consumer feedback. I also wanted to know if consumers felt something was missing or can be improved upon in the videos therefore if I am to take elements from them especially in the Mac DeMarco video I can ensure I do this therefore appealing to a market more. I also asked whether they were able to understand the deeper meaning or messages to the music videos therefore I could know that in my music video I can infer meaning without it being explicit and audiences will still be able to understand it thus allowing me in my own to infer multiple meanings knowing audiences will still 'get' the videos.
Seeing as this will be the song in which I am using for my own music video these results are very helpful. one thing in which seems to be the general message throughout the comments is that people understand the video yet they consider it strange and unconventional due to the visuals. Things people seem to like is the fact that the video has an other worldly aspect to it as it makes it strange and thus memorable this will be something that I should do in my own music video as this is what makes the music video memorable in order to do this I need to include strange content such as things in which I've already looked at by looking at Mac DeMarco's music videos such as masks as I still want to use Mac DeMarco's style. Another thing in which the viewer enjoyed was the fact that the music and visuals fitted well together this is due to the music being abstract thus my music video should be abstract in order for the both to fit together and therefore appeal to an audience. One thing in which a viewer said could be improved was the fact that the camera work in this video is very limited and in order for my video to look abstract and fit to the music I should have various different shot types and transitions such as zooming in and out etc. like DeMarco's style. The Multiple different meanings made by the viewers tell me that I can infer multiple meanings with this song as the original video already does so and the viewer is able to understand therefore I am definitely going to do so in my own music video as this song offers an opportunity to do so and also it helps add to the abstract disjointed theme by having sometimes an unclear narrative.
Mac DeMarco is my stylistic influence for my own music video therefore I thought it would be a good idea to get some audience feedback on his style of video. Many people thought that the strangeness of the content coming across as a bad nightmare is what made the music video memorable so again this is something I should do in my own music video as I am using his style, the aspect of him putting make-up on is memorable due to the fact that it is unconventional for a male to apply make-up and especially like that it adds to the dysfunctional nature which in turn is memorable therefore this could be something in which I could include in my video as it is what makes the video memorable. Something in which I should do in my own music video is include video transitions and effects from this video as this appeals to an audience. In addition the viewers interpretations tells me that having a distorted representation of a characters thoughts and feelings adds to the effect of the video being abstract due to one of the main elements of the video being DeMarco enclosed in a box therefore if I am going to include in my own video a deeper meaning of being 'other worldly' I could use the box to encode meaning as this seems to be the most prominent feature in the video which infers meaning besides him dressed as a woman.
I wanted to get feedback on this music video due to me having the understanding that this video infers meaning which is something I want to do in my own music video as after looking at DeMarco's videos I know that this is something which makes a video abstract when things aren't clear. Something people enjoyed was the fact they're multiple scenes therefore this is something I should do in my music video. Something else which made the video memorable was by inferring meaning and having edits which reflect the controversial message in which they're trying to get across therefore I should have a controversial message in my music video and show it through editing thus encoding meaning instead of literally showing it as this is what make music videos memorable. Another thing in which is liked from this music video is the fact that it is realistic and it shows literally what its like to be at a gig and its edited as though your they're and you can feel there emotions therefore this is something I should make sure I do even though I am not having any performance/gig element in it due to sticking with Mac DeMarco's style however I shall make my music video realistic as it something that audiences enjoy. Something else which I got from reading this feedback is that there is no need for lots and lots of multiple interpretations just one strong one as its more about the experience when watching it therefore if I encode meaning throughout the video on one particular subject it should enable me to create a viewing experience for the viewer where it makes them feel like they have thought about the music video and not passively watched it.
Overall I believe that this feedback has been beneficial for me to do as I know have a good idea of what I would like to do in my music video in order to stick to the style of being abstract and at the same time appeal to an audience. Therefore when it comes to planning my music video I can look back at this piece of research to ensure I include things in which I have mentioned I am going to do in order to appeal to an audience and make a successful product like these existing ones.
