Research For The Main Video

Before starting work on my final project i decided to research the opinions of the youth which is my target audience. To do so i conducted a questionnaire which was more a qulitative one. To do so i used questionnaires with the idea that a qualitative approach would suit me better. I believe that conducting a qualitative research was a better idea because it gave my target audience to voice their opinions freely. The questionnaire included questions regarding the subjects opinions about different songs and videos. As have decided to make a video of patriotic song, included questions regarding patriotism in my questionnaire and to my surprise i got a great feedback and felt good to learn that the youth still loves their country and they are proud of their country. Here is my questionnaire.      QUESTIONNAIRE

As my song is a patriotic one and  got a good response about it from the target audience I have decided to get more details about what the youth think about their country and what they want to see in a music video dealing with patriotism. Here are two music videos featuring Pakistani singers singing patriotic songs. These two videos inspired me a lot.

Dil Se By Haroon

This a narrative music video. The concept of this video is to inspire love for the country in the viewers. This video includes some archival shots of partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 and shows a Pakistani then return to his country and work and live there. The Pakistani has returned from Hindustan to Pakistan.

The Pakistani is shown to be proud of his country .Different effects have been used to achieve this depiction, the partition shots help to make the scene look natural and real. I like the use of the sepia effect and the black and white effect to show olden days.The singer has also portrayed a very simple image of his with traditional clothing that is Shalwar Kameez,which i think also has a good impact on the video. The shot of the singer is twice in the video and is at the right timings as it does not interrupt the continuity of the video which is a very good point.Iwill also have to keep this in mind while making my video.

This video has always been an inspiration I love the concept as well as the treatment.Keeping this video in mind I will produce my music video.

Dosti By Jawad Ahmed

This is also a narrative music video showing a scene of war and the Pakistani army fighting for their country.This shows the loyalty of the army towards their country and they are fighting for their country without even worrying about their lives. This may be an attempt to build confidence in the citizens of the country and creates a feeling of being proud of their heroes and their country.

These are the videos which I like and Dil Se by Haroon was indicated as a favorite by all the people  who filled my questionnaire.

As I plan to make a music video of a patriotic song I asked some young people  what they want to see in the video and to  my surprise I got almost the same answers from a majority of my respondents. Today’s youth still loves their country and feels proud of it. They want to see anything which would show that we all are united and can do anything to for the country.The audiences’ opinion have helped me a lot in deciding on a concept for my music video.Hopefully with this feedback I will be able to make a good video as per the youth’s expectations.

TARGET AUDIENCE

My target audience is young people aged 13 to 19 and to make a nice video I should know my target audiences’ expectations and opinions. So i used a questionnaire to gather data and after getting a really great response i made two mind maps to map out what my target audience actually wants. These mind maps were very helpful to me and made it easy for me to decide on a concept for the video of my song. My target audience include both males and females. They are my target audience because people ageing from 13 to 19 are most interested in music than any other age group.These are the two mind maps made by me:

This is the first mind map i made in which i have noted the characteristics of my target audience, which consists of young people ages 13 to 19.

I indicated the way they live their lives and what music means to them to which I have concluded that music is their lifeline. I also focused on how do they feel about their country to which the young people reacts in such a way that is surprising as they are proud of their country and can do anything for it to have a great name.

This is the second mind map I have made to analyze what young people want in a music video of a patriotic song.I got different responses to this question, Some said they wanted to see their country best in the world, Some respondents wanted to see the natural beauty of their country and citizens working to make it more beautiful, Other respondents said they would like the music video to show the success of their country in sports,some wants to see a scene of war happening in a country and majority girls want to see women rights,they want to see women leading in everything and leading a life just like a man and are not considered passive.

INSTITUTIONS THAT PRODUCE MUSIC VIDEOS

Whenever a music video is made it is produced by a music company.All around the world there are various record companies.In Pakistan also there are record companies such as Fire Records and Pyramid Productions and many more.

My teacher suggested we start thinking about the evaluation questions even as early as the planning stages of our videos so i decided to think a little about the institution question. I think my video will be a good fit with Pyramid Productions. I have some insight into this company as it is the production house of Interflow group of Companies and my father is the director of Interflow group of Companies.

The reason i have chosen a local, Pakistani institution because i am making a video of a patriotic song and is focused on the Pakistanis and my country Pakistan.

Fire Records is also one of the well known music production company in Pakistan and has produced a huge list of music videos and albums such as Masty By Ali Zafar and Koey Anay Wala hai By Strings(Pakistani singers).The total cost in making the video purely depends on the concept of the song,the technical stuffs required and what the singer wants to have in the video.

Pyramid Productions is a well known record label in Pakistan.The CEO of this company Rohail Hayat has made his mark in the production industry of Pakistan. Pyramid Productions has also worked with the Pepsi Cola Company and a lot of multinational clients.Pyramid Productions grew from a $200,000 company in 1997 to a $4 million company in 2003.Coke Studio a highly acclaimed music show in Pakistan is a Pyramid Production. Coke Studio embodies a musical fusion of exciting elements and diverse influences, ranging from traditional eastern, modern western and regionally inspired music. Bringing alive the magic of live recordings and performances, Coke Studio prides itself on providing a musical platform, which bridges barriers, celebrates diversity, encourages unity and instills a sense of Pakistani pride.

Both Fire Records and Pyramid Productions are famous companies and I believe my song can be produced by Pyramid Production as it has worked with a lot of multinational clients and is known to everyone and has produced Coke Studio which is a really unique concept and is liked by everyone. I believe if my music video were produced by Pyramid Productions it would need to be of great quality and will be done in a very systematic and an organized way as it is a professional company.

Role Of Appearance In A Video

I have noticed that some artists like to change their look so that each new video they have a new appearance I think this is because to want more and more people to watch their video. I believe viewers wait anxiously to see the change in the singer. I have also noticed that the costumes worn by various characters in music videos are related in some way to the feel of the song-so the fashion is styled to go with the music. Especially female singers are to change their looks in all their music videos. We can take Hilary Duff as an example, her first hair color was blonde which we can see in the song ‘So Yesterday’ and also in ‘Hey Now’. After this we noticed a change in her hairstyle from blonde to black in the song ‘Stranger’. Then her most recent hairstyle is blonde with black streaks in the song ‘Reach Out’. We can see the change in the following pictures

I believe this change is a great way to increase the viewer ship of their video as mostly people wait to see the change in them in their upcoming videos.

Same can be noted in different singer like a famous Pakistani singer Hadiqa Kiani who always has a different hairstyle and hair color in all her videos. This change by the singers is to attract more audience as this increases the curiosity for the audience to see he new look of the singer.

Analysis on different video of songs

Music videos are made in various ways.Some videos include the band as well as some relevant footages/shoot to communicate the message and storyline to the viewers, some videos only focus on the band and some communicate a story directly or indirectly related to the lyrics of the song.

A good example of a video focusing the band plus some shots is,

After Every Rainfall Must Come A Rainbow By Outlandish

This song was an attempt by the band to raise awareness about the devastation caused by the  floods occurred in Pakistan in the month of August 2010. The video includes the shots of devastation caused by the floods and how poor Pakistani people have been left without shelter. By showing us grim footages of the devastation, the video urges us to help those who are suffering. This song is trying to make us feel that the people affected are our brothers and sisters and they need us and are facing these pains and troubles. The treatment of this video is shown in black and white which emphasizes the sadness of the situation. It is telling us that the people affected are sad and they need us.

Another example of a video including the band and some footages is:

Waka Waka By Shakira

On the other hand there is another type of music videos which only show the band/singer performing. In the video the band is shown at a location suitable to their song. This kind of videos are liked by audiences who like to watch their favorite singer/band in the song. Here is a list of such videos:

Incomplete By BackStreet Boys



Naturally By Selena Gomez



Boulevard of Broken Drems By Green Day

All these videos has relevant effects depending on the mood of the song.For example in the Boulevard of the Broken Dreams the video convey to us the idea that the singer is all alone and feels lonely.
There are also music videos in which the band/singer is not shown on screen, in these types of videos there is a story running according to the lyrics of the song.These types of videos make easier for the audience to understand the message being conveyed by the band/singer through the song. Usually theme songs of movies are shot showing only some footages or a story. They do not feature the band in the video. For example
1. Theme song of Spider Man.
2.Songs of the movies Run Away Bride.
I believe that such types of videos require more effort and time to shoot.
I think videos featuring the band and including some clips or scene related to the songs have more impact on the audience. As the message is conveyed to the audience easily and the audience`s wish to see the band is also fulfilled.
After watching these different types of videos I have decided to make a music video showing the band and including some clippings related to the song.