Music Video Questionnaire Primary Research

I have constructed a primary research questionnaire to recover valuable information about preferred styles and content of music videos. I have asked questions that are relevant to the music video I wish to construct which will help me to make decisions based on my target audience. Most of the questions that I have asked are Quantitative which will give me useful statistics based around my ideas. However I have used one or two Qualitative questions which will reveal opinions about music videos. The genre I wish to do has a stereotypical age group of sixteen to late twenties. Due to this I did not include a question requiring age as I made a point of handing the questionnaires to people within this specific age group.

1. Are you Male or Female?

Male: 40%Female: 60%

This question helps me to decide what preferences come from each gender. As men are typically prone to be enticed into loud music and action packed videos, it is interesting to find out what the preferred response is from a woman. Therefore I asked more women to discover how I could meet expectations from both genders. In doing this I found out that surprisingly 4 out of the 6 women I asked preferred fast paced edited music videos. This was good information to use as it shows me that not all women are stereotypes that enjoy watching slow, continuous footage.

2. What is your preferred genre of music?Electronic: 10%Hip Hop: 20%Drum & Bass: 1%House: 30%Alternative: 30%

This question is to get a feel of what musical background and tastes my participants have. It does not contain any mainstream genres as I am staying clear of stereotypical conventions that this would involve, such as a love story narrative that would be found in a pop video or a sense of lustfulness that could be seen in R & B. The qualitative data I received shows that the majority listens to house and alternative. Using my own knowledge I know that it is not

unusual to have a non-linear narrative within these music videos and also footage that is abstract. This is useful information as complies with my preliminary idea

With the information from this question it tells me where my target audience consumes the music videos they view. It is relevant to me as it shows what a popular method is, therefore is I was going to publish my video I would know what my best chances of gaining the most views were. As I discovered that YouTube is the most common form of consumption, I would post it on to the website once it is finished.

4. When watching a music video, what is your preferred style?

Narrative: 30%Performance: 30%Abstract: 20%Mixture of all: 20%

Discovering the preferred style of music video is crucial to my production. It tells me what is popular in terms of narrative, abstractness and performance footage. The results I came up with show that the majority of people preferred a performance or narrative structure. This was surprising to me as it is not what I expected from my target audience. As a result of this I have decided on an executive decision of combining a mixture of all aspects. This is so that I can involve footage similar to all styles and still meet expectations of my target audience.

3. Where do you usually consume music?

YoutubeSocial NetworkingMTV

5. Does the use of colour help deliver its messages in a more direct way?

Yes, colours reflect the style and themes of a music video: 70%

No, they are just put there to make it bright: 20%

Black and white videos have a better effect: 10%

In my opinion colour in a music video is important to the style and themes that it is presenting. The use of colour can deliver certain messages in the narrative or structure to show connotations. A big majority of the data I received agrees with my opinion on colour as 70% said that it helps reflect the style and themes of a music video. However I also gave the option for the effect of black and white, I did this to see if I should edit or shoot any footage like this, the results showed me that only one person from my sample preferred this. Knowing this I will now only shoot my video in colour but will experiment with filters to create an effect of the scene. On the other hand colours will be predominant anyway as It will consist of bright clothing and settings.

7. Do you prefer…Fast paced edited music videos: 80%Slow continuous footage: 20%

Synchronized editing is when the footage you see fits in with beat and tempo of the music. I think that it is a very useful method in editing as it gives you a guideline of when to cut to the next shot. A big 80% of the people I asked say that it makes a difference when watching a music video. Due to this I will edit my footage to go with the beat of the music in many places.

6. Do you think that synchronized editing creates a better effect?

Yes: 80%No: 20%

9. finding out the favourite music video from the participants is crucial to understand their musical background and why they had these preferences. However some of the videos that have been mentioned are a completely different genre from the one I am focusing on. Next time I will try to find people that can relate to these genres more, therefore giving more meaningful answers.

The hypodermic theory relates to this as it says that audiences are directly influenced by the things they watch. It is interesting to discover how the modern audience respond to this and see if videos have an effect on them. My results proved the theory wrong as 70% of my answers said that it makes no change. However I gave the option to state why for yes and It

When coming to edit my music video I will experiment with different techniques of special affects. I may consider slow motion or speeded up footage to create a preferred look. 70% of my results show me that my target audience believe that with special effects comes a unique style of video. However none of my recipients said that it makes the video look complicated, therefore if I chose to put them in it would be a good response.

10. Do music videos have an in-fluence on you?

Yes: 30%No: 70%

8. What kind of feel does special effects give off to the audience?

Creative giving it a unique style: 70%Too complicated: 0%If it fits in with the music it looks good regardless: 30%

As expected, this question links in with my data for number 6. The 80% of people that preferred synchronized editing also like it to be fast paced. With the song I have chosen I will edit my footage accordingly to fit in with the tempo and the beat. For the chorus and slower parts of the song, I will use footage of moving traffic or abstract objects and edit them accordingly.

saying that it projects an image of the artist whilst also inspiring people. This may be due to the footage that they see the artist doing or actions going on.

As they are common in a live performance styled music video, equipment and instruments can play a key part to the skills showcased in the music. Just over half the results show that it is important to have instruments on display, I believe this is because it shows the bare bones of where the music comes from and also the talent that they have. However I will try to keep costs to a minimal in my production therefor I will have to see if it is possible to acquire them for free otherwise it is not an option.

11. Are instruments and equiptement important in a music video?

Yes: 60%No: 40%