When We Were Kids: Audience

Improved Audience Case Study

According to Mulvey, mainstream Hollywood film "coded the erotic into language of the dominant patriarchal order" Mulvey indicates that this coding is, in the essence, the establishment of the "male gaze"
   Naturally constructed, the male gaze refers to the act of viewing women as objects, of adopting the role of spectator, but metaphorically, it refers to way of thinking about and acting within society. Consequently, the negative and inaccurate sexualised representation of women in this video will this reinforce misogynists attitudes that women are toys/playthings and candy, therefore untalented.

     

Thelma & Louise break the barriers of how hey are defined by their gender.

Audience Case Study

Audience Feedback for Music Video

This questionnaire was filled in by a male student, I am happy with the ratings given. This shows that the male gender can engage with my music video, probably because they can identify with Joel. The only criticisms I received in this feedback is that the narrative became weaker in the middle and it felt like I was editing by effects. I took this on board and during the editing process, I edited the shots in the middle to a fast pacer - I feel this was what the problem was, as the track is quite upbeat, therefore the shots needed to fit with the sound of the track. Additionally, it felt like I was editing by effects as I used the same effect 'cross dissolve' over every shot, I did this to indicate it was a montage; however, as it appeared boring and repetitive I took out some of the effects across each shot or I replaced the cross dissolve with 'dip to black' or 'dip to white' to make the music video more interesting.
 

This feedback was from a female. I am happy that they believed the best part of the production to be the filming/footage as I was the cinematographer during this production and this is is an important part of a production and evidently it is appealing and engaging. From the criticism of this feedback, I did add a fade on the overlap of footage 1 minute in and rendered my music video in order for it to play the whole way through without buffering or the music cutting out. This meant an audience would be able to watch it without any difficulties.

This questionnaire was also completed by a female. This one states that the best part of the production is 'the amount of footage included and the fast pace goes well with the song. I am happy with this feedback as Jill, Joel and I put a lot of time and effort into getting a variety of different shots in different locations, in order to produce an efficient montage. Additionally, I am glad that the fast pace edit goes well with the song as this has met my intentions from when I firs started planning. The criticism I got in this feedback is that I cut some of my footage to early when Jill says 'Sorry', therefore I made this longer so an audience could understand what she said. Also, this feedback suggested that I did not need a transition, but I used a transition to imply the narrative was moving into a different time of the friendship between Jill and Joel. Although, as someone else suggested I was editing by effects, I thought it was unnecessary to have them from shot to shot, so I removed some of them and only used them when I believed them to be the most effective.

Photoshoot for Print Production

 Jill, Joel and I chose to go back to Mousehold to capture possible shots for our print productions as the place is a cultural aspect of our music video that we filmed in Norwich. Also, we thought it was the most appropriate place as the scenery/view is beautiful. I like many of these images but have a few favourites which I am considering to use. I enjoyed taking these photographs.




( I like this image, but feel it looks to serious, taking into account the notion of our music video - messing about, being a kid and not wanting to grow up)

( I don't think this photo is appropriate as it was so windy, Jill's hair is in her face, and Joel's eyes are closed)

 ( I love these pictures of the view of Norwich and would consider using them for my second and third panels.)



We chose to take this picture as reference to our music video and our inspiration Tv Drama - Friends

 These Images below are my favourite ones to take into consideration:

 ( I like this image as Jill and Joel are smiling/laughing and look happy and comfortable to be around each other which illustrates a strong friendship. Also, again it has the scenery of Norwich in the background - I may use this for my magazine advert)

 (I love this photo of Jill on Joel's back because again it shows how happy and comfortable they are in each others company and has a beautiful view in the distance  -  I may use this for my front panel in my digipak)


   


  


 

 This is another image I think I could potentially use for my magazine advert. I like this one due to the body language of Jill and Joel because it shows a strong connection between the two of them, which is demonstrated in the music video.

Print Production Research (Similar Genre)

Our chosen track for our music video, 'When We Were Kids' by AnxiousAlibi comes under an 'indie pop' genre, therefore I thought it would be useful to research indie pop artists and their album artwork.
I came across a list of indie pop artists on wikipedia such as Lorde, Bastille and Kodaline.

All three of these album covers have similarities. For instance, the text is white and the font is simple, however it still stands out. Although, the images used are the main focus rather than the artists/albums name.
  Lorde's album uses a close up of her face which is an extremely similar shot to one used in one of her music videos, therefore I may incorporate close ups of the actors of my music video in one of the panels in my digipak. Alternatively, in Kodaline and Bastille's covers, the location is what mostly grabs an audiences attention and makes it appealing; the locations would encourage customers to buy the albums as Kodaline's has a lovely scenery, but Bastille's is quite mysterious. Therefore, I would like the image on my front panel to be an appealing location. Perhaps mousehold where we filmed our best footage as you can see the Norwich City skyline and it looks beautiful. This would persuade people to buy the digipak.

There is a difference in the use of colour in these album covers,with two being quite bright and lively and the other being quite dark. This has inspired me to differentiate between colour on my front panel and my back panel in relation to using contrasting colouration between real time and events that happened in the past (flashbacks).

Possible Print Production Ideas

This was my first idea, I like the image of the two characters siting on the bench, although it doesn't show their faces, you can instantly tell that they enjoy each others company, therefore they have a strong connection within their friendship.

  For the second panel, I chose the image of them taking a photo of the view of the city as it also displays the fact that they enjoy spending time with each other and appreciate doing the little things with each other. However, I thought that instead of one shot, it may be better as a panorama shot or I could use a panorama shot of Mousehold.

   For the back panel, I thought that the visual of an empty bench would be a good representation of the concept of the music video as the music video illustrates how the two individuals have drifted apart. However, this picture and the music video is also ambiguous as an audience may interpret it differently. I also wrote a track list on the back which include other tracks the artist (AnxiousAlibi) has done - promoting the artist further. I thought it would be appealing to an audience to use the bench for the front and back panels as it will make the audience curious and want to watch the music video.

 This was my second idea. Instead of using the image of them taking photos of view in the middle, it could actually be used as the front panel because as I mentioned previously, I consider it to capture their friendship adequately.
   Therefore, I chose to put the bench picture across the inside rather than on the front as I adore this photo, so I could still potentially use it in the digipak.
   For the back panel, I chose a black and white picture of the actors walking towards each other but their faces are hidden. I like this idea as it shows another mood to the narrative that is involved within the music video. I think this makes it more interesting as it is mainly a happy video, but as the audience looks at the back panel, it will make them wonder what's happened, intriguing them to watch the music video. Further emphasising the ambiguity within the music video.
  The artists name will be on the front panel and the track list will be on the back panel.

However, my group and I have been out on a photo shoot to capture more potential images, which I will be posting soon.