Draft Questionnaire

Questions that allow us to find out who is filling out the questionnaire:

How old are you?

10-15                                                                                              
16-20                                                                                                          

21-25                                                                                                         

26-30                                                                                                        

31-35                                                                                                         

36-40                                                                                                       

40+                                                                                                      

What gender are you?

Male
Female                                                                                                   

What is your occupation?

Student                                                                                                  

Teacher                                                                                              
Public services                                                                                     

Other (please state)                                                                               

What is your favourite genre of music?

Pop                                                                                                        

Rap                                                                                                                   

R&B                                                                                                      

Rock                                                                                                      

Dance                                                                                                    

Electronic                                                                                              

Classical                                                                                               

Other (Please state)                                                           

Questions that allow us to find out what sorts of music videos they like:

Do you prefer music videos with a story or a performance?

Story                                                                                                      

Performance                                                                                          

How do you become aware of a music video?

Internet                                                                                                  

Friends                                                                                                

Family                                                                                                  

Media (TV, Magazines, Newspaper)                                                    

Other (Please state)                                                           

Do you prefer female or male artists/bands?

Female                                                                                                   

Male                                                                                                       

Do you think what you see in the music video should visually relate to the lyrics?

Yes                                                                                                        

No                                                                                                        


Questions that allow us to find out what they are looking for in a new music video:

Circle the words that describe how you think a Pop music video should look like: (Circle as many as you wish)

Exciting                                  Colourful                                  Dull

Happy                                     Scary                                        Sad

Bouncy                                   Meaningless                             Narrative

Which of these locations do you think is most suited for a Pop music video? (Tick one only)

Theme park/funfair                                                                                                         

School                                                                                                   

Park                                                                                                      

Beach                                                                                                    

Party                                                                                                     

Other (Please state)  

         
From the Pop genre, order these CD covers in terms of appealing quality and personal preferences in the boxes below the images. (1 being the most preferred and 3 being the least)

Description of our Target Audience

Youth and Subcultures

Youth subcultures: Modes of expression or lifestyles developed by groups in subordinate structural positions in response to dominant systems. 

There are many different types of youth subcultures that are used every day in order to stereotype people and also for people to be able to fit into certain groups within today's society. We usually determine these subcultures by what clothes the person wear and the music that they listen to. 

Popular subcultures of today’s society include:

•          Chavs
•          Emos
•          Fan girls

Chavs:

Chavs are stereotypically people that wear a lot of jewellery, tracksuit bottoms, baseball caps and trainers. Chavs may also stereotypically consume a lot of alcohol and cigarettes. An example of a Chav in the media is Catherine Tate’s character of 'Vicky Pollard' in popular TV comedy 'Little Britain'. In the programme she is seen wearing a tracksuit and quite a lot of jewellery, she also has a very distinct accent in the programme.

Vicky Pollard

Emos:

The term ‘Emo’ is short for emotional music and is an evolving and complex American subculture that listens to a specific genre of music, which is characterised by feelings of vulnerability and a willingness to express heart-felt confessions about adolescence. Artist that produce Emo titled genre music include; Paramore and Panic at the Disco. We tend to stereotypically say that Emo’s wear mostly black clothing, have big hair and wear dark makeup. Some may also argue that Emo’s are stereotypically known for self-harming as they have a lot of emotions going on inside them.

Fan Girls:

‘Fan Girl’ is a term that is used for a female fan, especially one who is obsessive about comics, film, music, or popular culture. A Fan Girl may stereotypically wear tshirts of the object/subject that they are ‘fan girling’ over and may collect items from the specific subject they are ‘fan girling’ over. For example, Fan Girls of pop band One Direction may attend many of their concerts and become overly emotional over the band, they may also wear the band t-shirts and collect the bands merchandise. The term ‘Fan Girl’ is fairly modern however the behaviour of theses stereotypical girls can be seen in the past with The Beatles and ‘The Beatles Mania’. There can also be ‘Fan Boys’ and these can be seen as boys obsessed with an element of video or electronic culture, such as a game, sci-fi movie, comic or anime´, music, etc; a person obsessed with a single subject or hobby.

The subculture that my music video is most likely going to be aimed at is the ‘Fan Girls’ as this is the subculture that I can mostly associate myself with, therefore I will have a clear understanding of what music they like and what things are involved with being in this specific subculture.  

Popular Culture

The idea of popular culture originated from ‘The Frankfurt School’ who were a collection of Marxist Philosophers based in Germany in the mid-20^th century. They tried to maintain the power of the upper class by looking down on their under classes and by trying to distinguish themselves away from these classes through making themselves seem unique and important by the theories that they invented.

People from 'The Frankfurt School'

Theodore Adorno was a German sociologist, philosopher, musicologist and critique of society who was a leading member of the ‘Frankfurt School of Critical theory’. He is known for his views on thoughts on society and he believed that there were two kinds of people, those who like classical music who he referred to as ‘true art’ and then there are those who like popular music. He believed that the select few people who listened to ‘true art’ were educated and cultured and most of these people were of the middle and upper class. He also believed that everyone else all listened to popular music which he felt was all the same and repetitive which is why everyone listens to it, he also believes that those who listen to popular music are absorbed by popular music and easily influenced by it. These kinds of people were the lower classes of society which he looked down on in a sense.

Dick Hebdige is a British media theorist who has a more modern take on Adorno’s theory and believes that he is too negative. Hebdige’s believes that the mass audience isn’t as easily manipulated as Adorno makes them out to be and Hebdige also believes that the mass audience can choose from different genres of music what they want to ‘consume’, this goes against Adorno’s idea as Adorno believed that the mass audience all listen to popular music and consume it without thinking about it.

Examples of this can be seen in today's society on websites such as iTunes. On iTunes people can see what is in the charts and they are more likely to download/buy the music that is 'popular' at that moment in time. This can be related to Adorno's theory as people are more likely to download what is popular, however likewise with Hebdige's theory we can also argue that people can still choose what they download and consume as they have a mind for themselves and people of today's world are not easily manipulated by others choices. 

Dyer's Star Theory

Richard Dyers star theory is the idea that icons and celebrities are manufactured by institutions for financial gain. He says “A star is an image, not a real person, which is constructed out of a range of materials (media)”. He believes that stars are constructed to represent 'real people' experiencing real emotions and these stars are manufactured by the music industry to serve a purpose. For example, to make money out of audience. This audience will to various elements of a star’s personality by buying records, becoming fans and overall spending money on the star(s).  

His theory is spilt into five sections:

1.       The making of a star

2.       Audiences and Institutions 

3.       Character and personality

4.       Construction of a star

5.       Hegemony (cultural beliefs)

Making of a star:

Pop star Rihanna is known for her identity which is bounded by her singing career. In her past (before getting recognised in the music world), she had no large identity. Record label Def. Jam Roc Nation transformed found Rihanna and transformed her into a pop star after her album ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’. Rihanna was also girlfriend to celebrity singer/rapper Chris Brown meaning that she became present in most magazines which then allowed her to attend many premiers and famous/celebrity parties.  Richard Dyer states that all ‘true’ pop stars have lasting significances if they make sufficient sociological/cultural impacts if not they will

be forgotten about. Rihanna has a charity that has made an impact (as well as being a pop star). The Believe foundation (founded by Rihanna in 2006) recruits and registers bone marrow donors; with the help of Rihanna the foundation get more awareness.  Because of this foundation it leaves a lasting effect on people other than just Rihanna’s fans therefore making her a ‘true’ pop star.

Audiences and Institutions:

Stars are fundamentally created to make money. The music institution then models the stars images around the target audience. Rihanna’s character and personality is modelled on what trends are currently being set.

Character and Personality:

Dyers theory suggests that stars are created to make money only. Although the star starts of as a ‘real’ human being in the music industry they are transformed so that they can provide an image of the current time and culture. Audiences can see this through an example of Rihanna from being curvy to skinning as trends have changed. An audience tend to see stars as not entirely fictional, as they provide audiences with an idea of how they should look and behave in current times.

Construction of a star:

Dyer says “A star is solely built for an audience”. Rihanna was constructed by her record label Def. Jam Roc Nation with specific hair styles, fashions and other ‘trends’ that differ from other

people/stars.

Hegemony (Cultural beliefs):

Hegemony in the star theory terms is what we as an audience can relate to or experiences that we may be able to share with the star. This develops into idolisation. Rihanna has a massive audience following in all media, for example, magazines and social networking sites therefore the audience can find out what she is doing every day.

Some try to copy what they like about the specific star they have chosen to ‘idolise’, but this can also have a negative effect as some people (for example) see Rihanna as a ‘bad girl’ as this is a reference to her album title and lyrics in her songs. She is also spotted smoking, taking drugs and abusing alcohol in her music videos and photographed doing these types of things in her everyday life. As a role model the people ‘idolising’ her may copy these negative actions. 

 

Questionnaire

How old are you?

10-15                                                                                                                                         16-20                                                                                                        

21-25                                                                                                       

26-30                                                                                                          

31-35                                                                                                     

36-40                                                                                                          

40+                                                                                                             

What gender are you?

Male                                                                                                                                         Female                                                                                                        

                                                                      

What is your favourite genre of music?

Pop                                                                                                       

Rap                                                                                                                

R&B                                                                                                       

Rock                                                                                                      

Dance                                                                                                 

Electronic                                                                                           

Classical                                                                                                

Do you prefer music videos with a story or a performance?

Story                                                                                                    

Performance                                                                                        

How do you become aware of a music video?

Internet                                                                                                 

Friends                                                                                                 

Family                                                                                                  

Media (TV, Magazines, Newspaper)                                                    

Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter etc)                                                  

Do you prefer female or male artists/bands?

Female                                                                                                   

Male                                                                                                    

Do you think what you see in the music video should visually relate to the lyrics?

Yes                                                                                                         

No                                                                                                         

Which of these locations do you think is most suited for a Pop music video? (Tick one only)

Theme park/funfair                                                                                                          

School                                                                                                  

Park                                                                                                      

Beach                                                                                                    

Party                                                                                                      

From the Pop genre, order these CD covers in terms of appealing quality and personal preferences in the boxes below the images. (1 being the most preferred and 3 being the least)

Music Video Analysis - Pop Genre - Jessie J - It's My Party

As soon as the music starts in this music video we are able to establish that this song/music video is from the pop genre. The music is upbeat and makes you want to dance and this is commonly used in the pop genre because this genre is known for having a fun feel to it and making people feel happy.
The use of close up on Jessie J's face helps to make the video seem more fun as she pulls different facial expressions that fit with what is being sung. The movement of the camera using a range of in and out shots also helps the music video to appear more fun as the camera is not just fixed onto one thing.

As Jessie J peers into the different doors we can see different types of (stereotypical) people in each room. Not matter who is in the room Jessie dances in the room with the people and this tells us that she is able to have fun and feel comfortable to dance in a room with people she doesn't know and would not relate to, which sends out a message of having fun not matter who you're with, what situation you are in or how you feel about yourself. This is a common message that is given off in the pop genre, to be confident and happy not matter what situation you are in or may be facing. The lyrics "It's my party, I do, do what I want. So while you sit and watch me I keep dancing alone, da-dancing alone. So put this record on and keep it going 'til I say, Stop!, If you were wondering if I give a damn, well, I do not" also links to this feeling and message that people should be happy and confident with who they are.

In the different rooms not all of the people are stereo-typically wearing colourful clothing to fit in with the pop genre, however we still can tell that this song is from the pop genre because they are all wearing 'party' like clothing that fits in with their stereotypical group (this being things such as dark clothing for the room of people full of 'emos' and bright clothing for the more 'pop' genre people), again this relates to the message of feeling confident in yourselves not matter what people think/says, this is going to impact the audience in a positive way as they are being told (indirectly) in the video to be positive about themselves and be happy with the way they look. The editing is also fast paced fitting in with the norms of music videos from the pop genre. 

Music Video Analysis - Pop Genre - Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)

This music video is narrative based with also some performance in it, because of this alone we may be able to tell that this is from the pop genre as these are very common in the pop genre. The title of the song could also give us a clue that it is from the pop genre as Friday nights are known as being for partying and celebrating the week being over so this tells us that it is going to be fun and party like.

Again with most, if not all, pop genre music videos the colours play an important part which can be seen in this music video. The setting, props and clothing in this music video are very bright, vibrant and colourful making the video seem fun and linking in with the theme of the party. The partying theme makes the video seem fun because it makes you feel as if you're almost at the party, again this fits in with the 'feel good'/partying factor of this genre. The different shots and camera movement that are used also help the music video fit in with the genre because it is filmed in a way that makes you feel as if you're at the party.

The lyrics of the song also help this song to fit in with the pop genre because lyrics such as "Last Friday night, yeah we danced on table tops, and we took too many shots" again add to the party feel of the song and the genre its from because it states that they are dancing and drinking alcohol. The instruments used are also very important in allowing this song to fit into the genre again as they are what mainly give the song the party feel as it makes you want to dance.