Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

During the planning stages of my production I regularly asked my audience for feedback so that I could get an idea on how I could improve or make the product more appealing to them. During the research process I asked the audience what they wanted to see in a music video, and what their expectations are. From this feedback I catered my planning to what they wanted, I made sure to include an in depth narrative which was intertwined with the performance I also made sure there were plenty of cuts so that the music video and a consistent pace and didn’t become boring. I also made a poll so that the audience could vote for which digipak and advert designs they liked the best. I then took the ones with the most votes and improved upon them so that they were up to the audiences’ expectations. I also hosted a focus group to give feedback on the first rough cut of the music video. This was probably the most important part of the feedback because it allowed me to gain precise answers on what the audience liked about the product as it was and how exactly I could improve it in order to meet their expectations. The focus group had questions relating to both the music video and the ancillary tasks, so that I could gather comprehensive information on both of them. I believe that my methods of gathering people’s opinions were effective which was due to the fact that I used lots of different techniques to gather my information, such as vox pop and polls.

Audience research is very important because I am making the products for the audience, not myself so I need to make sure that throughout the whole creation process I am making a product that the audience wants. At different stages during creation different methods of gathering feedback are more useful for example, after I had drawn out the initial designs for the magazine advert it was appropriate to use a poll to see which advert the audience liked the best. For the poll I labelled the three designed that I had drawn out with A, B and C and I then asked the viewers to text the letter which they preferred and from the response I was able to choose which design I liked the best. It wasn’t necessary for me to gather in depth information at this time, so a technique such as a focus group wouldn’t have been required at this time. On the left is poster design 'A' as indicated on the poll, on the right is the final poster- as you can see I followed the design so that I met the audience's expectations.

Later on when the final products were created I decided that I wanted more in depth feedback about the digipak- so Elle set up another poll on 'Poll Everywhere' that allowed the audience to text in their opinions on the overall design. The general consensus was that the red lips really stood out on the front cover and the fact they matched with the CD added a really good focus point. It was also said the typography works very well and the overall layout really looks effective. This feedback was very useful because I could see the elements of the design that the audience was picking out, so I knew what needed improving or changing to make some other elements more or less dominant in the composition.

I wanted more feedback on the product as a whole so Elle posted the digipak and magazine advert on Facebook which is a very popular social media site. Facebook was the suitable choice to get audience feedback because most people have and use Facebook regularly, so we were guaranteed to generate some feedback from it.

Posting on Facebook made a lot of sense because it directly targeted our demographic as all of Elle's Facebook 'friends' are between the ages of 16 and 30. The overall reaction on Facebook was extremely positive with many people saying that they really liked the black, white and red theme. Another popular comment is that the products are extremely eye catching and the images are very detailed and interesting, one comment said that the concept was very 'modern'. One comment said that the 'brand image has a very clear selling point' which is an extremely good comment coming from our target audience. From the Facebook feedback it's clear that the audience feel that the two products are synergistically linked and that I have created a successful brand image. One issue with this feedback is that it could be biased since the people that have commented know Elle personally or through the social networking site, which means they may be more inclined to give praise on the product.

All three versions of the music video have been posted onto YouTube which is extremely useful in attracting viewers to the content because it will come up in suggestion boxes and auto playlists when people enter the website. YouTube has a comment feature similar to that of Facebook and on the final cut of the music video someone who is impartial to the school or media course has posted a comment praising the video. The comment says that the video is excellent, and they identify the genre without any labelling in the video description- this shows that I have successfully fulfilled the typical conventions of an indie music video. The comment also praises the editing and performance which shows that overall my music video has made a positive impact on the viewer. This feedback from someone totally impartial to the school and media course is very important, as it shows that other people genuinely feel that the production has been produced to a high standard, not just people that I know. Just below the video there is a views count which shows how many views the video has accumulated since it was first uploaded. The count shows 109 views which means that the video is being easily discovered by the YouTube audience.

I hosted a focus group for the first cut of the music video. The response I got from the focus group that watched the first cut of the video was extremely positive. They applauded the use of typical indie conventions in a new exciting way and all five members of the group gave a thumbs up to the question “Do you like it”. I feel that the feedback that I got from that focus group helped me to further develop my production because the audience told me specifically what conventions they felt I used well, and which ones I could do better. This answer sheet from the focus group shows an example of these answers. The first question on the sheet I felt would be best left as an open ended question that the audience could write their own personal answer to because it’s more about their opinion. The answers from this question could then be collected and I can tailor to each of their desires so that my production appeals to more people. All of the questions on the sheet also apply to the ancillary tasks, as I felt that it made sense to include them as one singular product rather than separate. This answer sheet says that the only thing that could be improved upon is the lighting, so I made sure that when I improved my music video I had very good lighting in the locations so that the shots weren’t grainy. Overall the response from the focus group is that the products overall were at a high standard, with just a few things that needed to be addressed and changed in order to make it better.

I used a vox pop to get the audience’s opinion on the final music video because I feel that vox pops are the easiest way for the audience to get their thoughts and opinions across. With a vox pop the audience gets to answer the question naturally without having to write down an answer or circle pre-defined answers which means that you get their true feelings on the product- in their own words. Another reason vox pops are the most effective is because they make sure that the audience give their honest opinion because they are being asked the question on the spot. The questions that I asked the audience on the final video are; “What do you like about it?”, “What would you change?”, “Does the editing pace suit the song?”, “Is the narrative clear?”, “Does it look professional?” and “Are the shots clear?”. The audience feedback was all similar, with everyone saying that they liked all the different shot varieties, locations, costume and the lighting. Answers to the second question were mixed, with some people saying that adding filters may make the video look more interesting. One answer that was very prevalent for question two is that they all wanted to see another actor in the video to make it more interesting. The audience all agreed on the third question, saying that the editing pace suits the song very well. The audience all said that the narrative isn’t clear and that they felt that if I had included a shot of the boyfriend leaving the narrative would’ve made much more sense. For the fifth question everyone said that they felt the video looks very professional and they wouldn’t change anything production wise. The feedback for the final question was also very positive with everyone saying that the shots are very clear and the lighting is very good. This feedback provided me with excellent responses and from them I can see that I don’t have many improvements that I need to make to the video, with the audience being very happy overall watching it.

Facebook Feedback from Dsquared, a Web Software Engineer company:

One of Elle's Facebook friends saw the ancillary tasks that had been posted on Facebook and he works for a media company. He sent her a private message regarding the products asking if we wanted any feedback from him and his co-workers at the company.

He mentioned a few things that could be improved upon which would make the products look more effective. He asked if the typography had different weights added to it and Elle replied telling him that a drop shadow was added so that it was more visible against the light backgrounds. He then mentioned a method which would darken the background, meaning that we wouldn't have to add a drop shadow to the text. This could be achieved through the clone stamp tool and the burn tool, this is  what he said:

This is his edited version he sent to Elle against the version I created:

It was extremely useful to receive feedback from someone that works in the media industry, because they have extensive knowledge in the software that I used and also what clients expect from their products. This feedback proves that Facebook is an extremely effective method of gathering feedback  because it attracts the attention of a large group of people. Also Jason's colleagues are impartial to Elle and the school so all of their advice and criticisms were completely unbiased and effective.

I didn’t contact the artist about the completion of my products because she didn’t respond to my original message asking for her permission to use her song. Three versions of the music video have been uploaded to YouTube and appear in the search results just below the artist’s own video, so the artist may have seen the video but she hasn’t commented or contacted me in any way about the production. Overall I feel that the feedback I have received throughout the course has helped me to further my design ideas and change elements about the production that may not have been as good if I hadn’t asked people’s opinions.

Question 4

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Created with Padlet

Created with Padlet

Screencast that shows how we edited our ancillary products: 

Screencast that shows how I edited the final music video:

I used a wide variety of technologies to create my production. During the research process I presented a lot of my work on Prezi, which provides a really modern and simplistic way to display written work that makes it more exciting. Prezi was especially useful when analysing music videos because the slide based system allowed me to separate the different conventions that I needed to analyse into an easy to read layout. Glogster was another technology that I used during my research. Glogster allows you to create a digital mood board with different coloured background and images which really made my research more interesting than just a written essay. It was important that my research was very visual and easy to understand, which is why it was better to use modern technologies such as Prezi and Glogster to present my work, rather than just writing long essays explaining what I had researched. I believe that Prezi is a better technology than Glogster because it’s more interactive and it allows me to cover several different topics in one go because it’s easy to section off the writing into different slides. On Glogster everything is presented on one large image, so it’s harder to distinguish between different topics which makes it more suited to individual topic research. I believe that it’s less exciting too because the themes are all very similar and the only way I could get it to work on my blog correctly was to screenshot and upload the final Glogster as an image file, which gets rid of all the panning and zooming interaction. I also used Keynote to present some of my analysis and I uploaded a screenshot of each slide onto my blog. I really like using Keynote to present my work because they’re simple to create and they look very visually appealing with a wide variety of themes to choose from. I used Keynote to link music video theories into an existing music video; Lana Del Rey’s “Music to Watch Boys to”. I already knew how to use all of these technologies from AS level, so it was very simple for me to apply my knowledge to A2 and I feel that my research is much more visually appealing and easy to understand because of it.

I used two different cameras to film the production this year, the first was a Canon DSLR and the other was my iPhone 6. I decided to use two cameras so that I had greater diversity when filming and it allowed me to get more inventive with my shots and how I was composing them. The DSLR is extremely high quality, with an option to use auto or manual focus and there’s even optical image stabilisation. This meant that all of the shots taken on the DSLR were extremely clear and crisp. I used a tripod in conjuncture with the DSLR so that the shots were very stable, but I wanted variation in the shots so I took all of the shots on the iPhone handheld so that the video didn’t look too staged. All of the miming shot were captured on the DSLR because I wanted the audience to really see and get connected to the actress and her miming. The DSLR was able to focus really well on the close up miming shots, showing high amounts of detail and depth of field, this made the production look more professional. I also used the manual focus on the DSLR to create various focus pull shots which really added another layer to the video and I feel made the objects I focused on more interesting. I used the iPhone 6 in a very creative way, constantly moving the camera around and panning whilst I was filming. I feel that the contrast between the still miming shots and the constantly moving close up and walking shots really made the music video feel much faster paced, which keeps the audience hooked on the video. One drawback I found with the iPhone is that it sometimes would over expose the shots and there would be some pixilation in busier shots, such as when the actress was walking down the road and the wind was blowing her hair. I found the DSLR somewhat unwieldy to use when moving around, so I didn’t take many shots off the tripod. I also felt that the optical image stabilisation on the DSLR wasn’t very good for handheld shots, and the shots still came out too shaky compared to the digitally stabilised shots on the iPhone.

I used iMovie to edit my production again this year because I just wanted to get straight into editing rather than have to learn a completely new program. Since I last used iMovie there have been significant updates and lots of new professional features have been added such as the ability to choose how long overlay shots fade in and out for and the opacity settings have been refined so that the shots blend better together now. I took a different approach to editing this year by putting the whole song onto the project first, along with a video that was the same length of the song and I then cut the one shot on the beat and then replaced all the cut sections. I decided to do it like this because it made it easier to move shots around because I knew exactly how long they needed to be when I selected them- this made for greater accuracy with lip syncing which overall made the production more effective. I tried using Adobe Premiere Pro outside of school in a personal project but I only had a limited time to use the trial, I found the editing software to be really comprehensive and in depth, but it was hard to understand at first so it would’ve been a learning curve in order for me to feel proficient on the software. iMovie on the other hand is really easy to understand and I could get started straight away as soon as I had all of the footage I needed. One problem with iMovie is that it doesn’t have all of the professional tools that other editors like Premiere Pro have, such a selecting singular colours, objects and a timeline with multiple streams of video and audio. I feel that I have developed my editing skills this year even though I used the same program, because I developed faster, more accurate and efficient ways of organising the shots on the timeline which allowed me to edit much faster. Because I was able to edit my production so quickly I was able to act on audience and teacher feedback quicker and I had more time for improvements, so I managed to improve my production twice so I have three versions overall.

I used my MacBook Pro to edit my production on this year which was a benefit in itself because I was able to edit outside of lesson and school time. I felt that using a Mac made me more productive because Mac OS X is significantly easier to use and faster than Windows, and because it was my own Mac I could keep all of my files on there without worrying about losing them or someone else moving them. For the ancillaries I used my Microsoft Surface 3 because it has direct pen interaction which allowed me to edit the images far more accurately using the touchscreen. Despite the Surface running a low powered Intel Atom processor I was able to run multiple layers and intense effects on Photoshop without it slowing down too dramatically, which is an issue I have found with the school computers. I was also able to install my custom typography onto my Surface which meant that I could use it on both my ancillaries and the video. I couldn’t use my Surface to edit the music video for two reasons, one of which is that iMovie isn’t available on Windows 10, and the processor isn’t fast enough to handle professional video editing- also pairing the slower processor with only 4GB of RAM, there would’ve been significant slowdown in response time which isn’t good during video editing.

I used Blogger to present all of my work, and I created two separate blogs for better organisation. I uploaded all of the posts onto one blog and I then used pages on the other blog to organise all of the posts. I separated my posts into; Home, Preliminary, Research, Planning, Production and Evaluation. Within these tabs I also categorised all of the blog posts depending on their topics. The posts are all linked onto the second blog via hyperlinks which redirect to the posts on the original blog, this means that I can upload posts in any order and they will still be organised, which is a huge benefit. Blogger however is very unreliable as a platform, with it regularly crashing on various different internet browsers making me loose posts that I was working on. It also has a very cumbersome interface with menus and pages not being very well laid out and it’s often complicated and time consuming to complete fairly simple tasks. Because I used Blogger I also had to use Google, which is the company that owns Blogger. In order to post anything on Blogger you have to sign in with a Google account, which I already had- this also applies to YouTube which is another Google-owned service. This integration of the three sites is beneficial because it means that I only need one account to access the sites and publish my work and it’s easier to share the work between all of the sites, with dedicated buttons to embedding YouTube videos on Blogger.

Question 2

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

My products utilise both traditional and new media which means that I am able to reach a broader audience. Currently my music video has been distributed on YouTube which is new media. I decided to post my video on YouTube because it’s the most widely used video sharing platform and most people would discover new music through YouTube. After the initial release on YouTube, depending on how many views the video has garnered it could be distributed for purchase or streaming on different services like iTunes or the Apple Music subscription service. By distributing the video on more platforms it generates more revenue which means that there is more money to be used in future advertising. 

If the video/song ever became exceptionally popular it may be shown on traditional media such as TV music channels like 4Music or MTV because of their mainstream music coverage, however this wouldn’t provide any inherent benefits due to the dramatic decrease in music channel views over the past decade. One form of traditional media that may prove beneficial to my music promo is magazine publication. Many people still read magazines as they can be purchased either as a paper based product or digital for viewing on devices such as tablets. This means that by publishing my advert in various different magazines such as Q, NME and BBC Music magazine it will reach a wide audience who read both traditional and new digital prints.

 It was important to include some important information on the EP release and tour dates on the magazine advert because it doesn’t allow the reader to hear the song. The magazine advert may also be published online on websites such as Facebook and Tumblr. These type of online adverts may have a hyperlink that takes the audience direct to the artist’s website where they can purchase a digital or hard copy of the EP or even purchase the music video. The digipak doesn’t really advertise the music promo because it’s only available to the audience after they have purchased it, however it will be available both in print and digital forms. Music is available to be purchased in various different ways, such as a physical disk, vinyl, digital purchase and online streaming. It’s important that the artist’s creativity and passion is visually displayed on whatever form of music the audience buys. My digipak has elements from both the magazine advert and video, and there is space for a disk or vinyl if it’s purchased as a hard copy.

On a whole all of the products I have created are very effective but there are a few negatives with all of them. The music video may be downloaded illegally from the internet which means that the artist isn’t getting paid for their work and then the work may be illegally distributed elsewhere. This does provide more advertisement for the artist but it means they aren’t getting what they deserve for their product. The magazine advert’s only inherent disadvantage is how it may not reach a wide enough audience for it to prove cost effective. Many people tend to ignore adverts on websites such as Facebook and YouTube, and people even skip adverts which are displayed before YouTube videos. It’s also an issue that many people don’t actually read magazines often, with most news and gossip being spread online via social networking. It would prove more beneficial to create a product that specifically targets these platforms. The magazine advert may also be considered a bit vague, as it’s hard to advertise audio visually as the audience can’t actually hear what the artist sounds like. Finally, the digipak may prove to be a bit useless in advertising the product because the audience won’t actually see it until they have purchased the EP- which defeats the object of advertising. As a product for advertising the digipak may also prove to be too complicated because of the distinctly different six panels. I believe that the digipak is best suited as an after-purchase product that the audience is able to enjoy after they have seen the magazine advert and music video.

I believe that all of my products could work very well individually because they all provide a good amount of information and some link to the artist’s style. The music video provides the most comprehensive preview into the content because it’s the visual and audio representation of the product. The audience is able to see how the artist wants their product to be portrayed and the artist is able to show their emotions during their performance of the song. The music video also sets the whole style/theme of the promo and upcoming EP from the artist. The initial single would typically introduce a style that the artist will use for the whole of the EP/album release so that all of their products are easily identifiable. This shot from the music video shows the typography that is used throughout the whole promotion, and it introduces the artist’s name and song title at the start of the video. This basic information allows the audience to find out more about the artist and even find other songs they have done just from watching the music video, which is advertisement all by itself. The rest of the music video shows different shots of locations and objects which give an indication of what the rest of the artist’s songs may be about and what kind of narrative to expect. The objects focused upon in the video are mainly decorative items around the house and jewellery, especially the amber ring- which links to the song title of “Gem”.

This is the magazine advert which shares many similarities with the music video in terms of styling. As a stand-alone product this is probably the weakest of the three because it can’t display as much detail as the other two. The close up shot of the actress is in black and white because I wanted there to be a clear visual que to my 1950s inspiration. I decided to keep the lips red because they stand out and it’s also reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe and Lana Del Rey, which are two of the inspirations for this promotion. I have blurred the images around the edges and added a slight vignette so that the information at the top and bottom is more prominent. The typography again is exactly the same as on the music video, which ties the two products together. I decided to make all of the company logos and information white to match the typography, and I feel that it makes the overall image look more clean and sophisticated. I believe that there is a good amount of detail on the advert, as it displays the artist’s name, song title, release date and brief information on the upcoming tour. It also displays the record label and the various different online services that allow the audience to either purchase or stream the song. I believe that the advert has displayed the theme of the promo in a simplistic but clear way, focusing on the artist and not overcomplicating the image. I think that it’s very easy for the audience to see the important information and I have also included the artist’s website URL down the bottom between the logos. If this advert was displayed online a hyperlink could be embedded so that the audience could quickly navigate to the artist’s website or another site that distributes the rest of the promo.

This is the digipak for my music promo and I believe that it includes the most information out of the three products. If the audience were to purchase this as a physical product they would have a folded pamphlet that had a physical CD or vinyl included. This would contain the song and even the music video on a CD. I believe that the theme on this product really ties the whole promotion together because it has shots from both of the primary locations and a close up shot of the artist, which mimics that of the magazine advert. I have included the logos for the record label and other online retailers and streaming services that could distribute the song. There is also a page dedicated to the lyrics for the audience so they can understand what the song is about. I feel that the digipak shows the theme of the promotion really well and there are design ques taken from the 50s in the form of the red lipstick and antique decorations. The disk is also red which links to the lipstick and adds an infusion of colour into the digipak which really emphasises it. Underneath the disk is a close up shot of the amber ring, which is a big focus in the music video as it links in directly with the song title “Gem” and it personifies the artist’s emotions and how her boyfriend just discarded her and used her whenever he wanted.

Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Conventions

A music promotion is required to do one main task- promote the music, the artist’s style and generate sales. Many elements may be exploited in order to create a successful music promo. The most important out of all the elements in a music promo is a continuing synergy throughout the products. In terms of a music video there has to be a good range and balance between these elements; performance, camera work, actors and mise-en-scene. Performance is the most integral part of a music video because it provides a connection between the audience and the artist. This connection allows the artist to portray their interpretation of the lyrics and the emotion they feel as they sing the song the acting has to be authentic, as if the audience are watching a performance.

Performance in a music video has to be suitable for the song and it’s important that a range of different camera angles are used such as high angles and canted angles so that the miming doesn’t become repetitive and boring throughout the course of the video. A canted angle may be used so that the performance appears edgy and unstable. A narrative may sometimes be used in a music video which helps to keep the audience interested, this is especially useful in longer music videos. A narrative may be classified as illustration, amplification or disjuncture. An illustrative music video takes the lyrics and directly manipulates them into the narrative, an amplification music video takes a key idea or line from the lyrics and develops it into a whole narrative concept. Finally, a disjuncture music video bears no resemblance to the lyric or its meaning, it’s seen as unconventional and arty. The purpose of a narrative is to make the video more interesting, and sometimes music videos may be completely narrative based with no performance at all. 

Good camera work is essential to a music video, a variety of shots such as close ups and long shots must be used and the editing in many cases must be fast paced with cuts to the beat of the song. Using a variety of shots, some taken with a tripod and others freehand make music videos more interesting as there’s more movement between shots and can make the music video seem faster paced in some scenarios. Choice of actors is also an important part of a music video, if there’s a narrative to the video that involves more than just the artist or if the miming is going to be performed by another person they have to be able to mime in sync with the song otherwise it breaks the immersion of the video and makes the acting seem poor.

Choice of mise-en-scene is another factor which drastically affects the quality of the video. If the video has a specific era in which the action is taking place, it’s important that all of the mise-en-scene adheres to it otherwise it makes the whole production seem sub-standard and poorly scripted. Mise-en-scene of a typical indie music video is generally very ‘normal’ it’s the kind of setting you’d see every day and the objects you’d find around your own home. Genre of a music promo greatly affects how a music video looks; if it’s a pop music video there is usually little to no narrative and the main focus of the video is the artist singing with backing dancers. Typically, very bright colours are used and artists wear outrageous costumes that are often promiscuous for female artists this links to Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze as men who are watching may be attracted to the costume that the artist is wearing. An indie music video like my own typically includes more of a narrative based performance and is generally more creative. The artist is often portrayed in a real world situation that the audience can relate to, one example of this is Gabrielle Aplin’s “Panic Cord” music video.

I created an indie music promo so the typical conventions are mostly different compared to that of a pop promo. An indie music video is typically very realistic which is created through the natural mise-en-scene and performance that is very personal to the artist. Indie music videos typically have a narrative that the audience can relate to, this is because indie artists and songs usually talk about issues that people encounter every day, like the death of someone they’re close to or just their daily life.

Editing Techniques

The editing that I have used in this video is fairly simple, with few effects used which is typical for the indie genre so that the audience can focus on the artist more than the video itself. The editing is relatively fast paced, especially for a song this slow- this was a decision that I made after creating the first rough edit of the music video, which felt very slow and repetitive after the first minute.

 I had to find a way to make the editing more exciting so that I could keep the viewer’s attention for the whole length of the song. I found that if I cut multiple times on a single line of a verse it made the video feel much faster paced and exciting. I also cut to the double drum beats that are repeated throughout the song, this quick editing allowed me to add in a lot of jump cuts which really enhanced the music video making it feel more natural. 

I included some overlay shots nearer to the end of the video which I feel made the video much more interesting, these shots were also cut to the beat apart from one, which was in sync with the chimes in the music. This type of editing isn’t widely used in the indie genre but I feel that it really worked well with my chosen song and the locations that I shot in. I was planning on using different effects and filters in the promo such as film grain and lens flares, but I decided against this because I felt it would degrade the quality of the video and distract from the costume and other mise-en-scene elements that had been carefully planned.

One piece of editing I am extremely happy with is the introduction at the beginning of the promo. The three shots are long in length and they’re cut together using simple straight cuts- but the overlaid text and background sound effects really set up the video’s style and theming even before the song starts. The narrative has been edited together in a non-linear fashion with performance cutting into it. This is conventional for an indie music video because having a linear narrative can often become quite boring very quickly.

Applying Theories to my Production

My music video does have some elements that can be explained by some media theorists; for example, some of the shots I have used may be considered promiscuous and the direct eye contact between the actress and the camera could be considered flirty. This links to Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze, where visuals are catered around the thinking and sexual desires of men, often objectifying the woman and turning them more into objects rather than people. My music subverts other theories, such as Todorov’s theory of narrative; equilibrium and disequilibrium. My music video starts half way through a narrative, the front door is left wide open and the girlfriend is dealing with the breakup from her boyfriend. There is no attempt to repair the damage, instead she runs away- becoming her true self in the process. My music video does follow Andrew Goodwin’s theory of narrative, which suggests that music videos use different techniques to interpret the meaning of the lyrics. My music video uses a mixture of both illustration and amplification. Illustration music videos use visuals to display exactly what the lyrics say, such as when I use a shot of the actress lighting a cigarette to illustrate the line “So light up another one.” Amplification music videos take certain parts of the lyrics and then develop it into a concept. My whole narrative is based on a storyline where a boyfriend and girlfriend has had an argument, possibly violent and he has walked out on her. I derived this concept from various lines in the lyrics, the violent fight was derived from “The blood dries in your hair” and the boyfriend walking out was taken from “Come away honey, come away, just leave.” My music video does support some of the theories of a typical music video, but in many cases it subverts them, and actually my whole narrative is non-linear with many parts of the story jumbled up.