Creative Journey: Digital Storyboard (Task 6)

Using a Wacom graphics tablet, I was able to learn new ways of creating storyboards. I was able to digitally recreate my written storyboard using Adobe Illustrator with tools such as the paintbrush.

Using this helped me develop a range of skills. Moreover, it made my work look more professional and easier to read from which is very beneficial when it is needed on the day of filming.

Task 6: Storyboard

This is the storyboard for the music video for 'Faded' by Alan Walker. These are brief scenes which we will try our best to follow throughout the making of the video but we may or may not make some changes. The first box of the storyboard is a picture of the main character, who is a teenage boy who has been affected by war, preferably around the age of 14 or 15 years old, in a bath. The character is staring up at the ceiling in a confused manner as if he is in a process of deep thoughts. Surrounding him are photos which have faded away, symbolising the loss of his memories or people who he has lost.

There will then be a short scene of the ceiling/sky which he was looking up at. The boy will be looking up at the stars. This gives us the opportunity to edit in the title of the song. The sky which he looks at wil consist of stars surrounding the title of the song.

While the character is lying in the bath, he will then teleport into a forest. The character teleporting into the forest will symbolise him going back into a different world, trying to find his memories which he has lost.

After the character has teleported into the forest and has wondered around, he will realise where he is and begin to run. As he is running, he will go past many things which will bring back his old memories such as old photographs.

Towards the end of the video, the character will eventually find the photograph or memory which he had been looking for which will be a photography of him and his family. As he starts to look at it, the people in the photograph will fade away, therefore symbolising all of his lost memories and how he thinks/knows that he has lost everyone/everything.

Task 5: Script Analysis

Alan Walker wrote in a Genius attribution: "I would describe 'Faded' as a happy yet emotional song, appropriate for both sad and/or uplifting occasions. It's about searching for someone, something or somewhere lost. Or just feeling lost! One of the things I like the most about its lyrics is that the meaning can be interpreted freely by the listener."

Alan Walker Faded Analysis:      

•  - 'You were the shadow to my light, did you feel us? Another star, you fade away' -

Music Video: In the music video, the line 'another star you, fade away' represents his memory's as it is as if he's saying "another memory" is fading away. Furthermore, the memories of his true self are disappearing through his mental illness, amnesia. These words in the verse are very strong and touching, as it heavily relates to how his amnesia makes him a disadvantaged person and he is letting his memories go away. 

• - 'Where are you now? Where are you now? Where are you now? Was it all in my fantasy? Where are you now? Were you only imaginary?' -

Music Video: (Where are you now? Was it all in my fantasy?) He is looking for the memories that are faded away from him but as he searches deeper in to his imagination he starts to feel like the place was never real and that it was all just a 'fantasy'

• - 'Where are you now? Atlantis, Under the sea, Under the sea, Where are you now? Another dream, The monster's running wild inside of me, I'm faded, I'm faded, So lost, I'm faded, I'm faded... So lost, I'm faded' -

Music Video: ('Where are you now') - where are the memories.

(Atlantis, under the sea) - Atlantis is a made up world under the water, in our music video his imaginary world is his atlantis but the under the sea part of the lyrics we have symbolsed it as an emotion in the video as he is feeling like hes drowning as he is loosing who he is. This also symbolises how his past or memories are buried away and cannot be retrieved.

(The Monsters running wild inside of me) - His mental illness is the monster taking control of him.

(Im Faded, So lost) - His memories aren't the ones that are fading... him personally is fading away from existence, feels lost.

Bibliography

• http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=39604

Task 4: Audience Feedback - Survey Results

Survey Results

After completing the survey and collecting all my responses, I was able to analyse my results through question summaries on Survey Monkey.

Question 1

Question 1 asked respondents for their age. This is important because it allows the artist to have a good understanding of how old the majority of their target audience is. The lowest percentage answer choice was '31-40' year olds with 6.67% responses and the highest two answer choices were '17 or under' and '18-25' year olds. This shows that there were a lot more younger audiences who are more interested in the music industry.

Question 2

Question 2 asked respondents what their favourite music genre is. Respondents were able to give more than one response but the top three choices were electronic, R&B and Pop. This shows that the popularity of these specific genres, especially electronic as the single, 'Faded' by Alan Walker is electronic. Moreover, this shows that the genre is not 'dead end' and is a growing genre, therefore meaning there is a high demand for music of that genre, giving the artist a greater opportunity to make sales from albums and maximise their sales revenue.

Question 3

Question 3 asked respondents how often they watch music videos. The top 3 answer choice were 'few times a week', 'a few times a year' and 'a few times a month'. This shows that it varies for certain individuals are is more difficult to predict with certain target audiences. This means that it is important that the artist is able to promote the album, single and music video effectively in order to gain as many views and sales.

Question 4

Question 4 asks how respondents actually watch music videos, whether it be through phone, iPad/tablet, desktop PC, laptop, music channels on TV or any other services. The lowest percentage of responses was 'desktop PC'. Nowadays, people like to use other devices which are more modern or interactive. However, in terms of watching music videos, most respondents seemed to watch them on the TV on music channel and on their devices such as their phones and laptops. The wide range of responses shows that there is a lot of opportunity to get views and sell the product through many products and services.

Question 5

Question 5 asked what respondents watch music videos on. The highest choice answer was TV music channels, similar to question 4 with 86.67% responses. 73.33% of the respondents chose YouTube and only 40% said that they purchase them on iTunes or Google Play Store. This shows that the audience prefers to watch music videos on TV and YouTube, rather than purchasing them off app stores. This means that the artist is likely to generate more revenue from adverts rather than sales of music videos.

Question 6

Question 6 asks how survey respondents rated music videos with story lines. 53.33% of respondents said that they find them very interesting and a combined total of only 13.34% of respondents saying they find music videos either boring or very boring. This shows that the idea of using a music video with a story line would be very effective as it seems to have a high demand, meaning there would be more viewers.

Creative Journey: Audience Research (Task 4)

As part of my audience research, I created a survey using Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com). Doing this allowed me to gain opinions from my target market and it also helped me gain more of an insight into my target markets interests related to music and music video preferences. The survey consisted of six questions and was sent to over 30 sixth form students/teachers to gain their opinions and use them as part of my market research.

I found Survey Monkey very useful to use as it was easy to use and I was able to access many different features. I was able to choose from a range of question types such as multiple choice, ranking, drag & drop and many more. I was able to design my survey in many other ways such as being able to edit my questions and the options of them. I was also able to move my questions, copy and delete them which was very beneficial for me after I came back to make any amendments before sending it out. After designing the survey, I was able to preview and test it which allowed me to ensure that there were no vital mistakes which would have a negative impact on the results of the survey. After making my amendments, I was able to send the survey out.

I sent the survey out through email after copying the link of the survey for my respondents. After waiting for at least 30 responses, I was able to analyze my results. This meant that I was able to view my results in a graph form on the 'question summaries' page. I was also able to view any data trends and look at individual responses from certain respondents.

Task 4: Audience Research

Target Audience

The song 'Faded', by Alan Walker is mainly targeted towards teenage audiences. The song is about a young adult who has lost his memory. Throughout the music video, there are different stages of his memories fading away. However, the actor in the music video begins to search for their memories as they come across objects which bring back memories from different times in their lives. An example of this is when they will be searching for a picture. Metaphorically, they will find a picture frame but without a picture in it.

As the character begins to find things, they start to bring back memories, as if the character is searching for freedom. The character is existentially searching for a meaning in life which sends a message that the audience should work and fight towards their life goals. Furthermore, it implies that a lot of people in today's society have become effortless and people need to put a lot more effort into their life and their goals.

The message of the audience needing to work and fight towards their life goals makes it perfectly fitting for the target audience to be teenagers, especially who are in the process of considering their future as it will motivate them to fight towards their life goals.

Using theories such as Mosaic, I found that I was able to understand my audience. Using the Mosaic theory gives me the ability to consistently target and reach audiences with relevant content across direct and indirect channels, therefore ensuring that the right individuals are receiving the messages. This method will help me and helps other brands to build their brand presence, ensuring that the right customer types of being acquired to achieve our marketing goals.

From the Mosaic UK Classifications, I was able to narrow a wide variety of audiences down to only a few primary target audiences. I split my target audiences into a category called 'rental hubs'. From this category I chose two target audiences:

1) Central Pulse


- Entertainment-seeking youngsters renting city centre flats in vibrant locations close to jobs and night life.

2) Student Scene

- Students living in high density accommodation close to universities and educational centres.