Audience Research

The type of genre that my music fits into is RnB. I am going to need to do audience research to find out what our target audience like and dislike and what they would expect from RnB artists. There are many ways to find this information out such as, Questionnaires, Interviews, Focus Groups etc.

Questionnaires are quick and easy but they will only gove quantative research. However if i choose to do my Audience Research through a Focus Group then i can get qualative research which will give me a better view and understanding of the audiences feedback.

I think the audience that we target are going to be young male/females who are into rap and RnB. If i was to stereotype people, I do not think that the stereotyped groups such as emos, goths or skaters will be into this type of music. However i think the stereotyped groups such as chavs, rappers, indie style will like this type of music. I think that anyone from the ages 15 - 30 would listen to this type of music.

Here are some common stereotypes :

Music Videos

Music Video 1.
Knock You Down. Keri Hilson ft Kanye West & NeYo.



In this video there is a female artist and two male artists who rap and sing. This is very similar to the artists and their music productions that we will use for are project.

The beginning of this video is very unconventional as it appears with the title and the artists names. As it shows Keri Hilsons name, the main artist first, the background fades to an ariel shot of her falling above a bed and the other artist names appear over the top in a bright green. It then fades into a midshot where we watch from the side of Keri Hilson fall down in slow motion. It then fades into a close up shot of Keri Hilson when she is led down. She has her eyes closed and then opens them and makes direct contact with the camera and the audience focus. As the music beat kicks in we see a shot of Kanye West who is looking down and looks up as he raps. We see a series of mid shots and close ups of Kanye West as he does some moves. During these series of shots we have a quick two shot of Keri Hilson holding Kanye West from behind. We also see the first shot that opened the video of the artist falling and then a low angle shot of Keri Hilson on that bed that we first saw and the window and the light that was in the two shot as she starts to sing.

Representations

My genre is RnB and contains a Male Rap artist and a Female RnB artist.
The common stereotypes for RnB artists are rich, have tattoos, involved in street crime, gangs, drugs.

Analysing Websites

Rihanna
http://rihannanow.com/index2.php

Rihannas main colour scheme for her website are silver and green. There is also a large silver / grey triangle centred in the middle of the screen which is outlined in a white. Infront of this triangle a series of images individually appear showing Rihanna in different outfits which also appear on her album covers. She is very centralised and looks very sexy and attracts the viewers. The Viewers attention also focuses on her new album that is promoted on her page and at the top of the page she has a playlist where viewers can listen to any of Rihannas song from her albums.
She has many links such as an 'about' page to find out about her, a 'store' page where you can purchase items and a 'tour' page etc.
Throughout her website, on all of her pages there is one image of her that stays at the left side of the page. She has a direct address to the audience and her stripey top clashes with the green, rain effect background.

Neyo
http://www.yearofthegentleman.com/

The main colours used on this website are browns and grey. They give a very dull and hidden effect.
There is a big main header at the top of the page with a photo Neyo against the brown background. The photo doesn’t show Neyo clearly however just shows the lower half of his face as he is shown tipping his hat forward in a smart outfit. This photo stands out and almost looks like he is looking down the page.

Also on the header there is a photo and caption advertising Neyo’s new album.
Just underneath the header there is a smaller header of links including blog, videos, photos, events and more.

There is not an enter page for his website however it is just a very busy layout. It contains videos of Neyo’s live performances, videos from the studio. It also shows two films that are out featuring three of Neyo’s new singles.
There is also a photo album of Neyo at the bottom of the page.

Down the right hand side of the page it has Neyo’s new video and also has links to the most popular videos, photos and blogs. This side of the page is more available for public comments and views as there is an Ustream (slideshow) of related videos and a Ustream chat for the viewers along with a membership access. There is a twitter link and link to Neyo’s profile so you can follow him.

This website is very busy looking but with all the videos and comments it doesn’t look as dull as I thought it was going to look when I first entered the website.

Codes & Conventions

Codes & Conventions Of An Album Cover For An R'n'B Artist:
Shots- Mid Shots, Two Shots, Closeups, High/Low Angle
Colours- Black & White, Golds, Red, Blue
Text- Artist Name, Album Title, Song Titles
Images - Artist, Logo
Props- Headphones, Microphone, Chair, Jewellery

Codes & Conventions Of A Website:
Shots: Closeup, Mid shot, Long Shot, Two Shot
Colours: Black & White, Red, Blue
Text: Hyperlinks, Artists Name, Advertising The Latest Album
Images: Of The Artist, Of The Latest Album

Codes And Conventions Of Advertisement Poster:
Shots: Closeup, Mid Shot, Long Shot, Two Shot
Colours: Black & White, Red, Blue
Text: Artist Name, Album Name, Details About Album
Images: Of Artist, Of The Album

Codes And Conventions of RnB Music Video:

Shots: Close up, Mid Shot, Long Shot, Two Shot, Low Angle - This makes the rapper look scary and in control.

Colours: Colourful, Black and white scene if there singing about love stories or flash backs.

Text: no text.

Editing: Jump And Straight cuts. Mainly jump cuts.

Codes And Conventions of Rap Music Video:

Shots: Close up, Mid shot, Long shot, Two Shot, Low Angle, Ariel Shot.

Colours: Black & White, High contrast in colours.

Text: No Text

Editing: Very snappy film, switch between shots very quickly. Jump and straight cuts. Mainly Straight cuts

Cast: Mainly male. Gangs and gangster's

Props: Fire, Guns, Knifes, Jewerlly - living the high life.