The Purpose of Research for a Music Video Production:

In this essay, I’ve set out to explore the purpose of research for a music video production
and the beneficial sides of it. I will discuss how research can influence the music video idea,
whilst also defining primary and secondary research. I will also define quantitative and
qualitative research and overall conclude why it is so important to research for many people
with given examples. For instance, my first example is, I’ve used research to write this essay
about research, which just shows it is applied on so many occasions. I hope this essay gives a
broad explanation of research and why we use it, especially in media production.

For my music video production, my group spent a lot of time researching by watching
various music videos, and after coming across Nickelback’s Rockstar we were certain we
wanted to do this song. Watching the music video also inspired us to a performative music
video with some lyrical interpretation, showing how taking some time researching can
inspire groups/companies to go a certain route and style when making a music video. Also
however, in media production, we research in many different ways, which include; primary,
secondary, production, content, market, quantitative and qualitative research.

Primary research is a method of research used to collect data directly, instead of depending
on data collected from another previous research. This method gives the researchers
feedback directly and more control over the research process and results. When you
conduct primary research, you typically gather two kinds of information; Exploratory, which
is general and involves long interviews with an individual or small group, or Specific, where
the research is more precise, and is used to solve a problem normally identified in
exploratory. An example of primary research was when my group conducted a survey about
the ’27 club’ on SurveyMonkey and these results came back to us in percentages. As the
results came back as a percentage, this is counted as numerical data so the other type of
research carried out is quantitative research. This method of research is used to help find
patterns and averages, make predictions and generalise results to wide populations, which
could be key for making a music video as you will be able to see what percentage of people
liked the video and also the percentage of people who didn’t like the video, as well as
general feedback on what could we improved and added to make the music video as good
as possible. As well as surveys, other examples of primary research are; questionnaires,
interviews (telephone or face-to-face)

Another type of research is Secondary research, which is usually cheaper and a lot faster to
conduct than primary research, but it can give conclusive results. Secondary research is a
type of research gathered and published by others, most typically found on the web. It uses
existing data and increases the effectiveness of the research. Examples of secondary
research is Wikipedia, textbooks, news articles, review articles and more. Secondary
research is helpful as it provides support for data found previously, while furthering
research and backing current data, creating an added layer of credibility and trust. With this
research, me and my group used it to find what music videos were most popular and why.
We found from this research that the music video ‘Despacito’ was hugely popular and one
of the most watched music videos on YouTube with 7B views. We discovered it was a
performative, so this furthered inspired our music video idea to be a performative to
hopefully gain more recognition and views.
Production research is another key research and the purpose of it is to gather and conduct
information on the content of production related issues. A method of production research is
primary research, which was described earlier, meaning to gather this sort of information
can be done via interviews, surveys, books and more. For my group, we researched what
equipment we would have access to so we could use. From what we found, the equipment
we will use is: Sony X70 HD Camcorder, which comes with an SD card and two batteries, a
Manfrotto Fluid Head Tripod, a Rode NTG2 Shotgun Mic and a Zoom H4N Audio Recorder,
which also comes with an SD card and AA batteries. This is helpful for our music video
production as we now knew we had access to the equipment needed for certain shots so we
can confidently go and shoot our scenes. We also needed to research the locations for our
shots, to see if its safe and there are facilities for the crew, such as necessities, like toilets
and somewhere to eat. This important for music video productions as the crew still need
breaks – and need to know when on the job they are safe and protected.

One of the most vital types of research for music video production is market research.
Market research allows a company/production team to discover the target market and get
opinions and feedback on their music videos. So alike primary research, this type of research
is used to gain the negatives and positives about, meaning a production team, like my
group, can see what aspects are good about the music video and what needs to be changed,
improved, added or removed to make the music video as good as possible, to gain as much
attention and popularity as possible. My group is going to get this type of research when we
present the music video to our lecturers, as they give feedback and opinions, so we can
improve. Hopefully, this will help us in the future to create the best possible music video
production. As well as presentations with feedback, many other examples of market
research is; online polls, telephone surveys, social media polls, sms messages and asking
questions face-to-face.

Another type of research that is key for music video production Is content research. This
type of research is a quantitative method and is used to understand both people who
created the media, and the people who consume it. This research technique is used to
determine the presence of certain words, themes and concepts. Using this content,
researchers can also find out the meaning of such words, themes or concepts. This could be
key for music video production as my group learnt and understood the meanings behind
certain music videos, and the message they were trying to deliver. As shown on my Weebly,
an example of this my group researched, was the song ‘Take on Me’ by A-ha, where we see
a music video telling a romantic story through a mix of live-action and pencil sketch
animation (from our research we found this was the first music video ever to do this.)
Through content research, we understood the concept of the whole music video idea was
that this comic book character wants to be in the real world with this girl who was flicking
through the comic, and this comic book character later attempts to do so, and eventually
does.

In conclusion, to sum up everything that has been stated before, research is beneficial is
many ways, especially in the media industry as research can help various people and
companies in different ways as it provides feedback, knowledge and opinions, which can be
used to a production team’s advantage, especially when making a music video. Therefore,
this is why it is so vital and carried out by so many people around the world. The purpose of
research is that it can help creativity, provide independence, give your project a meaning,
help identify an audience and make sure you work is accurate and gives credibility. It also
shows curiosity and confidence whilst also providing context, understanding and
knowledge. It also makes you articulate and helps you plan and be prepared whilst also
sticking to a budget, but also whilst developing, exploring and growing. All of this applies
especially to music video production, as with research we could find out; what attracts the
most viewers and how, whilst also gaining constructive feedbacks via polls and surveys, to
improve and produce the highest standard possible music video.

REFERENCES:

Bibliography
a-ha, 2010. YouTube. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djV11Xbc914
[Accessed 31 03 2021].
Nickelback, 2009. YouTube. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1hgVcNzvzY
[Accessed 31 03 2021].
wildguts, 2021. Survey Monkey. [Online]
Available at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/analyze/HCNTinZvreEhk61v9VGL_2Fz3sqENAMDne4QpTR
0sXK1M_3D
[Accessed 16 03 2021].
Yankee, L. F. f. D., 2017. YouTube. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQP7kiw5Fk
[Accessed 31 03 2021].