Song choice and initial research

 Song choice- Why?

The song I have chosen to create my music video for is a song called Cynical Fairytale by an indie-pop singer/songwriter called Egg. I have chosen this song for many reasons such as wanting to explore this genre of music and creating a music video with the genre conventions of indie-pop. I am hoping to film a performance based music video with a narrative message conveyed behind some of the shots. 

target audience

I will be conducting a short questionnaire to verify the demographics and psychographics I wish to target along with ascertain the video styles the audience would prefer.

distribution method

I am choosing to distribute my questionnaire on twitter and facebook on fan pages for egg and similar artists such as Dodie Clarke. This is to get mainly responses from the target audience.

Questionnaire:

 What Age Group are you in?

15 and Below

16-18

19-21

22-30

30 and Above

What is your gender?

Male

Female

Other

When listening to artists such as Egg or Dodie Clarke, which type of video do you wish to see?

Performance

Narrative (storyline)

conceptual

Do you find location important in a music video?

yes

no

impartial

Results

In the end, 36 people responded to my questionnaire and here were the results

7 people were 15 and below

15 people 16-18

10 people were 19-21

3 people were 22-30

1 person was 30 and over

This shows that our main demographic would be 16-21 year olds as the majority of people to answer fit that age bracket. 

female 23

male 7

other 6

This shows that our target audience will mainly be females.

Performance  12

Narrative (storyline) 15

conceptual 9

This result further allows me to progress my plan to create a performance based video showing hidden narrative in shots as the majority of people to answer chose narrative but not much less chose performance.

yes 16

no 12

impartial 8

This answer has lead me to go with my plan to film in multiple different locations. This will further allow me to follow the conventions of my genre of music video and hopefully target the right audience

Analysis of song

In this isolated tower
In the middle of nowhere
It gets a little lonely
But i don't let down my hair

^filming either lip syncing or playing the ukulele in a high up area maybe a balcony or in a tree or ontop of a climbing frame.
Cause close relationships are far more stressful than they seem
I'd rather face reality than chase a silly dream

^Show her past relationship, hugging or holding hands or being cutesy together

Mother knows best
She claims to know the future
I'll fall in love
Live happily ever after with my suitor

^change location of ukulele playing, show uke playing throughout to show how she wants to isolate herself from others 
To be honest i'd prefer avoiding all the hassle
I'm fine inside my tower, really, i don't need a castle, so

^ close up of face to show melancholy. Maybe close up of hands or of ukulele

Fuck love, i don't understand it
Eighteen years with no luck, i feel stranded
Drifting through the water, i just wanna see the light
But the fog is awfully stubborn and the feeling's never right

Fuck love, really what's the purpose
Other than to make me feel uncomfortable and nervous
Overthinking every single thing i wanna say
Will it make you think i'm stupid, will it make you run away
Oh
Fuck love
Fuck love

I guess i always figured
That i'd be in love now
So i try to force my feelings
Hoping it'll work somehow
My friends all have their princes and i'm feeling left behind
Will i ever understand or will i always be this blind
^variety of locations playing ukulele or lip syncing

Mother knows best
She tells me not to worry
Just wait a couple years
And love will find me in a hurry
But honestly it's looking like the odds are pretty slim
Given that flynn rider's out there, i'd probably reject him
^show her rejecting someone, longshot

Fuck love, i don't understand it
Eighteen years with no luck, i feel stranded
Drifting through the water, i just wanna see the light
But the fog is awfully stubborn and the feeling's never right

Fuck love, really what's the purpose
Other than to make me feel uncomfortable and nervous
Overthinking every single thing i wanna say
Will it make you think i'm stupid, will it make you run away
Oh
Fuck love, fuck love
Fuck love, fuck love, fuck love
^variety of locations

And i keep wondering and wondering
But this is how it's always been
I've spent all these years alone
Not letting anybody in
And i keep wondering and wondering
And wondering and wondering
When will my life begin

^she realises she wants a relationship and tries to call him but it's too late

Mother knows best
And she claims to know the future
I'll fall in love
Live happily ever after with my suitor
And if i'm being honest well it doesn't sound that bad

^slightly darker location instrument shot to show deteriorating mental health
But i blew the only shot at that i think i ever had so


Fuck love
I don't even deserve it
I've tried my best but still i'm far from perfect

^show him rejecting her after she asks forgiveness
Watching from the windows wishing i could feel the same
But my feelings are defective, i guess i'm the one to blame

Oh, fuck love
Go ahead, call me a cynic
Gut a happy ending is so unrealistic
What's the point in trying if i know it won't work out
And i'll earn a broken heart that i'd be better off without
Oh
Fuck love, fuck love

^she reflects on what she missed 
Fuck love, fuck love, fuck love

^she tries to find someone to talk to but realises everyone has given up on her so she goes back to her coping mechanism of ukulele

(red = possible shots)

The general meaning of this song is that the singer songwriter has lost faith in the idea of love and has decided she doesn't want it, however as the song goes on she begins to reveal that she wishes she could have love but feels incapable as she ruined her only chance.

It begins with the lyric "in this isolated tower in the middle of nowhere it gets a little lonely so I don't let down my hair cause close relationships are far more stressful than they seem" this is a direct reference to the fairytale rapunzle or Tangled and emphasises her loneliness but she choses to stay in solitude because she believes her life will be easier that way. She then says "I'd rather face reality than chasing silly dreams" this shows that she thinks that relationships in reality are stressful and hard and the "Fairytale partner" is just a silly dream. Throughout the song she says " mother knows best she claims to know the future" this further references pop culture favourite Tangled and references her mothers support and hopes for her daughter, despite her daughters hopeless perspective on the situation. "I'll fall in love live happily ever after with my suitor but if im being honest the odds are looking pretty slim even if flynn riders out there I'd probably reject him" This shows that her mother believes she'll find love but she believes that even if she did she would push him away as she doesn't believe in love. She goes on to say "eighteen years with no luck I feel stranded" through this lyric, she shows that her patience is running out and shes beginning to feel like its impossible for her to love. "fuck love really whats the purpose other than to make me feel uncomfortable and nervous overthinking every single thing I wanna say will it make you think I'm stupid will it make you run away" This reveals the anxiety she feels towards intimacy, showing that she believes she will scare any potential love interests away. She later says "and if i'm being honest well it doesn't sound that bad but I blew the only shot that I think I ever had" This shows that she does infact wish she had someone, but she feels as though she ruined her only chance and is heartbroken by that. "fuck love I don't even deserve it I tried my best but still I'm far from perfect, watching through the window wishing I could feel the same but my feelings are deffective I guess im the one to blame" this section shows that she blames herself for being unable to find love, stating that her feelings are defective shows that she believes she falls for the wrong people and at the wrong time. The final verse as a whole states that she believes she is better off without love in the end because she thinks she'd just end up with a broken heart.