Qualitive Research - Music Video Focus Group

Qualitive Research –Focus Group

The Britpop Music Video

These are to be the questions that shall be asked to the Focus Group.

11.     What is Britpop? (Do you know what it is? how would you describe?)

22.     To know more about Britpop we must know where it emerged from (The Smiths, Stone Roses – Influences. Shoe gazers, Grunge e.g. Nirvana roots and reaction to) knowing how these acts were like how would you expect a Britpop band to be? (Chipper, still with angst but finding refuge in our more pessimistic humour)  are the themes shown visually in the music videos?

33.     British culture and that of a more urbanized British youth are represented how? (Red white and blue colours, Lads.)

44.     The sound of the music is quite familiar but what features make this? (Local accents, Influence from previous British musicians)

55.     What are the themes shown visually in the music videos?

66.     From what I have shown there is a lot male gaze and perspective, what elements of this could be used to create a new music video and why does it grab your attention?

77.     From What you have been shown, what are the kinds of locations that would be typically used in Britpop Music video?

88.     What fashion is being portrayed or even promoted to influence the British youth?

99.     There are references to past creations is a postmodern way how are these portrayed? Did you get the references? (Jovially and Queen the Beetles a Clock work orange)

110. There is usually a contained narrative progression to the music video what has been employed to quickly give you some story progression. (Stereotypes)

111. Using this brief barrage of information on Britpop music video what would you say are the key elements that must be included to create a reflective British young feel?

Music Video clips:

            Blur –There’s no other way (British family meal stereotype)

            Blur – Coffee and TV (Street scene, British Location)

            The Verve – Bittersweet Symphony (Intro – Street location, Narrative refrence musically to old Rolling Stones song.)

            Oasis – Don’t Look Back in anger (2:18 short British Imagery)

            Oasis – Morning Glory (City life scenery)

            Blur – Girls and Boys (Male Gaze)

            Blur Country House (male Gaze Stereotypes)

            Blur – Parklife (Stereotypes, Intercontextuality)

These questions were overly specific and when it came to the actual Focus Group I had less time and simplified to these semi-improvised question topics.

Questions : Themes, Music, Editing, Lighting, Modern Application.

Focus Group HNC Research Unit 2 from Luke Heritage on Vimeo.

Above is the whole focus group session. From it I got responses about the videos contained British stereotypical and intertextual references. Whist not the most agreeable session there is some information that I can take from this mainly from the employment of sheets given out for some written answers. The validity is supported by this above video of my self conducting the focus group but its reliability is not as strong. The focus group consisted of young persons aged 17 and 18 who were not born at the time of Brit Pop and their knowledge of the genre was little to none. There was useful information although most of it negative the fact that we can infer this movement of music does not interest this sample of the age group and that music video of this kind is not inspiring or interesting to them. The usefulness of the information is limited also by the lack of answers linked to my evaluations of the codes and conventions of Brit Pop but what answers I did get challenged them and there was very little agreed between their opinions and my interpretations. there was some negotiated points as mentioned before, on the sheets and briefly mentioned vocally there was acknowledgement of the intertextuality of older media in homage but no linking to movements like post modernism which can be cited as certain inspiration to some of Brit Pop's work. An example of this is in Blurs Country House Music video in which Damien Hurst was its director (a Post-Modernist artist) and it contained references to Mousetrap the board game, Benny Hill in a chasing sequence (featuring Matt Lucas from then Shooting Stars fame) and a reference to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (with the four floating heads).