Sunday, 25 March 2012
Narrowing it down...
These are my favourites of all of the images that I have taken for my Digipak and magazine advert. I selected a few from each of the locations because each range of photos provided a significant amount of effective shots that would create imaginative and interesting digipaks.These two images are similar although the lighting is different as well as the one to the left being closer. They both set the scene of the romantic/moody waves and provide secure links the main track and the music video, referencing the beach.
Question 4:How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
I have decided to divide this question into four sections, Research, Planning, Construction and Evaluation. All of these sections have ties between each other but the biggest of them all being the internet, throughout the course I have used the internet to aid with all aspects of the project especially in research. The internet has been a key feature because of the blogs, all of our work can be posted on-line so we can access it whenever we like and so can the teachers, this saves a lot of time for the both of us because we do not have to be worried about hard copies and losing them etc. The blog makes it easier for you to organise your work and present it in a professional format. The internet is an unlimited resource, I used this throughout the course for all aspects, in particular research into genres, other artists etc and it would make it so much more difficult without it.
Research:
The research begun by looking into unsigned bands over the internet, using YouTube in particular to listen to artists work and decide on something that ideas would flow for. Not only did I use YouTube, i used a website called Reverb Nation where all of the unsigned bands and artist come together in a community and this is formulated through the internet and technology. After careful consideration I found an artist by the name of Daniel Cope on YouTube, I then followed him up on different websites like Reverb Nation and decided to use him after listening to his album.
Planning:
Throughout the planning the two most important things were the blog and my stills camera. The blog was very useful for archiving my research but it was more effective when planning the music video because I could access my planning wherever I wanted and that mean't on the shoot, making it easier if I wanted to reference certain texts, storyboards and ideas. The shooting schedule was also posted onto my blog so I had a constant reference.
^My Stills Camera
Construction:
The construction was the most crucial part of the project that was advantaged by technology, through the use of editing programs such as Photoshop Elements 7 and Adobe Première Pro CS5 and Cameras such as the Canon Xl1s. These were the two programs I used when I edited both my music video and ancillary tasks.
Constructing the Music Video
To film the music video I used a Canon Xl1s, my own camera. I decided to use this because I was familiar with the settings and style of the camera because of previous use. The camera is shoulder mounted and gave a more professional quality to the video because it was less shaky because of the shoulder mount. It has a high quality but also shoots in a range of ways. Using my own camera made the process easier for me due to not having to constrict my shooting to renting times as well as the knowledge of that particular camera and it's settings.For the editing of the music video I used Adobe Première Pro, this was stationed on my own laptop which gave me more flexibility when it came to editing because I knew the program and the effects that I wanted to use.
The editing program was useful because it had a further range of editing effects which the school's Première Elements didn't have.
An effect that was used considerably in my music video was the cross fade, this created gentle links between different sections of the video. These fades connote dream like memory switches which add to the theme/effect. Other effects included the use of slow motion, I used this to add a romantic effect on certain scenes when they were together but when the character was alone I used it to connote his life dragging on without meaning. Overlay of the video and the opacity played a large part is my edit because of layering up the different clips over one another to create dream like memory effects that emphasised the genre and romance.
Constructing the Ancillary Task
As mentioned earlier I used my own Sony Cybershot camera to take photos of the artist in different locations, the quality of the camera is unbelievable, that mixed with my ideas of composition created a range of photographs that made it incredibly hard to choose from.
When constructing the ancillary tasks, the digipak and the magazine advert, I used Photoshop Elements 7. This program allowed me to generate crisp sharp manipulated images that were essential to my task.
Evaluation:
Throughout the evaluation I have utilised the blog to demonstrate the effectiveness of technology and how it can provide an effective and professional piece of work through the use of embedded images, short presentations, video clips and much more. This demonstrates how crucial technology is within media studies and without it it would be a struggle, thinking how people got on without this equipment baffles me.
Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?
After my music video was completed I carried out a survey on-line, there were seven people that answered the questions. Four of the seven were female and the other three were male, all aged between 16 and 25 which is my target audience. This meant that I acquired relevant feedback that could help improve my products for the audience and consumers. Here is the questionnaire and the feedback.
7 participants have answered the survey. Here are their answers :
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Question 1: The first question was "How much did you enjoy the music video?", this is an important question because It is important for the audience and consumers to enjoy the music video for it to sell and be successful. One of the participants rated it three for enjoyment, this participant was female and I thought that it could be because the young girl was not in the video for long, leaving the focus on the male character. Three other participants, one male and two female, rated it four out of five for enjoyment and then three others rated it five out of ten, two male and one female. This did not surprise me because I thought it would apply to a large audience because of the genre, conventions and themes. Question 2: This question "Was it easy to understand the narrative?" is important in telling me whether the narrative is too complicated or not. Three participants said three, One participant said four out of five and the others said three out of five. These results are mixed and I thought that it is important that the narrative isn't too simple or too difficult to understand. Question 3: "Did it hold your attention?", this question is important and links with the previous two, knowing whether it holds the audiences attention would determine whether they bought the digipak or not. Because the music video stuck mostly to genre conventions I thought that the participants attentions to be held. There were three votes from girls for rating it a four for holding attention and then five voted five for the next one. I expect this is once again because of the lack of girls in the music video.  Question 4: "How did you rate the standard of Mise en scene?" This question gives me an idea on how well i approached in creating the video, whether the Mise en scene that i decided to use was appropriate and worked well or whether it was hopeless and amateur. Three participants rated it four for Mise en scene, meaning it was very good but lacking a little something. The other four rated the Mise en scene five , this tells me that the Mise en scene was of a good realistic quality that worked well.Question 5: I also asked if the video was too short the right length or too long. Five of the participants said that the music video was too short. So from this I can learn to film more footage because I may then be able to finish it without cutting any of the original plan down like i have. Three participants have chosen to say that it is the correct length that reassures me that it isn't very long. Question 6:"Would you listen to it again?". This question establishes the impact of the track and whether the track attracts the audience and keeps it interested.But the mix of the music with the video may help if it compliments good enough. All seven participants said they would listen again so this tells me that the track worked from a selling and entertaining aspect.. Question 7: "Could you suggest anything that could improve the appeal?" This question is helpful because it gives me an idea of what i may have done wrong and what i could improve on next time in the music video. Two of the seven people suggested making it longer and the rest did not have anything to say about improving the music video. Question 8:"Were there any aspects that you found offensive? Representation of gender,age, culture etc.". This question was quite vague because there isn't really anything in my music video to pick up on considering age, gender etc. Every participant is welcome. Question 9:"Was there any part you found confusing or hard to understand?" This question is essential because if there are things that the audience cant understand then I would need to amend them because the audience is essential to all parts of the work. Question 10: "What was the best part of the production?". This question really highlighted the strong points of the video and showed what the most important parts of the video are. Three participants said that the editing was the best part of the music video, each of them referencing different parts of editing. The fades were mentioned, and how effective and smooth they that they keep the video flowing and don't break it up. The use of a range of different overlays throughout the music video also had an effect on the audience, showing them the skill that it took. The flashbacks also came up as being the best part of the music video, the flashbacks are a key feature to it and it wouldn't be as strong without it. Lastly the Mise en scene, one participant thought the use of the beach and other various locations gave the music video an emotional link, and brought out the emotions that I was trying to get across.Question 11: "Does the video reflect the style of music?", this question is one of the most important because if the music video doesn't reflect the style of music then I have failed the brief. But all of the participants said that it strongly represented the genre and utilised the conventions to create a strong meaningful piece. Question 12:"Rate the music video...", this question gave me and overall of what my target audience thought of my music video. The results are positive, the lowest rating being of seven, which two people said but then their was one vote for eight, two more for nine and then two for ten. This shows me that my target audience particularly liked the music video, and that has proved the links between the audience and the texts. Question 13:"Any further comments:". This question provoked people to write things of criticism or kindness but although the music video was liked by the target audience there were still a few negative comments. One participant said that it was hard to understand regarding the flashback and said that I should move each section of the video around arranging a new narrative. Question 14:"Does the CD Digipak and Magazine Advert compliment the music video?". This question helps me identify what the audience think of the advertisement and the digipak. This one creates a link between the two and the music video and how they compliment the each other. All of the participants said that they agree with this and thought the music video was supported strongly by the advertisement and the digipak.  Question 16:"Likes and Dislikes of the CD Digipak and the magazine advert?". This is the last question of the questionnaire, asking of the strong points and weak points of the digipak and magazine advert. The participants noticed the use of opacity and fade as one of the strongest points in the ancillary texts, this really highlighted a skill for the future productions. Question 17: This question asked the target audience their comments and the only comment that came back was how the advertisement and digipak caught the customers eye. This is what I intended to do, create an eye catching and meaningful text. In conclusion, I have learned from the feedback that the editing of both the music video and the ancillary texts is very strong, giving it an extraordinary aesthetic in the editing area. The narrative came under some criticism to how long it should have been which I understand could have and should have been much longer as well as the way the flashback was arranged in the video. The mise en scene came across as a reoccurring strong point as well reinforcing the genre of the text. |
Question 1: In what ways does your media production use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media productions?
Because my artist, Daniel Cope, is a bricolage of genres, I chose to use the forms and conventions instead of challenging them because I could not focus on one genre but I could merge them together to make a stronger all round piece. Daniel Cope is considered as acoustic, folk, alternative and pop. Using the theories of Goodwin I established a range of different conventions that could converge in the music video and the digipak.
Close Ups and Focus on the Artist
Daniel Cope's genre was a difficult puzzle and was difficult on deciding on what aspects/conventions of the genres to use in the music video and digipak. But one convention that was prominent through all of his genres was close-ups, the focus always being on the artist. This is one of Goodwin's theories, to sell the artist using close ups.
In the music video the focus is on the artist throughout, creating a relationship between the audience and the artist is crucial and this is the most effective way. The music video uses the close ups to catch the audiences attention and create emotional links. It creates a powerful effect whilst marketing the artist at the same time.
Ed Sheeran, "Drunk" Music Video (Left)
(Right) Screenshot of Artist singing from the Music Video and of the artist staring over the hill.
The Location
The locations of the music video was very important to the genre, using different locations was also important. I think I utilised the locations to fit the genre. The beach set the genre, creating a peaceful and moody atmosphere, that represented the artist and the song. Another example of a similar location is the field in "When September Ends" by Green Day, this connotes a peaceful and romantic situation in which the girl and boy are in love, much to the same as my video on the beach. This scene and later sections of the video acted as my inspiration, creating a romantic situation in which they must separate. Narrative
This then leads onto narrative, the narrative of my music video is linear with flashbacks involved. This is common among the genre and examples of this would be "When September Ends" by Green Day and "A-Team" by Ed Sheeran. Both these examples show a narrative which has a storyline which incorporates flashbacks which connote regret. The narrative is really a signifier of the genre because acoustic/pop a songs use relationships as a key aspect like in "When September Ends". This is used because of how the audience can rekate to it, Gunther Kress' thoery about how the audience is more comfortable when sitting at home and recognises a text, when the audience can compare it to another text or experience it can enhance how they see it and will enjoy it more
.
Katie Wales says that "genre is an inter-textual concept", so reference to other texts will increase the audience's relatability to the text.
The costumes used in the music video are clothes warn by High Street shoppers, Post-Modernist clothes like the cheque shirt, ripped jeans and converse are all considered to be High Street fashion and this another way I have incorporated the audience with the genre. The audience associate themselves with the artists within the music industry because of the clothes that they wear and what they look like. The audience wear similar clothes and do similar things to become what Michel Maffesoli would call is a "tribe" and this is how Michel Maffesoli's "Time of tribes" came from.
This is an advert from Republic ( High Street Fashion) and the one to the right is the clothes worn by my character in the music video. The use of Post-modernist fashion in my video goes back to the use of bricolage, the genre of Daniel Cope is a mix and would be considered bricolage, similarly the post-modernist fashion is bricolage, taking different types of clothing from the past and reinventing them. The cheque shirt is an example, formerly worn my farmers and "Yokels" the cheque shirt is now one of the biggest parts of high street fashion.
Close Ups and Focus on the Artist
Daniel Cope's genre was a difficult puzzle and was difficult on deciding on what aspects/conventions of the genres to use in the music video and digipak. But one convention that was prominent through all of his genres was close-ups, the focus always being on the artist. This is one of Goodwin's theories, to sell the artist using close ups.
In the music video the focus is on the artist throughout, creating a relationship between the audience and the artist is crucial and this is the most effective way. The music video uses the close ups to catch the audiences attention and create emotional links. It creates a powerful effect whilst marketing the artist at the same time.
Ed Sheeran, "Drunk" Music Video (Left)
(Right) Screenshot of Artist singing from the Music Video and of the artist staring over the hill.
The Location
The locations of the music video was very important to the genre, using different locations was also important. I think I utilised the locations to fit the genre. The beach set the genre, creating a peaceful and moody atmosphere, that represented the artist and the song. Another example of a similar location is the field in "When September Ends" by Green Day, this connotes a peaceful and romantic situation in which the girl and boy are in love, much to the same as my video on the beach. This scene and later sections of the video acted as my inspiration, creating a romantic situation in which they must separate. Narrative
This then leads onto narrative, the narrative of my music video is linear with flashbacks involved. This is common among the genre and examples of this would be "When September Ends" by Green Day and "A-Team" by Ed Sheeran. Both these examples show a narrative which has a storyline which incorporates flashbacks which connote regret. The narrative is really a signifier of the genre because acoustic/pop a songs use relationships as a key aspect like in "When September Ends". This is used because of how the audience can rekate to it, Gunther Kress' thoery about how the audience is more comfortable when sitting at home and recognises a text, when the audience can compare it to another text or experience it can enhance how they see it and will enjoy it more
.
Katie Wales says that "genre is an inter-textual concept", so reference to other texts will increase the audience's relatability to the text.
Costume
This is an advert from Republic ( High Street Fashion) and the one to the right is the clothes worn by my character in the music video. The use of Post-modernist fashion in my video goes back to the use of bricolage, the genre of Daniel Cope is a mix and would be considered bricolage, similarly the post-modernist fashion is bricolage, taking different types of clothing from the past and reinventing them. The cheque shirt is an example, formerly worn my farmers and "Yokels" the cheque shirt is now one of the biggest parts of high street fashion.
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