How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
In order to research in depth the chosen genre, I had to use various media technologies to help me do so. To start with, I needed to gain reliable and useful information about the genre "alternative rock" and what it was all about. I used various sites such as Wikipedia, Yahoo and Urban Dictionary. To verify the definition and the genre, my audience feedback posed the question "What does the term alternative rock mean to you?" in order to gather different outlooks on the genre. YouTube was another site I frequently used when researching. The site allowed me to search bands associated with the genre and to watch the videos by such bands. This helped me in understanding what the genre was about and what characteristics were associated with it. Furthermore, I was able to pick up on reoccurring themes throughout various videos which I could then apply to my own. Researching the videos allowed to me to construct several nine frame analysis' around them and take inspiration and ideas from them. I took inspiration from artists such as Oasis, Blur and Ian Brown. Using YouTube enabled me to take print screens of the videos in which I could then load them into a power point presentation and analyse them in depth. I also used YouTube during my construction page to upload the rough cuts and final cuts of my music video. The site also had a HTML code in which I could embed my music video onto my blog. Blogger was another site that I used during each stage of my coursework. By creating a blog, this allowed me to create an easy and accessible way in which people could see my progression from research, to planning and construction and then to evaluation. Blogger became an essential aspect for the creation of my portfolio. The site let me upload pictures, create pages and posts accordingly to my tasks, and post links and videos to it. I could also alter the theme to fit around my genre in which I have chose colours such as blue, red and white, to represent a sub genre of the genre, Brit pop. Another media technology that I used frequently throughout my research and planning was Slideshare. Slideshare was a very useful site that I used to upload word documents onto which could then be shown in their original format on my blog. This allowed people viewing my blog to see all my planning and research that I had done in Word, which created an easier format for them to read it in instead of reading loads of words on a single post on my blog. Google Images was a further media technology that I used. Instead of buying and reading through various magazine looking for advertisements by other bands, I used Google images to find past advertisements quickly. This helped me a lot as it was quick and efficient as I needed to move on with my research and onto planning. I found advertisements on bands such as Stereophonics and The Killers. When creating my music video and my blog, I used a Mac as oppose to a PC. This meant I could use programs such as iMovie to create my animatic. IMovie allowed me to import pictures of my storyboard into the programme and fit them in time with my track so the viewer could get a brief idea of what I was expecting my music video to look like. The program was also very useful to me as the director of the video so I could experiment with different camera angles and experiment with framing etc and then put them into this program to get an idea of what a running video would look like. Photoshop was a major and critical media technology I used continuously throughout my portfolio. The creative programme helped me create my digipak and advert to accompany my music video. Looking back at my coursework from AS Level and my use of photoshop, I would say I have dramatically improved my skills by using this software. Not only does it allow me to create my own advertisement to promote my video and a digipak to accompany the single, but it also meant I could experiment with fonts, designs, create my own designs and mess around until I found something fitting. The editing software I used to create my music video was Final Cut HD, a program used by professionals. I also used this program in my first year of media studies and found it quite complicated and stressful. However, second year media studies taught me more about the software and once I came to grasps with how to use it, my skills advanced quickly, allowing me to edit more efficiently. The timeline aspect of the software allowed me to match up footage and sync it with the audio to create high quality lip syncing and in turn, letting the video flow smoothly. Prezi was a futher online program that I have used to present pieces of information on my blog. I thought as an outsider, looking onto my blog and reading the same font and format contionously would be quite dull and boring. In order to make my information more interesting, I transferred my information into a Prezi where I could experiment with different styles and ways in presenting my tasks. To capture the footage for my music video, I used a Panasonic HC V10 camcorder. The lightweight equipment used a HD display and all footage capture was of high quality. As the camcorder was only light and quite small, this allowed me to maneuver easily between shooting and capture difficult angles. Learning to use the camcorder was straight forward and easy to transfer to the Mac after capturing the footage. The camcorder also had a good camera built in it and I used this to its advantage by shooting the photoshoot using this camcorder as well.
Monday, 21 January 2013
Question Three
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
In order to get feedback, I used several different methods to ensure all feedback was varied and not just that of my close friends.
My music video was shown to my media class at the college I attend. After watching the video, each person gave me constructive feedback on my video in order for me to evaluate my overall products.The reason for asking my classmates for feedback was that they knew what to look for in my video as they are also carrying out the same project and would be able to give me more constructive comments as oppose to those who would probably not be as educated about this area as my classmates are. Below are photographs of some of the comments I received from the class:
The feedback left by my classmates was mostly positive however there was a few negatives but nothing too major that would make me reconsider my finished product. The negative feedback concentrated on aspects such as the black and white shot at the end of my video which the audience couldn't seem to understand. This shot was purposely changed to black and white to try and show a memory to carry on the theme from the shots before it which were rewinded to show a reverse in time.
I also sent the YouTube link of my music video to several people using the social networking site Facebook. Each person watched the video then left feedback in the comment section below the video. Below are screen shots of the comments left by people on my YouTube channel:
The reason behind using social networks to gain feedback was due to the vast majority of the population using various social networking sites each day such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This would ensure that I received a series of varied feedback from different individuals, diversifying the feedback and giving me more to evaluate. When reading the comments, I was glad to see that the majority of comments were positive as I felt there was certain parts of the video I could have changed or improved such as the narrative which I felt was quite slow to kick in but the audience seemed to have enjoyed it.
From my audience feedback, I have learned several different things about my music video and my skills in producing it. Firstly, several viewers believed that the video had a clear narrative, a major part of my video which I believed was quite slow to kick in. This means I have successfully achieved the major aim of most music video producers in that a music video is all about conveying a meaning or putting across a story. Secondly, I have learned that most of my audience believe I have used various camera angles and framing. This was a key aspect I wanted to concentrate on whilst filming as it would give my video not only a more interesting take on it but also a professional look. Thirdly, many have agreed that my use of effects within the video have contributed well to it been a professional music video. The effects were quite difficult to find but easy to achieve by overlaying the effect using the "Overlay" option in Final Cut. Lastly, a reoccurring comment left by the audience was that the syncing of my video was on time which, in a professional video, is crucial. The timeline option in Final Cut allowed me to match the audio up to the footage effectively and is the reason why I have achieved good syncing. However, I have also learned from my audience feedback that the single black and white clip at the end of my video made no sense. I was trying to achieve a memory/flashback effect that doesn't seem to have connected with the audience. If I was to re-edit this video, I would most definitely change this back to the original colour.
In order to get feedback, I used several different methods to ensure all feedback was varied and not just that of my close friends.
My music video was shown to my media class at the college I attend. After watching the video, each person gave me constructive feedback on my video in order for me to evaluate my overall products.The reason for asking my classmates for feedback was that they knew what to look for in my video as they are also carrying out the same project and would be able to give me more constructive comments as oppose to those who would probably not be as educated about this area as my classmates are. Below are photographs of some of the comments I received from the class:
The feedback left by my classmates was mostly positive however there was a few negatives but nothing too major that would make me reconsider my finished product. The negative feedback concentrated on aspects such as the black and white shot at the end of my video which the audience couldn't seem to understand. This shot was purposely changed to black and white to try and show a memory to carry on the theme from the shots before it which were rewinded to show a reverse in time.
I also sent the YouTube link of my music video to several people using the social networking site Facebook. Each person watched the video then left feedback in the comment section below the video. Below are screen shots of the comments left by people on my YouTube channel:
The reason behind using social networks to gain feedback was due to the vast majority of the population using various social networking sites each day such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This would ensure that I received a series of varied feedback from different individuals, diversifying the feedback and giving me more to evaluate. When reading the comments, I was glad to see that the majority of comments were positive as I felt there was certain parts of the video I could have changed or improved such as the narrative which I felt was quite slow to kick in but the audience seemed to have enjoyed it.
From my audience feedback, I have learned several different things about my music video and my skills in producing it. Firstly, several viewers believed that the video had a clear narrative, a major part of my video which I believed was quite slow to kick in. This means I have successfully achieved the major aim of most music video producers in that a music video is all about conveying a meaning or putting across a story. Secondly, I have learned that most of my audience believe I have used various camera angles and framing. This was a key aspect I wanted to concentrate on whilst filming as it would give my video not only a more interesting take on it but also a professional look. Thirdly, many have agreed that my use of effects within the video have contributed well to it been a professional music video. The effects were quite difficult to find but easy to achieve by overlaying the effect using the "Overlay" option in Final Cut. Lastly, a reoccurring comment left by the audience was that the syncing of my video was on time which, in a professional video, is crucial. The timeline option in Final Cut allowed me to match the audio up to the footage effectively and is the reason why I have achieved good syncing. However, I have also learned from my audience feedback that the single black and white clip at the end of my video made no sense. I was trying to achieve a memory/flashback effect that doesn't seem to have connected with the audience. If I was to re-edit this video, I would most definitely change this back to the original colour.
Question Two
How effective is the combination of your main
product and ancillary texts?
Throughout the creation of my music video, advert and digipak, I have used brand identity to help the audience identify the links between each and recognise they come as a unified package and not as separate products. In order to give my finished products a professional look and a recognisable motif that I could apply to all my products, I decided to create a record company logo. As I could not use an already established logo due to the legality of copyright restrictions, I had to create my own and did so under the name of KM Records.The idea for my logo came from the rebellious attitude of the group. I wanted a background for my logo that would make a statement and paint splatters seemed to fit the theme of rebellion. In terms of the colour scheme, I just went with multicoloured as this helps my logo stand out and I want the audience to recognise who these products are produced by.
Although I wanted to give each of my products variety in terms of colour scheme etc. I decided it would be quite difficult to do this and maintain the links between each other. As previously seen in my draft advert, I did try to experiment by using purples and black however I felt this colour scheme did not co-ordinate with the other products' colour schemes and made it hard to recognise that the advert was a part of the package alongside the digipak and the music video. In my second draft advert and digipak, I decided to stick with the blue,white and black colour scheme for the fact that the colour co-ordinated well, they were appealing to the eye which will attract and audience and once merged together with the products, it will become an identifiable motif. However, upon review, several people noted that the colour scheme and the images used were very similar to them used on the digipak by the actual Stone Roses so because of this, I had to change and re-design my entire advert and digipak. In the end, I came up with a stone/beige colour as I figured such a neutral colour would merge quite easily and it did. I also incorporated the union jack into the digipak to establish the nationality of the band and I think the union jack itself is quite an appealing aspect to have on a digipak.
Whilst shooting the video, I decided to do a separate photo shoot. By doing this, I could use photos with the characters based in the video dressed as they appear in the video and use these on my advert and digipak to create an recognisable link between the products. I have applied this technique to my digipak by using two different photos on the inside sleeves of the digipak. In order to maintain continuity, the mise en scene, lighting and location of the photoshoot was the same as the video in order to keep the mood and feel of the video. However, as the photographs were taken separate from the video, more attention was paid to the framing of the character within each shot. To match the colour scheme of my Digipak, I did change the colour of the photos I used on my Digipak to a warm mixture of colours between yellow, blue,orange and red which I think worked well alongside the digipak and I continued this theme on the advert too.
Throughout the creation of my music video, advert and digipak, I have used brand identity to help the audience identify the links between each and recognise they come as a unified package and not as separate products. In order to give my finished products a professional look and a recognisable motif that I could apply to all my products, I decided to create a record company logo. As I could not use an already established logo due to the legality of copyright restrictions, I had to create my own and did so under the name of KM Records.The idea for my logo came from the rebellious attitude of the group. I wanted a background for my logo that would make a statement and paint splatters seemed to fit the theme of rebellion. In terms of the colour scheme, I just went with multicoloured as this helps my logo stand out and I want the audience to recognise who these products are produced by.
Although I wanted to give each of my products variety in terms of colour scheme etc. I decided it would be quite difficult to do this and maintain the links between each other. As previously seen in my draft advert, I did try to experiment by using purples and black however I felt this colour scheme did not co-ordinate with the other products' colour schemes and made it hard to recognise that the advert was a part of the package alongside the digipak and the music video. In my second draft advert and digipak, I decided to stick with the blue,white and black colour scheme for the fact that the colour co-ordinated well, they were appealing to the eye which will attract and audience and once merged together with the products, it will become an identifiable motif. However, upon review, several people noted that the colour scheme and the images used were very similar to them used on the digipak by the actual Stone Roses so because of this, I had to change and re-design my entire advert and digipak. In the end, I came up with a stone/beige colour as I figured such a neutral colour would merge quite easily and it did. I also incorporated the union jack into the digipak to establish the nationality of the band and I think the union jack itself is quite an appealing aspect to have on a digipak.
Whilst shooting the video, I decided to do a separate photo shoot. By doing this, I could use photos with the characters based in the video dressed as they appear in the video and use these on my advert and digipak to create an recognisable link between the products. I have applied this technique to my digipak by using two different photos on the inside sleeves of the digipak. In order to maintain continuity, the mise en scene, lighting and location of the photoshoot was the same as the video in order to keep the mood and feel of the video. However, as the photographs were taken separate from the video, more attention was paid to the framing of the character within each shot. To match the colour scheme of my Digipak, I did change the colour of the photos I used on my Digipak to a warm mixture of colours between yellow, blue,orange and red which I think worked well alongside the digipak and I continued this theme on the advert too.
Question One
In what ways does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My media product, a music video to accompany a song that I have chose, shows many conventions that are associated with actual music videos within the music industry. The genre I chose to base my music video around was Alternative Rock. To ensure I was familiar with the genre and the concepts generalised with it, I carried out several research activities so I could apply any conventions and ideas to my own music video to give my video a high standard and make it seem more realistic. Whilst watching several alternative rock music video's, I noticed an occurring theme that the frontman of the band is always dominant within the video and for most alternative rock music videos, the band are nearly always in the video too. This supports Andrew Goodwin's theory of Star Image and that an audience prefer to see the band in their own music video. Furthermore, my video has used another Andrew Goodwin theory of thought beats. This is the theory that the image is synced in with the beat of the music which I managed to achieve quite well as the drum beat is very distinct in several parts of the track I used; I Wanna Be Adored by The Stone Roses. I used this theory as I believe it gives the video a more professional look and that the director knows how to address and create a successful music video.
To expand on Andrew Goodwins theory of Star Image, I have applied this significantly to my music video. Throughout the video, we see the band constantly playing and singing along to the track. Using the band to promote the track is a frequent technique used in alternative rock videos so I decided to carry on this theme to fit the convention. The actual music video for "I Wanna Be Adored" by The Stone Roses also centre's it's attention on the band. However, in my video, I decided to give the video some narrative as I found this more appealing to an audience as they can try and figure out the storyline and apply it to the lyrics, given them a more connected and indepth feeling towards the song itself. I have also applied Richard Dyer’s theory by making the lead singer perform in a particular way. Ian Brown, the frontman and lead singer of The Stone Roses, has his own identity by the way he moves when performing his songs. I decided to apply this to my video as it would be recogniseable to any fans of The Stone Roses.
Instead of the lyrics directly linking to any actions within my music video, I have tried to challenge this theory by applying my own take on the lyrics by conveying a meaning in the actions rather than directly applying them to the lyrics. For example, when the lyrics "I don't have to sell my soul" appear on the track, I've linked this into shots of the character walking aimlessly and alone to show a deeper meaning of dereliction. Carol Vernallis also dicussed how the video may bring questions, another aspect I believe I have achieved. Showing the character constantly walking on his own through different locations makes the audience question "Where is he going?" "Why is he walking alone?" "Has something happened?" which later are answered when the character is shown producing drugs from his coat pocket.
My media product, a music video to accompany a song that I have chose, shows many conventions that are associated with actual music videos within the music industry. The genre I chose to base my music video around was Alternative Rock. To ensure I was familiar with the genre and the concepts generalised with it, I carried out several research activities so I could apply any conventions and ideas to my own music video to give my video a high standard and make it seem more realistic. Whilst watching several alternative rock music video's, I noticed an occurring theme that the frontman of the band is always dominant within the video and for most alternative rock music videos, the band are nearly always in the video too. This supports Andrew Goodwin's theory of Star Image and that an audience prefer to see the band in their own music video. Furthermore, my video has used another Andrew Goodwin theory of thought beats. This is the theory that the image is synced in with the beat of the music which I managed to achieve quite well as the drum beat is very distinct in several parts of the track I used; I Wanna Be Adored by The Stone Roses. I used this theory as I believe it gives the video a more professional look and that the director knows how to address and create a successful music video.
To expand on Andrew Goodwins theory of Star Image, I have applied this significantly to my music video. Throughout the video, we see the band constantly playing and singing along to the track. Using the band to promote the track is a frequent technique used in alternative rock videos so I decided to carry on this theme to fit the convention. The actual music video for "I Wanna Be Adored" by The Stone Roses also centre's it's attention on the band. However, in my video, I decided to give the video some narrative as I found this more appealing to an audience as they can try and figure out the storyline and apply it to the lyrics, given them a more connected and indepth feeling towards the song itself. I have also applied Richard Dyer’s theory by making the lead singer perform in a particular way. Ian Brown, the frontman and lead singer of The Stone Roses, has his own identity by the way he moves when performing his songs. I decided to apply this to my video as it would be recogniseable to any fans of The Stone Roses.
Instead of the lyrics directly linking to any actions within my music video, I have tried to challenge this theory by applying my own take on the lyrics by conveying a meaning in the actions rather than directly applying them to the lyrics. For example, when the lyrics "I don't have to sell my soul" appear on the track, I've linked this into shots of the character walking aimlessly and alone to show a deeper meaning of dereliction. Carol Vernallis also dicussed how the video may bring questions, another aspect I believe I have achieved. Showing the character constantly walking on his own through different locations makes the audience question "Where is he going?" "Why is he walking alone?" "Has something happened?" which later are answered when the character is shown producing drugs from his coat pocket.
Friday, 18 January 2013
Final Edit
This video is the final edit for my music to the track I Wanna Be Adored by The Stone Roses. When editing this final cut, I took onboard feedback from my previous rough cuts and applied the changes to this final cut. Overall, I believe I have achieved my main aims of producing a music video suitable for professional use.
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
Draft Advert Two
Above is my second drafted version of my advertisement for the release of the album "I Wanna Be Adored" by The Stone Roses to work in conjunction with my digipak and music video.
The final product is a lot different from my draft advert which revolved around a purple/black colour scheme. Again, I sat down with my brother who studies graphic design at degree level and we both discussed how I could improve my draft advert to make it more appealing to the audience. I think the colours in the advert contrast very effectively and make it more appealing for people to look at, thus emerging them in what the advert is advertising.
However, When I discussed my advert with my media tutors, they suggest I change it due to the image been too similar to that of the actual Stone Roses. This problem has set me quite far back in my deadlines as I've had to change the advert and the digipak.
Monday, 7 January 2013
Draft Digipak Two
The picture above shows my final design for my digipak to go alongside my music video for the track 'I Wanna Be Adored' by The Stone Roses. Overall, I am thoroughly happy with the finished product.
I was struggling to redesign the rough cut of my digipak so my brother, who studies graphic design at a degree level, sat down with me and advised me on changes I could make to improve my digipak.
Firstly, the bold colour scheme had to be change to a darker and more moderate theme to blend in with the over arching theme of loneliness and isolation. Taking inspiration from the album art for 'The Stone Roses' album by the Stone Roses, I found a paint splattered image from Google and manipulated the colouring and contrast to create a mixture of blues, greys, blacks and whites which I think goes more appropriately with my music video than the previous bold colours.
Secondly, I wanted to incorportate some of my own photography into the digipak. To do this, I chose four of the best photographs I had taken during my photoshoot for the advert and decided to place them on the left and right panels. Instead of just having four plain photographs, I changed the colour to grey and white and then deleted certain parts of the images to give a divided effect.
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