Final Music Promo

Final DigiPak

Final Advert

Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback

I posted the link to my penultimate draft of my music video on Facebook and Twitter, both these sites are mostly used by my target audience so I thought this would be a way to collect a range of feedback relevant to my music video. I also asked people to comment on my ancillary texts via a blog post.

I found this feedback from the respondent 'Lucy; particularly helpful. I took on board the comment about how the superimposed images seemed to look 'out of place' and that they 'came out of nowhere'. I listened to how she thought I could fix this problem and then worked on blurring the edges of these clips and this can be seen in my final draft of my music video. This feedback helped me to make a certain aspect of my music video more clean cut and appeal more to my target audience and look more to the level of music videos that they enjoy watching.




The response from 'Rosie' was also helpful as it supported a point made by 'Lucy' about the things they liked. In both comments they both identify that they like the use of close up's of eyes. This was also a feature I liked in my music video so I was pleased to find out that my target audience also liked the use of extreme close ups. 


The feedback from 'Thomas' off twitter was helpful as it made me aware that my lip syncing wasn't as effective as it could be so I worked harder on making the lip syncing more tight. I also filmed more sequences of the girl with the new boyfriend, this would help not only Thomas but the rest of the audience understand the narrative of the story more.

'Brians' comment was helpful as he made a point that I had also been thinking about. I took his point on board about having a different location and I had been thinking about adding a scene to the music video filmed in a residential location, I thought this would add a depth to their relationship and show that they had been together for a long period of time. I took his positive point on board about the styling so I made sure I kept that similar look in the new parts of the video I filmed. 

'Georges' comment about my ancillary text helped me identify some strengths and weakness of  my advert and DigiPak. I agreed with the comment about the way the front cover imaged made the artist seem squashed so I worked on elongating the image to the best of my ability. I was pleased that he noticed the codes and conventions on the back cover on the DigiPak.









The response from 'Tamasin' was helpful as she identified the purpose of the advert, which rassured me that it was made in an effective way for the audience. I understand the point made about the back cover image of the DigiPak but I had a design a bit more quirky on the inside so I wanted to almost keep that a surprise for the buyer.


To conclude, audience feedback has taught me an awful lot in the process of creating a music promotional package. As the audience for my music video is for the ages between mid teens and young adults, getting feedback from this age range has ensured that the views I collected from this feedback will be current and relevant for my video. It also helped me receive feedback from the viewers of professional music videos, this meaning the comparisons will be between my video and professionally made ones; this will mean the feedback I received would have been said with an idea of making my video look more professional. Audience feedback has also been helpful as it helps me understand if the points I enjoyed in the video were also enjoyed by the target audience. It also gave me an opportunity to take some of the points made on board and edit them, for example to took on board the point made by Brian and needing a different location, as I still had time in the filming process I then listened to this feedback and filmed an extra sequence in a different location.

I learnt that my audience were particularly interested in the locations shown in the video, both Rosie and Brian comment on the location in the video, the fact that multiple people commented on this particular aspect of my music video showed me that location is important for my particular audience. Surprisingly some of the feedback was pretty technical and certain technical aspects were commented on by some of the respondents; Lucy talks about how the superimposed images seemed to be slightly out of place and both Lucy and Brian comment on the use of slow and fast motion parts of the video. The feedback received on the technical aspects of my video were very helpful as it showed me what worked well and what can be done to improve the look of the video.

The feedback I received on my ancillary tasks were also helpful as it made me aware that the products were understandable but also appealing for the eye. If I were to re-design my DigiPak I would take Tamasins' comment on board and change the back cover as I agree with her that it might be seen to be very similar to the front cover.I would also take Georges' comment on board about the front cover of the DigiPak looking a little squashed, If I were to do this again I would make the image not look so distorted. I was also pleased that George noticed the use of synergy throughout the advert and DigiPak as he noticed that the same image was used on both.

Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

9 Frames

I used 9 frames taken from my music video as a way to show my music video quickly and easily. It has helped me to show different shot distances, locations and emotions I was trying to express in the video. 

Script for; In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I plan on creating a video of my talking of my music video to answer this question. To ensure the timings are correct when filming I have chosen to type up the script of what I want to say and when I am going to say it, this is shown below:

 There are both technical and symbolic codes and conventions of a music video, the techniqual codes and conventions are ways in which technology and equipment are used to express emotion. This is done through the use of shots, the editing and the sound.

Symbolic codes and conventions create what is beyond easy to see, for example the use of facial expressions and mise-en-scene.

(Music video starts)

The start to my music video is very fast pace starting with two close ups of the main characters and then moving to a clip of them together, the female character then laughs at the boy. I choose to do this as it links to a lyric in the first verse ‘humour me just think it through’. I have used a mixture of shot distances, starting with close ups, then medium shots and long shots of the new couple walking off. I did this as I wanted to show a range of emotions through these different shots and it also adds a mix of pace to the opening.

(0.14 seconds) When the lip syncing starts I wanted the male actor to be telling a story through the lyrics. For this reason when he sings ‘shut my eyes pretend it’s there’ he shuts his eyes and I superimposed the image of the girl we previously saw him with, I did this to show that he was dreaming of her and missing her. This is a way the editing process has expressed emotion.

(40 seconds) The video then shows a medium shot of the girl with a new boy laughing and looking happy. There is a mixture of extreme close ups of the girls eyes and mouth laughing, again this shows the emotion of the character.

(44 seconds) There is then a medium close up shot of the male actor singing ‘coming back’ this shows that he wants her back and misses her.

(48 seconds) There is cross dissolve from the male drinking alone to the girl walking with her new boyfriend. This use of editing shows this is happening at the same time and the difference in their lives at this current time.

(53 seconds) The girl then pauses and leaves the new boyfriend and starts to run away, as she starts to run away I have added a flashback in-between the shots of her running, of her and her ex looking couple together. This use of mise-en-scene of them under a blanket adds a romantic and intimate feel to their past relationship.

(55 seconds) As she runs off there is a cross dissolve to a clip of them walking together, I slowed this clip down as I wanted it to look like a dream and a memory. There is then another clip of them laughing happily together at a lake. These two flashbacks together help show a happy previous time in their relationship and the reason why she wants to go back, which is one of the lyrics. ‘Coming back’.

(1.08 seconds) I have made a daft mistake when the girl is running through the trees, although I really like this long distance shot, I mistakenly forgot to ask the actor to change costume. This is then not supporting the narrative of her going back to her ex on the same day.

(1.14) For the second verse I used a medium shot of the male lip syncing. I then zoom in. This change in shot distance was done to make the audience feel like the artist is telling them the story of this past relationship personally.

(1.37seconds) As he says ‘coming back’ at the end of the second verse I there is then the shot of the girl running back to him, this is in the same location where his was just singing. I thought this would be effective to show that although they are not together, they are still close in the way that they spend time in the same locations.

(1.44 seconds) For the last verse, additional lighting needed to be use as it was far too dark to be able to see the actor and the lip syncing effectively. I also wanted him to be walking when singing this verse as, up till now, he has been sitting down when singing so this would as a change in the pace of the video.

(1.56 seconds) The long shot of the female running is then changed up by adding a medium shot of her jumping over the log and then back to the long shot of her running off. Immediately there is then a sequence of close ups, specifically he eyes, with blurred edges of her catching her breath. These shots show her desperation to get back to her ex and how she might be feeling dazed.

(2.05 seconds) The sequence of the couple sitting on the bench and then a cut and zoom to the make on his own on the same bench again helps to tell the narrative of them missing each other and that they still visit the locations they went to as a couple.

(2.09 seconds) The shots of them under the blanket and him holding her balancing on the wooden planks helps to tell the narrative of their past relationship and the closeness they had.

(2.10 seconds) Then the extreme close up of his mouth singing ‘coming back’, corresponds directly with the previous clips we had just seen. Showing he simply wants her back.

(2.13 seconds)The cross dissolves of her running in slow motion to them him walking alone I think is very effective. As not only does it represent what she is running too but also shows them both on their own, something they both don’t want.

(2.18 seconds) The close up of her eyes and then him singing ‘your eyes’, means the lyrics are linking with what the audience will be seeing on the video. This again is helping them to tell the story.

(2.23 seconds) I wanted to add a change of location as up till now it has all been filmed in a wood. The change of location in a house adds a past to their relationship and a sense of normality. I have superimposed images of the male singing ‘your eyes’ over this sequence of shots of them play fighting of the remote. This tells the narrative of them wanting each other back.

(2.40 seconds) There is then a running motion which was done by simply jogging gently behind the female actor; I wanted to do this to change to motion of the video and to help the audience get a feel of what she is doing.

(2.50 seconds) There is then one last of the male on his own before you see a close up of a hand and then her sitting down together. This last sequence really shows a symbolic code to the video as they both look happy through their facial expressions, and I used the camera to capture some extreme close ups of their smiles and their eyes to show that they are both happy to be back together.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I posted the link to my penultimate draft of my music video on Facebook and Twitter, both these sites are mostly used by my target audience so I thought this would be a way to collect a range of feedback relevant to my music video. I also asked people to comment on my ancillary texts via a blog post.

I found this feedback from the respondent 'Lucy; particularly helpful. I took on board the comment about how the superimposed images seemed to look 'out of place' and that they 'came out of nowhere'. I listened to how she thought I could fix this problem and then worked on blurring the edges of these clips and this can be seen in my final draft of my music video. This feedback helped me to make a certain aspect of my music video more clean cut and appeal more to my target audience and look more to the level of music videos that they enjoy watching.




The response from 'Rosie' was also helpful as it supported a point made by 'Lucy' about the things they liked. In both comments they both identify that they like the use of close up's of eyes. This was also a feature I liked in my music video so I was pleased to find out that my target audience also liked the use of extreme close ups. 


The feedback from 'Thomas' off twitter was helpful as it made me aware that my lip syncing wasn't as effective as it could be so I worked harder on making the lip syncing more tight. I also filmed more sequences of the girl with the new boyfriend, this would help not only Thomas but the rest of the audience understand the narrative of the story more.



'Brians' comment was helpful as he made a point that I had also been thinking about. I took his point on board about having a different location and I had been thinking about adding a scene to the music video filmed in a residential location, I thought this would add a depth to their relationship and show that they had been together for a long period of time. I took his positive point on board about the styling so I made sure I kept that similar look in the new parts of the video I filmed. 

'Georges' comment about my ancillary text helped me identify some strengths and weakness of  my advert and DigiPak. I agreed with the comment about the way the front cover imaged made the artist seem squashed so I worked on elongating the image to the best of my ability. I was pleased that he noticed the codes and conventions on the back cover on the DigiPak.









The response from 'Tamasin' was helpful as she identified the purpose of the advert, which reassured me that it was made in an effective way for the audience. I understand the point made about the back cover image of the DigiPak but I had a design a bit more quirky on the inside so I wanted to almost keep that a surprise for the buyer.


To conclude, audience feedback has taught me an awful lot in the process of creating a music promotional package. As the audience for my music video is for the ages between mid teens and young adults, getting feedback from this age range has ensured that the views I collected from this feedback will be current and relevant for my video. It also helped me receive feedback from the viewers of professional music videos, this meaning the comparisons will be between my video and professionally made ones; this will mean the feedback I received would have been said with an idea of making my video look more professional. Audience feedback has also been helpful as it helps me understand if the points I enjoyed in the video were also enjoyed by the target audience. It also gave me an opportunity to take some of the points made on board and edit them, for example to took on board the point made by Brian and needing a different location, as I still had time in the filming process I then listened to this feedback and filmed an extra sequence in a different location. The feedback I received on my ancillary tasks were also helpful as it made me aware that they products were understandable but also appealing for the eye.

How effective is the combination of your main product and your ancillary texts?

Dolby

The Prezi is attractive but lots of typos so proofread! Also, the question is HOW you used them so go back to the mark scheme and think about the importance of different software and hardware and the way in which the technology helped you to complete your coursework in various ways from the research and ways social networking helped gather info quickly and effectively, through to the way the software can allow you to experiment and be creative. At the moment, this is more of a running commentary on what you did and what you used and lacks some evaluation.

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Response to evaluation questions

·         In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

o   I started by looking at my RMA’s, I made sure before I started constructing my products myself; I had a selection of real media artefact analysis to refer back to. I analysed two music videos and I tried to pick videos that were a similar genre to my song, this was done so everything I found would be relateable to my music video. I wrote a detailed analysis on the videos that I watched; doing this helped me get many ideas that I could potentially use in my music video, for example the types of shots I could use. I also analysed two DigiPaks, I found this beneficial as I  got to look at professional DigiPaks and this helped me to construct the post ‘Contents & features of a DigiPak’ this was a useful source to me in the construction process as it was something I could constantly refer back to make sure I was applying these contents and features. I also analysed one promotional advert for the release of an album, again I didn’t strain too far from my music genre, and although it is different to my song, it still helped me to understand the basic codes and conventions of a promotional advert.

o   When I started constructing my music promotional package I made sure I kept referring back to my RMA research. I liked the idea in Ed Sheerans video ‘Drunk’, which I analysed, of using flashbacks. I thought this idea would work effectively in my music video as not only did it show a past between these characters, but also helped to tell the narrative I wished to get across during the video. I also wanted to create a narrative music video, which is the format of this video. In the second video I analysed Two Door Cinema Clubs ‘What You Know’, there were a few elements that I thought worked really effectively and thought I could use in my own video; firstly I really enjoyed the way certain parts of the video were in slow motion, as it created tension and added a different tempo to the video, it’s for this reason I used slow motion, but also certain parts were sped up in my video, this was done in the hope to keep the video entertaining for the audience. This video also repeated certain sequences of the video; I liked this technique as it meant that there were constant links throughout the video. Although I didn’t use this technique as frequently, I still used a few clips more than once to show that the male character is falling into a pattern and missing the girl.

o   When constructing my DigiPak and promotional magazine advert, I used the contents and features I had discovered on both of these. For example, I used the obvious contents and features such as band, song and record label logos, titles - band, song/album name and track listing but also the features that were a little more complex to do such as, 4-Sided with 2 Spines- 2 pics outside (front/back covers), possibly 2 inside, Pictures - front, back, middle (inside and outside) and Copyright Protection logos and information  all these codes and conventions are important and feature on real DigiPaks so I wanted to make sure they featured on my own. I also used my RMA research to help with design of my print products, for example the layout and which texts should be the biggest.

o   http://22pedgy09.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/RMA%20research

·         How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

o   Synergy is very important when releasing a music promotional package, this is because it is key for the audience to be aware of everything the artist is offering and therefore they make the most amount of capital they can possibly make.

o   Because the title of the song that I created my music video to is called ‘Your Eyes’, I wanted to tie a loose theme  of eyes and vision throughout the music promotional package. I did this in a few different ways; I firstly names the album name ‘Iris’, this links to the single title but is also a two syllable, punchy title. I also wanted to have this theme through the track listings but I also brought in the theme of missing someone, which links to the narrative in the video, for example the tracks called ‘Image’ and ‘Dream’, link to these themes.

o   I also used images of the artist, in a similar location to the music video, on the advert and the DigiPak. This means that the running location of a wood is throughout all three products.

o   I used many close ups of eyes in my music video, this was done to link with the title but also as a way to show emotion of the character. I thought the image of eyes could be linked in my DigiPak so I decided to capture 16 original images of eyes and cover the inside pane with eyes, this is a direct correspondence with the music video and DigiPak.

o   I used the same image for the front cover of the DigiPak and the background of the advert as a way to link this artist, and hopefully to create an image for this artist.

o   http://22pedgy09.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Construction

·         What have you learned from your audience feedback?

o   I posted my music video on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. I thought this would be an effective way of attaining some relevant audience feedback as most of the users on these sites are the target audience for my video.

o   I made sure I got a mixture of responses from different genders and this will be important as all sexes will be viewing my video.

o   I found the comment from Lucy particularly usefully; a specific part of this feedback was something I felt I could improve on. She comments that “… In my opinion, the small video clips come out of nowhere and be slightly out of place…” I did agree with this point and took this on board and then edited the appearance of the super imposed images.

o   The audience feedback significantly helped me to understand what was enjoyed by my target audience, but also points that they felt could improve the video. As this audience is very likely to watch professionally made music videos regularly, their feedback is made with comparisons to these. This meaning that there feedback will help me to understand how to make this project to a more professional level.

o   I also used Blogger as a way to share my work with my teachers. This gave them access to my work and the opportunity for them to comment on my posts. This gave me access to interact with my teachers digitally, as I would respond to the feedback given.

·         How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

o   Research- I used blogger and YouTube as ways to research real media artefacts. YouTube was particularly helpful as I had massive access to real music videos to analyse. I used blogger a way to present my research findings.

o   Planning- I used Windows Movie maker to create a moving image story board; this helped me with timings and shots for my video. I also created two presentations using Prezi as ways to show ideas about my location and style of the video. Blogger was also used at this stage to show how my planning was progressing.

o   Construction- I used SonyHDV1000E cameras to shoot my video, these cameras were benefital as they not only were available to capture the video but make sure the video was shot to a high quality. Also during the filming process I used a tripod to make sure certain shots were stable and also additional lighting as, at this time of year, it got dark early and it was needed to use additional lighting. Final Cut Pro was the technology I used to edit my together; this software enabled me to use transitions and effects to make my video look more professional. Audacity was also used to cut down the length of my track.

o   Evaluation- I am planning to use a variety of technology for my evaluation. I am hoping to use blogger, prezi, the cameras, microphones for the voice over.