Evaluation

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

From analysing several music videos of the same genre (rock/indie), we were able to incorporate the forms and conventions into our music video. The conventions of a rock video include: performance, a band (performance), rough/edgy, low angle shots and they range in topics e.g. love, pain, death, artist’s experiences. We have developed and challenged the conventions, as our music video is performance and narrative based, in which the main protagonist and the singer are one person. This relates to the video ‘Bring me to life’ by Evanescence where the lead singer is also the main protagonist. In our video we see a low angle shot the artist performing on stage and this creates the point of view of the audience. An example of a real video that also uses this technique is In ‘Rockstar’ by Nickelback, where a low angle shot looking up at the band at the end of the video. We have challenged the conventions of real media products of this genre, due to the fact that a band is known to perform in the video and we have not integrated this into our own video.

We have also created a video that is rough and edgy similar to existing rock music videos. The artists/band usually wears dark or edgy clothing, their hair is messy and they sometimes have dark heavy make-up; the settings relate to the artist’s look. Our video is in black and white which creates a sense of dullness, but also gives it a gothic edge; the main protagonist/artist’s hair and make up is dark and messy which complements the colour of the video well. This is similar to the video ‘Call me when you’re sober’ by Evanescence we see that the artist/characters are dressed in red and black with dark hair and make up; the settings is also red and black. Real music videos also tend to use a lot of close up shots of the main artist/vocalist to emphasize the expression on their face, in which it creates a sense of reality, as is you are right in front of them and they are singing to you. We have incorporated several close-up shots of the artist/main protagonist in our music video. For example, when the artist is in a different state of mind (angry), she looks directly at the camera with evil looking eyes whilst she is singing. As she is looking straight at the camera it suggests that she is actually looking at the audience watching; this draws the audience in. In addition, the close-up allows the audience to see every detail of the artist, for example in our video you can see her messy hair and you can also see the anger in her eyes.

The rock genre has a range of different topics, in which the artists sing about; the video usually illustrates the topic. For instance, in the video for ‘Rockstar’ there are several shots of both celebrities and everyday people miming the words to the song and acting like Rockstar, hence the lyrics ‘we all just wanna be big rockstars…’ Another example is the video for ‘Bring me to life’, in which we see the protagonist falling whilst the artist sings ‘save me’. We have produced a video that illustrates what the song is about. For example, we see the protagonist walking in the park by herself and she looks as though she is in need of a shoulder to cry on, hence the lyrics ‘you said you’d be there for me’. In addition, the tempo of the song changes midway, in which this is complemented by the change in pace in the video. The song starts off subtle, in which the artist/protagonist is perceived as vulnerable and calm. Then the pace in the song gets faster and harsher, whilst the artist completely changes character and becomes ‘evil’ and angry; the shots are fast-cut montage.

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

Nneka is an R&B and hip hop artist, however our video is based on the Chase and Status remix of 'Heartbeat', which relates more to the rock genre. Therefore we have incorporated the forms and conventions of the rock genre into our media product.

The music video is in black and white which creates a dark and gothic vibe; this connotes the idea of the genre. It is perforance and narrative based; the artist's hair is messy and also has hevy eye make-up. The music starts off quite subtle, but then becomes ore harsh, in which the artist's iage complements this.

I created a digipack and the poster working around the gothic/rock theme. I cobined both bold and dull colours to create a contrast, hence the two sides of the artist/protagonist we see (red, black, grey). In addition, on both the poster and the digipack I used a photo of the artist that shows one side of her face; showing a red eye (evil side).

The three products complement each other well, as the video shows two sides of the artist; the ancillary texts show one side of the artist, leaving the audience on somewhat of a cliffhanger. The contrasting colours I used in the ancillary texts connote the two sides of the artist. The mood of the song is captured in all three. For example, the song starts off quite subtle and slow, in which she is seen as vulnerable; then the beat becomes a lot more intense and harsh, where we see the artist turn 'evil'. In addition, the colours in the ancillary texts connote the artist's image in the song well. The red and black show the harshness and evil in the artist, whereas the grey is more dull and creates a sense of vulnerability.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From the audience feedback, we receieved the response we intended for. We used several different ways to recieve the audiences views and opinions. At first we used 'Youtube'to get a range of views, as millions of people go on the site everyday; one of the comments we recieved stated “The video is awesome” by Jsuieurck.

Another example of how we gathered audience feedback was by gathering a range of students from our school to watch the video and then at the end we got them to write down what they thought of the video. This technique was also an effective way to get feedback, as we could visualise the viewers full expressions. One of the students said “I thought it was very excellent, it was a bit scary but that’s what made it good, the song went well with the video. I did not think there was anything wrong with the video. I thought it was really good”. Another student said “I think the video was good, it actually looked like a real music video, the storyline suited the song. It did not look sloppy at all. It was really good. It looks like you put a lot of effort into it and the results are brilliant.” On the other hnd another viewer stated "There are a lot of black and white shots, you should've used more diverse colours to make the essence of the narrative more clear". The feedback we recieved gave us the opportunity to see what the viewers actually thought and whether the video would be a success.


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

Planning and Research
I made use of several different media technologies throughout the planning and research stages. For example, I used the internet for a number of purposes, such as 'youtube' to watch the existing video for the song and also to analyse two existing music videos of the same genre as the video we created. I also used 'wikipedia' to research on the original artist, other artists and videos. The use of the internet to do research allowed me to fully grasp the concept of the song, the genre and also understand the artist's background and image. We used a camera to take photos of the video locations and also the artist; then we used a usb cord to connect the camera to the computer so we could upload the images. We also used the internet for props for the video and other video concept ideas to influence our creativity. I also created a blog on 'blogspot.com to record my work. Our music video could not actually be recorded on paper,therefore we had to present our work on a blog which was effective, as it allowed us to record everything we needed to. It was also suitable so everyone can see and comment our video through feedback/polls.

Construction
During the construction we used a video camera to film the different shots we needed for the video; we filmed more than we actually needed to just in case we preferred different parts. Whilst filming, we made use of a tripod to keep the camera steady and we also used a dolly allowing us to keep the camera steady whilst moving it around to create different angles and shots. After filming, we uploaded the shots using a usb cord so that we could edit and create the video. To produce and edit our video we used i-movie on the apple macs; then we exported the video, allowing us to upload the video onto youtube and also onto our blogs.

This is a print screen of what i-movie looks like.

For the production of my ancillary texts I used Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Using these programs was very helpful and effective, as they allowed me to create and edit the texts specificaly to how I visualised it to be.

Evaluation
For the evaluation stages we needed audience feedback, in which we uploaded our video onto facebook and youtube. By doing this, we were able to fully grasp and understand the audience point of view. The feedback we recieved was very helpful, as we could see the different views each viewer had allowing us to complete our work.

Audience Feedback

We made use of several different social networking sites to recieve feedback,such as Facebook and YouTube. The majority of feedback we recieved was positive, examples of comments made include: "Professional looking", "has a clear storyline"and "works well with the song". Although the majority of feedback we recieved was positive, we also recieved some negative comments. For instance one viewer said "you could have used the beat of the music and cut the clips so that it matches the beat" another viewer said "it might of looked better with colour". The negative feedback allowed us to see areas in which we could have improved. Another aspect of receiving audience feedback was by getting students from our school to watch the video and then write their views and opinions down. This allowed us to see the audience's full expression of the video; it also allowed us to see the diverse age groups that watched it. One student said “I thought it was very excellent, it was a bit scary but that’s what made it good, the song went well with the video. I did not think there was anything wrong with the video. I thought it was really good”. The range of feedback we recieved allowed us to see exactly what the audience thought; allowed us to see ways in which we could improve on next time.

Final Versions of Ancillary Texts

Drafts of Ancillary Texts

Images Taken for Ancillary Texts

Analysis of Magazine Advertisement for Digipak

This is an example of a magazine advertisement that promotes the artist and their CD. The advertisement has made use of the conventions of what a poster promoting a CD uses. For instance, there is a large image of the artist, allowing the audience to identify who the artist is. Although, he is not using direct mode of address, therefore the viewer cannot fully see what he looks like and his presence in the poster doesn't really attract the audience towards it. However, we can see that the poster has been edited using photoshop, where they have made use of several different brushes somewhat setting a scene. For example, there is a silhouette of blocks of flats; the other brushes (rough, edgy, graffiti) also influence the urban genre the artist belongs to. In addition, they have also made use of a star like brush suggesting the artist's stardom. The artist's name which is also in a graffiti like font indicates that he belongs to the scene that has been set. The title of the cd along with the featured artists is right in the middle of the poster and is very bold and eye catching and stands out the most. Finally, there are other features which are essential in a promotional advertisements that were used. This includes the release date, where is it available to purchase (e.g. HMV and itunes),artist's website,record label and an image of what the front cover of the cd looks like.

Analysis of Digipack

From looking at the images of the artist, we can see that she is represented in a sexual way, due to the fact that she is wearing revealing clothes that expose a lot of flesh. On the other hand, the dress she is wearing on the front cover is white and the connotations that reflect this colour is innocence and purity.

The colours that are present throughout the digipak is black, beige and white. I think these colours have been chosen, as they reflect the artist's music and style. For example, she is known for her varied range of music from ballads to R'N'B; the colours complement her range of music styles, as each colour creates different elements. Black creates a sense of darkness, white connotes innocence and purity; beige is in between the two contrasting colours.
In addition, the design and layout also reflects the style of the artist, as the artist's hair and clothing is somewhat the same as the colours used on the digipak. The fonts used also reflect the artist's style, for instance the 'Mariah Carey' is in big bold letters, whereas the title of the album is more subtle a flowy. There is also a butterfly at the end of the title; the butterfly is known as the artist's logo, which reflects her personality and music.

When looking at the digipak, you wouldn't be able to tell what genre of music the artist does. Although, it does lead you on to believe that her music could be any genre, due to the contrasting colours. The packaging is set up with the artist's name, the title and three diffrent images of the artist on the front cover; another image of the artist and the titles of the song on the right on the back; inside there are several photos of the artist on the left and then there are two cds, one in the middle and the other on the right and they each have the artists name, the title and the titles of the songs on the cd.
The title of the album is 'Memoirs of an imperfect angel' and it does relate to the image on the front in different ways. For example, the white dress she is wearing is somewhat angelic, hence the presence of 'angel' in the title. Also, there are three ascending images of the artist doing different things; this relates to the word 'Memoirs' meaning memories, as they can be seen as each memories being captured by the camera.