Evaluation

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e promo packages)

 

Music Video:

Representation of The Artist:

The representation of the artist in my music video develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media products due to my decision to decide against featuring the artist. This was also the case in the whole promo pack. Instead I decided to just include images relating to my brand identity which is the urban environment of Cities. I chose this brand identity because it is different to a lot of music videos as well as it representing the band well, as a City band. I think it also adds a mysterious element to the video, in the sense that the band is not present, just the places in which they would be associated with. There are a few real music videos that do the same as my music video does, and I took inspiration from these in the type of shots I would use as well as shooting material that what suggest the genre of music.

Links Between Visual and Track:

The main links between the visual and track are the cuts that complement the music which is what real music videos attempt to do. The cuts cut at points where the music changes, such as to the rhythm of the guitar changes, bass changes and drum beats. This applies to Goodwin’s theory of the links between music and visuals. Not only due to the cuts in the video, but also the things that feature in my film such as pub names and buildings relating to the band as an urban band.   

Setting/Location:

Setting/location was a very important part in the decision making of my music video, the challenges the forms and conventions of real music videos because it is the same with them, a strong setting has to be chosen to reflect the genre and point that the video is trying to make as well as the track.  Like I have previously described my setting and location of my whole video and promo package, was decided upon to be the urban environment such as the city of Newcastle and Durham. My reason for doing this was to represent the artist as what they are, a band associated with the urban environment, such as playing shows there, and being from that sort of environment.

Costumes and Props:

Since I chose not to feature the band or any artist in my video costumes and props were not an issue when filming my music video. My props were generally just what were there. I filmed buildings that were present in the urban environment, and used which ones were best to complement the music and artist best.             This develops as well as challenges the conventions of real media products due  to a lot of videos being set up and well rehearsed, as well the band or an actor or artist featuring at some point wearing a costume or using a prop to suggest the genre of music, I chose to stay away from this element and focus on displaying my genre through the urban theme.

Camerawork:

I used a range of shots in my video, which is what was required. But I used the different shot types to go with the track and rhythm of the track, as well as representing the clip well. I chose to use different shots regarding to how what I was filming came across to me. I feel that I composed my shots well, including more than one thing of main focus in a shot to represent the image and for it to link into my track. This is similar to real media products as a lot of real music videos use a range of shots to show the composition of something, this is just like what I did.

How Narrative is Indicated:

The narrative indication in my music video challenges real media products as I chose not to focus my video on a strong and clear narrative theme and more so focuses on the simplicity contrasting with the complexity of things like the contrast between the urban and the natural environment. This goes against Goodwin’s theory of a clear narrative represented through the music.

Special Effects and Editing:

Like a lot of music videos within the same genre as mine my video hasn’t been custom to a lot of special effects and editing, this represents my artist’s genre. I have cut my clips to certain sizes in order to make them fit the music. I have also slowed some clips down to reflect the different parts of the song, I did this also to make clips longer and fill in time slots. I think due to the lack of editing it makes my video raw and simple. It does not over do it.

Digipack and Magazine Advert:

Representation of Artist: (Digipack)

Just like in my video I chose not to include any visuals of the artist on my digipack. This all linked in with my brand identity, with the idea of keeping everything the same throughout the whole project. Including an artist could end up interrupting my brand identity. Instead the representation of the artist comes through that of the urban environment which is my brand identity. The band is represented through the architecture of the bridge and how it fits in to the city scale, just like the band do as they re associated with the city life and way of living idea.

Mise En Scene of Images: (Magazine Advert)

In my magazine advert the mise en scene of my magazine advert continues throughout my whole promotional pack. My image in my advert is the same as my image on my digipack which is important in terms of the audience making the link between the two and recognising the image. The image has a lot to look at, the detail of the way the bridge is built draws the audience in to look. The way you can’t quite see the end of the bridge’s path interests the audience and forces an inspection. The main difference between the image on my digipack and on my magazine advert is that I have changes the lighting and colour of my advert. This was to create a difference between the two, but not so much that the link between them disappears.  

Costumes and Props: (Digipack)

Since I had no artist or props in which I set up featuring in my promo pack, I took photographs of purposeful places that captured the sense that I wanted to, without needing to organise things around. I took a range of shots where I had planned to with a mind to using them throughout my promo pack. If the images were not what I was looking for, I would look at other photos I had taken and test them as well as taking more photos. The lack of props used in my digipack show the raw rough look that I was aiming for, the type of natural feel is captured. The real dig pack products that I used to help me create mine had done similar to me, by taking photographs on their own as they are rather than using props to dress them up. And used what is there to represent the music genre.

Use of Font and Style: (Magazine Advert)

I have kept the font and style the same on my magazine advert just the same as on my digipack to link in with the brand identity. The font stays the same throughout making the album become more widely recognised with the audience. A lot of bands do this to help with their brand identity and either change each album or keep the same font and logo style throughout their release which results in a big boost in recognition.

Written Content: (Digipack and Magazine Advert)

The written content that I have included on both my digipack and magazine advert links in with the conventions of real media products in ways such as, the track listing and title of the band this is to show who the artist is and for people to be able to see what songs are on the album, it is uncommon for a CD not to have these conventions on, they are usually just set out in different ways suitable to the artist. The barcode also represent the realism of media product as all digipack and CDs are required to have one to be purchased, once again the bar code varies as to where about on the digipack it features. The record label logo is also present on both the digipack and the magazine advert. I understand that this would be required by the record label for their logo to feature on both the digipack and the magazine advert. I took the idea from real media products and this increases the reality of the link between my product and real media products. The copyright text is used on my digipack as this is required also to stop the copying of it and protect it. Along with this the band website and Facebook page links are used on both the digipack and the magazine advert, these are used in real media texts/products to direct the audience to their page for more information. This can attract the audience to the bands website or Facebook page to get the info on the band and their products. I used these due to them being required on real media products.

Music Genre and How My Magazine Advert and Digipack Suggests It:

My magazine advert and digipack suggests the genre indie/alternative rock through the images used on my digipack and the image on my magazine advert due to the abstract look that they represent. The images being of bridges create a sense of ‘off the wall’ look. They go against the conventions of mainstream pop through the different kind of take that the images represent. The view they give is slightly moody and serious as well as eerie. The record label logo also represents the genre of music due to it being an independent record label. Independent labels contain artists that go against the mainstream music. They are usually alternative/indie artists. This is a signifier to the audience to tell them what kind of music this will be.

Layout: (Digipack)

The layout of my digipack is very simple, this links to the whole of the project as I have kept it all very simple. The front of the digipack includes my main image and the self titled album of the band ‘The Castells’ this is a very clear look and easily established by the audience. On the back of my digipack there is another image in the same location taken at a different point and at a different angle. The track names are neatly set out on one side along with the bar code. The other bottom corner contains the Copyright label and the record label logo. Like the fron of my digipack this is very easy to follow which works well as the front and back link in very well with the layout of the conventions. The colour scheme consists of only a handful of main colours which bring out the neat layout and simplicity of my digipack. I chose to only have one simple image on the inside of the digipack which again links in with the simplicity but also the other two images as it is the same place; the bridge but outside of it from a far. My use of different ranges of shots is represented clearly through my digipack.

Special Effects: (Magazine Advert)

The special effects used on my magazine advert are that of the colour scale and lighting change. This keeps the image recognisable to my digipack image but differs to give it something extra. I chose to do this to take away the boring element of it being too straight forward and simple. The special effects keep the brand identity there but make the magazine advert slightly more different and attention grabbing. This is similar to real media products in the way that bands adapt the artwork from the digipack to use on the advert so that the identity still remains but it keeps things slightly different.

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

Throughout the duration of creating my portfolio promotion pack, I have followed a brand identity, this occurs in my digipack, magazine advert and music video. I was required to select a certain brand identity throughout as many real media products do this throughout their own promotional packs.
To firstly get and idea of this I looked at Kings Of Leon’s ‘Come Around Sundown’ promo pack. This helped me to understand the conventions and types of brand identity. This showed me that the text font and size stayed the same throughout, as well as the colours used and the similarity of the images. This helped me to go on and select these conventions for my promo pack.

I based my promo pack on a band called, The Castells. While working through my promo pack I used certain conventions from real media products to keep a professional look going. I also stuck to my brand identity making the recognition of each product increase.

I used conventions that are recognisable in my digipack and magazine advert such as the record label logo and the web address to the band’s Facebook page. These conventions are very important in terms of audience recognition, the record label gives the audience insight into what the music will be like as the label in and independent one. The web address is important as it gives people to check the band out further.

The same images are used throughout, such as the digipack front cover is the same as the magazine advert, only the magazine advert’s colour has been changed to fit the overall colour scheme. This still keeps the brand identity. The image of my digipack cover and magazine advert featuring in the video ties the three products together, to make the overall brand identity.

With the band being in touch with the vintage look as well as sound, my brand identity over the course of the three products displays both vintage and modern elements to display the look that the band possess but the modern side of the pack displays the current time that they are in, these both work well together and come out strong through my brand identity.

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

I used the video camera to film my footage for my music video. When using the camera I got used to it and the things which it could do. I then progressed on learning how to do certain things with it to give a certain effect off on the footage.

A camera was used in the taking of my photos for my digipack and magazine advert. The more I used it the more use to it I became I figured out how to take certain photographs using the settings on the camera, this helped when taking the photos that I used.

A computer was a main part of equipment. The video footage and the photos taken were uploaded on to the computer and edited using editing software. The music video, the magazine advert and the digipack were all constructed using a computer.

I used a tripod at times when taking certain shots to keep them steady. I could of used it more often than I did. A tripod has a big effect on a video and a photo shot.

Photoshop was used to edit my photos and to construct my digipack and magazine advert. From using the software last year I knew a substantial amount about it already. But my learning of the program still improved due to using it all the time. I figured out how to do more things on it, these came in helpful when constructing my media tasks.

Premiere Elements was used in the creation of my video. It was the first time I had used the software and I had a lot to learn. I had to learn quickly due to deadlines, and that I have. It was a very fiddly pogram so required maximum concentration. 

I have learned to use blogger over a few months due to using it almost everyday. Blogger is where my work is posted and so it is very important to get to know how to do everything as soon as possible. I have discovered that blogger is a very good blogging website, it is simple and not very hard to use.

Flickr came in handy when annotating photos. Flickr made the process easier and isn't very hard to use. It saved me time and makes the task look good when done.

Slide share was another handy online program. I was able to but my slideshow on slide share and then embed them on to my blog so they are watchable through my blog rather than screen shooting images.

4. What have you Learned from your audience feedback?

Gathering audience feedback is very important with regards to my music video, it allows me to get an insight into how other people see my video and their views on it. It is a chance for people to pick out positives and negatives from my video, as well as seeing whether it attracts the right target audience. This then allows me to reflect upon the choices that I made and why I made them also looking at what affect they had on people. I can then look at what I would do differently next time and maybe what I would leave out or leave the same.


Overall the negatives of my video were:

• A lot of clips are wobbly
• the colour in a lot of clips are dull
• More clips could be cut in time with the music
• The video could have been set out with the day time clips leading up to the clips in the evening and at night

To deal with the clips being wobbly, I should have used a tripod more often to prevent this problem happening.

With the colour of the clips being dull it is possible for me to change the effects on my video. I could have also filmed on a brighter day.

For more clips to be cut in time, I would be required to spend more time on my video.

Maybe if I had set out the clips in order of time of the day my video may have told more of a story.