Evaluation task 4

How did you use new technologies in research/planning , construction and evalution stages?

Planning and research stage

During the creation of the music video we has used digital technology extensively which has aided us in the research/planning , construction and finally the evaluation stage of the project. The research and planning stage gave us the opportunity to use a variety of equipment , however the main piece of digital technology used was the Internet. The use of Google enabled us to search specific conventions of a music video. As well as finding out general information we were also able to use the Internet as a way find specific examples . We did this by using Youtube , which allowed us to watch music videos and depict conventions which were commonly used.

This was extremely important as it allowed us to gain a bank of background information. Another tool which proved very effective was the blogger website. This allowed us to display all findings from research and keep a log of each lesson which allowed for developments to be shown . It was used throughout each stage of the production process and allowed for each group member to place their own information and research to create and extensive bank of research.

We also used the Internet to gain background information on the artist Joe Jackson. This was important as it enabled us to find out more about the genre of music which he created , the new wave genre was an important element of the video as it enabled us to create this unusual love triangle which the video is based heavily on.

Construction

During this stage , digital technology was extremely important ; not only did it enable us to shoot the video but also allowed us to edit the piece. The first piece of technology used was the camera which allowed us to capture moving images. We were able to be creative with this as we could use a variety of shots to help display the narrative:

Another piece of equipment which was extremely important was the Imovie HD software , an industry renowned piece of equipment which allowed us to cut and edit clips. We used this to construct the video and whilst using it were able to apply effects over the video . It allowed us to slow down clips and also add transitions into the video. This software was very useful for us as it allowed us to place the song over the video and ensure lip-syncing was perfectly precise and also on time.

Again , we were able to use this Internet at the construction stage . We used 'Vimeo' to upload out video . This was important as it allowed us to distribute our final video .

Evaluation

The main piece of technology used in the evaluation stages of the project was the Camera . This allowed us to interview pupils to see what they thought about our project. This was important as it meant we were not restricted and could hold a conversation and really get peoples thoughts and opinions on what we had done. Similarly , we used Youtube to distribute the clips and allow us to place them on the blog.

Lesson review - 31./1/2011 & 1/2/2011

During this week we have been completing out evaluation tasks which enable us to assess the success of the three products which we have completed . This is achieved through various tasks , which enable us to ask other students what they think of the video and also allow us to emphasise key elements which we think highlight our ability to produce a successful music video. The first evaluation task allowed us to point to specific music video conventions , we were able to do this by print screening certain sections of the music video and giving a brief description of how it used ; the style of the video , costume/props , camera work, editing , special effects , links with the artists and their style. We also used a similar procedure with the second evaluation task where we had to show how the three products linked together. We did this by using youtube to create a slide show of images with annotation of where the link was and how we used it. The third task was the audience feedback where we were able to get opinions on what people thought of our products. We used a camera to interview and then Imovie HD to edit each one.

Evaluation activity 2 and Evaluation activity 3

Evaluation activity 3 - Audience feedback

The main positives which can be drawn from this audience feedback is the fact that our focus on narrative was successful . Each person who i interviwed stated how they clearly understood the narrative and that it stood out well. Therefore, our goal was achieved as we used lyrics effectively to portray this. However , the main drawbacks of the video was the lack of shot variety and also how some actions within the video seemed either a little out of place or hard to follow.

What did you learn from your audience feedback?

Looking at the video you can see that we learned a number of things from the feedback we got from the audience. We learned what we could've been improved for example, the length of shot and variety of shot. While looking back at our video we also thought that if we had the chance to re-do/improve the coursework we would change that anyway. We felt that we should've spent more time on our advert as we put a lot of our efforts as a group into the digi-pak design and production, so we thought that the advert would've looking more professional had we spent more time on it. We also learned what the audience liked the most about our production which was good to hear because it meant that we successfully put across the right emotions to the audience as they understood the humour element to our spoof video.

Evaluation of advert - Discuss how your advertisement uses typical conventions of layout.

(Click to enlarge)

Advertisment

Above is our finished advertisement . (Click to enlarge)

Discuss how your digipak use typical conventions of layout.

Discuss how your digipak use typical conventions of layout. by Matt Boulton

This is the inside right cover of the digipak, as you can see there are a few conventions that are here that re used in many conventions. Firstly we have used lyrics so that people can read the lyrics to the song if they want to. Many digipaks use this convention. We have also added a picture of Joe Jackson for people who do not know who Joe Jackson is, and finally we have kept the bright colour theme so the digipak seems more appealing.

Discuss how your digipak backcover use typical conventions of layout by Alex Nugent

This is the back cover of our digipak. It subverts typical digipak conventions in a number of ways. Firstly, we have used an image form the video, which allows a theme to run through out. We choose one of the final images of the video with the gorilla and Megan holding hands. We have used this as it emphasis on the main aspects of our video. Furthermore , we have used smaller details, which are used on every digipak , in this case the use of the barcode and the image of the record label . Both of these are positioned in the correct places, which we found from an actual digipak. However , the main convention we have used is the song list , which gives listeners information of other tracks on the CD. We have positioned them correctly by allowing the font to go across the page and being listed one after the other. We also numbered the tracks , which is also done on digipack and CD cases.

Discuss how your digipak use typical conventions of layout by Megan Clarke

The following section in our digipak follows several of the stereotypical conventions digipaks abide by. For example, the middle section of a digipak is always where the physical material is stored (The CD), to insure this convention is followed we created a section especially for it. This convention is very practical as it encases the CD insuring it is not damaged.

The background of this section is going to be an image of gorilla fur. This follows typical conventions as it relates to the theme of the entire digpak.

Discuss how your digipak use typical conventions of layout. by Matt Boulton

The convention in this cover is that there is the picture of the gorilla, showing who the characters in the music video are going to be. Many digipaks use this technique, as it is a good way to convey the characters. As you can see we have used a bright background, again to make it more appealing to people. We have used a blue background to convey the fact that the gorilla is a boy, in contrast to the other cover with Megan on the front.

Discuss how your digipak frontcover use typical conventions of layout by Georgia Briggs

The front cover of our digipak follows the conventions of a typical digipak, as we have the artists name and the name of the song. All cd covers include this as it is important to the customer that they know what the cd is that they are buying. The image on the cd cover also features the main characters of the video. Most digipaks include these conventions as it vital that the product is clearly displayed to the customer.

Evaluation Activity 1 Style of Video - Georgia Briggs

The style of our video is a 'Spoof', however we decided not to follow this genre so strongly because we didnt want it to look like we were making fun of the song. So we decided to take a literal approach to the lyrics which meant that we involved a gorilla in our production. As the lyrics are, 'Pretty women walking with gorillas down my street.' We thought that this was a fun play on the lyrics and it wouldn't offend the artist. Our target audience was quite vague as we thought that we made a fun video that would be of interest to a wide audience, not a particular age group or gender. One of the reasons we decided to do a spoof was because we felt that there was a gap in the market for this type of video as it was uncommon for this type of video to be aired on television, and for them to look professional. Joe Jackson did not have an official video to this song so we had a lot of options to choose from but we felt like doing a spoof was the best option.

Our video also included an element of performance and theatrical acting, for example the picture above. We felt that this would help to put across the humour element to the audience successfully.

Evaluation Activity 1 - Megan Clarke

In what does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

Performance

Typical music conventions state that an element of performance is usually present, this includes; dancing, stage performance and playing of musical instruments.

Due to our music video being heavily narratively based a performance would interfere with the story line and produce confusion among the audience.

Not containing an element of performance means that our music video is challenging typic conventions and therefore deviating away from the norm.

Evaluation activity 1 - Camerawork by Matt Boulton

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

Camerawork

Camerawork is a very important part of music videos which is a common convention for all music videos. In this screen shot you can see camerawork is used as its an over the shoulder shot of Georgia holding me.

The camerawork was very important for many reasons, it links with setting, editing and the narrative. For example in this screen shot we had to make sure it was clear that this was happening in London, so therefore decided to film it next to a fairly main road.

Camerawork links with the editingbecause we had to make sure it was clear that viewers could see that I was lip synching, if I was too far away then viewers would not be able to make out if i was lip synching or not. Therefore had to think about how and where we filmed it. Therefore linking to the setting as we had to make sure that it was suitable if we had to change our idea.

The narrative links with camerawork as we had to make sure viewers could understand what was going on, for example in this screen shot below we had to make it clear that it was a point of view shot of me looking down at them whilst they were laughing at me, this link with the narrative as it shows how they are together.

Evaluation Activity 1 - Alex Nugent

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

How does the video suggest the music genre of the track :

Over the last few months we have been developing a vast bank of research, which enabled us to create a variety of ideas. In the initial stages of planning we choose a song, which was unusual in that it wasn't new, the decision came about after developing the idea of a love story. However, we felt doing a video which came across as serious was quite risky as if not executed correctly didn't look good. Therefore, we decided to take the cliché love story and put an unconventional spin on it. During the creation we tried to make the video, which was narrative, based, so we used the genre of the song as a way to do this. As mentioned earlier in the blog , the song is of the new wave genre which uses punk elements which is quite niche and individual . Therefore, we used this as influence for the unconventional take on the usual cliché love story.

Above is an image of the main character (Matt) getting ready for what the audience might presume as a big event. The next instance of this is when the female character (Megan) is also getting ready at what seems the same time, indicating they might be meeting each other. We used this as a way to introduce the initial love story theme.

The image above shows how we have used the new wave genre as inspiration for out narrative as it was included to shock the viewer. This is the first indication that the loves interest in fact a gorilla. The use of the gorilla in the video has been done to emphasis the unconventional nature of this particular love story. Initially, the video shows the boy and the girl getting ready, however the image above shows when the girl (Megan) in fact goes to meet the gorilla as opposed to meeting Matt. The inclusion of this shows the contradiction between the conventional love story and the unconventional one, which we are creating and that will unfold. Our research into the genre previously highlighted how the new wave genre wasn't conforming to the typical genres of the time so I personally felt a lot of emphasis needed to go on the fact that the love interest is a gorilla. This in turn highlights out emphasis to make the video narrative based, a convention, which we also obtained through various research tasks. As well as focusing on the portrayal of the lovetriangle we also wanted to make it humorous. One instance of this is when the male character (Matt) tries to make himself look like the gorilla in order to impress the female (Megan):

How does your video reflect research done into the style of the artist's other videos?

Evaluation Activity 1 - Megan Clarke

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

Setting/Location

The still frame above represents one of our locations used within our final coursework music video.

Typical conventions of a music video states that a variety of locations are used and that they relate to the narrative or genre of the song.

Our music video has a strong narrative that adds to our humor/spoof element. To comply with the conventions of setting and locations we filmed in several locations including Hyde Park, Holborn, a local cafe and inside three separate houses. Filming in different settings has

increased our creativity by producing variety and having our shots relate to our narrative directly.

Within a spoof video locations are typically well known or typically used e.g. high streets, train stations. Using well known locations highlights the randomness of the situation. For example, in The Blood Hound Gang's video for 'The Bad Touch' they filmed in a city location whereby their actions and costumes were out of the norm, this enhanced their theme of a spoof and effectively added humor to the music video. We used this example of a spoof video to understand the importance of using different locations.

Variety of settings are also important when having a highly narrative story line. Within our music video their is a running narrative (An attraction that is not reciprocated). To ensure the narrative is realistic different locations were an essential, to ensure the audience could understand the story line. In addition the choice of setting has enabled the lyrics of the song to comply with the narrative, for example when matt is situated in the cafe drinking coffee, while the lyrics mention coffee going cold.

Evaluation activity 1 - Editing by Matt Boulton

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

In this screen shot you can see that I am lip synching to the song. This shows elements of editing, we used lip synching through out the music video. Therefore it was a major part of the music video. This is the same as many other music videos so therefore does not challenge forms or conventions used, or does not develop conventions used as many music videos use this.

Lip synching is typically used in many music videos because it gives the impression that the artist is singing in the music video, obviously I was not going to sing the song, so we used lip synching over Joe Jackson's voice to make it seem as if I was singing.

We used lip synching by playing the song out load from a phone, therefore ensuring that I would sing in time to the music, and when we came back to upload the video, the lip synching would be in time because itwas in time as the music on the phone. This then gave us the opportunity for me to look at the camera whilst lip synching which is also another convention used in music videos.

Another example of editing that we used was in this screen shot, as Georgia punches me, the lyric used is 'dead'. We thought this would be good to use as it links with the scene created. This is another convention used in many music videos so therefore does not challenge real media products. However we did develop this idea as we planned to do this before hand instead of it being luck.

We firstly listened to the song and found if we were able to get the exact time this lyric is used we would be able to edit the video to fit this. On the day of filming we ensured that we had this scene done correctly to ensure there was no room for error.

Transitions were also used in editing, we used quick cuts to links different scenes so that the videos would link together. We had scenes filmed in London and others in our house, so obviously we need quick cuts to enable the scenes to flow together.

Evaluation Activity 1 Georgia Briggs

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

In this still frame it demonstrates the use of costume and props. The most obvious costume that was used was the gorilla costume. It was one of the most important parts of our video as it tied the whole concept of the video together. Using the gorilla costume was quite a big step because it meant that whoever was wearing it would have to wear it in public with people watching, I was the lucky one who had to wear it. We thought that using the gorilla costume would be a unique twist in the video as the lyrics of the song say "Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street." So we took a literal approach to the lyrcis by creating the story that the gorilla was in a relationship with another characters person of interest. Like a love triangle involving the gorilla. Another costume that we used was Matt's smart outfit, we had to build this costume around his character and what his character would be doing.

We used different costumes for Megan aswell, the outfit pictured above was for when she went on her 'date' with the gorilla where Matt would walk past them and see them together. We put her in pink because it is a playful colour. We had to think about the costumes for each character in alot of detail, this was because throughout te video our characters would be placed in different situations and their clothes needed to be appropriate for each scenario. When we filmed in Holborn we were aware that people in the public would be wearing suits and workwear, we knew that where we were filming there would be people walking in and out of shot which meant that we needed to co-ordinate the costume of our characters with the workwear of the public. This is reflected in our video when Alex is acting as a 'passer-by' in the street and he blends in with everyone else who walks past.

Props that we used included; flowers, glasses, a banana, a cup of coffee and a picnic basket.

The flowers were important as they helped to symbolise the fact that Matt was going on a date. Later on in the video he gets stood up so he throws the flowers on the floor which reinforce the fact that he is angry, which would happen in a real life situation. The glasses are part of Matt's costume which fits in with his whole look. The banana is key in the scene with Megan and the Gorilla when Matt sees them together and they are a couple.

There is an element of performance in our video, when Matt mimes the lyrics throughout the video. We felt that this was an important aspect as most successful music videos involve the artist miming their music, it shows that they have mad an effort to make the video look professional. We also decided to use extras in our video for example, for each part of the song when Joe Jackson sang 'Where?' we decided to involve the same two characters to act over the top and dramatic when miming to reinforce the humour element/spoof element to our video.

Research of Advertisement by Georgia Briggs

The advertisement I chose to look at was Example's new single Kickstarts. The ad includes some of the conventions of a promotional advert. For example, it includes the artist, the name of the single and the date it is released in the shop. It also includes the single cover and the website where you can follow his other music etc. Most music advertisements contain this sort of important information so that customers can easily identify where they can get the music from. Sometimes an advertisement will include the record label logo so that the record label is given a mention for the single or album. The parental advisory logo will also be featured if the music contains any swearwords or unsuitable language for children to hear.

Changes to the final Digipak

The idea has not changed much , however , originally we were going to use Joe Jackson as a background for the lyrics cover. We decided to change this by using the image of him but placing it to the side of the lyrics as it makes them easier to read and also fits in more appropriately with the layout.

Conventions of a CD advertisement

During the next few lessons we will be completing the second ancillary task which is to create and advertisement for the song release. We have been comprising a bank of research into this and below is a list of common conventions which we will try to incorporate into onto the advertisement:

• Information of where to get the song and any additional downloading information.
• Release date.
  
• Comments and quotes from critics.
• Artist logo , usually the picture is of the cover of the album.
• Images will be linked with song or band.

All of these are important for an advertisement as they give audiences information which is needed to purchase the product but also , initially , grabs their attention and also raises awareness of the release.

Final Digipak

Below is the final digipak:

- Front Cover

- Inside Left

- Outside Left

- Inside Right

- Middle / CD

- Back Cover

Final Video

A2 Media Coursework from Georgia Briggs on Vimeo.

Research of advertisement By Alex Nugent

This is an advertisement for the single 'Roll with it' by Oasis. The advertisement presents common conventions of a single or album . Firstly, it shows the band name in a bold text which is iconic and has been used on other albums of the same artist allowing the target audience to immediately be drawn in by the poster. Furthermore, it has the band on the front in a typically iconic manner and also has the song name on it in a bold text which allows it to stand out . The Layout is simple and isn't too complicated yet is effective as it get's the point across of the the new single . The poster also shows 'new single' and 'out now' which informs the audience and the fans of the band , obviously and important convention with an advertisement which is to raise awareness of a new release.

Lesson review 10/1/2011

During today's we carried on with the creation of our digipak. In the last lesson we started the front cover and the two inside covers with which allowed for the inclusion of the gorilla and the female character. During the lesson we started the completion of the CD section with the fur background. We used the same technique as the last lesson , using photoshop we were able to create the size of the slide and the using the Internet we obtained the fur background and then inserted it onto the slide. The main slide which we focused on however was the 'dedication to Joe Jackson' which will be on the inside back cover . Below is what we created:


This is how is appeared on screen on the photoshop software. This software , like the last lesson , was extremely helpful as in this case allowed us to extract a photo of Joe Jackson which we then applied as the background . We obtained the information from the Internet as well , the information is a brief biography of him . We decided to include this as it is commonly used in digipak's , which the group had depicted as a common convention. The format is quite straightforward , which is a theme which we have chosen throughout because , as mentioned allows an emphasis on the unconventional storyline of the video. After finishing the slide , we decided we had inserted a bit too much information , so in the next lesson we will make the information more succinct.

As well as the Joe Jackson cover , we also began to input text onto the front cover which is importantly the most important past of the digipak. We took the image which we previously worked on in the last lesson , then using the text box application we placed the song title on the top. This is what it looks like :


The cover matches the usual conventions as it has an image which is relevant to the video , furthermore it has the song title and artist's name . We will finish this in the next lesson , where we will apply colour to the font and finish the other slides.

Lesson Review - Megan Clarke

10/01/11 - 11/01/11

Over the course of these two lessons we had to finalise our Digi-pak. To do this we had to ensure all 6 sides were complete to a high standard along with all content e.g. information and reviews were included.
Once completed we researched into the conventions of an advertising campaign, this includes; posters, magazine adverts, billboards etc.
When all of the conventions were listed, we had to produce examples of advertising materials and explain how they related to the conventions or how they rebel them.
After looking at examples and fully understanding how the use of digital technology has allowed for further marketing for the music industry we began planning our own advertising material.

Creating our on advertisement that will combine elements from both the video and the digi-pak allowed for us to be creative and unique regarding the content of our advert. Insure all three elements had a strong link was vital so that the audience is able to relate them back to one another. This has the potential to produce a wider market and thus gain a greater audience as hiving one element representing the video would not be enough to produce a wide enough target audience.

We used photoshop to create our advert. This allowed for an increase in creativity among our advertising resources. Photoshop allow you to erase or merge certain elements for example the back ground of the poster was white combined with an image from the digi-pak, being able to combine these to elements produced an overall striking advert.

Megan - Advert

Conventions;

• Single/album name
• Reviews
• Record label
• Images
• Release date
• Relating fonts and colours
• Artist/band name
• Bold virbrant colours
  

Example - Kid Cudi

'Kid Cudi Album Poster'

• This particular album cover is very eye catching as it contains bold, vibrant colours along with imagery that relates to the album name.
• dates for album release is present - '09/15/09'
• Bold writing
  
• record label