How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
For this question I have made a slide presentation using the free online presentation creating application, Sliderocket.
Monday, 23 April 2012
Monday, 16 April 2012
Evaluation Question 3
EQ3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?
All throughout the project, in order to determine whether or not our products were done to a good standard, synergistic and appropriate for the intended area, we had to collect feedback and then make changes accordingly. Much of this involved small changes and decisions that were influenced by other members of the class throughout the project, but also we also had a couple of group feedback sessions during the project to collect a large amount of insight at once.
We had 2 of these feedback sessions, first for the rough cut and then second for the final cut. For each of these we all watched each other's cuts and wrote notes on the good points, bad points and ways to improve them. The feedback from our rough cut was particularly useful as it revealed to us the main fault that it had at the time. The lead singer was not looking at the camera enough and so could not engage with the audience enough. This allowed us to remedy the problem when we went to our next shooting day by getting many more shots with the singer looking directly at the camera. Other problems that were highlighted at this stage were a couple of instances of lips being out of time, slightly off editing in parts, dark lighting in some of the shots and the need for a greater variety of shots.
These points were all taken seriously and we addressed each of them at our next recording session so that we could make the final cut as perfect as possible.
The second feedback session where we discussed our final cuts went very well for our group. We received a lot of positive feedback with only a little of negative feedback that focused on lighting issues. Some shots were a little darker as we were using mostly natural light which diminished towards the end of the shooting sessions. People who left positive responses were particularly impressed with the lip-syncing and good editing of the video. This was relieving as there had been some concerns about these elements in the rough cut responses.
We also posted the final cut onto social media sites (right) to get more instant feedback from people around the target age group. The responses were again very positive (although they could have been a little bias since we knew the people who responded).
The overall very positive response to our final cut shows us that we achieved our objective of creating a professional looking video.
All throughout the project, in order to determine whether or not our products were done to a good standard, synergistic and appropriate for the intended area, we had to collect feedback and then make changes accordingly. Much of this involved small changes and decisions that were influenced by other members of the class throughout the project, but also we also had a couple of group feedback sessions during the project to collect a large amount of insight at once.
We had 2 of these feedback sessions, first for the rough cut and then second for the final cut. For each of these we all watched each other's cuts and wrote notes on the good points, bad points and ways to improve them. The feedback from our rough cut was particularly useful as it revealed to us the main fault that it had at the time. The lead singer was not looking at the camera enough and so could not engage with the audience enough. This allowed us to remedy the problem when we went to our next shooting day by getting many more shots with the singer looking directly at the camera. Other problems that were highlighted at this stage were a couple of instances of lips being out of time, slightly off editing in parts, dark lighting in some of the shots and the need for a greater variety of shots.These points were all taken seriously and we addressed each of them at our next recording session so that we could make the final cut as perfect as possible.
The second feedback session where we discussed our final cuts went very well for our group. We received a lot of positive feedback with only a little of negative feedback that focused on lighting issues. Some shots were a little darker as we were using mostly natural light which diminished towards the end of the shooting sessions. People who left positive responses were particularly impressed with the lip-syncing and good editing of the video. This was relieving as there had been some concerns about these elements in the rough cut responses.We also posted the final cut onto social media sites (right) to get more instant feedback from people around the target age group. The responses were again very positive (although they could have been a little bias since we knew the people who responded).
The overall very positive response to our final cut shows us that we achieved our objective of creating a professional looking video.
Before making the ancillary tasks we made initial sketches on paper to use as a template. These templates were useful not only to guide in the creation of the pieces but also in collecting initial feedback from our classmates. In doing this, the designs that we settled on were already approved by members of our target audience.
We also interviewed a couple of our friends to see what they thought about our final cut and ancillary task work. This video was planned and developed together with the rest of my group so it will appear on all of our blogs.
Evaluation Question 2
How Effective is the Combination of the Main Product and Ancillary Tasks?
In order to create professional standard, marketable products out of the final music video, the digipak and the posters there has to be visible and effective synergistic links between them. With this in mind we created a house style that is present across all three platforms. Early in the project we brainstormed ideas and themes that link in to our song choice and came up with some of the elements that are present throughout our project.
The idea of the confessions and spin off points would become the back bone theme for our project. Below is a table featuring elements that appear across different platforms of our work.
As you can see from the table, we have included many different points that appear across our three products. All three of the products show images of the band as they appear in the music video. This is because the brings together the main selling point of the product, the band itself. In creating these synergistic elements across the three platforms we have created a brand identity that is unique to the band which is important as it gives fans the chance to have a common theme to relate to.
From the name of the song, 'Secrets' we took themes like confession and religion which we used to link our three products together. From this we chose to use a church as the location of the video, the dress code for the band and the doves theme that is present in the ancillary tasks. We took photos for the ancillary tasks at the same time as we filmed the video. The digipak even features an image on the inside cover were the band isn't cut out from the background so the church setting can be seen. This meant that they were all wearing the same clothes and had the same appearance that appears in the video which connects the audience to the digipak and adverts. This also helps potential audiences to easily identify the band after seeing any of the three products.
We also used the same fonts across the different media to further keep up a firm house style. The font that we used is bold and large making it clearly recognisable and memorable. We also always used a black background with white text (with splashes of red) for our print products.
To improve our work further imagery of the church could have been used on the print productions for example using a stained glass window effect to promote the video even further.
In order to create professional standard, marketable products out of the final music video, the digipak and the posters there has to be visible and effective synergistic links between them. With this in mind we created a house style that is present across all three platforms. Early in the project we brainstormed ideas and themes that link in to our song choice and came up with some of the elements that are present throughout our project.
The idea of the confessions and spin off points would become the back bone theme for our project. Below is a table featuring elements that appear across different platforms of our work.
| Music Video | Digipak | Advertisement | |
| Church Setting | Yes | Yes | No |
| Formal Wear | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Black and White Colour Scheme | No | Yes | Yes |
| Doves | No | Yes | Yes |
| Light Bulb Effect | Yes | Yes | No |
| Lead Singer Has Dominance | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lead's Guitar Highlighted | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Record Labels Present | No | Yes | Yes |
As you can see from the table, we have included many different points that appear across our three products. All three of the products show images of the band as they appear in the music video. This is because the brings together the main selling point of the product, the band itself. In creating these synergistic elements across the three platforms we have created a brand identity that is unique to the band which is important as it gives fans the chance to have a common theme to relate to.
From the name of the song, 'Secrets' we took themes like confession and religion which we used to link our three products together. From this we chose to use a church as the location of the video, the dress code for the band and the doves theme that is present in the ancillary tasks. We took photos for the ancillary tasks at the same time as we filmed the video. The digipak even features an image on the inside cover were the band isn't cut out from the background so the church setting can be seen. This meant that they were all wearing the same clothes and had the same appearance that appears in the video which connects the audience to the digipak and adverts. This also helps potential audiences to easily identify the band after seeing any of the three products.
We also used the same fonts across the different media to further keep up a firm house style. The font that we used is bold and large making it clearly recognisable and memorable. We also always used a black background with white text (with splashes of red) for our print products.To improve our work further imagery of the church could have been used on the print productions for example using a stained glass window effect to promote the video even further.
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Evaluation Question 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
From the beginning of the project it was clear that the products that we were going to make had to in some way use, develop or/and challenge the conventions of similar products that already exist. Before even starting our work on this project the work we did for our AS grade showed how important it is to make a product that would fit in with existing products.
The first choices we made that directly influenced the forms and conventions we had to look into were the initial choice to make a music video of 'Secrets' by One Republic and the follow up choice that it would be a performance style video. One Republic is an American alternative rock band who released 'Secrets' in the album 'Waking up' in November 2009. Focusing our research on the alternative music genre was the first step on way way in the project. Due to the high diversity, alternative rock as a whole is a very wide genre of music so finding conventions that occur in every single video is impossible. 
However, there are many conventions that are common among them. Performance videos (or semi-performance videos,) for example are quite common among alternative rock music videos. This could be partly due to the fact that alternative rock bands often have diverse and interesting instruments, not generally found in regular pop or rock bands. For example both a violin and a cello are used in 'Secrets' by One Republic and 'Bittersweet Symphony' by the Verve. These instruments define these songs and make them unique and so we decided to showcase them in our video. This also occurs in the official video for 'Secrets' with many close-ups and medium shots.
More so than the violin, cello or any other instrument, the singer has to be showcased. This is a broad convention that is important throughout any genre of music. The singer has the most attention of all of the band members and usually is the star of the video even if it is narrative based. This is because the lead singer acts as the 'face' of the band. A band's image is formed through the energy and appearance of the singer in videos and at concerts as well as through the music itself. Another common theme is to have the singer look directly at the camera for much of the video. This creates a connection between the song and the audience and makes the video more enjoyable to watch. We included this aspect in our video (shown above) to great effect.
The other band members that were shown in our video did not look into the camera like the lead singer as this was also common throughout alternative rock videos. They are depicted focusing on their instrument, moving their head to the music and sometimes closing their eyes. Instead of focusing on their gaze, the instruments and the manual dexterity of the musicians were outlined with close ups on their fingers whilst playing or shots of the drums being hit etc. This is another common convention among performance videos as it shows of the musicians' skill and has potential to emphasise each instrument's key moments. This is where the pace of the music drives the editing as the length of shots for each instrument at any time is echoed by the speed or tone of the music itself. An example of this is at the beginning of our video when only the cello can be heard. We used longer pauses between cuts and the use of dissolve transitions to create a feel for the long notes being played.
Setting was another key choice in the making of our music video. Many performance music videos are set in wide open places with the band in the center. This creates a cool effect and we wanted to do something similar. Early in the development stage we created a mind map linking words from the song to other things that we could use throughout the project. 
One of these themes was the idea of 'confessions' developed from the title, 'Secrets'. This word gave birth to the church setting idea that went on to become the final location of the video. The church we eventually did the filming in had a wide area to work with similar to the open areas in existing music videos such as Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Fortune Faded' and the Kaiser Chiefs' 'Never Miss a Beat'. Open spaces give the band center view and do not distract the watcher from them (when it isn't supposed to) but also can provide an appropriate atmosphere that amplifies the performance.
What the band members are wearing is also an important issue when creating a music video.
What an artist or band wears can have an impact on their iconography as a whole and many artists wear the same kind of clothing across many or all of their videos. For our own video we chose the dress code to be suits and ties. This was because although One Republic's songs are emotional, they also have formal tones to them so their dress code should represent that. This was also appropriate as we had already chosen the location as a church where formal wear is normal.
Another typical thing to include in music videos is using visual effects to amplify the music. This can range from over-cranking the footage to altering the lighting or to transition effects.
An example of a major effect used for a music video is in Coldplay's 'The Scientist' in which the entire video was played backwards. In our video we used a range of transition effects including; dissolves, additive dissolves and a fade in and fade out. We also used footage that we took of a lightbulb and used that as a transitional effect between two other clips (right). Other than these however, we didn't use any effects on the footage for our video. This was because we were making a performance style video and so we wanted to keep it as real and natural as possible.
A common trait in alternative rock music videos is lots of camera movement.
An example of this is shown in the Script's 'For the First Time' (right image, the picture is blurry because the camera is moving around). We made lots of effective use of this that is clear throughout our video. The camera movement creates an energetic atmosphere that emphasises the music. We used it lightly during the slow parts and more heavily during other, faster parts of the song for the greatest effect.
After finishing the video we added the MTV Rocks logo and the video description appearing at the beginning and the end of the video as if it were actually appearing on the TV channel. This is added to every video that appears on the MTV Rocks channel and so is a convention for that purpose.
Ancillary Tasks
For the magazine advert, we looked into some existing adverts and took guidelines and tips from how they were done. The print work was much easier to achieve a good standard with as we had already done similar work before as part of our AS level.
From the beginning of the project it was clear that the products that we were going to make had to in some way use, develop or/and challenge the conventions of similar products that already exist. Before even starting our work on this project the work we did for our AS grade showed how important it is to make a product that would fit in with existing products.
 | |
| The cello plays an important role in the song so it is showcased. |
However, there are many conventions that are common among them. Performance videos (or semi-performance videos,) for example are quite common among alternative rock music videos. This could be partly due to the fact that alternative rock bands often have diverse and interesting instruments, not generally found in regular pop or rock bands. For example both a violin and a cello are used in 'Secrets' by One Republic and 'Bittersweet Symphony' by the Verve. These instruments define these songs and make them unique and so we decided to showcase them in our video. This also occurs in the official video for 'Secrets' with many close-ups and medium shots.
More so than the violin, cello or any other instrument, the singer has to be showcased. This is a broad convention that is important throughout any genre of music. The singer has the most attention of all of the band members and usually is the star of the video even if it is narrative based. This is because the lead singer acts as the 'face' of the band. A band's image is formed through the energy and appearance of the singer in videos and at concerts as well as through the music itself. Another common theme is to have the singer look directly at the camera for much of the video. This creates a connection between the song and the audience and makes the video more enjoyable to watch. We included this aspect in our video (shown above) to great effect.
The other band members that were shown in our video did not look into the camera like the lead singer as this was also common throughout alternative rock videos. They are depicted focusing on their instrument, moving their head to the music and sometimes closing their eyes. Instead of focusing on their gaze, the instruments and the manual dexterity of the musicians were outlined with close ups on their fingers whilst playing or shots of the drums being hit etc. This is another common convention among performance videos as it shows of the musicians' skill and has potential to emphasise each instrument's key moments. This is where the pace of the music drives the editing as the length of shots for each instrument at any time is echoed by the speed or tone of the music itself. An example of this is at the beginning of our video when only the cello can be heard. We used longer pauses between cuts and the use of dissolve transitions to create a feel for the long notes being played.
Setting was another key choice in the making of our music video. Many performance music videos are set in wide open places with the band in the center. This creates a cool effect and we wanted to do something similar. Early in the development stage we created a mind map linking words from the song to other things that we could use throughout the project. 
One of these themes was the idea of 'confessions' developed from the title, 'Secrets'. This word gave birth to the church setting idea that went on to become the final location of the video. The church we eventually did the filming in had a wide area to work with similar to the open areas in existing music videos such as Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Fortune Faded' and the Kaiser Chiefs' 'Never Miss a Beat'. Open spaces give the band center view and do not distract the watcher from them (when it isn't supposed to) but also can provide an appropriate atmosphere that amplifies the performance.What the band members are wearing is also an important issue when creating a music video.
What an artist or band wears can have an impact on their iconography as a whole and many artists wear the same kind of clothing across many or all of their videos. For our own video we chose the dress code to be suits and ties. This was because although One Republic's songs are emotional, they also have formal tones to them so their dress code should represent that. This was also appropriate as we had already chosen the location as a church where formal wear is normal.Another typical thing to include in music videos is using visual effects to amplify the music. This can range from over-cranking the footage to altering the lighting or to transition effects.
An example of a major effect used for a music video is in Coldplay's 'The Scientist' in which the entire video was played backwards. In our video we used a range of transition effects including; dissolves, additive dissolves and a fade in and fade out. We also used footage that we took of a lightbulb and used that as a transitional effect between two other clips (right). Other than these however, we didn't use any effects on the footage for our video. This was because we were making a performance style video and so we wanted to keep it as real and natural as possible.A common trait in alternative rock music videos is lots of camera movement.
An example of this is shown in the Script's 'For the First Time' (right image, the picture is blurry because the camera is moving around). We made lots of effective use of this that is clear throughout our video. The camera movement creates an energetic atmosphere that emphasises the music. We used it lightly during the slow parts and more heavily during other, faster parts of the song for the greatest effect.After finishing the video we added the MTV Rocks logo and the video description appearing at the beginning and the end of the video as if it were actually appearing on the TV channel. This is added to every video that appears on the MTV Rocks channel and so is a convention for that purpose.Ancillary Tasks
For the magazine advert, we looked into some existing adverts and took guidelines and tips from how they were done. The print work was much easier to achieve a good standard with as we had already done similar work before as part of our AS level.
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