Carla's Evaluation

Q1. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our main media is an indie music video about a boy who likes to talk about general stuff to his girlfriend such as “Weather” (used in the title) to show their relationship is grounded in reality.

We had to use typical elements such as expected themes e.g. realistic issues and stereotypes for this type of video so the audience could get an idea of the genre and to make it feel authentic.

We decided to make our music video show romantic shots (a kiss, etc) but with funny elements e.g. to keep the viewer interested, we did this by adding random shots which still related to the lyrics i.e. the squirrel as it came out in the fine weather whilst filming and the squirrel looked to be hunting for food therefore it shows nature at work.

We tried to use a variety of different shots such as, extreme long shots, close ups in order to keep the viewer interested. These shots included performance and narrative this is typical of indie music videos as they are based around the same idea to get lots of narrative and performance shots into the music video.

Our music video uses typical generic conventions within the music video to make it successful and recognisable to its Indie genre this is because we have nature/weather as our main topic held within our theme, Indie plays a massive part in nature as we have music festivals that celebrate the free life (for the weekend) just like hippy times, therefore we can relate our music product with the Indie theme. All this is achieved by using the correct mise en scene, lighting, editing, sound and cinematography.

All typical elements can be found on the blog (http://zcmj.blogspot.com/search/label/Research) titled, The Indie Audience.

Mise en scene- Both Conor and Jess used in the video are typical elements of the Indie genre, we know this because of their clothing and hair cuts e.g. Conors hair is long and with a side fringe, Jess’ hair is also long with lots of layers and a rounded fringe; clothing used is basically anything comfortable maybe worn out and tatty looking but nothing over the top (eccentricity). This is typical of a music video as we nearly always see the artist or the band within the indie genre with this type of clothing on.

Editing/Cinematography- While filming we considered that we needed to take lots of shots in order to have enough footage to create our music video. We took some of extreme longs shots looking up at Clitheroe castle and vice versa. We took performance shots of the artist so when he was sat on a bench in the park playing his guitar and singing along. Once we collated all of our shots we had to use ‘Final Cut Express’ software used to edit and produce the final outcome of the video. We used effects such as additive dissolve and slow motion in order to get a longer insight on the performance aspect of the video. This was typical overall as there were many shots used as there is in a typical indie video to show an interesting light on the artist.

Sound- We had to make sure the sound quality was good to go onto the video therefore we got a recording from the college music studio of Conors performance. We also had to make sure the lip syncing were spot on in the video.

Lighting throughout is natural, this is typical of the indie genre as more often than not indie videos show the artist in natural light or portray natural lighting (using subtle artificial lighting behind the camera, etc).

In the ancillary task we produced a magazine cover and a 6 panel DigiPak.

The magazine cover showed Conor in a flattering light as all his blemishes had been air brushed out using Photoshop. He wears a plain black shirt to show comfort, smart- casual. His hair is also long and neat to the side. He is also sat with an acoustic guitar showing performance. These are typical elements of the indie genre, which can again be found on ‘The Indie Audience’ post found on the Blogger.

The DigiPak was also edited on Photoshop. I created the trees panel; this panel consisted of playing about with the hue, saturation, brightness and contrast also the smart blur to stop the picture looking overly grainy. Found on the blogger under the title of Final Print Product- DigiPak Sample.

Q2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

Our ancillary and music video links as a whole as there is a consistency of a weather approach in some way, whether edited or naturally, for example, the magazine has the image of Conor with leaves edited in a sepia colour, in the DigiPak all the panels show some sort of image representing the lyrics of weather, the main product (our music video) has a consistency to show the lyrics through scenes and shots; “Talking about the weather…” – Conor and Jessica are seen talking to one another during these lyrics. By looking at these links between these products we are able to identify them as a whole.


In my opinion I would say that they are effective when identifying the genre as we have typical representation of the Indie Rock genre, for example, Jessica is seen with a typical Indie hair style; rounded fringe and many layers. The shots are typical of the Indie genre too; for we can see many different shots showing variation to Mother Nature’s environment which is solely based on the lyrics and the genre itself.



Our strongest part of the project as a whole was the initial planning as it was dependant upon the weather as we wanted to create scenes showing the variation of the conditions in weather and by chance we were forecasted some snow so we planned to film some snow shots which created some lovely scenery shots (video and stills) suitable for our main product and ancillary tasks.



Our weakest part of the project would be some of the shots used in the project as they render poor quality shots in which I feel may have let the project down as a whole; for example, the studio shots are infinitely grainy and could have been improved.



The branding within our projects is a decent standard for our level of experience and shows a good understanding of making the product link as a whole, with the genre. Our branding in our ancillaries and music product has good branding techniques, for example, on the magazine cover, the writing is clearly seen, and the mise en scene, lighting, editing, sound and cinematography are typical of the genre as we can see a performance shot commonly used to brand a music product.



Q3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

We have used audience feedback when our final music product was complete. We had a mixed response, good and bad but non to the extreme. We didn’t receive any feedback whilst making or editing the music product.



• 3 out 3 said the sound quality was at a good standard

• 1 out 3 said there was some random clips in the video that they didn’t quite know why

• 2 out 3 commented on the grainy saturated part of the video (in the studio)

• 1 out of 3 said that it should have been more colourful

• 2 out of 3 said there was a lot of shots that kept them watching

• Overall, 2 of the 3 thought that the video was well produced, whereas 1 out of the 3 said there could have been more to make this video more interesting.



From this feedback I realised that it was all true and that we should have done surveys before, during and after the production of the music video.



Q4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?



We used media technologies throughout our media product in order to achieve everything we have. We used I.C.T and D.T throughout and where necessary. Our blog played a major role throughout the creation of “Talking about the weather” music video. This can be found at www.blogger.com. The blog contains all of our research and planning efforts as individuals and as a group. We used interactive websites such as www.facebook.com to keep updated about the blog and how our product was progressing, etc. To receive feedback we uploaded our video onto www.youtube.com, where we received two comments about the music video. We not only used internet but we used digital technology (D.T) our cameras and mobiles to take images for our ancillaries, research and planning. For the filming of our product we used camcorders from college to help make our video. We spent most of our production on the Apple Macs editing (using Final Cut Express) software that was a simple way to make a creative music product. Photoshop helped us to use special effects and hide blemishes on the artists face.

I feel that we could have used the Final Cut Express to help us with our music product more to our advantage but there were certain aspects that what we changed had a downside effect on the whole video hence the grainy washed out effect in the studio shots, therefore we had to leave it how it was as we had no knowledge to get around this problem without it being overly time consuming.

Matt - Evaluation

Matt Evaluation

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Zulaikha's Evaluation

Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

As a group we applied Goodwin’s 6 points to our product. Many music videos show both narrative and artist performance, something we thought would also be a good idea for our song. We felt it would be good to show some visuals that amplify the lyrics of the song; not necessarily telling a complete story. We felt that it was necessary to use many scenes of the artist in both narrative and performance, because he is an up and coming new artist it was vital for us to emphasise his presence and make the audience familiar with him. There is also a relationship between the music and the visuals, as the beat of the music flows with the pace of the visuals. The structure and content is therefore similar to many music videos but specific elements are unique as this is what music fans like to see. In my PowerPoint u will analyse in more detail how our products matched up to other indie products.

In our music video we also aimed to demonstrate genre characteristics. This allowed audiences to distinguish it from other genres. In order to establish indie genre in our video we used typical elements such as showing various images of the guitar; the use of typical costume and typical locations.

Cinematography must also be analysed. Music videos tend to vary in angle, length, distance and movement and use many creative effects in terms of transitions and sound effects. Our music genre was indie. We found that many indie music videos use dark shadowy lighting, fast movement shots and extreme angles. Our song referred to the beautiful weather and precious moments the artist spends with his love. Because our song was mellow and had a slow beat, the pace of our shots was much slower than other videos in this genre. We still however used many different angles and shot lengths to induce a more vibrant feel. The variety of shots and constant movement of the camera within a shot prevents the audience from getting bored. The majority of the music video had shots of the artist to make the artist look significant. We showed a variety of close up and medium shots of the artist as the main feature of the video – this helps us indentify with him; it also helped in order to develop his brand image that is shown consistently through all the products.

Our music video also challenged the majority of indie music videos in its use of lighting, as mellow and bright tones were used to portray a very natural and rural image with the nature sites and outdoor woodland scenes.

Our music video demonstrates 4 of the 6 points that Goodwin feels are necessary when creating a successful music video. The need to sell the artists through many camera shots, the relationship of the lyrics and visuals, the relationship of the music and the visuals, and the key genre characteristics. We followed Goodwin’s 6 points because audiences are familiar with this style of music video and therefore audiences are more likely to accept our video more easily. The variation makes it interesting to watch and makes it stand out from the rest; it allows the video to be noticed which is vital in order for the song to be sold and promoted.

The two of Goodwin’s points that we did not apply to our video were ‘voyeurism’ and ‘intertextual reference’. In music videos, artists are often shown in a sexually voyeuristic way, however this is more the case with a female artist. We decided not to use any intertextual reference as our lyrics did not really have a link to any other films, stories or programmes.

Q1 Continued

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Q1 Continued..

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Q2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?


A brand is an image particularly associated with a line of products. It can refer to an individual product or a number of products all linked together that are created and managed by the same company. The main aim of a brand name or trademark is to create an image that is relevant and that consumers like. This brand image is what consumers base their marketing decisions on as it determines whether to buy the product rather than other similar products on the market. As all our text were advertising one product, a song, it was vital they all created the same image so by repeating this it would have a stronger impact on the audience.

Our music video, Digipak and magazine advert all reflect a variety of typical codes and conventions that are used in the indie genre as outlined in question one. This consistent theme of indie codes and conventions creates a coherent brand image in all our products. All of our products have natural settings, bright lighting, casual clothing and creative artistic shots.

We have also tried to use similar images of the artist through our products to keep the image constant. It allows audiences to identify the linked products as promoting the same story and enables them to recognize the artists work and music; this is especially important as a new artist needs to create recognition.

The font used in the products (album and artist name) is a sort of logo in terms of the brand image. Therefore it was necessary to use the same font in all three products to maintain consistency to allow audiences to recognize the link between the products.

We also attempted to carry out a nature/seasons theme and use a lot of outdoor scenery through our products. This creates a link to the song lyrics ‘talking about the weather’. The lyrics refer to the artist talking about the different weathers and seasons with his girlfriend. If a person was to view the film without listening to the lyrics of the song they would be able to identify that the song has a link to the season, different times of the year and the natural beauty of the world and this is also seen in the print products.

The combination of our products is very effective as it stands out and all look like they belong together. The print products (magazine adverts and Digipak) use the ideas from the video in a creative way to bring extra gratification to the fan.

Q3 - Audience Feedback

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Q4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

The production and construction of our music products was highly dependant on technology. Not only did we use media technology when constructing our products but we also used it during the research process, planning of our project and for the end of project feedback and evaluation.

The main media technology we used throughout our production was the internet and our blog site (www.blogger.com). The blog was a vital part of our project as all research, products, feedback and evaluation were uploaded onto this. This was very useful as it allows other group members (as well as the teacher) to access the blog from any location and add their work onto the blog and make changes. It also made it easier to get audience feedback as our work could be assessed at any time. We were able to upload posts regarding each stage of our project. It was an efficient way to receive feedback from those who view our blog with ideas that may help to improve our project. The blog also allowed us to add labels to help organize our posts and make it easier to identify who the post was by and what exact part of the project this was (e.g. research, planning, final product etc). It also allows users to locate information easily and efficiently. We were able to upload video clips, images and music files. We were able to embed YouTube links and also upload scanned images. This made our research more interesting and dynamic.

The internet played a vital part in our project as the majority of our research was done through the internet. This allowed us to access information relevant to music videos and the indie genre. We used sites such as Wikipedia, YouTube and MySpace. We even used Facebook as a means of communication between the group. This allowed us to get in touch with each to keep each other up to date.

We also used technologies such as our mobile phones and i-pod cameras to capture location shots during the planning to add a visual element to our blog. Our mobile phone cameras were also used to capture some of the nature images that we used in our Digipak such as the path of trees, summer forest trees and leaves.

The footage shot for our music video and the still shots used for our ancillary products were shot using digital still cameras and video cameras that were provided by college. We also used a tripod for static shots. Last year during our AS media production we had already used this equipment therefore were familiar with the way it works.

In order to edit the music video we used a programme called ‘Final Cut Express’. This enabled us to sync, upload, cut, edit and add effects to our music video. We were able to view the image and choose the scenes that we wanted to use and delete unwanted footage. It also allowed us to alter the lighting and colours of some of our scenes (e.g where the artist and his girlfriend are walking in the snow). We were able to add transitions (e.g. additive dissolve) and effects (e.g. slow motion) to make our music video effective and creative. We used filters to some scenes to make them warmer or brighter to create the style we wanted. We were able to add a ‘letter box’ look to some of our shots so that there is variation within our music video. Final Cut Express enabled us to produce things that we were notaware we could produce.

For our ancillary tasks we used Adobe Photoshop and I also used Paint.net (which I have access to at home) for some parts of the editing. We used many different tools to create effects that are eye catching and portray the image we wanted to present. Some of the common tools that we used through majority of our Digipak panels and magazine adverts were the ‘lasso select’ tool (to cut around images), ‘Gaussian blur’ (to blur out fragments of the image) and the ‘brush’ tool. We also used layers such as ‘overlays’ in many images where we altered the ‘opacity’. This was all new to me as last year I created a video based production.

We also used technology when it came to receiving our end of our product feedback. We uploaded our music video on YouTube for viewers to leave. We emailed friends and family a list of questions and a link to our blog so that they were able to view all of our products and give us relevant feedback. Another way we received feedback was to show people from our targeted audience the music video and then show them the printed versions of our Digipak and magazine adverts. The collated feedback was then uploaded onto our blog.

The final evaluation also uses various media technologies. Parts of my evaluation were created on Microsoft PowerPoint and then uploaded and published on Slideshare. These were then directly embedded into our blog. I also used screen grabs of scenes from my music video to add to parts of my evaluation. Furthermore, I used simple programs such as Microsoft Word and Paint to annotate images from my music video and ancillary tasks.

The use of new media technology allowed us as group to produce a great and effective product. It enabled us to put together a music video and a related 6panel Digipak and two magazines adverts. Without the proficient use of such programmes and the internet, it would have been very difficult to create the products we have.

In terms of looking back at my ability and skills last year I feel that I have vastly improved as photo editing was new to me. I feel that the lack of skills in such programmes when I first began the project have been replaced by strong and creative editing skills. I also feel that I have improved in creating a video based product as last year the programme we used (i-movie) was different and much simpler. Final Cut Express enabled me to do much more to our music video (e.g. colour grading) and allowed me to adapt my previous skills to the new programme. I am proud of both of our products that we have produced and know that the range of technology that we had access to has highly enriched my worked.

Jessica Thomas Evaluation

Advanced Portfolio

Jessica Thomas

Evaluation

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

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

The Music Video:

The Album Sleeves:

The Album Advert Poster:

Question Three: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

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