Evaluation

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

One way that my media product uses conventions of real media is through good wins theory. His eight characteristics are all used in my music video.

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
(e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band). 

One characteristic of this genre is to have the main focus of the music video on the artist as shown in my research into the genre characteristics of contemporary R & B.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting). 

One example of this would be when a text message appears, with the lyrics as the text. This then provides a relationship with the lyrics and visuals

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting). 

An example of this would be when the music becomes more up-beat, the camera pans around the artist quickly and so the speed of the pan anchors the music.

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style). 

The artist is the main focus of the music video and so this characteristic has been used.

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
An example of this would be when the artist is reminiscing a previous relationship, by looking at old photos of it.

6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc).

An example of this would be when the artist is seen with a girl, which would be stereotypical of romantic films and so shows intertextual references.

Another theory would be Todorovs narrative theory.

1. State of equilibrium: Artist is in a relationship

2. Disruption of equilibrium: Artist is no longer in the relationship


3. Recognition of disruption of equilibrium: Artist is in the park reminiscing on the relationship


4. Attempt to restore equilibrium: Artist is drinking and then attempts to replace ex girlfriend with another girl. This does not work however and he instead attempts to meet up with his ex girlfriend


5. Restoration to new equilibrium: Artist sees ex girlfriend and music video fades out




How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
The song that I chose to do for my music video was Drunk by Ed Sheeran.

This track is originally aimed at ages 16-24 and so my music video had to accompany this in order to fit with the track. In addition to this however, the ancillary texts had to do the same job.

The main task of the ancillary texts then was to anchor the main product in cementing the artist image and helping to promote the artist. The ancillary texts that I used in order to achieve this were a digipak and a magazine advert.

It is easy to see immediately that both the magazine advert support each other and this is anchored by the use of the same image in both texts. Another link between the two is the font used for both the artist name (digipak) and the release date (advert). However I did not want to make the two exactly the same, and so the other text is different, to add a sense of enigma to the track.

In addition to creating a strong link with the two ancillary texts, I aimed to create synergy with other well known brands. I did this on the advert with iTunes, HMV and play.com, allowing the audience to see that the artist is prestigious, or aiming to be.

The digipak was made first, and was designed to accompany the artist image portrayed in the music video. This was done as the artist is largely focused on during the music video, as is the case in the digipak. The digipak further enhances the artist by using a monochrome colour scheme (brown). This is due to the colour of the artist and so it anchors the artist well. The dull locations of the music video also do this in that the artist is often seen in the centre of the shot, with minimal activity around him. In this way then they both heighten the prestige of the artist.

The advert also achieves the same goal as the digipak. The same image means that the artist is again portrayed with monochromatic colours and so enhances the artist. The image used however is larger than in the digipak, meaning that it anchors the artist image more than the digipak.

Both pieces then anchor the artist image, in similar ways due to the repeated use of the image, but in different ways due to the sizes and the exact colour scheme used.

However it may also be said that they do not fully anchor the artist. The artist is shown primarily in mid-shots throughout the piece, however the advert and digipak are close ups. This may then mean that the ancillary texts are not immediately identifiable with the music video. As digipaks and adverts are generally only briefly seen, not being to immediately relate the two would mean that they would not have achieved the intended task. There is then room for improvement, maybe through closer shots being used in the music video, or another image for the ancillary pieces that is closer to a mid shot.

Overall however I do feel that the ancillary texts anchor the main product well in that the average viewer would be able to relate the two pieces.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Through both youtube commenting and word of mouth I have learnt both what has been good about my music video and what could have been better.

The first youtube comment (pictured left) allowed me to see that the sped up pan around the artist was successful. This effect was used to anchor the increase in tempo in the music at that time. However it is apparent that the scene in which I attempted to match the visuals to the lyrics, was not as well executed as I would have liked. Next time this is attempted, I think that a camera without flash would be better as it would not have reflected off of the phone as it did.

The second comment however, contradicting the first comment, liked the match of the lyrics to the visuals. This may then show that audience perceive texts as individuals and so then would be an example of how different people consume the text differently. A criticism was however that I could have used more varied locations in the piece. This is because the music video was centred around two main locations and then a few additional ones, which was used to keep the video simplistic. However this may not appeal to the masses, so may then be a comment to take on board for the future.

In addition to these comments, I received both positive and negative feedback about the video through word of mouth.

One positive comment was that the artist and the locations used were conventional of the genre of music. This then meant that the audience that it was aimed at were reached. As they could then relate to the locations and costume, it meant that they felt more connected with the video and so enjoyed watching it.

However the fault in rendering through adobe photoshop was mentioned, as the video flashes red twice. However this is not a comment that I could personally act upon due to it being a technological error as opposed to poor editing or choice of shots.

Another positive comment then was that the lip syncing was well executed. I was particularly happy with this comment as there was a lot of lip syncing throughout the text, which meant that there was large scope for error, however it seemed to work well.

The pictures of the ex girlfriend shown at the beginning of the video (as the guy sits on the bench looking at his phone) were said to be too small however. This was because there were too many cramped into the phone, which made it hard to make out what was actually in the photo. A suggestion was made that instead of a collection of photos, one bigger one may have been more effective in portraying the scene better to the audience.

A final comment was that the storyline was hard to interpret. As the lyrics do not fully anchor the music video, it was said that it was hard to follow exactly what was going on. This was due to the multiple girls appearing in the text, confusing the viewer as to who the ex was and who the friend was. To take this on board then, a better way to approach another task similar to this, would be to follow the lyrics closer, to allow the text to be portrayed in the way that is wanted by the producer.


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

Youtube was used in the distribution of the music video, as it was how the video was released.


Youtube was also used in the research as I used it to see the music videos that currently existed, with the same genre of music to the music I was to use.

Google was used primarily in the research of the task, as I used it to research the genre of the music and other similar texts.

Facebook was used in the promotion of the music video, as a link being shared allowed various people to see the video on youtube.


For the evaluation, blog posts were used, as it allowed me to use new media, as a video evaluation would have used youtube to be able to distribute it.

Mobile phones were also used in the planning of the music video as a means of communication, to allow me to get into contact with my actors.


Adobe Premiere pro was a new program that was used in the construction of the music video, as I used this to edit the video itself


Adobe photoshop was also used in the construction of the ancillary texts, as images were manipulated and text added.

 

Music Video

Production screenshots (Magazine advert)

For inspiration, I looked at existing albums and the adverts that accompanied them to see how the two related and to see how to make my own. I looked at three examples.

The first was Jay Z - The Blueprint 3

Album Cover:

Advert:

For this advert, I could see that the image used was the same in both texts, I could also see that the font used on both the album and the advert were the same. Aside from those two things, the advert had a release date, a distributor and a website.

The second was Beyoncé - I Am...

Album Cover:

Advert:

From this advert we can see that the basic colour scheme shared between the two is black and white. We can also see that the main focus of both is the large picture of the artist. Unlike the Jay Z advert, this one does not have a release date, the same picture as the album, or even the same title of album. This is because the album and advert coincide to make a full sentence of I am... Sasha Fierce. This advert is used to intrigue the audience and leave them with enigmas. The artist here then has used the advert as a statement in relation to her status, as opposed to an advert that is meant to raise awareness of the artist. This is because she is an already established artist.

The last album cover was The Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

Album Cover:

Advert:

From this, we can see that, like Jay Z, the same image has been used for the album artwork and the advert. We can also see that the same font is used for the title of the album, as it is used to inform the audience of exactly what to expect. Another thing that they share is the website at the bottom of the advert. This album however has a place that you can buy it from 'play.com' and a description of the songs featured on the album. This is because they are tracks that would have been originally released as singles, designed to draw in the fans already obtained from that single.

Common Characteristics:

- The same image for the album cover and the advert

- Similar if not the same font for the album cover and advert

- A website at the bottom of the advert

- A distributor of the album

- The album title

- The artist name

- A release date

To make my own advert, I took the common characteristics and applied them to my own album cover.
I took the album artwork and adapted it to allow audience to make the link between the advert and album. I put the album title, however did not put an artist name, to create a sense of mystery about the artist. A release date and distributor were added under this to inform the audience of when and where to get the album. I then added to the bottom, a website that anyone could go to for more information on the artist or the album:

Production screenshots (Digi-pak)

To see how to make my own digi-pak, I looked at ones that were already on the market.

The first was Adele - 21

This album was made up of mostly the image of the artist, but was also made up of the artist name and album title. Apart from that, the cover had nothing else. The colour scheme used then was symbolic of the album, the light colours I feel represented the smooth tone of the album.

The second was Ed Sheeran - +

The album was again mostly made of the artist image, it was then accompanied by the album name. It did not however feature the artist name, but the colour scheme instead was representative of the artist, as he is associated with his ginger hair, the colour scheme is predominantly orange.

The last album was Jessie J - Who you are

As the others, this cover had the artist image and name, along with the album title. This album however also had a parental advisory tag, to imply that the album may not be suitable for children to listen to alone. The colour scheme here however is black and white, which is plain and so may show that the artist is only focused on her and her music as opposed to persona.

Common Characteristics:

- Large artist image

- Artist name

- Album title

- Colour scheme representative of the music or the artist

When creating my digi-pak, I used the common characteristics of large artist image, artist name, album title and the colour scheme was representative of my artist. Originally, I had many effects on on idea and did not know which to pick, I therefore asked friends family and peers to pick a favourite cover.

The artwork that was preffered was the last of the bunch, and with a few ideas such as a shorter artist name, repositioning of the artist name and a change in colour turned the front cover into:

After that I decided to work on the back of the digipak. I had two ideas and made both, I then asked again which one was preffered of the two:

The second photo was preffered and so the back cover was chosen to be:

Next was the inside of the digipak, I had the idea just to put the lyrics on the left cover and chose to put alcohol on the right to anchor the title of the song. I came up with these two ideas:

The right side was liked and so nothing needed to be changed on that, it therefore stayed as:

For the lyrics however, he background was commented on as being 'too light' and the colour of the font was suggested that it would be better if 'it matched the reds and blues of the Antiguan Rum on the right hand cover': I then made another mock up based on these comments:

After re-analysing it, feedback was given that suggested that the background was too dark and the writing should instead be white to match the title of the song on the front cover. After taking this into consideration and the feedback being good about the last draft, the back cover was decided upon to look as such:

After all of these side of the digipak were decided upon, I put all of them together and filled in the spine. The result was:

Artist - Jordan

Jordan is an up and coming artist that has built a fan base of 100,000 subscribers via youtube. He has covered songs from some of the worlds most famous names including thriller by Michael Jackson, which received 300,000 hits after a month, and another 200,000 after 3. Of these subscribers, his main fan base is within the age group of 15-21 year olds, this has meant that the song due for release will have to have taken this into account. Along with this, the clothes that he wears are representative of the fan base, this is too because he is part of the age group, being an 18 year old himself.

Animatic

Letter of permission

Letter to music publisher






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