FINISHED

I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED, it has been a long but interesting journey and teachers have been very supportive thanks I hope all this hard work pays off with a good grade

Comparing AS-A2

I feel that the products i made last year were good however i feel this year my skills have developed and  have improved, i was now able to use final cut more easily as i was aware of the edits and the process as i went along. My blogging has also got an extreme amount of detail, where i have also used a variety of ICT skills to portray this. My blogs go through all the research and planning stages of making my music video and how i went about doing it. I have put a lot of effort into my posts and hope that i achieve a very good grade in the end, reflecting the time and effort i put in.

EVALUATION- Question 4

EVALUATION: Question 4: What have you learned from your audience feedback.

When traveling to our locations we were nervous in how our video would of came out and also the fact that another group was doing our song. We were all over ally excited in watching each others footage in the cinema and the thoughts they had once we finished watching everyones.
Once we had finished the video it was then time to go watch it in the cinema, where we shared our talents with the rest of all the media sets. Once our video came on show the audience were very surprised and liked the way in which we edited most scenes. Although many people liked it, we were given constructive criticism on what they thought we could have improved on.

Due to not feeling very positive about the video once people gave their opinions it made me look at our video in a different perspective where I was able to see the positive aspects as well as the aspects which I could have improved on. The feedback we were given was mostly positive, a lot of people who we asked liked the types of edits and cuts we did in the video as they liked the way in which it went with the beat of the song making them excited in what was going to happen next. However most thought that we could have used more shot types in the video and made the artist clearer.

When looking back the advice given was useful as I was able to see the video again but this time looking at the errors and also parts which I could have added more scenes and edits to.

The comments were very positive a lot of the audience when recording them after the cinema thought that it was a great video and that they would recommend it for other people of the similar age to watch it. As there was another group who did the same song as my group it was challenging to see the different types of shots and similar ideas they used. When recording the feedback most people thought that the role of our artist suited the song well as he was shown to be energetic.

Overall i am proud in the way the music video came out as all the hard work which was put in paid of, getting feedback also made me see the video in a more positive way especially cause our target audience got the message and also liked it.

Before we done our video i posted the song of our artist and posted it on facebook, this enabled me to get feedback from my target audience to see what they thought of it and what they expected to see. When getting the responses from different people we see that males tend not to enjoy the song as much. Most ideas that were put forward were useful and linked into our idea well. Boys tend to dislike the song which defeats the whole purpose of it being aimed at them.

Most ideas were similar to our thoughts as people thought that close ups, fast edits and including party scenes and object/ images which represent the word beautiful and wonderful. 

Looking back at the ideas and responses i got i saw that most of what people liked was incorporated in our video such as flowers and the main idea of our artist having fun enjoying life.

I had then went back to the people who gave their ideas and showed them the video. Overall they were impressed and would recommend it to people 

EVALUATION: Question 3

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

There were many forms of media technologies that I used to help the construction, research and planning of all products I had made in the end.

Blogger was a form of technology, which I had used throughout the stages of constructing and planning my ancillary products. Blogger was a form of technology that enabled me to write about the experiences and stages I planned on doing where I was then able to go back and look upon to see what I wrote about and what it was that inspired my choices. There were many blogging tasks, I participated in, and research was one of them. When researching I had to make sure I blogged about it, this was because when creating the product I would need to go back and see what it was that influenced my choices doing this saved time as all I needed to do was go over the written task and add this information to the stage which I was at. Blogger was also used as a plan/ storyboard where I was able to go back and check the plans, which I had made. Doing this I was able to save time, as I didn’t waste time planning as I had the information I needed already posted on the blog. Looking at the locations of where we wanted to shoot the video it was important to blog about, this was so that the teachers were able to keep up to date with the work we were doing. Throughout the production of the ancillary work and the making of the video it was essential I blogged the progress I was making so I could reflect upon it and see the aspect’s which worked and those that didn’t and why it didn’t.  

The Internet was another form of media I used to help the construction and research when planning for the end product. I had used the Internet to gather a variety of images that linked to the genre of our chosen choice and also the aspects they are interested in. YouTube was what I used the most; this was where I looked at a variety of videos to generate some ideas of what kinds of editing and camerawork most of them tend to use. You tube was a major help as I was able to look at videos linked to my genre and the types of edits and camera work they used. I also used online presentations, which I created these included, beeclup, prezi, kizola, and photobucket. All these were online presentations I created helping me present my work instead of it just being written form.

USING CAMTASIA

Using Photoshop 

USING FCP VIDEO

FINAL CUT

                   

On final cut we were able to use many edits and cut down scenes which were too long adding effects like slow motion etc. Final cut was the form of technology we had used when making the music video. Once we had filmed footage from the green screen, final cut was the software we used to remove the green background using effects such as Chroma keying where we color picked the color ‘green’ which we didn’t want.

I had also used final cut to create the animatic for our music video this was then later on put in our pitch to show the audience as well as our teachers a brief idea of how we expect our video to turn out. Creating this was important as it gave us an idea of the ideas which we put forward and was used as a back up for us to go back and look over if we had forgotten any ideas.

FCP ANIMATIC

EVALUATION: Question 2

 Evaluation 2:How effective is the combination of your main product (video) and ancillary texts (digipak and advertisement)
I feel that the finished music video and the digipak have many visual links between them, as when people look at it they will be able to clearly identify who the artist is which is the main purpose of both the advertisement and the digipak.

This is important as when people go to buy the album they need to recognize whom the artist is, in order for them to buy the CD. I have used a close up of the main artist on the front of the CD and also the advertisement, this is so that people can recognize the artist and remember who he is. I have also used aspects that link to the video, which consist of the same image, I made sure that the way in which the artist looked matched the way he is represented in the video not making drastic changes such as making him the stereotypical image of a boy looking ‘hood’.

The audience will be able to recognise the linked products as they are shown to be clear. The image, which has been used on both, the advertisement and the digipak are shown to be the same where one is in color and the other is in black and white. Straight away the visual links are made as the artists has been used on both (close ups). I overall think that the ancillary texts used are successful as they meet the conventions of all ancillary products in the music industry. The ancillary texts, which I have used, are clear and also eye catching and appealing to the audience.

I feel that the target audience will be attracted to them as it follows the similar conventions to other albums they like and that they are appealed to for example Chris brown, Cello green etc.

The artist also wears casual clothing in the video and this has clearly been illustrated on the digipak and advertisement. In the music video the artist is wearing a casual jumper, which has been repeatedly used in the based track the visual link is continued on both the advertisement and digipak.

The artist in the video repeats his facial expressions smiling looking like he is having fun. However on both the digipak and the advertisement I went for a subtler look where the artist has a cheeky grin on his face.

On the inside of the digipak I chose to use the illustration of the angel, which is used in the video. The angel was used as a symbol to represent the lyrics in the song and represent something beautiful/ wonderful according to the lyrics. Putting this image on the cd base as well as using it as the main image on the inside the audience will be able to make the visual link between them both, understanding why it has been used.

The colors in our video were not set. They were mostly based on a variety of colors were bright linking to our audience well. For the album cover I decided to make the colors simple and base it on a black and white theme not making it too complicated but simple and easy for the product to be identified.

The overall visual links, which I made with, the final products were successful as when researching the audience were clearly able to identify who the album belonged to. This was in particular result to the close ups which I had used on the album cover, which were key links to the video that clearly illustrate the artists face, this was clear and the main focus on the front cover. The colors used on the front are also used as visual links to show more about the artist and not just the fun guy he is but also serious in a good way, the colors used on the front portrays this well.

Once creating the digipak I went round asking people what they thought of the product and if it linked with the video. Before it was created I printed of a laminated version and went round asking people. Most people whom I had asked thought that the product linked well and matched the conventions of original products with the similar genre.

Doing this i was also able to see how the final product would look like and any additional amendments i needed to make  once receiving the feedback from the audience.

                        

EVALUATION: Question 1

Evaluation 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Andrew Goodwin’s theory is based on 5 key fetchers, which include the narrative, relations of visuals to the song, seeing the sound and the star image. Initially we planned on using illustration whereby the lyrics of the song being told in the video matched the story. Our video was supposed to be based on young people having fun and enjoying life, as well as the artist liking someone. However through research and discussion we then changed it to amplification where the lyrics matched the aspects we used in the video for example for changed people and representing wonderful objects we used emos and flowers. The base track was essential in our music video as with this we were able to add the clips according to the beat of the music jumping from scene to scene, where we see our performer from the water scene to the projector scenes.

In addition Goodwin explains that the audience should ignore the narrative, as it is important in the role of advertising in any music video. According to Goodwin all songs have a clear narrative. This is linked to our video, as the audience is able to watch the video and make up a clear story as they go along. Goodwin overall concludes that narrative and performance are key, and tend to link together in order for the video to be more interesting and appeal to a wider audience. I feel I have done this by using a variety of camera work linking the action taken place with the lyrics of the words allowing the audience to generate a meaning/ story from this.

The star image of our artist was represented clearly; this was an important aspect of Goodwin’s theory as the star image/ artists help the production process when there songs are out. Without an artist / star image it could effect the way people see them. Through my music video I have clearly represented the way the star is portrayed, so that the audience know clearly who it is.

The visualization of a song could go further than its original purpose therefore this leads to the three types of relationship between songs and videos, which are illustration, amplification and disjuncture. Throughout my music video the audience will be able to see illustration whereby the artist illustrates what is being represented.

The song is about growing up from a child to an adult. This music video often uses dance moves in order to illustrate the mood of the song well. Using the dance moves to illustrate the song helps allow the audience to remember the song as the dance moves used in this are very entertaining making it apply to the audience.

Tulisa ‘young’, Rita Ora ‘how to party’ Angel ‘Go in go hard’ and also Rhianna ‘ We found love’ these were the videos which I looked at that were based on our genre and had the aspects which we wanted to include in our video. Most of these videos had the edits as well as the camera work which we wanted. Most of the edits used in these music videos were fast and caught our attention quick. We thought doing this on our video would also make it appealing to our audience as it appealed to us. When watching all these videos I found out that there were many visual aspects used which appealed to me such as in Rhianna she is shown to use a burning cigarette to go with the beat as well as the edits used in the video. The song in which we chose was also up beat and we thought would be a good idea if we also used an idea like this.

The editing technique of growing flowers and moving traffics was inspired by Rhianna we found love.

We didn’t really challenge the conventions of the genre of our video as we kept it simple our character wasn’t what you expected such as being represented as ghetto (dressed) but was seen to be ordinary dressed in casual cloths.

Looking at our artist we clearly see that there is no main prop however the clothing was used as an idea to illustrate a lot about the artist it self the genre was also represented in this way. Angel is shown to wear casual clothing such as tracksuits hats and trainers; this was relevant as this made our artist stand out from other music genres such as indie or Rock. We therefore made sure that our artist stuck to the casual look with an ordinary jumper and trainers clothing which you would expect our audience to wear and be aware off.

The casual look was inspired by many artists linked with our artists such as Rhianna, Dappy, Rita Ora and many more who also stick to the causal clothing matching the conventions they use.

The artwork is essential for any media product as it is important that when a artist goes and buys a product they feel they are getting there moneys worth it is therefore important for the product to look good as well as sound good. When researching a wide range of CD covers I was most influenced by Ceelo green and Chris Browns cover. The genre was simple and I didn’t want to over complicate things on the front cover, it was therefore important for me to keep it simple and not to complicated.

The close up of both these albums influenced me most; looking at the genre of the artists linked to ours I found out that most of the front covers were mostly based on a big close up. On the front of my album I based it on one main image of the artist with simple bold text of the artists name followed by the name of the album. I added an effect on the image, which was influenced by who the album was aimed at. As the target audience was aimed at females I thought that the ridged effect would have a great impact and make the artist look serious and more attractive. The colors were focused on 3, it was important I didn’t make it to complicated as I didn’t want all the attention based on the colors but wanted the audience to focus on the CD. It was also important I used a close up of the artist, as the audience needs to recognize the artist who they are purchasing, which on the original album isn’t clear.

The back of the album was influenced by Chris browns.  The back of the album attracted me a lot , I thought the use of the image on the back made the album complete and said a lot about the genre of music and not made it too boring.  I again decided to keep to the same colors, which I used on the front. From the original album we see how dull and boring it is where we cant really see the artist at the front as the font takes most space. I therefore wanted to make something different and more eye-catching for the audience.

FRONT

BACKThis was also followed by an advertisement for the CD making people aware of the album coming out this was just as eye catching as the CD.

Advertisement for CD

Planning- Each evaluation DRAFT

Planning- Each evaluation DRAFT

I did a draft on each question to help me when doing each evaluation, i clearly set out the types of technology i used and the information which i needed to include.

Final Piece (DIGIPAK FRONT/BACK AND INSIDE)

Final Piece (DIGIPAK FRONT/BACK AND INSIDE)

Below is shown to be the final piece of my digipac the front/back and inside panels 

FRONT AND BACK COVER 

INSIDE PANELS 

Final piece (ADVERTISEMENT)

Final piece (ADVERTISEMENT)

Here is shown to be the finished piece of my advertisement as shown below

Practice Audience task

Practice Audience task 

When finishing my digipak (draft) before the deadline, i then decided to print of both the front back and inside in colour and laminate it. Once i did this i then went round the college and showed a number of people and asked what they thought of it and what they thought would be a good idea to change. Most people who i asked liked the images which i had used both for the front and back as it clearly stated who the artist was. Most people overall thought that the CD cover looked professional and would buy it if it was on the shelve in a store. One thing i did change when getting feedback was the company logo which was placed on the back, people thought it would be a good idea to move it away from the image as it was coving it.

Below i have illustrated a laminated picture of how it would look once finished.

Photoshop 5 (Advertisement)

Photoshop 5 (Advertisement)

From the practice tasks i done for the advertisements i finally came to the decision of what photo to use. The photo which i planned on using was the same as the front cover however on the advertisement we are able to see more than just his face. I decided to use the shadow effect which i used on the album as i thought it would be a good idea to continue the effect which i had started as the audience felt this caught their attention. As the front digipak the image used is black grey and white i planned on using some colour on the poster followed by the shadowed image. From the research i done when analysing 3 magazine covers i found out that they also use the same image on their poster but change the colour which is what i plan on doing.

This is what the advertisement looks like so far, i decided to do the image black and white to see the outcome. Once i had got the image i had then decided to go round asking people what they thought and if they were attracted to it. Most of the people which i had asked thought the advertisement needed more colour so i therefore went ahead and experimented.

Photoshop 4 (PRACTICE Advertisement)

Photoshop 4 (PRACTICE Advertisement)

There were many errors when making the advertisement. When choosing the images that i had then placed onto the template i realised that the image looked too cropped and unprofessional. To this i decided to try add an effect such as shadows or doubling the original image. As the name of the album was called Nova i decided to try a space theme for the poster to illustrate clearly what the title is putting forward. This again was tricky as i needed to get an image which wasn't blurry as most were pixulated. below i have illustrated some practice advertisements before i decided making my final one.

Doing this was very helpful as i was able to get a gasp of what the advertisement would look like if i planned on using this layout and these images.

Ancillary: Photoshop 3 (BACK)

Ancillary: Photoshop 3

The back of my digipak had many problems which i then had to change once showing my teacher. The errors which i made included the information on the spine being the wrong way round and also forgetting to add the numbers on the track list as well as making it smaller as it was too big. Once making the changes i then went back to show my teacher making sure i made no more mistakes.

Ancillary: Photoshop 2 (INSIDE)

Ancillary: Photoshop 2

It was then time to create the inside of my digipak. The template for the inside was the same as what i used for the front of the digipak. However i was then given the CD insert which i took from the resources folder. This enabled me to get my design the right size and plan what i was going to do as illustrated below.

Overall the inside panels were challenging to make but again my skills developed when using photoshop the second time round to edit the inside.

Ancillary: Photoshop 1 (FRONT)

Ancillary: Photoshop 1

As shown opposite is the image i chose to use for the front of my album cover. When placing this onto the front i will hope to enlarge it so that most of his face is in the front so that the audience can clearly see the expressions on his face adding some sort of effect to reinforce this.

I have also illustrated different effects on the artist so that when it is on the front it doesn't look boring but looks interesting and appealing to the target audience, i once again asked my target audience what they preferred and they liked all of the images.

Mock up of Ad

Mock up of Ad

From my research i put together a rough draft of what i wanted my add to look like i did both A5 portrait and landscape again trying it out to see which one looked better asking the target audience for their feedback.

Here is a  landscape A5 version of the advertisement i would use if i plan not to use the portrait version. This has similar information to the one shown bellow including the hit single wonderful and the main artist at the front. My plan will be to try both versions out to see which one i like best and how well the image will work i will also ask the audience which is young teens what they think and which one they like and appeals to them best.






The opposite image is shown to be the plan of the advert for my album. this was an important part before creating it as i was able to generate an idea of what i wanted to to put on it. Again  like the album cover i looked at provisos advertisements linked to the genre and looked at the information and layout used.

PLANNING- Evaluation questions layout

PLANNING- Evaluation questions layout

I was given instructions for each evaluations to help me structure and make sure i included all the information needed

Ancillary- Chosen title

Ancillary- Chosen title

The chosen title for the ancillary product was initially super nova but when discussing it as i group i felt that the title was too long and would'nt look right on the album. Most albums which we see now are shot and not to long this is because they want the audience to focus on the image rather than what the album says so we therefore came to the name of the album being Nova. The font and colour of this will be plain and simple to read so that it doesnt look complicated on the album cover itself.

Nova initially came from the stars we used in the video and the colourful lights. Nova also gives the connotation of a fun album and links well with artist and the audience.

Mock up front and back cover

Mock up front and back cover

Before i was able to start making the album cover it was crucial that i started planning what was going on the front. During the lesson i had looked at a variety of examples of digipacks and from this got the information and ideas of what to use. Doing this also helped me be organised and prepared for when making my real digipack as i used this as a guide on where to start and what to add if anything was forgotten. On the from i planned on using a big close up of the artis the reason being is because when looking at most albums of our genre this is what they used. followed by a long shot at the back.

Photos for digipack plan

Photos for digipack plan 

The slideshow above is an indication of the pictures i plan on using. I have chosen these images in particular as i feel it captures our artist well giving the audience a clear view of the artists face. Most of the images i have used are very clear showing who the artist is which was important when deciding the photo i will use. A close up of the artists face will be used for my album cover and a long shot of the performer at the back. On the inside panel i plan on using an image of the performers t shirt where he is looking up and we see an angel clearly demonstrating the purpose of the album. The CD will follow the convention of the side panel and the angel will be the design on the CD followed by his name. The images which i have selected as shown above are clearly suited for out RNB genre, from the research which i conducted i found out that male performers tend not to smile at the front as they are more serious, female covers such as jessie j however tend to smile and laugh. The images which i have chosen i feel will be liked by our target audience as it clearly shows the artists face as the lightening clearly reflects him.

Overall it was important in collecting images for my digipak as i was able to see what would work and what wouldn't.