Evaluation.

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

Andrew Goodwin’s book “Dancing in the Distraction Factory” highlights a number of key music video codes and conventions. I have chosen to incorporate many of these codes and conventions as I believe they were appropriate for the style of the band and their genre of music. When planning my music video I printed out the lyrics to the song and annotated them with ideas for camera angles, narrative and editing. I also had regular meetings with the band to discuss our ideas. Throughout my music video I tried to keep a subtle relationship between the lyrics and the visuals.

I learnt an editing effect (film burn) which allowed me to create flashes of colour. One of the lyrics of the song is ‘…these shades of red…’ at this point in the music video, I created a flash of red. This links to Goodwin’s concept that the lyrics always match the visuals. Some of the footage I filmed was with the use of sparklers. The lyrics in the chorus are ‘…lets burn tonight, we’ll burn tonight…’ and I thought that using sparklers would be effective as they connote fire, warmth and burning. This again reflects Goodwin’s concept.I also wanted to create a relationship between the music and the visuals. I achieved this by using a similar technique used in some rock music videos. The slowing down of hitting the cymbal and the running through the forest; these both follow the tempo of the music, creating a clear relationship between the two.

I researched the conventions for rock/alternative music videos and I found that it was conventional to use shots of the artists playing their instruments. I stuck to this convention throughout my music video. I experimented with different and alternative angles, to represent the alternative side to Across the Board’s music. Using close up shots of the artists instruments, also represents their talent and sells them as musicians, which is an important part of a music video.When planning my music video, I wanted there to be a distinct iconography throughout my music video. I stuck to autumnal colours; oranges and reds, to represent the warmth the lyrics connote. Goodwin also believes that using multiple close-ups of the vocalist is an important aspect to a music video. Throughout my music video I used close-ups of the vocalist. I felt that this engaged the viewer more and helped represent the attitude of the band.

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

As well as my music video, I also produced a Digipak and a magazine advert to promote this. Overall, I am quite pleased with the outcome of my 3 products. I wanted to create a clear relationship between the three texts to make them easily identifiable and act as a unique style for Across the Board.

In my initial research, I analysed the album release of Francesqa’s ‘We Lived’. Francesqa released a Digipak, music video and of course used advertising to promote their release. Whilst researching this, I learnt the importance of supporting texts and

how they need to relate to each other in order to help to sell the artists and represent their music.

At the beginning of my project, I decided that using photography set in woodland would represent Across the Boards artistic, edgy sound, as well as also connoting a sense of romanticism. This sense of romanticism reflects the rebellious nature of Across the Board. I also experimented with different Photoshop brushes and techniques. I have gained a lot of experience in using Photoshop since my foundation project. After producing my music video, I went back to my Digipak and altered it slightly to create a better relationship between the two. For the cover of my Digipak I used intertexual references from my music video. This is very important as it works in conjunction with the music video to market the band. I wanted the cover of my Digipak to continue with the stylistic representation I have tried to create throughout my project. Throughout my Digipak I kept a consistent style of using photography in the woodland and black and white filters. I used images of the artists on the inside cover of the Digipak, representing the well known ‘Hear. See. Speak’I took a risk with using a different font for the typography on the Digipak. I think I probably should have stuck to using the same font throughout and I have recognised this as an improvement I could make. I am quite pleased with the overall look of my Digipak as I think it works well in conjunction with my music video, making it a successful promotional tool for the release. I have tried to create links with an artistic design and the idea of rebelliousness and alternativeness. I wanted to create a professional yet simple design which represents the artists and their music, which relates with the representation of my music video. This is similar to the magazine advert. Again, It is used as a means of promotion, allowing me to further communicate the bands style and music,

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback has been greatly beneficial throughout the production of my music video. Throughout planning my music video I gathered opinions from members of my target audience and frequently arranged meetings with the band to get feedback on my planning. When planning my music video I created a survey on Surveymonkey.com to get information about what my target audience expect from a music video, as this is an important part of pre-production planning. The feedback from my post production questionnaire was overall very positive and I am pleased that I managed to communicate my ideas constructed from my preliminary questionnaire. The feedback has shown me that I managed to create a strong brand identity for the band which was also catered towards my target audiences expectations. My feedback from the band is also very positive. I feel I captured the personality and genre of the band and I am pleased with the final outcome of all my final 3 texts.

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

Media technology has played a huge part in the production of my music video and Digipak. It is important to understand the fast paced growth of media technologies in terms of construction, research and planning. Web 2.0 has been an important player within the planning and research of my music video. I used a number websites which are built on user generated content. I used Youtube and Vimeo to gain inspiration from existing music videos. I also used these websites along with Video Copilot to find tutorials in using Premiere and After Effects. The use of participatory cultures has also played a critical part of planning and research. I used Facebook to contact the band and arrange regular meetings. I have used Blogger to record any research and planning as well as keeping up to date with my deadlines.

The use of new software’s has been crucial to the construction of my music video.I have used Adobe Premiere, Photoshop and After Effects for the construction of my final products. I used Photoshop to create my Digipak and magazine advert and I used Premiere and After Effects for constructing my music video. In Premiere I used curves and colour balance to edit the hues and intensity of colours in the music video. I used After Effects to experiment with different animation effects. I watched video tutorials on how to create light trails, however never in cooperated this into my final product as I didn’t feel it was relevant. I also used Facebook to promote my surveys created on Surveymonkey for the evaluating of my product.