I used a range of new media technologies in the coursework processes, they are as follows:
Video Camera and Stills Camera: These were used for the planning and production. photos are used to pre-visualise the locations and costumes. The video was used to capture the footage in production.
Premiere Elements 7: This was the programme we used for all of the editing process. A detailed account of how it was used is in my "editing process" entries. Basically, we used the cut tool, timescale tool and the default special effects. It was a very easy programme to use compared to the more complex programme we used last year. We were able to take full advantage of all its features. Fireworks CS4: Similarly to elements 7, this programme is explained more fully in the "fireworks cs4" entry. It is a photo editing software in which I used to create both my Digipak and magazine advert. At first, the programme was a little complex as I was new to it but after a few sessions on my digipak I quickly discovered the tools I needed. It was crucial to making my ancillary products the quality that they are. Picasa: This is free photo editing programme offered by Google. I used this is in producing images for my digipak. It is very basic and allowed me to improve the appearance of existing images. The same could have been done using fireworks but to add some variety, and ease, I decided to use this.
YouTube: This video sharing website was used to distribute our music video in order to receive feedback for the evaluation process. It was also used to help us realise what kinds of audiences were looking at our video. This has been very useful for these reasons. MonkeyJam: This is programme used to create stop motion animation. Towards the filming process we had the idea of including some stop motion of a tie tying itself. This programme places all the shots together so that there is a "continuous" running piece of footage. The stop motion didn't fit with our music video so we didn't use it after all. However, it was fun to experiment.
Myspace: This social networking site was used to contact the band "Vampire Weekend" in the planning process. On top of this, we used it to identify what kinds of people listen their music. Facebook: Similarly to MySpace, we used Facebook to contact the band. We also used it to advertise that our music video was on YouTube and that we wanted friends to take our survey on Zoomerang. That was another technology that we used. Zoomerang is a free survey creator that enabled us to ask multiple choice questions and send it to numerous email accounts.
Dolly: Although this isn't a media technology as such Dolly's are and this was our attempt at creating one for the production. Unfortunately it didn't work too well so ended up using my car instead which was very successful. It also helped with our planning process in knowing that we can include tracking shots.
Prezi: Unfortunately, I had a go at using prezi as an alternative to Blogger. It was easy and quick to use, and with a lot of patience, it enables you to create an exciting presentation. However, I didn't like the fact that you couldn't navigate to just one part, you had to cycle through the entire presentation to find something. In contrast, the drop down in blogger allows you look at any entry in any order, and I found far easier to use.
Blog: This blog is a media technology in which I have used. It offers the chance to upload text, images and animations. On top of this I am able to insert links that relate to my content. For example, I have many entries in this blog which all include either an image or a video. This blog has been the key element in recording the research, planning, construction and evaluation stages of my media product.
First of all, we retrieved our feedback from YouTube. We have only received five comments, however, it has gained a fair number of views meaning that people have seen it. It also suggests that advertising it on Facebook has worked. All of our viewers were within the target audience. The majority of people represented in the page views were aged aged 13 - 17 making up 60% of our viewers.On top of this, there is an almost equal ratio of male to female viewers. It could be argued that our music video is doing very well by appealing to people over the age group, within the age group and applying to both genders. Below is the survey that we placed online. Click Here to take survey 75% agreed that the music video was appropriate for the song with the other 25% feeling that it was only appropriate sometimes. No one said no, this means that we have overall, succeeded with choosing the action for our music video. Perhaps we needed to create a questionnaire that would have found out what people wanted from the song "Cousins."
100% of people agreed that the pace of the music video was appropriate for the song. This means that we have succeeded in fulfilling this audiences needs with this particular element.
75% of people found the music video very entertaining whereas the remaining 25% found it interesting enough. I feel that this is a very good reaction as no one found it uninteresting. Not everyone is pleased by the same things so having the majority of our target audience enjoy the video, is satisfying.
We were unsure whether the guitar solo performance at the end of the song would be enough of a balance between story and performance. Surprisingly enough, 100% of our survey takers thought it was. which means we planned the right amount of each element.
75% of our survey takers thought that our choice of props, costumes and locations successfullyportrayed a married man experiencing a hectic morning and work day. I am pleased by this result as planning these elements took a long time. It is good to know that our worked had payed off and the majority of our audience could understand the story.
A surprising result of 100% of people said that they could see our music video on TV. This suggests that some viewers think that it is a god quality music video. It also is good considering that our brief was to make a promotional video. Television reaches millions of viewers and seeing it on TV as opposed to just a video sharing website would be an incredible opportunity for the band. MTV and Kerrang were voted the most likely channels to show the music video.
50% of our survey takers would check out "vampire Weekend" after seeing this video. Unfortunately, this isn't as much as we would have liked, however, ten people do not make up the target of teenagers and young adults. We'd like to hope more positive results from a far larger surveyed group. It also suggests that somethingin our music video was not successful in promoting the song, perhaps a band appearance would have been needed.
It also reveals that people enjoyed the memorable visuals, tie changes and many hands. On top of this, we didn't use special effects like our audience initially wanted. However, our judgement turned out to be good as no one felt we needed them after all.
We also learnt that re-shooting is worth while. I doubt that we would have received such good results if we kept the dark footage of the office scene etc... As well as this, our story telling and editing skills have improved since AS. Last year, some of our ideas were a little unclear, this year due to our extensive planning and editing, we have been able to create a good music video without any confusion caused.
The reactions of the Music video from this survey, show that the product, overall, was a success. Despite a few responses, the majority of people gave the best answer possible which we are very pleased about.
Digipak: Does it fulfill it's purpose? My digipak uses the typical conventions of existing digipaks. This is evident with the use of the Band name on the front cover, it has the song, it includes images, it is aesthetically pleasing and had a credits page. These are all expected from a digpak. However, I do not have a track list. Instead, I wrote down the contents of my coursework CD which was suggested by my teacher. I have displayed it how a track list would be displayed. The digipak includes typical conventions of an existing product and is able to hold a CD so overall, it does fulfill its purpose.
Would it be appropriate for your target audience? I believe so, when I was creating the digipak in lesson I gained some positive feedback from my peers. This suggest that my target audience would like it as they are of my age group, I also like the digipak. However, I have possibly made it to feminine through the choice of colours.
How does it combine with the music Video? The fabric, collage reminds me of the messy, erratic behaviour of the main character. On top of this the song is very upbeat and quite cheerful. I feel that I have reflected this through my bright, bold images. Moreover, or music video includes jump cuts, I'd like to think that parts of my digipak reflected a "jump cut" kind of style with the overlapping of similar textures. However, a band does not usually create a digipak on the basis that they have made one music video that reflects it. This is why I have chosen less obvious links.
How does it combine with magazine advert? I feel it combines very successfully. For a start, the digipak front cover is the focal point of the magazine article. I have made sure that there is a theme running throughout both so that possible buyers can relate the two. For example, knowing what the magazine advert looks like is knowing what the CD looks likes, the similar imagery increases the chances of someone remember the advert when in a music shop.
Magazine Advert: Does it fulfill it's purpose? Definitely, I have included all of the features that existing products use whilst trying to make it look appealing and interesting. The features I have included are band name, album name, song title, HMV.com, XL Recordings, release date and the bands website. This is an advert that provides many ways for the viewer to access the album or even just Vampire Weekend.
Would it be appropriate for your target audience? Again, this is similar to the digipak, I did not construct a questionnaire before starting this as our judgements with the music video were pretty much on track. On top of this, I received positive feedback from peers who are within my target age group. Despite this, it may not be appropriate for a rock magazine.
How does it combine with the digipak? The theme of the digipak is carried thoroughly throughout in the advert. Reasons for this are stated above.
What would you change? In both ancillary products I would have liked to have made them less feminine. They are bright, appealing and colourful to me, however, an older male audience may not agree with me. I would hope that its brightness would attract readers to it. I would also make the magazine advert a little more clear. I feel as though I probably didn't develop the plan enough so my words and logos look a little messy. Although, this relates to the music video.
Overall I am pleased with the outcome and thoroughly enjoyed the practical work for A2 media studies.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Towards the beginning of the year, the very first part of our planning and research was to look at existing music videos. This introduced me to the typical conventions.
One of which is through the use of links between visuals and music. We have achieved this by using cuts and a pace that best suits the tempo and beats of the song. One example of this is with the main character brushing his teeth. The segment lasts for the same duration as the fast guitar playing. This was inspired by the Green Day music video I deconstructed. A cut was used at almost every drum beat. I feel that this aspect of our video works well as there is a continuous flow of events making it interesting to watch and listen to.
To expand on this idea, we used our cuts (like Green Day) in time with the music. This is evident during the outfit change sequence. His outfit changes at each click of the song. It is also during the running montage, it cuts to a new shot of the running at each progression in the song. This was inspired by both existing products but also the music video questionnaire. Our target audience wanted to see cuts and a pace in time with the song and I feel that we have achieved this.
Although it isn't the most predominant aspect of our music video. We also reflect real media conventions through the link between visuals and lyrics. We only do this is some parts of the song as "you can find a sweater on the ocean floor" is quite difficult to recreate in keeping with a consistent story. "I can feel it coming" and "It's a line that's always running." We partially reflect these lyrics through the use of actions. For example, we have our character "running" and "coming" and going from places. More strongly,"In a house on a street they wouldn't park on the night" is expressed through our choice of locations. A house and a street. However, this is only a convention for some music videos, a lot don't do this such as Rhianna's video to "Rudeboy." Her lying across a zebra doesn't reflect the lyrics in the slightest. This is why we have reflected the lyrics only in some parts.
Another convention that we follow is lip syncing. A music video is not a live performance of the band/artist. Because the film track and music track are recorded separately during the creation of a music video, artists usually lip-sync to their songs and often imitate playing musical instruments as well. This makes editing easier but also, having a "fake" performance recreates what the artist/band may be like live, promoting them. Although we don't have a band, the fact that our main character sings along to the music suggests that he really enjoys their music, promoting the band in an alternative way. It is also the only element that does make our video a music one. Without lip syncing, it could be easily mistaken for a short film.
Our media product also uses a guitar performance. A performance using musical instruments is typical of a rock/indie genre. The instrumentals showcase an artists talents. Linking to our product, our main character pulls out a guitar at the end and plays that. Within this performance, we include close ups and interesting angles of the guitar playing. This would appeal to guitar enthusiasts as well as complying with music video conventions. An example of real media products is Jimi Hendrix, his videos includes much of what we have. Close ups and a focus of the guitar playing.
Our music video also uses a typical convention of humour. The first questionnaire revealed that our target audience liked humour and wanted the video to be entertaining. This is when we decided to plan out a series of humorous events that would take place. Evidence of this lies with the main character spilling his drink, the solo in itself is quite funny as he doesn't actually know how to play the instrument. Linking to real media products, some music videos use humour as a way to entertain their audience, it also creates the impression that the musician is a cool, fun person. An example of this is with the music video "White and Nerdy" by Weird Al Yankovic. You see scenes of the character playing chess, in a comic book store, on his lap top in the shower etc. This entire videos purpose is to generate humour. We hope that we have achieved a similar effect in our videos.
Another way in which our music video uses real media product conventions is through mise en scene and our use of locations and props. To make our story and ideas easy to understand and believable, we have used these elements. This is needed in music videos as stories and ideas heavily rely on the visuals. This is because there is typically no dialogue to explain why things are happening. Location and props act as the narrative. For example, our costumes make it clear that the main character is a business man and that the wife is a wife. This is through suits, dresses and rolling pins etc.. The majority of media products do this but one example is Katy Perry's "Hot 'n' Cold" music video. The audience is able o understand the scenario of a wedding as there is a bride in a wedding dress and a groom in a suit. This seems obvious but if this same group of people were stood in a school, wearing fancy dress for example, it would not make any sense at all.
Our music video uses the convention of product placement. Take Lady Gaga's music video to "Telephone." In that you see mobile phones and cultural references to films, TV etc.. For our music video, we sneakily included our digipak front covers. Mine on the outside and Freddie's on the inside. Here is a shot of our digipaks and just one example of the product placement in Lady Gaga's music video:
Another way in which we use conventions of existing media products is through our range of shots. To make the video more interesting to watch and to emphasize certain aspects, we used a range of shots an angles. Close ups help with drawing attention to a certain aspect and we used a high angle to match the view of a real CCTV camera. A real music video that uses these conventions is Blur's "Parklife." It looks more visually interesting with a high variety of shots, angles and movement.
Another way in which our music video used conventions of real media products is the combination of a story and a performance. The performance, as previously mentioned, was included to emphasize the guitar playing and to make it more like a music video. The addition of a story makes the video more engaging than simply watching someone sing/perform. It is also what our target audience wanted. Our story and performance combination is a man on his busy day, heading to work. This aspect is the story. When he reaches the office, starts singing and pulls out the guitar, the performance begins. In relation to existing music videos, Michael Jackson is renowned for combining his musical performances with a story. Take "Thriller" for instance. He was the first artist to create a music video of a length exceeding song length by making a mini-movie. I think our combination of a story and performance works well, the viewer has something to follow as well as being entertained.
Finally, Vampire Weekend along with other indie groups tend to use more experimental characteristics in their music videos. I feel that we have done the same through our memorable visuals such as the shot of Chris brushing his teeth with the several hands helping him. Also, the part where Chris is coming down the stairs and his tie changing on each step. These along with the shot of Chris' tie coming off in a cartoon-like manner shows experimental editing/filming. The photo below is a screenshot of the tie changing part in our music video then the photo below that is from a Vampire Weekend music video. The have cardboard cut outs of their faces attached to the back of their heads and as they turn around, another band members face is revealed. The shot then cuts from the image below, to that actual band member stood there:
Just as our music video uses conventions of existing media products, it also develops and challenges them. Usually, a format for a music is switch back and forth between A and B. Our music however is more progressive than than. Our story element means that our format goes A to B, and then on to C. Nothing is repeated unlike a normal music video. I think our music video works well like this, however, if we were to include a band or real artist, then the typical format would have probably been used.
This leads me to my next point, our music video challenges the idea that we do not use a band/artist. The main reason for this was that it was difficult to acquire actors willing to participate. However, I don't think that we needed an artist/band. This is one element that I would have liked to have had but not including it hasn't affected our music video's content so it doesn't matter. Although it isn't a typical convention of a music video to not include an artist, some do use it. For example, Bob Sinclar's "Love Generation" doesn't include an appearance from him. Instead, he has a boy riding his bike, like we have a man running to work.
With new, modern technologies appearing in music videos. It could be argued that we are testing some conventions in the fact that we have not used amazing visual effects and use the simple, intuitive shots instead. For example, our memorable visuals of the many hands doesn't really compete with Black Eyed Pea's visual effects in "Boom Boom Pow."
Another way in which we challenge conventions is through the use of quite average characters. We do not include dancers, performers or have any sex appeal. I think this is more appropriate as our song isn't about sex, and also, the organic, up beat song works well with our music video. A typical convention usually consists of a bar, a nightclub, dancers etc etc...
Our music video uses and challenges many conventions of existing media products.
Below is the final magazine advert for Vampire Weekend's "Contra."
I feel that I have successfully included the required elements. Firstly, I have the artists name large and at the top of the advert which immediately identifies the artist to the reader. Secondly, The magazine advert is almost identical to the digipak cover which will help readers recognise the products.
On top of this, I have included the song title and album name which is also vital to an advert.If readers recognise these names or songs then they are more likely to buy in as opposed to seeing "Vampire Weekend" alone. A reader may know a song but not know who it is buy, including all three features illuminates this possibility. Without these features, there would be no need for the advert. This along with the website and record label helps to promote the band and their accomplishments.
Thirdly, the use of "Out Now" and where it is available to buy makes buying or downloading the product more likely.It is brightly coloured, bold and aesthetically pleasing in my opinion.
However, I have maybe made it too feminine for a rock/indie magazine, there is no doubt though that this won't stand out! Overall, the outcome has been rewarding as it has turned out just as imagined, I would have preferred more time or a few more lessons to develop my Fireworks skills further to make this look moreprofessional.
The process of making my magazine advert was very similar to making my digipak. However, I used an A4 sized canvas this time. I began by importing the front cover of my digipak and placing it towards the top. Once I had found the best place to fit it, I imported the free images used for my digipak and started filling the page with collage. Below is a screenshot of me using the lasso tool on my work to create the torn fabric appearance. Although it is quite simple to do, it must be done carefully to avoid looking too fake:
Once I had got the initial fabrics down and applied drop shadows, I was ready to start adding text and images over the top. The previous blog explains how I made my logos using default fonts, I added those to the advert. After that I added the "dotcom" underneath "weekend." This was done with font and the pen tool. All other text was "Arial" font repositioned with added drop shadows. It took approximately two hours to complete:
Just as before with the digipak, I am going to be using the programme Fireworks CS4. This is because I am now more familiar with it and my digipak turned out well. I have decided to do my third design of the magazine advert that was inspired by the "Good Charlotte" Advert.
Fonts: I am planning to use "Arial Rounded" to reproduce the HMV logo and "Arial" for the XL recordings logo. It goes to show how easy it is to create a simple, popular logo.
Colours: I will be using free images from the same website as before to keep with the theme of collage and fabric.
Images: The free images that I will use will be exactly the same as those used for the digipak. This will make both products more recognisable to each other and hopefully help potential buyers with remembering it.
Picasa: This is free photo editing programme offered by Google. I used this is in producing images for my digipak. It is very basic and allowed me to improve the appearance of existing images. The same could have been done using fireworks but to add some variety, and ease, I decided to use this.
