Evaluation

Now that i have completed all the tasks in my chosen brief, I will now evaluate my work in detail to show my planning, research, digital technology skills and my creativity. The outline of my task was to produce a promotional package for the release of an album which was to include a music promo video, along with a digi pack design and a poster for the album.

Throughout the process of making my media product, i considered strongly the conventions that outlined my chosen genre (indie/ alternative) in order for my product to look professional and comply with real media products within the same genre. So i feel my work has been greatly influenced by existing media products, which created almost a foundation for me to build upon. However, i wanted to find new inspiration to create an innovative and original concept and narrative for my audience which i feel i have successfully accomplished. My inspiration happened to be my own life experience and my music video almost creates an insight into the changes of what could possibly happen in the future. So in essence i have created a narrative based on one possible path that my life could follow. The narrative is about a girl moving away to London to go study at university and how she has to part from her boyfriend due to the long distance. So the narrative is based upon my own personal story, but i feel it will be able to reach out and touch the emotions of others who will be experiencing the same changes in life or who have had failed relationships and lost love. So even though my idea is original, from my own life experience, my target audience can associate with the themes and emotions portrayed in the narrative.

The conventions that i have used within my video include using characters within a similar age category to my target audience(15-26). This is usually done so that the audience can relate to the characters easily as their of a similar age, creating more interest for them in the narrative as it could reflect familiar issues to them. I conventionally chose my cast through their acting ability and more importantly their image and what it portrays. I picked an attractive couple so that the audience will be further engaged in my music video and I feel the stereotypes of the characters coincide successfully with the narrative. This is because Liv is dressed quite sophisticated and 'posh' with her generic gillet, pony tail, Ugg boots and scarf which shows her wealthy status stereotypically and her ability to get into her accredited university. Whereas the audience can gather from Tom's stereotype that his character is more chilled and laid back through comfortable clothing like hoodies, trainers and joggers, portraying his less serious approach to university. Therefore it relates to him not been successful in his application. So i conventionally used stereotypes for my cast in order for my audience to immediately relate to their character just through costume and narrative.

I also used a local location which is quite generic of indie/alternative music videos as these band's like to show their Independence by either using local city's and streets or even there roots from where they came from. This can be seen in videos like arctic monkeys 'when the sun goes down' where the neepsend district of Sheffield is shown which in fact is the bands home town. I chose to use Beverley as it is the home town of my cast and their lives have been surrounded and shaped by this town. I also feel it brings a personal feel to the video and just like indie alternative bands it portrays the ideology that their videos don't need to be in studios and use editing like green screening but in fact portray local life and realism which is very effective. I very much agree with this ideology as my video has created a personal, realistic approach to the audience in which they can relate to.

I edited parts of my video to black and white which follows the conventions of the genre too. Indie bands such as The Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks and Bloc party themselves use black and white in their videos as it creates more of an effect and more emotion and passion towards the lyrics and meaning of the song. I used it for these reasons too that it creates an interesting contrast in the visuals and my song is very meaningful too, so it further amplifies the deep emotion. However, I only used it in parts as it shows a change in time which is of course the couples past memories together. I also used montage editing throughout my music video to create fast pace, abstract sequences to engage my audience but again i was inspired by existing videos that use this generic style of editing. This was used in The Kooks music video 'Ooh La' and this with many other videos inspired me to incorporate this generic feature so that my target audience are familiar with it in my own music video.

I also edited to the beat of the music which is a main convention of music videos in general. This is done in order to keep up with the pace of the music and create a variety of different shots in sync with the music for the audience to follow and allows more variety. My video is both cut to a slow and fast pace in parts, so taking this generic feature into consideration of editing to the beat i used fast, quick cuts to connect with the fast parts in the music along with longer, short cuts which i slowed down to create a slow motion effect to match the slower beats of the music. However i also contrasted fast music with slow motion clips to contradict the music and the visuals which i also found created an effective result and is also another feature used by some music videos like Prodigy's 'Smack my bitch up' video where it is used to create the illusion that he is under the influence of alcohol and everything is slowed down. My main use was to fit the footage to the beat, but found that it also amplified the emotion to the audience like for example the shot where she is crying shows her tears falling slowly as he kisses her head. Whereas if this was done at normal speed or faster for instance, the emotion would simply be lost. I feel there is also a relationship with the music where it can be illustrated by whats happening in the visuals of my music video. For example, at the beginning there is a fast repetitive drum beat that is played whilst the train is passing which represents the sound of the train on the train tracks. This actually happened accidental whilst i was editing and realised that it worked very well for this reason, so this is an example of how my creativity can be accidental and not always deliberately constructed.

Additionally, I feel that my music video also creates a relationship with lyrics as well which is another convention of existing music videos. The introductory words 'I caught a glimpse but it's been forgotten' is illustrated by the girl closing her eyes to see a glimpse of her own memories of happiness with her boyfriend that could almost seem forgotten. This is then contrasted with tension and a lost emotion when the video cuts back to the present scenes of them in the train station. I conventionally used mise en scene here to further expresses the couple emotions such as the brick wall which connotes that they can't escape whats happening and the colour red signifies love but it shows how its trapped and restricted by the walls. Whereas the memories together can signify happiness through the sun shining and pleasant things like picnics, trampolines and ice creams and the clear blue sky to further represent their freedom together. Also the lyrics 'I made a vow' are illustrated by the boy presenting her with a heart necklace, to show his commitment of affection to her and the heart of course signifies his love for her. The silver is also desirable, almost as if love is what everyone desires. So my video shows a strong relationship with the lyrics just like other music videos too.

Ive used references to the notion of looking, for example certain camera angles and closeups capture passionate scenes of them together, Ive used two shots also to create the effect of the couple been strong together and sharing the same feelings. I have also used closeups for the pleasure of the audience so that they can become involved and attracted to the actors, for example there is a shot of Liv's eyes in a mirror on one scene which appear very beautifully. I chose of course to not show the actors however in a revealing sexual manner as this wouldn't be generic of that genre which I researched before.

I have also used conventionally inter textual references within my music video. There are university letters that are opened by the couple which is a reference to Westminster university and teens opening these letters to find out if they are successful. So the whole video really is a reference to young love, college students leaving for university and failed relationships. It also references to young fashion of this time, with the Ugg boots being generic comforts for students to be wearing at the moment, so the audience can relate to the clothing worn by my cast. I also feel it has reference to cinema and film as its purely narrative and has a clear story that runs throughout just like a short film. I also feel it has reference in particular to skins, as the they use montage editing of young people expressing themselves and enjoying life, especially the last montage of my video as it's more abstract with shots of the sun, a hand holding a necklace and shadows walking. I really like my video in this style though and i have probably experimented with this as i wish to follow this career path one day in the film industry.

However, I feel that my product also challenges and breaks the usual conventions within my genre which i aimed to do in order for it to be creative and original for my audience. Firstly my music video was purely narrative based which isn't common amongst the indie/alternative genre as usually they have a performance based video or split between both performance and narrative. I have also not used any of the artists and just two actors which challenges the conventions. For instance, 'The Great Escape' music video by We Are Scientists, features the artists acting and miming in the band. However I found a video by Arctic Monkeys, called 'lets leave before the lights come on' which features two actors and one narrative with no lip syncing or shots of the band. This is very similar to my music video as its purely narrative with only actors. This also highlights how my music video breaks the conventions like the arctic monkeys as they both share the same ideologies of breaking the mould and been different and individual. I chose to do this because i wanted to be original, i felt i had a strong narrative to play with and also i think the emotion would be lost with scenes of a band playing in between as it may not look realistic or professional. Ive seen a few previous a2 music videos on youtube that made this mistake and realised that a strong narrative can be enough without performance and i feel i have successfully achieved this.

I also broke the conventions by using direct mode of address in some of my shots, particularly in the shots of their memories, they look at the camera directly which isn't very generic of a narrative structured video. I did this however to create a connection of intimacy with the audience and the actors. Additionally it gives the feel of a home video which i felt was appropriate, so the handheld shots look natural and the direct focus of eye contact shows them acknowledging the camera. This also gave me less restrictions, and stationary shots and I felt the freedom to create a variety of hand held shots and any excess movement could be classed as an amateur home video of the couple together.

Lastly i feel i have challenged the narrative by using a love story as it appears quite feminine to be displayed in a bands video, however i feel that it would draw more female audiences in through this narrative and widen the target audience i feel. I think this music video pulls out all the stops by purely using a strong narrative to continually try and engage the audience and I feel it does just that without any shots of the band included. I feel this feminine image will just be one of many themes that the band could portray and shows a different romantic side to the group. I have also challenged the conventions by not ending with a 'happy ending' and with actually quite a sad one. The guy is walking hopelessly down the platform as the rush of the people move around him, everything goes back to normal and he is left there lost, alone and torn on the platform, as he watches his first love travel further away into the distance. However i feel this is more effective as your constantly thinking through the video, this will be resolved and they'll forever be together creating a re-equilibrium in the story. Until you realise that its not going to happen. Some of my viewers had a lump in their throat thinking how easily he let her go, like the typical guy and a few other people agree that its not what you expect until the end and it feels almost as if your on that train with her, feeling lost and uncontrollably becoming distant and alone. Its quite a cold feeling as the last notes drone out and the fade of black kicks in which does sound rather morbid but as my narrative is representing the reality of situations between couples (which could be my own reality) i felt a happy ending would have only added to the cheesiness and make believe of love story's. My video style is more like a short, documentary /film with footage that captures almost the raw feeling of heartache between the couple and i feel it will move the majority of people who watch it in their own way.

The CD cover I feel also uses the generic conventions of the indie/alternative genre. This includes using a signature font for my artist so that my band will be easily recognisable in the future with other albums and advertisements. I also made the band name larger than the album name as I found this a typical convention when researching other album covers. I found that this was because the bands name is more important than the album name and should be the first thing an audience recognises when they see the album. I feel it is quite bold, and eye catching and the pixelated, edgy font reflects the individuality of the group and it's music and how it looks as if it wants to break it's restricted edges of the font. I used a different font for the album name, which was a child-like calligraphy as well which is more personal, reflecting the a personal approach to the song and album.

However I have unconventionally used a different image for my album as it is not of the band themselves which is a common feature of indie band's albums. Instead i have chosen an image which relates to the story of the hit single 'So Here We Are' on the album and reflects the narrative within my music video. The black and white image of the two hands parting over a railway track i feel is very emotive and moving and even if the audience hasn't yet watched my music video they will already begin to understand and relate to the connotations of lost love and break ups. The railway track further amplifies this too, as it shows a form of transport driving the couple apar. So this shows that even though my music video and album cover are connected closely, someone who isn't familiar with my video would gather immediately the connotations of this image. I have kept the front cover quite pure with the white background, which cleverly contrast with the black and white image that is placed in the centre. The white border frames the image neatly to add to the minimalist look but also shows reference to art, and how they may see there music artistically. This also associated the image now with interest and intellect which could reflect the music been more than just a composition but well considered intelligently and that the music is taken seriously. So this already places the band's ideology in a different, individual category but one that's intelligent and thoughtful.

The inside left flap, continues the white theme with a plain white background and the bands name and album name neatly in the centre to further promote the band and its music. This is quite conventional of digipacks, so i thought i would incorporate this into my design too.

The inside centre where CD 1 would be placed has a picture of the band which i feel breaks the conventions slightly as they would normally be displayed on the front or back cover but i have decided to place them on the inside, as the audience lifts the CD out. This shows that the band are more passionate about their music and wish not to rely on their image and good looks to promote and sell their music. So in essence you only see the band when you lift up the CD. This picture of the band again is in black and white to carry the theme across the digi pack. I have also conventionally arranged my band so that the lead singer is at the front as he has the most star status and recognised role by fans. The guy i used for the lead vocalist was very stereotypical of a band member too with his lip piercings, quirky fashion, vintage headphones, long styled hair and of course good looks. Like the majority of bands it's sad to say that the front man is usually the best looking in order to attract their audience and draw them in. This is noticeable in bands like Kings Of Leon, The Arctic Monkeys and We Are Scientists who I mentioned earlier. So i have generically arranged the band members in the composition of the photo for the best possible results of attracting the audience. The other band members follow the style conventions of long, messy hair, tight t-shirts and jewellery. I think the bracelet one band member is wearing creates a feminine, different look to the band and fits with the theme of my music video too, also the other member is wearing a ghost busters t-shirt which is a vintage top inter textually referring to a classic programme. Also the lead singers jacket looks rather military and could show reference to 80's band Adam and The Ants. These references to vintage and retro programmes and bands reflects their music being slight punk revival and reminiscent of the 80's era of music when synthesiser's where introduced which the band actually use themselves in the majority of their songs. I wanted the band to pose serious on this particular picture to show professionalism and reflect a dominant status. This is very generic too for bands to pose seriously and look directly at the camera. However I juxtaposed this image and mood with a more relaxed composition in the second photo placed under CD 2. I used a photograph, again in black and white of the same location for continuity of the band laughing and sharing a joke with each other. Even though of course it was mediated and constructed the band were laughing naturally and i was able to capture the moment very well. There is less structure with the lead vocalist now resting casually against the wall, and they are gathered round in a more circular shape as appose a triangular shape on the serious photo. I feel this created for the audience a communal, friendly feeling between the group and the audience can relate to the laid back atmosphere. Its almost like a behind the scenes photo of the band out of character and not holding a front which they usually adapt to on camera. The reason I used this photo was so that the audience could create a friendly relationship with the group and reveals the group naturally as themselves which fans are always seeking to find out who the real people are behind the band.

I incorporated another conventional feature on the other flap of the digi pack which was a thank you page. I took inspiration for this from the Kings Of Leon's Albums as they always pay tribute to their producers, crew and even their religious beliefs. As this was generic, i thought i would use one too, to further add a professional quality to my album. I kept it plain and simple again to create continuity throughout the digi pack and also the purity of the white, plain background reflects their christian religion and purity as a group which all together shows a contrasting ideology of a band within this genre. The usual ideologies of indie bands are to be messy, unorganised, on the road, under the influence of either drugs, alcohol or both, partying, sex and lots of women. However i dont wish to portray the sex, drugs and rock and roll label for my band with this album and wish to create a different side to them and challenge the ordinary conventions of indie albums to create something new. I want them to find their more romantic,passionate and emotive side and let their audience appreciate their music and lyrics souly and not just their image and lifestyles.

For the back cover of my CD, I lastly incorporated more conventional features of indie albums such as the track names along the left hand side. The main reason i chose to place them here, was so that the the tracks didnt cover or detract the audience away from the image of the train track. The image again is in black and white which looks very professional and artisti and could reflect the nature and music of the band. I really fell in love with this photo as you can just stare at it for ages because you cant see the end of the track as it curves and you imagine in the track elongating and flowing further and further away from you. I feel that it connotes the journeys of life that people go through, just like my music video and how things can change. Also it could portray the journey that my band have come along from humble backgrounds to a succesful career. The names of the tracks are a mixture of existing ones and ones that i have made to try and blend in with the genre, and through researching other track names from indie band albums, they appear to be quite short and snappy sometimes using ellipsis of words to shorten them down. I also generically used a barcode as i found these on all the back covers of albums. I positioned it at the top so that it again didnt interfere with the image and because there not very artistic but are necessary, i felt this was the best place for it. I also created a record company based on the layout of other record companys where they have the name quite small and usually and a logo to represent the label. I feel i created a relevant and original record label for my band called interchange records. This added to the professionalism of the album and further more i conventionally added the copyright information in small print at the bottom as its necessary to be there but it doesnt need to be bold for the audience as its just a legal requirement and not a selling point for the album. So overall my CD cover has challenged the convetnions of real music digi packs and also challeneged them to be original and unique.

Finally my poster has also used the conventions of indie posters. This time i generically used the band as the background to fulfill the image of the poster, so that the audience will imediately recognise the band and associate the bold name of the band with the image of them. I again displayed the name of the band 'Turning Spiral' larger than the name of the album as this is a clear convention as the bands name will attract the audience and not the unknown album. The name of the band 'Turning Spiral' is slightly generic in the sense that other bands within the same genre like friendly fires and passion pit share abstract and unusual names but also how these bands are considerd diffferent them selves and trying to break the mould actually makes the name individual. The name is of course still using the signature font from the digi pack album to create a trademark for the band an association for the audience. I have also used the convention of the date the albums released, but i have simply used the imperative sentence 'Out Now' which should persuade the reader more abrubtly to go and buy the CD. This font is also quite generic of this genre as alternative music, like bloc party's influence of electro can be reflected in the font as it appears modern and digital to the audience. This could also show the bands new sound and how it can be digitally made on synthesisers too. I have included information about hit singles which i have seen used on other album digi packs like mine which i incorporated and lastly I displayed a picture of the album cover on the poster too. I did this not only because its conventional but i placed it next to the imperative OUT NOW so that the audience know what they are looking for in the stores. All these features help my poster to be bold, eye catching, successful and professional and this shows overall that my products can relate to similar products on the market today but also compete against them by being orginal and fresh.

The combination of my video along with my ancillary texts, a digi pack and an album poster i feel all connect and relate to each other very strongly. Firstly i used the theme of black and white for my ancillary texts relating to the past memories of the video which were edited to black and white as well. So already there is a link of continuity throughout my products which the audience will associate those colours with. I feel that the images naturally look better in black and white too so the theme was a good choice as they gained the best results through this editing. The colours act as a recourring motif for the audience to follow and is also generic amongst real media products. So the theme is continuous which strongly relates each of the products together. The bands name creates a signature logo and trademark for them with the pixelated font and I feel that this allows the audience to easily recognise and associate this font with the band further promoting them. Their name, is one of the main componants in each of the texts and is used boldly to draw the audience in and again creates a theme of importance on the ancillary texts, for the bands name to stand out. The images are related closely too as the image on the front cover of my digi pack is of the couple holding hands from my music video which relates the two products together. Further more the image of the album front cover is displayed at the top of the album poster which also features a large image of the band which can be found on the inside of the digipack, so the themes are all continued and related back to through my products so they further promote and support each other. My main point for using just the band on the poster is to attract generically the target audience as they would be attracted to bands they like within the same genre but once there engaged show how the album detracts away from the celebrity status of the band and how they take their music on a more seriously level and not just for fame. So the audience is drawn in generically only to realise that the band is actually quite, fresh, new and individual to other bands which would still suit slightly the ideologies that they follow as an audience.

In order to gain audience feeback i created a poll on my blog and devised ten questions relating to the products i have created for my audience to vote on. I have learnt from this feedback future productions and realised what are my strengths are as well as weaknesses.

I have learnt from these poll results and the first question shows that 71% of viewers think that my music video was the my most professional product which i would agree with myself as i spent the most time on this, but also 28% of them preferred my ancillary text, the poster advertisement. As no one voted for my digipack, this shows that my design wasnt as strong as the poster and my music video and I feel this could have been beaus a later poll states that 66% of viewers disliked the ancillary texts ( probably my digi pack) because they were too simple. A further 50% stated that the some features looked amatuer and not professional. I think this could be due to some of the fonts used generically from Microsoft Publisher and also my original, handmade record company label which isn't the best of quality due to constructing it on publisher as well.

I was very pleased to see that the correct genre (Indie/alternative) was voted 100% which shows that I have used conventions of real media texts within this genre and the audience can relate to and detect this. This is strong positve feedback to gain and from this i feel very confident in my prodcuts portraying and complying with conventions of the indie/ alternative genre. I also recieved 100% positive feedback when i asked 'If the band was unknown, would you buy the album on the strength of my products'. This is a very good sign too as i only asked people aged between 17 to 20 which are within the age range of my target audience, and if the band appeals to them without them relying on already knowing the band, i feel this makes my products very successful.

I then asked my audience if they thought my products related to eachother, as i feel this is very important as they should show continuity for the audience and create a relationship of similarity and themes to support eachother. Earlier in my evaluation i felt that they connected quite strongly together and my audience agrees wholly with 100% voting yes.

I then moved onto my music video as this is the largest product i had to make and asked my audience 'what did you like most about my video' in order to gain positive feedback and highlight the things i did well. In the lead was the narrative of my story, showing that 57% felt this was the most engaging part about my video. I am pleased with this result as the music video is purely narrative based and would not have been successful without an interesting plot. I agree that this is the strongest part of my music video as you want to watch it further to find out what happens next and are engaged fully throughout as the story unfolds. I liked the fact that the narrative was my own personal story too and that it could be dramatised and shown to an audience who appreciates it. The second largest vote was on the location of my video with 42% which i was actually quite suprised at. This is because even though i was happy with the location for the particular mise en scene of scenes and the beauty of the place, i thought this wouldn't have been voted for as there isnt much variety as its all set within the local town of Beverley. However the audience appreciate the location too, and maybe they developed a relationship with the surroundings throughout the video as it's repeated which could reflect how the couple feel and relate to their familiar home town.

However i also asked what they disliked about my video to gain balanced feedback judging on acting, location, narrative and editing. The percentages where split between two categorys with 71% voting for poor acting and 28% for the locations used. As i was suprised before about the locations been a highlight of my video for some previously, i expected the location on this question to be criticised as i could of filmed in a place more recognisable and interesting for my target audience. However i chose to film here as it was picturesque, historical and thought it portrayed the right ideology for the bands song about romance and relationships. If i'd of used an urban, run down or derelict town it connotates the opposite feelings of poverty, crime and anger. The acting i felt was average, as they were not professional and simply a couple which have done drama at school previously. There are scenes were the acting i think is performed quite well like the beginning where she is crying and hugging her boyfriend. However looking back, i now can see the amateur acting skills more towards the end as they dont show enough emotion when she finally leaves on the train. However i will take into account that they are not professional and that those scenes where done in the rush of the public which did make it hard for the actors to focus and concentrate. However the audience have voted 100% on the end scene being effective, but this may be due to the sad ending, contrasting with what they expected, a happy ending. I feel the mood of the video at the end leaves you feeling quite lost and fustrated for the guy, as she is taken further and further away into the distance. I think it also draws upon feelings of your own whoever and whatever circumstance your in. This can be strongly reminiscent of failed relationships and lost love and for people in my circumstance a possible, harsh reality of the near future.

This poll has officially evidenced that my music video has a clear narrative which i strongly believed myself which was positively voted 100% by the viewers. I used multiple questions to challenge the audience and they all successfully chose the correct answer. I feel that the narrative develops a structure more towards the end which is interesting, as many people ask at first what its about but they soon realise half way through. I think this technique is why my narrative is successful as its not generically structured in the way that it lays everything out, it only reveals the crucial content towards the end and almost leaves you not enough time to plan a conclusion in your head which adds effect to the ending as you expect the opposite of what happens. I also gained audience feedback on the song itself which recieved another 100%, as i feel its quite abstract and its melodic music draws you into the diagesis of the narrative. I felt it was perfect for my music video as it closely links the visuals with the lyrics and also the delicate parts of the music complimented the theme of love. Also the repetitive drums almost echoed the sound of the train passing and the fast paced music towards the end before fading reflects the rush of emotions on the platform before been left broken hearted and torn.

I feel overall the feedback from my audience allows me to highlight the success of my media products and also critical feedback has shown where my weaknesses lye and allows me to identify these and think how i could improve and strengthen my production if i were to carry out the task or a similar one again.

Over the course of completing my chosen brief i have used a range of media technologies within the construction and research, planning and evaluating stages of my production. In order to develop my research and and expand my knowledge on the history of music videos i used the search engine Google to find out relevant information and gain access to worldwide links. I also used wikipedia for more detailed and specific information and explanations. I used youtube to watch videos and analyse them which is another website i am very familar with and often use myself at home. I did experience copyright problems however on some of the msuic videos as they had been deleted off youtube by the record company and i was unable to view them. I also experienced lots of misleading videos which featured the name of the song, like people impersonating the videos and singing them which is very common to come across, after all the website was created to star the public for entertainment. This touches on the subject how i have witnessed how the world wide web has changed to web 0.2 - an active, interactive audience rather than a consuming audience like before with web 0.1. I also watched music channels like on Sky digital at home for inspiration for my own ideas which offers a range of channels like Chart Show TV, The hits, Bliss etc. The choice gave me the oppurtunity to explore the different contents of music genres and as i was particularly interested in the indie/alternative music genre for my music video. I found myself watching NME in particular as this offers pure indie music to niche audiences like myself. I did find it sometimes inconvenient as i couldnt pause it or replay the video back to pick up on key features and conventions, also the adverts in between become rather irrating as they create a large gap in between viewings. However, none of these were challenging for me as i was very familiar with these technologies already.

I created my blog on blogger which of course itself is a technology, but i used it with ease this time after previously creating a blog last year at AS level. I use it to store all of my coursework to display my planning, research, construction and evaluative work which I feel is an advantage as i can create new posts and update my blog wherever i am as its on the internet, however i have experienced loss of work when creating a new post as my computer has crashed before ive published it. From this i have learnt to draft my work, and use the automatic save in case this occurs again but it set me back in my work and i had to start the whole post again.

The next stage after reseaching the history was analysing music videos on my blog. I used media technology when embeding videos onto my blog by using the embed code off youtube and then copying it into the html codes of my blog in order for it to appear. However i have found difficulty when doing this as sometimes youtube didnt allow the embed code to be used, also one of my videos was deleted and not viewable on my blog as i didnt have the rights to display the owners video. I also used print screen shots and stills of the music videos to further amplify meaning in my analysis. I did this by pausing the video, pressing the print screen button and then opening up a programme called paint. This enables me to paste the screen shot, cut round the content i desire and save the picture as a JPEG file, which is then easily uploaded to blogger. I just pressed the image icon on blogger, browsed for the file i wanted and uploaded it to my current post. After practice of doing this, I now perform this quite quickly by using short cut keys on paint to paste and save the image. This has saved me time, however i found it fustrating when trying to drag the photo from the top of your blog to the current section where i was working.

I now needed to choose a song for myself, so after using SKY music channels and the radio, I eventually came across a song whilst I was walking to college listening to my ipod on shuffle. I found it very meaningful, melodic and everything around me as i walked created a film before me as the music drew me in. I knew from then on that i wanted to use 'Bloc party's So Here We Are' for my video and therefore had to find the lyrics and print them off to analyse. I used a website called A-Z lyrics.com and found this useful as it had the correct lyrics. I then again used my print screen technique to save the file as a jpeg to print easily. However before this i came across this trustworthy website i came across other various lyric websites where the words were clearly wrong which made me weary of the content i was printing off. So this is an example of how the web is misleading and how the public are interactive in diplaying the lyrics even though they may be wrong. So nothing appears as factual and the amount of links can create confusion for a user of the internet which i have experienced.

Once i printed my lyrics off onto an A3 sheet so i had room to analyse them, i needed to upload them onto blogger. With the assistance of a teacher, i was shown how to use the scanner and upload my analysis of the lyrics to my blog, which is a simple but useful skill i have learnt through doing this.

My next stage after deciding on my song and a narrative/concept for music video was to create a storyboard. I drew each of the shots out individually on paper, noting down the specific shot, time duration, camera angles and brief description of the action been taken. I then needed to turn this into an animatic which is a moving storyboard with additional effects and the music along side it. In order to do this i took pictures of the storyboard on my actual video camera, as it has the ability to take photos and upload them to through a usb connection to my computer. Many of my peers used Adobe Premiere Pro which is what we eventually used to produce our music video on, however i decided to do it at home as i was familar with a programme called picasa which can create short videos like these with additional music. However this failed as i couldnt cut the actual clips down to the actual duration i wanted them to be and only showed the images as a video presentation. Therefore i moved onto a programme called Windows Movie Maker which allowed me to do this and much more. I used effects to create a sketch like effect which brought out the outline in my drawings which i decided to use. I added my music by importing it from my Itunes folder into the programme as it gives you that option. After manipulating the clips i rendered it and created an actual movie file for it which could be played back just like a normal audio/video file. I then went onto my blog and clicked on the video icon to upload it straight from my documents. I had never done this before but felt I carried the task out without any complications it was just time consuming waiting for it to upload eventually onto my post. So these are examples of more media techical programmes i used in the planning of my music video.

To create and edit my music video i used a suite called Adobe Premiere Pro. I was already familiar with this through using it for mini projects in my digital video editing enrichment course and also from a task we was given last year in media studies to create a film trailer. So this benefited me as i was aware already of how to import the footage and use edits like the pen tool to create fades, reverse/speed tools and how to elongate or shorten and cut a clip. However i have expanded my technical skills within this production using in particular special effects like cross fades, change ofopacity and an effect called colour pass which picks out a colour you desire leaving the rest black and white. I also learnt shortcuts in order to work quickle and efficiently like pressing the space bar to playback my video, how to copy and paste clips, copy attributes from one clip to another and also render my work area. I became very comfortable with the editing suite by the end of the production and feel i have widely developed my skills since the beginning of the project. I did experiance problems with the editing suite aswell such as the computer crashing and losing updated edits but however it made me aware of the situation and from now i always press ctrl+s to save my work often just incase.

The construction of my ancillary texts came more with ease as i had previously at AS level created a music magazine cover, double page spread and contents page . I used Microsoft publisher as this was the most appropriate programme to use to construct my ancillary texts. I took photographs whilst on the set of my music video and also at college of my peers posing as the band members. I used my own camera which is a Samsung ES55 which has 10.2 mega pixels and 3x zoom 6.3-18.9mm. I chose to use this as I felt i would gain a clearer quality than if i was to use a college camera. I then uploaded these onto my laptop from the memory card of my camera and selected which photos i wanted to use. At first i began editing my photos in Adobe photoshop at college but then realised i couldn't access the file from home so i decided to use a different programme. I manipulated the images in an editing programme called Picasa 3 which is a free download from google that I have on my home computer. This allows me to use basic fixes like crop, straighten, red eye correction, auto colour and auto contrast. It also allows me to use more advance editing tools such as retouches, where i can elliminate and smooth out imperfections of the face, almost like airbrushing which is a common technique used within the music industry. I used this on the band to smooth out their complexion and enhance their image to futher attract my target audience. I also changed the contrast and highlights of the pictures to create shadows, and turned the image to black and white for greater effect. After i manipulated the photos in Picasa i exported the images into my documents so that i could import them into Microsoft publisher. Here i then incorporated them into a digipack design and also a poster for the album. I further enhanced the images if they appeared to dull by using the automatic picture toolbar such as brighten and contrast. There is also a transparent tool which i used alot for the fonts, so they didnt have a white background and clear one instead.

The majority of my fonts i wanted to look professional and unique to reflect the bands ideology and therefore was reluctant to use many fonts straight from Publisher. Although for small text like the copyright information and track names on the digipack and also the hit singles on the poster, I did use simple fonts in wordart like Microsoft Himilaya and Simsung. For the more unique fonts i wanted to incorporate i used a website called 'DaFont.com' which was really useful as there is wide choice of different genres and styles of fonts. I chose different fonts for the bands name and album name so that they stood out individually. Normally you would have to purchase the font online to use it, however i managed to avoid this by using my print screen and paint techniques as i explained earlier. This became a very common way for me to capture fonts and use them as picture files(JPEG) on my ancillary texts. I also used this technique to print screen the final products so that as an image it was easier to upload to blogger. I also used autoshapes on publisher to create a logo for my own record label which was quite challenging. This was because i wanted two arrows entwined perfectly inside of a circle to represent the name of my record label interchange records, reflecting the interlink and overlapping of the arrows. I found it quite hard to postion them and use the rotate tool to gain a perfect shape, but from this i created a different shape with them still interlinked but on different levels.

I wanted to visualise what both my products would look like professionally, therefore i used a digi pack template to insert each of my cover designs into the six panels to get an idea of the the dimensions of the real product and what it would like. I did this buy saving the template off a website that specialises in different digi pack templates called DiscWizards.com. I used a six panel one as this can include two CD's one for the album tracks and the second CD for my music video of the hit single 'So Here We Are'. For my album poster i wanted to visulise what it would look like as a street advert on a bus stop so I used a wesite called PhotoFunia which allows you to impose your photos for free onto almost anything, from billboards in new york, to the face of the mona lisa. I imposed mine onto a bus stop advertisement set in the middle of a buzzing city at night. I felt this looked really effective and gave me an idea about what it could look like as a professional product.

After completing all of my products, i wanted to gain audience feedback, so i devised a poll which appears on the right hand side of my blog for visitors to fill out. I handed out my blog address to people who are within my target audience in order to gain positive and critical feedback from them. I had created a poll last year at AS so i was familar with creating one on my blog. I devised ten questions for my audience to fill out in order to recieve a range of different feedback from different people to help me evaluate my work.

In conclusion, I feel I have created a strong promotional package for an album release within this genre. My products manage to link well and support eachother and include lots of generic conventions used by real media texts but also incorporating elements of orginality to challenge and compete with other existing album covers, advertisements and music videos. I have progressed along the way in creativity through trial and error in my ideas and have learnt for future reference that simplicity is a key feature to creating an effective product. I have developed and expanded my knowledge on the history of music videos and put into practice my theoretical skills through the use of media language and terminology in my analysis. Further more I have grown confident with particular programmes and edit suites and learnt new technical skills to move from amatuer to a more professional level. However I have also ackknowledged my weaknesses in my production due to audience feedback and poll's. This allowed me to recognise where my strengths and weaknesses lye and how i could change and improve my work for future reference. If i was to do this project again however, i would strive for an even higher level with the use of green/blue screen to create interesting backgrounds, chose a more vibrant genre which i can experiment with and use just one person to star in my video and put all my energy and focus on. I would also use my time more efficiently from start to finish to ensure that my work is to the best of my ability. Overall though, i have put a lot of time and effort into this project and even with the pressures of strict schedules and deadlines, I have enjoyed the creativity and freedom of the project to express my interests and have an insight into the world of the music industry. It has also futher inspired me to follow this career path and I hope to study media production at degree level.