Evaluation Question 4 Draft

Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

 Research

Blogger was the foundation for researching and planning. Blogger allowed me to post ideas, research I've carried out as well as intertextual references. Blogger was a useful way of receiving further feedback from my tutors and colleagues so that I could make further changes and improvements to my posts. As well as others commenting on my posts I was also able to comment on further blogs, giving them recommendations for improvements. Blogger also allowed me to add labels to my posts. Labels categorize post into groups. For  example, I have groups of posts under the labels of: research into target audience, research into music videos, research and planning print productions, planning music video, evaluation and completed productions. By grouping all of my posts into different categories this made it easier to find posts and keep them organized. When creating posts, Blogger automatically saves every few seconds. This is highly beneficial as it means there is little chance in losing any of my work, especially if it stored on the internet it is easy to access. Accessing blogger on the internet makes it easy to update anywhere including on my mobile phone. When uploading posts to my blog I was also able to add pictures from my documents to back up my ideas and research. I was also able to add in links from website such as YouTube to embed videos. I would do this by retrieving the embed code from the video on YouTube and copying it. I would then use the HTML button in blogger in which I would paste my embed code. This way the video would appear in the post. By adding regular posts and case studies this helped me get ideas and concepts for planning my productions. 

Soundcloud enabled me to find the unsigned band Jungle Doctors. Soundcloud allows people to listen to music wherever and whenever. It allows you to create a playlist in which you can find music and add it into particular playlists. As well as this, you can like music and this gets added onto a list of all of your 'likes'. Soundcloud lets anyone create an account and upload their music. This means that signed and unsigned artists can upload and share their music with everyone. From using Soundcloud, I found our band Jungle Doctors. I done this by searching 'unsigned British band'. I listened to a few of their songs and grew a sudden interest in them. I thought that their music was very fun and uplifting. After discovering the band, I done some further research and grew a particular liking towards them. From finding the Jungle Doctor's page on Soundcloud, it enabled me to access their fans and followers. This meant I could carry out further research to find similar artists and bands that they may be interested in.

 

 

 

 

Planning

Not only was blogger a useful social media site for the planning of the productions but other social media websites that were useful for planning was Facebook and Twitter. Both of these websites allow me and my other group member to keep in contact with one another to arrange the shooting of the music video. It also enabled us to share ideas and research that we found. Our unsigned band, Jungle Doctors, also have a Facebook page in which they keep fans and followers up to date with their latest tracks and gigs. They also post photos which advertise to their fan base. Another extremely useful social media website I used was YouTube. YouTube enabled me to carry out efficient research as I could get ideas from other music videos of the same genre. This would enable me to widen my knowledge and give me further ideas. When watching videos on YouTube, it comes up with a list of 'suggested for you'. This list provides suggestions of similar videos/music videos to what I have previously watched. When discussing research in which I have carried out (e.g. music videos I have come across) I could use the videos from YouTube as evidence in my blog posts.

Another website which was significantly useful throughout the research of our productions was the Google search engine. Google enabled me to look for any websites that may be convenient to the making of my music video and print productions. Google gave me access to websites after typing in key words. For example, when typing in 'Indie Pop Fashion' this gave me several websites with images and explanations as to what indie pop fashion is.  Another aspect of the Google search engine was the Google images tab. This was the same idea, however, instead of suggesting websites in relation to the key words I entered, it gave me images. This was helpful to me as I could create a post on target audience and their style and use images I had found on Google Images to back up my ideas and use as evidence.

Overall, internet access and online social networking sites were extremely efficient as I wouldn't have been able to retrieve as much information for both my research and planing. I was able to access information from all around the world and gain an understanding on the music industry and my specific genre. Using a range of websites has also widened my knowledge on websites and how to use them.

My mobile phone (iPhone 4) was an essential device that I used throughout the research and planning of our production. The mobile phone was essential for keeping in contact with my other group member, Zoe. Like the social networking sites, we were able to message and ring each other to arrange to meet up to shoot the footage. We were also able to discuss and share ideas for our productions together. The iPhones allow you to send pictures and videos to one another. This is what we did also to share ideas and communicate effectively with one another. My mobile phone also allowed me access to my blogger site. This meant that I was able to update any of my posts wherever I went so if I ever had a sudden idea or thought, I was able to share it onto my blog without being on a computer/laptop. The mobile phone also played as a camera. When shooting our footage for the music video, we took still shots on the iPhone as evidence for the footage. Whilst being at our location and shooting for our music video, if we were unsure of any camera angles or shots that may be important for us to use then we could use the mobile phone to search the internet for this. As well as this, me and Zoe also downloaded the song onto our iPhone's so that we could listen to it out loud as we were filming so that we could remind ourselves of the song. Not only would listening to the song remind us of it but it gave us further ideas that might go well with the music.

Taken from iPhone

Taken from iPhone

 

 

 

Memory Card

Memory Stick

Another essential electronic was the memory card and memory stick that I used for storing all of my documents and footage on. The memory card was stored into the camera used to shoot the footage and in the camera used to take the stills. This was important as all of the footage and pictures I captured were stored onto this, allowing me to transfer everything to computer where I could add it to my computer. After adding the footage and pictures to my computer I was then able to put the still onto my blog and write about them and upload the footage onto the editing software for the music video. The memory stick was also vital for storing still image on, both from the internet and from my camera. I used the memory stick almost like a back up of the memory card. This was so that important footage was not misplaced or lost. The memory stick contained all of my work and allows me to plug in an access both at home and at school. 

Construction

Canon Video Camera

The video camera played a huge part in the construction of our productions. The video camera that I used was the Canon Legria HF R26 as it was compatible with the school's editing software (Abode Premiere Pro). The video camera allows you to focus in on the aspects of mise-en-scene. This makes a clear visual of the location, especially as a feature of the camera is full HD image. The Canon video camera also has 28x Advanced Zoom. This meant that we were able to capture shots for our music video which my have been further away. As the video camera was portable we were able to take it anywhere, such as the beach. 

Nikon Digital SLR Camera

For the still images we used a Nikon D3100 Digital SLR Camera. This was to capture shots of the location in which we filmed in and for our print productions. This camera was particularly good as, like the video camera, it has a zoom option. This allowed us to capture shots that may have been far away. It was particularly good for capturing shots for our print productions as the camera produced crisp and high quality pictures. This enabled us to have good quality, vivid colored images. The camera also allowed us to chose an effect. This was to make our shots looks more interesting. Some of the filter effects included: warm, cool, vibrant, vivid and more. Each of these made the shots a lot more vibrant and appealing.

The next step after collecting all of our footage was to upload it onto a computer. From here, the footage would then be uploaded onto a software called Adobe Premiere Pro CS6. This was a program which allows you to piece together footage/images to create a film. It was a simple layout meaning it was simple to understand and use. There is a timeline at the bottom in which it allows you to drag and drop footage where you can then shorten it, speed it up or slow it down. Once the footage was on the timeline, I was then able to drag and drop effects onto it. Once the footage was on the timeline, I could piece them together to create our music video. Not only could I add footage to the timeline but I could add audio (in this case, 'Boat Song' by Jungle Doctors). Next to the timeline are a range of tools of transitions. Tools I found myself using regularly was a razor tool. This allowed me to split or delete a small part of a clip. Another tool I used was the slip tool. This changed the timing of a clip without changing the length of the clip. Above the timeline is two screens displayed. The screen to the left shows a preview of the footage before I decide to add it to my timeline. This was good as I could compare and decide on footage which looked best. The screen to the right showed a preview of what I had created on the timeline so far. This was beneficial as I could see what I had created so far. One of the transitions that I used was fade to black. This was a slightly dramatic transition and I used mostly when changing location. Another transition which I used throughout the making of the music video was cross fade. This was so that the shots moved from one to another smoothly. Thirdly, match-on-action was another common transition that we often used. We used this when the shots were cutting from one to another at a fast pace to make it in sync with the music.

Adobe Permiere Pro

For the print productions I used the Nikon camera (DSLR D1300). This was so that I could get high quality photographs. I took the majority of the shots for my print productions at the locations in which I shot the footage for the music video. After taking these shots, I then added them to Adobe Photoshop CS4 where I could adjust and edit them to make them into print productions. The Nikon DSLR D1300 allowed me to take high quality, crisp photographs. This was beneficial for me as my photographs could look professional and be at a good quality. Like the Adobe Premiere Pro, it was very simple to use. However, I had to learn new skills and techniques to work with some of the particular editing tools. Firstly, I had to get to grips on how to resize my images to the correct size. This was done by copying the photograph I wanted to use onto a template which our teacher had provided for us. One tool I frequently used was the RGB curve tool to adjust the contrasts and brightness of the photographs. I done this for all of my print productions (digipak and magazine advert) as it made them appear a lot more bolder and appealing to the eye. For my digipak I wanted the photographs to appear as circles. To do this I used the selection tool but changed it from the shape of a square to a circle. This allowed me to then select the image I wanted in a circle form. From this I could copy and paste this circled image onto my blank template. 

Panel 3

Adobe Photoshop

  To conclude, technologies have a played a major part in the research, planning and construction of both our music video and print productions. Not only have social networking sites such as Blogger allowed me upload photos, videos and posts so that I can gain feedback but without software such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Abode Photoshop, I wouldn't have been able to have created my final production. Some of the technologies I used I was not completely familiar with to start with. However, after using them for a while I got to learn the skills and methods. 

Evaluation Question 3 Draft

Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Our target audience are most likely to be British. This is because I believe that British people will be able to identify the location in our music video as it's a very typically British themed with arcade, cafe and beach huts. These are all aspects of location which, particularly, young British people will be able to identify with. We took the location into deep consideration to build and attract our fan base. Additionally, our target audience are more likely to be White Caucasian due to the band and main protagonist in the music video.

The age of our target audience is likely to be between the ages of 16-25. This is because this genre of music, especially my track and music video, attracts a young, youthful audience. The band and protagonist of the music video are also of this age group which audience members can relate to. I chose to target a female audience. This is because I believe audiences who are female will be able to relate more to the main protagonist as in the music video she is very reflective and  females may watch the music video and reflect also, relating to the main character. If a female audience relate to the main protagonist in the music video then they may understand and enjoy the song and lyrics more. Female audiences can relate more because of the lyrics in the song as the song is sung by a male expressed towards a female. Therefore, females are more likely to associate with the lyrics as they may feel that they are being sung to as they listen to the song.

I believe that our target audience's style would be very indie/rock/grunge based as this is this indie/rock genre of music strongly influences that particular style amongst young British people. Shops such as TOPSHOP and H&M display clothing of this style which suggest to me that our target audience would shop there. Below is a picture of our band 'Jungle Doctors'. Here they are shown as a very stylish young group of British males who match my idea of the target audience's style. The scruffy hair, denim jackets and floral shirts all signify the indie/grunge look. By the band having this particular style this would encourage the audience to be fairly similar.

My target audience are likely to be interested in other artists such as Two Door Cinema Club, Foals, Little Comets, Arctic Monkeys as they all have a very similar style within their genre of music. As well as a similar genre, they all have a distinguishable style which the audience can identify with.  

Target Audience Feedback

Evaluating my audience feedback was important to see if my production met my target audience standards. Stuart Hall's reception theory based on encoding/decoding model. The encoder (the producer) and the decoder (audience). The theory states that by meeting audience expectations through genre and themes, the producers can situate the audience so that the there can be an agreement on what the conventions of the production actually means so that they can understand the codes and conventions of the production. By creating questionnaires I was able to get feedback so that I could make possible changes to meet the audiences expectations.

Music Video Feedback

After creating my music video I wanted to receive feedback on my overall production. I did this by creating hard copies of a questionnaire in which I handed out to people of my target audience. The questionnaire asks:

1. How much did you enjoy the music video?
2. Did it hold your attention?
3. How do you rate the camera work and editing?
4. How do you rate the standard of mise-en-scene?
5. Was the music video: too short? correct length? too long? don't know?
6. Would you watch the music video again?
7. Can you suggest anything that could improve the appeal?
8. Were there any aspects that you find offensive?
9. Was there any part you found confusing or hard to understand?
10. What is thee best part of the production?
11. Does the video reflect the style of the music?
12. does the video successfully promote the artist/band/group?
13. One a scale of 1 2 3 4 5 with 5 being the highest how do you rank the music video?
14. Any further comments on how this video could be improved?

 Female, aged 19 believed that there weren't any areas in which she found offensive. She then explained that she was confused and wondered why we chose to use an amusement park as our location but then heard the word 'luck' in the song so it was explained. She further went on to explain that the best part of the production was the shots towards the end of the boats and the water. She stated that the music video reflects the style of the music and that the video successfully promotes the band. Overall she rated the music video a 4/5 with not further comments.

 Male, aged 17 believed that the music video was the correct length and was not at all offensive. He explained that there was no confusion but a clear narrative structure to follow. He stated that the best part of the production was the clean jump cuts of the stills which contained good, vibrant colours. He believed that the music video reflected the style of the music. However, he was undecided that the video successfully promotes the band. For improvements, he suggested that a few of the cuts between shots should've used better transitions such as fade to blacks. Overall, he gave the production a 4/5.

 Another male, aged 17, thought that the production was the correct length and wasn't at all offensive.  He was confused as to what the girl in the video was actually doing throughout. He thought that the shots nearer to the end with the orange sky, boats and beaches were there best part of the production. He believed that the video successfully promoted the band and thought that the video reflected the style/genre of music. Overall, he rated our music video a 4/5.

 Female, aged 17, thought that it was the correct length and said that they would chose to watch it again. They said that there wasn't any parts which were offensive or parts in which they found confusing. However, for improvements they thought that we couldn't rendered our transitions so that they would flow together and go to the beat more. They said the best part of the production was the camera movements and mise-en-scene, especially of the boats, as it fitted with the lyrics and song title. They believed that the video reflected the style of the music and successfully promotes the band. Overall, they gave the production a 4/5.

 Male, aged 18, said that the production was the correct length and that they would happily watch it again. They didn't think any areas needed improving nor were there any aspects of the music vidoe that were offensive or confusing/hard to understand. They believed the best part of the production was both the camera work and mise-en-scene - the location. They thought that the video strongly reflected the style of the music. However, they were undecided about whether or not they the video successfully promotes the band. Overall, they gave the music video production a 4/5.

Female,aged 18, said that they would happily watch the video again. They also stated that there were no offensive aspects of the video and that it was not confusing/hard to understanding but "was all straight forward - fun!". She said the production was all exciting and believed that the video reflected the style of the music and that it successfully promoted the band. Overall, she rated the production 4/5. Further comment was "It has exciting imagery - flashing lights!".

Overall, all of the feedback was very positive and reassuring. All of the people that returned the questionnaires gave our music video an overall score of 4/5. Most of the respondents said that the best aspects of the production was the mise-en-scene of the boats, beaches and sea. The majority of respondents thought that the area in which was most appealing were the camera shots used. From this feedback I've learned that the main area which needs improving is the transitions of shots. The respondents recommended that I used more of a range of transitions such as fade to blacks.

Print Productions Feedback

To receive constructive audience feedback for my print productions I also produced hard copies of questionnaires in relation to our print productions. This was to see if there was any areas of our print productions in which we could make improvements on.

The questionnaire asks:

1. Does the package successfully reflect the genre of music?
2. does the package successfully promote the band/artist?
3.  how do you rate the standard of graphics, text, finish of digipak?
4. how do you rate the standard of graphics, print finish of advert?
5. how successfully is the Britishness of the package established?
6. Would the covers encourage you to buy the digipak?
7. Would the advert encourage you to go to an event by this artist?
8. Were there any aspects that you find offensive? 
9. What are the 3 strongest features of the ancillary tasks?
10. rate the package overall (1=low 5=high)
11. Any further comments?

 

 Does the package successfully reflect the genre of music?  

All of the questionnaires that I received back were all 5/5. This was very satisfying as it made it clear that the audience thought there should be no changes to they way in which the print productions should reflect the genre.  

 Does the package successfully promote the band/artist?

 My responses to this question were fairly good. I received some 5/5's, one 4 and one 3. The two lower scores were easy to understand as our print productions didn't have any images of the band and just a small name of the artist on the front panel. However, I decided to stick to the original print productions as I believe the two 5 scores 

outweighed the 4 and 3 scores. 

How do you rate the standards, graphics, finish  or digipak?  

From all of my respondents I received both 4's and 5's. This was pleasing as this was the question in which I wanted to well in the most as the standards, graphics and overall finish of the digipak was very hard work and so be receiving positive feedback from this, I was sure that I wouldn't have to make amendments and improvements to this area.

When asked what were the 3 strongest features of the ancillary task, I received these responses:

• "Images well shot, edited well - circles are unique"
• "Clear and crisp images really reflect the genre well. Nice design/layout, poster promotes the band well"
• "The photography is very strong and professional. The editing is also very strong"
• "Colouring and images runs extremely well with theme and genre".

 

Panel 1

Feedback for Panel 1

 The comments I received for my panel 1:

• "Jungle Doctors title should be bigger"
• "Really pretty image - draws attention to the artist"
• "Great, minimalist photograph. I really like the circle frame and I think the placement of the text works well. You could maybe experiment with fonts?"
• "Represents the indie culture you are aiming for very well. A smart, clear, simple yet very affective layout and design. Top job!"
  
  These comments were all very positive and because of this I learned that the theme of my front panel strongly represented the indie genre which I was aiming for. It also told me that the simplistic, minimalist theme is very effective. 

Panel 2

Feedback for Panel 2

 Feedback from my panel 2:

• "The scenery is very calm and beautiful making it appealing to look at for the audience"
• "All images are nice generic conventions and link to your video - really nice".

These comments on my panel 2 are also extremely positive. From this positive feedback I was informed that the image strongly links to my music video which is what I was trying to achieve. The audience also believed that the photograph used was very appealing to the eye.  

Panel 3

Feedback for Panel 3

Feedback from panel 3:

• "Nice continuation of theme and clearly represents the genre of the track and music video"
• "Very detailed and fits well within the frame".

This feedback is also very positive and from it, the audience also believe that this panel represents the genre nicely, similarly to panel 1.  

Panel 4 Feedback

 Feedback for panel 4:

•  "Good placement of text"
• "Print OK and bar code needed"

 This feedback was very simple but effective because I learned from this and added in a bar code to make it more effective and realistic. I took into account this feedback and below is the new panel 4.

New Panel 4

Magazine Advert

Feedback for magazine advert:

• "The whole print production represents Britishness very well, as well as reflecting the genre. I like the way you've coloured and edited the shots"
• "Very good, represents band and Britishness well"
• "Very relevant to song of music video. Represents Britishness well. Font stands out well compared to the sky, attracts audience's attention. Red boat could represent girl dressed in red in music video"

Feedback For Magazine Advert

From the feedback I have learned that I have stuck to the criteria of our target audience. It is clear that from our audience feedback, the music video and print productions received strong responses and appeal to the target audience well. The target audience particularly enjoyed the location and mise-en-scene in the music video. From the print productions, the target audience thought that the photography was very professional and reflective of the genre. The use of circles in the digipak were thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. 

Evaluation Question 2 Draft

Questions 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product with ancillary texts?

After completing the music video, I had to create a Digipak as well as a magazine advertisement to promote the product. The digipak and magazine advert had to fit the same genre and theme. I had to try and create a continuous theme for my design.

One example of a band that I came across that used a continuous theme in both the music video and the artwork is Foster The People's album 'Supermodel'. Foster the People are a band with a similar genre to our band Jungle Doctors with the theme of indie/pop.The artwork on the side of the building features on the front cover of their album. The graffiti artwork strongly portrays the indie/pop genre theme.

Foster The People's Facebook Page

Foster The People advertising in London

The artwork is also on the Foster The People's Facebook page. This is to make fan's more aware of the new album. The Facebook page makes fans intrigued to listen or buy the new album. The graffiti is also around the London area to advertise for the new album. This quirky style of art is memorable to audiences so that they may be able to recognize the artwork in shops or online.

Album Cover

Another example of an artist that uses this idea of a continuous theme in both their artwork and music video is Taylor Swift's cover for her album Red. In the music video for 22 (on the album Red), she uses the same style as the album cover indicating a running conventional theme. She does this my having a recurring motif of costume, camera angles, lighting and props are all used to create a continuous theme. This helps the audience to familiarize themselves with the album cover. The relation between the music video and album cover create an effective combination with a continuous theme.

Music video for 22



It was important when planning my digipak and magazine that it was relevant to our key themes and key styles. For all of my panels in my digipak I tried to stick to the theme or art and photography.

Digipak

Panel 1



 When creating the front panel I focused on enhancing the brightness and saturation when editing with Photoshop. This was to create a sudden, vibrant feel to the music album. The use of the hanging lights strongly reflects the concept of a festival which is a convention of indie/rock music as this is the genre of music that is often played at popular festivals such as Reading and Leeds Festival and V festival. The lights

Lights at Reading and Leeds Festival

Panel 2

This photograph I took at Lowestoft Docks. Many of The Jungle Doctor's songs are very 'feel-good and calm. For audiences who are unfamiliar with the album, they would get this impression instantly from the images as they give off a calm and relaxed impact. This second panel also strongly fits the concept of our  music video 'Boat Song' and the album 'Waves'. 

 Panel 3  The third panel carries on the idea of the 'festival lights'. This is also a Goodwin's theory which I have developed amongst my Digipak productions. In my music video I've also included the lights that I've used for both Panel 1 and Panel 2. This was so that the panels within my digipak would have a link to some of the aspects within my music video.   I've also tried to include the use of silhouettes within my artwork. I done this because I thought it might a unique type of artwork as it gives a sense of mystery. Another artist that uses the idea of silhouettes is Jack Johnson's album cover for To The Sea. This creates a theme of mystery because we, as an audience, can't make out what's going on; creating an enigma.

Panel 4

For my back panel I've kept to the seaside theme. The genre is well suited for this theme as it's a tpically British sounding band so I've kept to this motif by displaying a British seaside as the back panel. For the lettering, I've used the same font and colour as panel 1 and the magazine advertisement. This is so that my design is continuous throughout the digipak and is recognisable to audience members. I used photographs that linked visually

 My magazine advert is a very conventional layout which is very neat and clear making vital information easy to read and understand such as the release date and rating. The picture as well as font strongly reflects the genre of indie/pop which would appeal to our target audience. I increased the contrast of the image to make the photograph more appealing and professional. I tried to conisder Goodwin's theory of "illustrating the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals". This main visual link in the magazine advert is the obvious relation is the boat pictured in the advertisement to the song title 'Boat Song' as well as the lyrics 'can we row my boat tonight?'. Not only have I included visual links between the lyrics and visuals by have tried to make a connection between the visuals in the magazine advertisement to the visuals in the music video. I done this by trying to make the red boat almost like a metaphor of the girl in the red top. Not only is the colour of red the relationship between the advertisement and the music video, but the boat is different from the other and is on it's own almost like it's isolated; this is how the girl is portayed in the music video - isolated. The girl in the music video is almost inseparable with the landscape, my magazine advertisement amplifies this visual metaphor.