Evaluation - Question 4

 Q4- How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

Below is our script for Question 4. We planned the script before filming our evaluation.

YouTube: Katie

Initially we used YouTube to research our chosen artist and their existing music videos. We analysed the existing music videos to decipher their conventions and see what kind of things we could include in our video. We watched music videos from different genres in order to identify conventions and see if we could incorporate those conventions in our EDM genre. By researching different conventions we would be able to create a more diverse music video ourselves. Of course our genre was EDM therefore we focused on specific artists who produced EDM music and videos.

Google: Grace

During planning we researched Andrew Goodwin's key points which were;

• Technical aspect of a music video
• Star image, lots of camera shots making him/her the main focus and centre of attention
• Narrative and performance of the song
• Thought through beat (seeing what the lyrics mean in your head)
• Relationship between the song and visuals

We specifically used the narrative and performance by focusing on Phoebe all throughout the video. we also created links between the visuals and song by linking shots such as the 'rearview mirror'. We used blogger to track our progress and also used social media in order to contact the band. Social media was also used to contact our focus group during every aspect of the process.

Pre-filming: Bonnie

During the pre-filming we used DSLR cameras to go to our locations and take shots of where we were filming. We also took reeky shots in order to prepare for our actual filming day. It was important to take practice shots so that we knew what we were working with and we were able to see if our ideas would work.

Filming: Katie

We filmed in different locations which therefore meant we had to use different set ups. This meant we had to play around with the camera and adapt the lenses when necessary.  It was important to adapt the shots in order to create more dynamic when filming. By manipulating the lens we added more depth to the shot. We filmed a lot of extra footage so that we would have leeway during editing and wouldn't run out of footage. We filmed things which weren't on our storyboard however those shots worked out really well and we wanted to include them in our video.

Editing: Grace

We used Adobe Premier Pro which is a software we haven't used before which meant we had to learn from scratched how it worked. To do this we watched tutorials on YouTube and google to find out about different techniques. A new technique we tried to use was colour grading however we didn't like the effect it had on the video and decided the original colour didn't need changing in the music video, our digipak nor our poster. Adobe was quick and relatively easy to use once we had gotten the hang of it. We were thankful that Adobe allowed us to make a relatively high quality piece that each of us was happy with.

Evaluation- Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Target audience- female demographics ( 15-24 years old)

In order to receive more audience feedback, not just from our focus group i decided to use several sources of social media to receive different points of view about our music video. For example i used iMessage to ask two of my friends to watch our music video and leave me some feedback about what they like and what could be improved on.

In having received this feedback 
from both of my friends, they liked how the transitions were done and how they fitted well with the song choice. The day and night footage aspect was loved by a lot of people 
and i think the time of day which we filmed at was perfect as we just about got the perfect colours as it was the sunset over Maidenhead town. Therefore this created a really good effect when it came to us filming Phoebe on top of the car park. Consequently we were glad that so many people liked this aspect of our music video as we tried to spend a lot of time on this part to make it as effective as it could be. As a group we also spent a lot of time on it during editing in post-production, so again we were glad that people liked this part of our music video. As so many people liked this we were glad that we had chosen for these shots to be on our digipak and our promotional magazine poster aswe would hope if people like the music video they would like our ancillary tasks as well as be reminded of the music video.

Above is the sunset above a car park in Maidenhead. This shot was loved by many of the people which viewed our music video from our focus group to people on social media.

Again, this is another shot of what most people said they liked about our music video.

Quotes from our  Focus group ( 15-24 year olds):

From all of the feedback which we received from our focus group the majority was all positive, all with some minor improvements to be made such as 'Some of the shots were  jumpy and didn't  fit quite well with the music'. Therefore once we had received feedback from our focus group after our first edit of the music video we went on to understanding the strengths and weaknesses which we received as well as the constructive criticism.


Strengths:

First Edit

Phoebe: "Looks really cool"

James: "Sequencing is cool and works"

             "The lighting works well and i like the fact they've gone off path from their plans".

Scarlett: "Audio goes well with the visuals"

Ben: "Phoebe looks awesome as the actress in the music video" "strong product"

         "I really like the transitions used and the reversed sequences"

Second Edit/ Final Edit 

Alex: "This is still completely different to the storyboard but it works. The girls have obviously worked hard and spent time on fixing the issues and I like that they keep putting new ideas in there"

Scarlett: ". The audio goes with the visuals and you can see that links are being made. I am really glad the jumpy cuts have been fixed and the music video is more visually enjoyable now."

Ben: "I really love the emotions Phoebe is portraying in the music video and it goes really well with the song. 

        "The whole concept works really well and I really look forward to seeing how the final product      turns out."

Weaknesses:

First Edit

Phoebe: "The shots are all quite jumpy"

Alex: "A lot of refining to be done"

Scarlett: 'Hopefully the jump cuts will be fixed"


Second Edit  /  Constructive criticism

Alex: ". I think it is almost at completion but will look even better with refinement."

Ben: "The whole concept works really well and I really look forward to seeing how the final product turns out."

The main weaknesses which we found from what our focus group was saying is that there is a lot of shots which are jumpy and some jump cuts needed to be fixed. However, as this was feedback from the second edit of our music video and not the final edit we were able to make this adjustments and
make our music video better for when our focus group saw our final edit without any jump cuts.
As some of the shots were seen to be jumpy and shaky we did not have enough time to go back and film some of these shots as we were so close to the deadline. 

Therefore if we were to film again we would make sure even though we took multiple shots that they were as stable as they could have been and maybe in the future use a stabiliser, however this would not be possible as at our school we do not have this sort of equipment and we were creating a music video on such a low budget.


Younger female demographic (12-15 years old)

To further the audience feedback we received feedback from a different demographic. I sent the link to our music video to some teenage females aged 12 to 15 and asked for their opinions on what they think are the strengths and weaknesses of our music video as well as what  we could have done better.

It was important to receive feedback from a younger demographic even though our target audience and focus group was 15-24 year olds as we could see feedback from a younger perspective and we thought that it was important to recognise what the younger demographics had to say about our music video as well as if they had the same thoughts on our music video and understood it like our focus group did and target audience demographics.

Strengths:
'I really like the colours and the sunset towards the end', 

'The different shots used are very entertaining'

 'I like the mirror balls shot in the alley way',

'I like the driving scenes and the lighting was very good '

Weaknesses:
'Some shaky parts'

'Some parts of the song did not make sense to me'

'I do not understand the concept of the music video and what the group are trying to portray'

As we had more strengths than weaknesses we were pleased to hear that the audience especially this demographic liked the effective use of colour throughout and liked some of the interesting shots which we came up with, such as the mirror ball. We were very pleased that they picked up on these features and effects just like our focus group and target audience did. However there were indeed some weaknesses and therefore we took this into consideration if we were going to film another music video like this again or the same one.

Some people did not understand the concept of the music video and the whole journey which the main character is going through. We thought this was very odd as we thought we had made a very clear link in our music video through the use of the laptop indicating that there is an 'end of relationship ' and then the boy is 'in a relationship', indicating how the girl and the boy have broken up and the boy has left her for another girl and moved on.

However we could not have argued with what people thought about our music video as everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Therefore maybe in order to improve if we were to do this again we would make it even more clearer what we are trying to portray in the music video by  representing this in another way, or  not just through the use of the laptop

Overall, in having received feedback from not only our focus group and target audience but another demographic allowed us to consider any feedback which was received and take it on board and see what we could have done and if so what we could do if we were to do a similar task again in the future.

Evaluation- Question 2

Media Evaluation - Q2- How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? from Bonnie Bidgood

Link to Q2 Evaluation

Evaluation - Question 1

A link to the Prezi for the Question 1 Evaluation.

Final Edit- Ancillary Tasks- Digipak

The image above is the final edit of our front cover of our digipak.

The image above is the final edit of the back cover of our digipak.

Final Edit - Ancillary tasks- Magazine Advertisement

Below is our final edit of the magazine advertisement. After making a few adjustments to the other edit which we made we decided that we want the 'Out Now' to be on the side of the poster and the name of the song 'New York City' more towards the top of the page so that it stands out more and is effective for the viewers.

Final Draft- Feedback

Focus Group :

Phoebe: "The finished product looks really good and like it would fit into a magazine. All the features incorporated work and are in sync with traditional conventions of promotional posters."

James: "The text is clear and the colours are really cool. I like the reflectiveness of the expressions and it fits with the music video. The brand is recognisable as there is a connection between the products. The use of the logos is really good as it shows it to be in professional setting.

Alex: "This is a cool poster and I like that the writing is clear and in a large font. It fits the conventional features of a promotional poster. It looks better now that the sizing is correct."

Scarlett: "I think the poster picture and the picture on the album cover work well together as they're obviously at the same location. There is a clear link between the products which is good for the audience and the artist as the brand is recognisable."

Ben: "It's really important to make a link between the products for the audience and the girls have achieved this really well. I like that all the logos are incorporated and the text is clear which is also important. It all works really well, even better now it's the same size.

Teacher Feedback :Mr Kerrigan

 The images you have used are very effective. There is something striking about the difference between the image used for the body of your magazine poster and the image used for your digipak; I like the contrast between your performer facing away from the camera in one image and being side-on in the other. There is a clear sense of interconnectivity between your three products.

Personal evaluation:

In having received the feedback above it was very useful as we were then able to know how effective we were in creating this product. It was interesting to ask how well both the digipak and magazine promotional poster work together and what other people think of them working together.

Production Journal:-Ancillary Tasks-(Digipak and Magazine advertisement)

Ancillary Product 1 : Digipak Production Journal

We began by looking back at our 'Final Digipak'. We then used this alongside making our Digipak. We then began by getting a template for the digipak so that we have a rough idea of what the dimensions are going to be as well as the layout. We then used  Adobe Photoshop and opened the template along with the images for our Digipak. However from our final idea of our digipak previously done we decided after looking at the shots which we have taken for our digipak to use other ones which looked much  better and more effective and appropriate for a album cover. Therefore as a group we went through pictures which we had taken and decided on the most appropriate ones to utilise.

We decided as a group that on the outside ( front and back) we wanted the colours to be quite dark so at night time. Therefore we decided that the front cover was going to be Phoebe on  top of the  car-park in Maidenhead, just like the one which is in our music video. We thought this was appropriate for the front of the album cover as it coincides with the music video and will all interlink with the music video and the poster as well as the digipak. The outside back cover is of Phoebe looking out to the side on top of the Maidenhead Car park. On the back we used Photoshop to include a barcode on the back of the digipak, social icons such as You tube, Spotify, Facebook, Twitter etc... This was included on the back as well as with the record labels ( Disruptor Records and Colombia records with both of their logos printed on the back. This was all important to include as we found that from researching  'digipaks ( album covers) by other/related artists' these are all conventions of album covers. We also had to include the writing on the back of the album indicating who holds the rights to the artist and the CD as well as the record label companies and which year  the album was released. Having researched many album covers we used them as templates and included the appropriate information relating to the artist which we were doing and their record label.

We then moved onto the inside front and back cover of the digipak. We as a group decided that we wanted to have 'daytime' inside of our digipak. We decided that we wanted the opening shot of our music video ( the white bridge) as the inside front cover. We then decided that we wanted the Photo of Phoebe looking out onto Maidenhead bridge as the inside back cover. We then used Photoshop to type a lyric from the song onto the photo. This was a good idea from one of our group members. This also looked very effective once we had finished.

This image above is how we re sized the image to fit the Photoshop layout and the template for the digipak ( front cover).

We then inserted text and typed in the artist name and song using white colour and made it bold in order to stand out.

 The image above is our final front cover for our digipak.

 The image above is the back cover of the digipak. We inserted the image which we chose to be on the back cover of our digipak and created a new layer for this. We then inserted a barcode into a new layer and experimented where we would like the barcode to be on the back of the digipak.

We then decided that we wanted the barcode in the top right hand corner sideways. We thought that this looked the best and most effective, therefore as a group we decided upon this decision.

The image above shows how we added the social icons on the right hand side going sideways like the barcode. We then added 'New York City' being the name of our song on the back cover. We then also decided where the record label was going to be placed.

We then decided as shown in the above photo that the record labels would be in the bottom left hand corner.

We then continued adding the social icons on the right hand side. We also moved the 'New York City' ( name of the song) towards the top.

We then had to type up the writing at the bottom of the back cover which shows who the record label company is and who holds the rights towards the album. We did this by using one of the 'real media deconstructions of a album cover' as a template to guide us towards what should be written on the back cover.


However after receiving some feedback from Mr Kerrigan our media teacher and some of our focus group after seeing our first draft of the digipak they said how the back of our digipak looked strange with just 'New York City' written on the back of the digipak. They said how we should consider adding more songs on the back of the digipak to make it look more like an EP rather than a single.

Therefore in having received this feedback we decided to take this on board and include more songs on the back of the digipak. So below is our final edit and what it looks like after receiving this feedback.

We then moved on to creating the inside back cover of our digipak. We decided as a group to include some of the lyrics on the image to emphasise what Phoebe is thinking about when looking out onto the bridge.

The image above shows what the template of the digipak looked like. The top left hand picture is the inside front cover. We thought that using the opening shot of our music video as the inside front cover for our digipak was effective and that we wanted to create a 'light' feel in the inside and 'dark' feel on the outside of the digipak for emphasis.

Above is an image of the spines for our digipak. We used a cutting tool on Photoshop to cut/crop around a picture which we chose to have as our spine. Below is an example of what the cutting tools and other tools look like on Adobe Photoshop.

Teacher Feedback: Mr Kerrigan 

The image you have used is very striking. I like the use of the tall, lit-up buildings in the background of the image; it is very appropriate given the title of the song. There is something about the use of soft-focus that makes the urban setting seem enigmatic. It is, however, fitting that the focus is on your performer. There is something interesting about the way she is looking ‘across’ the camera as opposed to away from or into it; again, it is very enigmatic. The type-font you have employed is simple but clear, meaning that it is easy to read and doesn’t distract from your image.

Ancillary Product 2: Magazine advertisement for album production journal

We began by opening Adobe Photoshop on the Mac and then exporting the photo which we were going to use onto Photoshop too. We then began to scale the photo so that it was A4 size and looked like a magazine advertisement. From looking back at our previous posts and research about existing magazine advertisements and our final idea for the poster we then began the editing part of the poster on photo shop.

We began by inserting the artist name 'The chainsmokers' along with the name of the song which is 'New York City'.  We did this using the typing tool on the left side of photoshop and then edited the font size and colour alongside the font which we wanted to use.We also made this in bold so that it would stand out and be effective so you can see it from a distance. Below is an example of what this looked like while editing.

The image above is what our magazine advertisement looked like without all the social media icons on it as well as the artist name and the name of the song as well as when the CD is available. We then placed the front of the digipak at the top right hand corner on the poster.

The image above is what the magazine advertisement looked like with the social media icons on as well as the record labels in the top left hand corner of the advertisement.

We changed the image of the CD cover from the top right hand corner to the middle of the magazine advertisement as we received some feedback and from our own criticism we thought that it would make more sense for the CD cover to be in the middle of the advert as opposed to the top right where no one could really see it and was not as effective.

The image above is all of the social media icons which we placed on our magazine advertisement.

Originally we had the record labels in the middle of the poster with the social icons next to them. However we decided that this was not very good and didn't look very effective and professional.


First Draft- Feedback

Alex: "This is a cool poster and I like that the writing is clear and in a large font. It fits the conventional features of a promotional poster. It does however look a little stretched out and not the shape of A4 paper."

Scarlett: "I think the poster picture and the picture on the album cover work well together as they're obviously at the same location. There is a clear link between the products which is good for the audience and the artist as the brand is recognisable."

Ben: "It's really important to make a link between the products for the audience and the girls have achieved this really well. I like that all the logos are incorporated and the text is clear which is also important. It all works really well, however isn't the right size."