Thursday, 1 May 2014

Evaluation question 4

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Research and planning Stage:
In the research stage I used many different media technologies such as the use of the Internet to decide what types of codes and conventions I was going to use. For example using YouTube to find songs that were in similar genres to see what codes and conventions they use in their videos and working out how I could in cooperate these into my video. I searched for videos such as ‘teenage dirtbag’ that had similar story lines to the video I was trying to create, videos that had animation such as ‘take on me’ and videos in the same genre such as ‘all the small things’. This research helped me create a mock up plan for the video using influences from different types of videos.
Another media technology used was the use of TV. This is because when I went home I would watch a couple of music videos on channels such as MTV rocks and Kerrang to gain some inspiration. From this I recognised the sorts of band sequences we could use for example not using a studio and have it out in the open to help link the narrative and performance sides of the video. Also watching the videos on these channels helped understand the types of Camera angles that should be used in the video. For example I watched Oasis ‘Wonderwall’ and not once did I see a long shot so it was clear that I should only use a few long shots if any throughout the video.
Some of media technologies used were Office products such as word and excel. These were used to record all of the research and planning such as the records of the questionnaires were stored in excel and excel was used to produce pie charts and graphs to show the difference the answers. Word was used to keep notes of ideas for the video as well as compiling shot lists.
Production stage:
In the production stage one of the major media technologies used was Final cut pro. This was the software we used to edit and piece together our video. This software had many different effects that helped us in our production such as fades to help us merge the animation in and the use of overlaps in certain parts of the video helped us make sure that the lip-syncing and band performances were in sync with the song.
With the digipak we used Photoshop to create this product. This was because we could enter precise dimensions for the template so that it matched the dimensions of real products, allowed us to import and edit images that we have decided to use for inserts and covers for the album, there are wide range of effects and texts that can be added and many more aspects. This helped us produce our digipak and was easy for us to use because everyone in the group had previous experience on Photoshop.
Another piece of software used in the production stage was adobe Flash. This was used only for the creation of the animation. This was because Flash was the best software available to make it on and at first was difficult to transfer over so we decided to export it and transfer it a different way. The use of Flash helped make the animation smoother due to the transitions in the changing of images.

The use of a Sony HXR-MC2000 has helped me construct the music video as it allows for more High definition shots. This means that we didn’t have to worry much about the lighting as it we could change it on the camera. This meant that we could record in different locations and not have to worry about the lighting which led us to go to go different locations that may not have been used if there was a different camera.

Evaluation question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?
The first feedback gathered was in the form of surveys. From this we gathered that deciding to do a rock song would be effective as it featured in our top 3 most listened to genres so we knew that our video would have an effect as more people listen to that genre compared to a genre such as jazz or blues.
Once we decided that we could do a rock video I gathered some feedback on a plan that we had put together. The feedback was that it would work well especially with the song but getting the animation to fit it would be difficult.
We had put the video to some members of the target audience and this is what was returned:
·         The animation was out of sync with the video
·         Camera angles were good
·         Some of the shots were good (scenic)
·         Was beginning to look like a short film
Audience feedback helped me better the video and change aspects that didn’t work. For example we got audience feedback on the how to integrate the animation aspect to our video. From the audience feedback we gathered that it was too jumpy to just add it in from this we decided that it would help the audience understand the animation if we recorded normal footage in the same location so that the audience could understand how it all links together.

After adding this to our video we then decided to gather some more feedback on what it looks like now. From this we gathered that it was becoming clearer for the audience to understand and piece together the narrative. From this discussion we also gathered that our video looked more like a short film instead of a music video. We then decided that we had to increase the amount of band footage and lip syncing to make it look more like a music video and increase the similarities between my video and other videos from the same genre.

Evaluation question 2

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
The ancillary products have helped gain the recognition the band deserved and this is then backed up by the main product. The links between both sets of products have been clear as the digipak involves a band picture of which all the members are shown in the video playing either instruments, lip-syncing or play a cameo in the video. The digipak also has a scenic shot which is used in the music video helping link all of the products together. These are then show on the website which uses similar colours that are used on the digipak throughout it.
The digipak was similar to more well-known bands such as Cold Plays ‘viva la vida’. This is because we decided that we wanted to have more iconic photos than pictures of the bands. This lead us to having the front cover as the band photo and having the rest of the inserts and back cover as photos of places throughout the video or part of the animation. This helped us link out video and digipak together.
The combination of these two products was effective as people could tell straight away that they both were linked and both were made by the same people for the same purpose. Many different methods such as the images, use of colour, text and actors helped tie all of the products together and made them effective in their own way. All of the products were used to help the band gain recognition as well as promoting the new song ‘afterglow’ which I believe these products have done.

We used wix to create the website as it was easy for us to create of off. This meant that we could spend more time deciding what information we would add to it. This helped us increase the links between our main product and the ancillary products.

Tuesday, 22 April 2014

Updated final digipak


 
This is the final updated digipak. This will be the one that it used from now on. Some of the alterations we have made are adding the band members names to one of the inserts, changing the text colour on one of the inserts and added information on the production company as well as information on copy right.

Friday, 4 April 2014

Music video

This is the music video I have been working on since the start of year 13. As a group there have been different challenges to overcome such as loss of footage, being unable to edit for a week, equipment not being available all the time and trying to find time so that we can record. We have had constant feedback from audiences to see what works well and what doesn’t and that has left us with this product.

In case you cannot see the video here is the link to it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YziQtHw5vuo