Note to the Moderator

 Dear moderator, welcome to my blog. Please use the labels on the right hand side to navigate my work. Work has been split into three main categories; Research and Planning, Product, Evaluation. I hope you enjoy reading through my coursework journey. 

The Vaccines I Always Knew (Final Video)

Ancillary Texts (Digipak and Advert)



Digipak

Front and Back cover of booklet

 

 

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

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

During my coursework I have used numerous different methods of technology, with a lot of them being used in conjunction and to complement one another. The availability of such technology has aided every part of my work and enabled its completion to be of a higher standard than if such elements weren’t available, as well as making it more efficient.

The main base for all stages of my coursework (a central hub as such) is Blogger, the Google powered blogging website. I had previously used it for my AS coursework so quickly re-familiarised myself with its settings and had no trouble with using it as a basis for my work. It enables me to post work in a variety of formats, as well as allowing users such as my fellow peers to comment upon my work, something which is vital in such an audience focused task. Moreover as I have briefly touched on the beauty of Blogger is its ability to incorporate many other programmes and presentation formats. 

A lot of these formats allow me to present work differently but also in a way that looks professional and modern. The first of these is the video production site Animoto. By a free sign up you are able to create short 30 second features of your own chosen content. I used this software to display various mood-boards of styles I wanted my artist and video to incorporate, by adding images words to explain my ideas. I was also able to add music of my choice and choose a pre-created style to my Animoto, giving it a professional edge. I was able to create this Animoto’s quickly but they still looked well designed, whilst the website is very well laid out and simple to use.

Another format is Scribd, which allows you to upload Microsoft Word documents to your blog, by using their website. It is less aesthetically pleasing than something like Animoto, but allows you to fully maintain the format you have used in word. I used this for uploading analysis grids and items of more detailed text, as well as mood boards of album covers. Like Animoto it is really simple to use and doesn’t require you to sign up, which is an added bonus.

As I said both methods can then be displayed on my blog, which is achieved by the copying and pasting of the items embed code. Such a process is again easy and makes my blog more diverse than if it was just post after post of text, with accompanying images. This for me highlights the benefit of using Blogger as it allows you to use its software as well as others to display your work professionally and uniquely. These were invaluable especially in the planning stages as they presented my ideas and inspirations accurately.

I also used email to help my work, it didn’t directly complete any tasks for me or appear on my blog, but in the background it was vital. Things such as transferring pictures and word documents to then be displayed on my blog would not have been possible upon without Hotmail. Whilst I could also contact my teacher out of school hours which aided the efficiency of my works completion. During my work the transferring of information was also achieved by saving items to a USB and then using them on different computers. This meant I was able to complete work in a variety of locations and not just at school because of such technology.

Similarly to email Twitter meant it was possible to contact my teacher instantaneously between the Media Departments account, if I had any technical difficulties or questions. This meant without having to be with them I was able to get support and advice, which without such technology would be impossible. Also with Twitter on my phone I was able to make contact at any location, further enhancing the ability to complete tasks coherently, which was vital in construction stages when deadlines were set.

Briefly mentioned there was the use of a phone in my coursework. Using my iPhone 5 I was able to take photos of ideas I saw and then email them to myself for later use/reference, as well as using the Safari internet browsing app to find out information when not at a computer, as well as arranging when to film my music video with my artist via text or iMessage. Such an instantaneous form of communication allowed me to undertake work out and about, such as sending emails and smaller tasks, something not possible without such technology- as well as making the research sectors of my work a smoother process. 

Moreover using the music on my iPhone/iPod I was able to choose a song for my video after careful consideration of many songs. The technology on hand meant I was in the position to jump between songs. If we go back 10 years I would’ve had to complete (what is now a simple task) by playing CD after CD to find an appropriate track, highlighting the benefit of such technology.

The majority of the technologies looked at above were predominantly used in the research and planning stages of my coursework, whereas the following pieces were only used in the production stage.

I used the Digital Still Camera to capture photos for my booklet (inside my digipak). The camera provided me with high quality photos, as well as the option to utilise all typical camera settings such as zoom, flash and red eye removal. As a result because of its similarity to cameras I have previously used it took no time getting used to. It sounds crazy but as little as 15 years ago, digital cameras were very expensive and most people used cameras with films, which then took time to be processed before creating physical photographs. Therefore without digitalised image files such a task would’ve proved both time consuming and costly, which would’ve been the same scenario regarding the transferring of footage from a video camera.

Such photos were used on Adobe Photoshop for their inclusion in my booklet. Photoshop is a programme I had used during my AS coursework so it was just a case of carrying on with my knowledge I had gained last year. Moreover Photoshop was ideal for designing my digipak as I was able to add shapes, selected fonts and images, as well as incorporating a digipak template to make my work as authentic as possible. Without the use of such software producing both the digipak and poster would’ve been tricky as no software has as many capabilities and a tools, therefore having it on hand was vital to making my work a credible success. One final thing is that my files from Photoshop could be converted into Jpeg image files, allowing them to be uploaded onto my blog quickly and smoothly for display.

For filming my music video I used a HD Video Recording Camera, as this offered the best quality picture available to me. The zoom maintains the resolution, whilst the camera itself is user friendly as well as being the same as the one I used in preliminary tasks. It also has a playback option to review recently filmed pieces, making filming out and about easier. Whilst as mentioned with the Digital Still Camera the modern technology makes conversion of files far quicker.

This camera was then used in conjunction with the editing software Final Cut Pro. I had used the software before but only briefly, so in some respects it was a bit of a learning process. However I got to find the programme easier to use every time I did so, as well as discovering all manner of tools at my disposal for editing my footage. The only slight problem with Final Cut Pro was the importing of my clips as the files were not accepted. As a result I downloaded some software which enabled me to convert my files from MTS to quick time player files. These then loaded into the programme and no further issues were found.  Finally the completed video could be easily uploaded to YouTube and then embedded onto by blog.

The overriding feel from the conclusion was that the whole process would’ve not been possible to complete to the standard that can be achieved with all the technology at my fingertips. It speeded up all sections and elements of the coursework, but more importantly maintained a professional and authentic finish to my work.

EVALUATION 3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

EVALUATION 2. How Effective is the Combination of Your Main Product and Ancillary Texts?

EVALUATION 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

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

During my coursework I have used numerous different methods of technology, with a lot of them being used in conjunction and to complement one another. The availability of such technology has aided every part of my work and enabled its completion to be of a higher standard than if such elements weren’t available, as well as making it more efficient.

The main base for all stages of my coursework (a central hub as such) is Blogger, the Google powered blogging website. I had previously used it for my AS coursework so quickly re-familiarised myself with its settings and had no trouble with using it as a basis for my work. It enables me to post work in a variety of formats, as well as allowing users such as my fellow peers to comment upon my work, something which is vital in such an audience focused task. Moreover as I have briefly touched on the beauty of Blogger is its ability to incorporate many other programmes and presentation formats. 

A lot of these formats allow me to present work differently but also in a way that looks professional and modern. The first of these is the video production site Animoto. By a free sign up you are able to create short 30 second features of your own chosen content. I used this software to display various mood-boards of styles I wanted my artist and video to incorporate, by adding images words to explain my ideas. I was also able to add music of my choice and choose a pre-created style to my Animoto, giving it a professional edge. I was able to create this Animoto’s quickly but they still looked well designed, whilst the website is very well laid out and simple to use.

Another format is Scribd, which allows you to upload Microsoft Word documents to your blog, by using their website. It is less aesthetically pleasing than something like Animoto, but allows you to fully maintain the format you have used in word. I used this for uploading analysis grids and items of more detailed text, as well as mood boards of album covers. Like Animoto it is really simple to use and doesn’t require you to sign up, which is an added bonus.

As I said both methods can then be displayed on my blog, which is achieved by the copying and pasting of the items embed code. Such a process is again easy and makes my blog more diverse than if it was just post after post of text, with accompanying images. This for me highlights the benefit of using Blogger as it allows you to use its software as well as others to display your work professionally and uniquely. These were invaluable especially in the planning stages as they presented my ideas and inspirations accurately.

I also used email to help my work, it didn’t directly complete any tasks for me or appear on my blog, but in the background it was vital. Things such as transferring pictures and word documents to then be displayed on my blog would not have been possible upon without Hotmail. Whilst I could also contact my teacher out of school hours which aided the efficiency of my works completion. During my work the transferring of information was also achieved by saving items to a USB and then using them on different computers. This meant I was able to complete work in a variety of locations and not just at school because of such technology.

Similarly to email Twitter meant it was possible to contact my teacher instantaneously between the Media Departments account, if I had any technical difficulties or questions. This meant without having to be with them I was able to get support and advice, which without such technology would be impossible. Also with Twitter on my phone I was able to make contact at any location, further enhancing the ability to complete tasks coherently, which was vital in construction stages when deadlines were set.

Briefly mentioned there was the use of a phone in my coursework. Using my iPhone 5 I was able to take photos of ideas I saw and then email them to myself for later use/reference, as well as using the Safari internet browsing app to find out information when not at a computer, as well as arranging when to film my music video with my artist via text or iMessage. Such an instantaneous form of communication allowed me to undertake work out and about, such as sending emails and smaller tasks, something not possible without such technology- as well as making the research sectors of my work a smoother process. 

Moreover using the music on my iPhone/iPod I was able to choose a song for my video after careful consideration of many songs. The technology on hand meant I was in the position to jump between songs. If we go back 10 years I would’ve had to complete (what is now a simple task) by playing CD after CD to find an appropriate track, highlighting the benefit of such technology.

The majority of the technologies looked at above were predominantly used in the research and planning stages of my coursework, whereas the following pieces were only used in the production stage.

I used the Digital Still Camera to capture photos for my booklet (inside my digipak). The camera provided me with high quality photos, as well as the option to utilise all typical camera settings such as zoom, flash and red eye removal. As a result because of its similarity to cameras I have previously used it took no time getting used to. It sounds crazy but as little as 15 years ago, digital cameras were very expensive and most people used cameras with films, which then took time to be processed before creating physical photographs. Therefore without digitalised image files such a task would’ve proved both time consuming and costly, which would’ve been the same scenario regarding the transferring of footage from a video camera.

Such photos were used on Adobe Photoshop for their inclusion in my booklet. Photoshop is a programme I had used during my AS coursework so it was just a case of carrying on with my knowledge I had gained last year. Moreover Photoshop was ideal for designing my digipak as I was able to add shapes, selected fonts and images, as well as incorporating a digipak template to make my work as authentic as possible. Without the use of such software producing both the digipak and poster would’ve been tricky as no software has as many capabilities and a tools, therefore having it on hand was vital to making my work a credible success. One final thing is that my files from Photoshop could be converted into Jpeg image files, allowing them to be uploaded onto my blog quickly and smoothly for display.

For filming my music video I used a HD Video Recording Camera, as this offered the best quality picture available to me. The zoom maintains the resolution, whilst the camera itself is user friendly as well as being the same as the one I used in preliminary tasks. It also has a playback option to review recently filmed pieces, making filming out and about easier. Whilst as mentioned with the Digital Still Camera the modern technology makes conversion of files far quicker.

This camera was then used in conjunction with the editing software Final Cut Pro. I had used the software before but only briefly, so in some respects it was a bit of a learning process. However I got to find the programme easier to use every time I did so, as well as discovering all manner of tools at my disposal for editing my footage. The only slight problem with Final Cut Pro was the importing of my clips as the files were not accepted. As a result I downloaded some software which enabled me to convert my files from MTS to quick time player files. These then loaded into the programme and no further issues were found.  Finally the completed video could be easily uploaded to YouTube and then embedded onto by blog.

The overriding feel from the conclusion was that the whole process would’ve not been possible to complete to the standard that can be achieved with all the technology at my fingertips. It speeded up all sections and elements of the coursework, but more importantly maintained a professional and authentic finish to my work.

EVALUATION 3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

For my coursework I received feedback on both the main piece and the ancillary tasks from different sources. Sometimes this was from peers, as well as people who are and are not part of the target audience.

From the first drafts of the ancillary tasks it was said by all parties that the images used were boring and dull, whilst the choice of font didn’t add any value. Whereas a better choice of font would have made the images appear better than they were. Moreover on the digipak the conventions were all in place, such as a barcode and legal details, but a lot of authenticity was lost because the overall design was lacking any creativity. People of the target audience felt it was especially the images that let the pieces down and that this was where the main work was required, whilst older people focused on the authenticity of the conventions and felt this masked the poor design.

As a result for my final pieces I changed tact and went for something that was more suiting of my target market, as well as being a more authentic. I looked at fonts firstly and wanted to pick something striking and memorable. This is why I adopted the font used on ‘Brothers’ The Black Keys 6th album. Just it itself makes a strong impact (something the initial font greatly lacked) without the addition of any images. This discovery then led me to realise that a well-chosen font can mean no images are in fact required, explaining the exclusion of images on my two ancillary texts.

Meanwhile peers commented the record logo I had designed myself didn’t look authentic, as a result losing credibility for my artists. I subsequently chose to use the Sony record label and immediately this made my work look realistic as well as professional, just because of the more recognisable company.  

Regarding the first draft of my music video peer feedback was that it was theoretically a good idea, but whether it was feasible not being shown in the video. Whilst the relationship between the visuals and music was severely lacking, which made watching the video and hard to enjoy. This immediately prompted me to change the song because it clearly wasn’t suitable to make a successful music video for. I also chose a song that proved to be more popular among my target audience, ‘I Always Knew’ by The Vaccines. Meanwhile I felt improving the audiences enjoyment of the music video would come through a better performance from my artist so made a special focus to improve this particular element of my work.

The feedback from my target audience was that the video was boring and lacked any real performance. As a result I went conventional and eliminated virtually any narrative element of my video. This meant it was solely performance and as a result those featuring in the video changed, a) to better suit the song and b) in order to highlight the performance. So the video needed to be more interesting with a greater performance focus, as a result I watched performance music videos for inspiration. The one I really liked was ‘R U Mine’ by the Arctic Monkeys with a lot of the performance coming in a car, something I introduced to my own video. This was because it clearly brought a strong performance but also made the video interesting. However the video is also good because it stars Alex Turner a quality performer. To make my video more interesting I used the idea of stop motion, whereby different members of the band left the car and appeared in the band at different times. The basis of this idea came from a Drums video where they all start performing at different times, so I redeveloped this with the idea of stop motion. Such changes were vital in my video as it needed livening up, to make it more interesting and enjoyable to watch.

In hindsight I should have taken my market research questionnaire into greater consideration when planning my music video. Over 50% said they preferred illustration videos, something I did follow but not strongly enough. I focused too much on what was going on in the video, as opposed to the performance and the song choice. This was a mistake because indie audience are predominantly interested in the music and level of performance, all elements my first video was severely lacking in. Moreover the audience want to see a focus upon the artist in my video, which my first video was missing out on, so I made more close ups in my final video. Finally my choice of song was poor as it was not true ‘indie’ and had more of a folk feel to it. Therefore I changed the song as I have mentioned and this suited the indie genre far better. This combination of song an improved performance definitely contributed to a greater final video, compared to my draft.

 

EVALUATION 2. How Effective is the Combination of Your Main Product and Ancillary Texts?

It is clear that the combination of my main product and ancillary texts was important to creating an identity for my artist and allowing the audience to easily make the link between the media products. I wanted to make this link strong and clear; however at the same time I had to be cautious as to not make the links so strong that repetition occurred between the products, subsequently making them uninteresting. Therefore I established that to avoid this conflict I would have to only use features in all my pieces that were essential to the branding of my artist.

I decided that one way to make the combination a success between the products would be to use the same font as on my ancillary pieces, within the introduction of my video. I felt that the repetition of a font would become memorable would establish an association in the audiences mind, that these different products are from the same source and it is only a difference in genre. Moreover I believe the powerful yet simple font makes an impact and rather than being remembered for being different, it could be remembered for being simple. Meanwhile in this introduction text on the video I maintained the same colour scheme (minus the red) I chose to do this as it then looked the same as the ancillary products such as the album cover. As a result the link between the digipak cover and an introduction to a music video, instantly shows the combination and relationship between the products.

Furthermore this continuation (with the text) also brought with it the minimalistic style I had implemented on my ancillary texts. Although unlike the digipak and advert my video is not as minimalistic as I thought this would be hard to create without becoming boring to view. Therefore matching with the booklet I have gone for a more conventional styled piece, with my video being a performance. I also believe if this had to been minimalistic then the audience would be getting annoyed at the lack of artist interaction and be deterred from such an artist. My video also takes part of the performance out of typical performance arena, an idea taken from one of the inspirations for my ancillary pieces (Arctic Monkeys), I felt this would appeal to the audience as I am using ideas of artists from the same genre. Therefore the combination of the pieces although different in their style would work here.

In addition I terms of mise en scene I attempted to keep certain aspects of my main product the same as my ancillary texts. Regarding clothing I wanted to keep it simple and plain, like the ancillary texts, whilst apart from the actual performance I didn’t want to much to detract from this (e.g. props) to try and keep minimalism to some extent. Meanwhile making the video too complicated as well as the constant change of location, would not register with my ancillary texts. This is because they are stripped back and not at all complex, so if I made my video completely different to this the whole ideology and sense of branding would be eliminated.

Overwhelmingly it is a simplicity I have tried to carry between my products to create my branding, although as I have explained maintaining this is not always possible and sometimes not necessary, such as with the video where minimalism would have been hard to achieve. I feel the difficulty of making a successful combination between the main product and ancillary texts is highlighted in my video. The quality of the main product is less than that of the ancillary texts, which certainly weakens the combination. It is fair to say a stronger combination could have been achieved by making all my pieces wholly conventional as opposed to introducing the minimalism. But then I would have not been meeting the demands on my indie genre and the young audience who want to see something different, as opposed to the same old conventional products.

Finally the use of the same young people (the band members) in the video and booklet makes clear the combination of products. This continuation means that someone who may have only seen one of the products will then make the association when they see another piece, or in fact take the imitative for themselves. The latter of these being a possibility because a young indie audience are renowned for doing their own research.

EVALUATION 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Digipak and Advert

One of the first tasks within the research and planning was to create mood boards of varying album covers, which then had to be grouped as you saw appropriate. Of these album covers, the most iconic and memorable ones originated from two groups. These were minimalistic and brightly coloured/illustrated. I soon established when thinking of what my digipak was going to be like that designing an illustrated product would be very difficult and only be a success if completed to the highest standard. Therefore creating a minimalistic digipak seemed the most viable option, as it could match conventions of real products.

Moreover the adverts which tended to accompany such albums were either copies of the digipak converted into a poster or used the same images, fonts etc. As I result I realised that continuity between the two media products was essential to creating an identity for my artist as well as making my work appear authentic and credible. I feel my work reflects this, as the pieces match and have both been inspired by the same existing media products.

A product I used for such inspiration was the Arctic Monkeys 5th album ‘AM’. I felt this was a minimalistic design, but still had a strong style which stood out from other albums. I also believed I could convert features they used for my own work, to make it a success. The first of these was to use the idea of a line running through the whole digipak (as on AM) within my pieces of work. However I would choose 2 lines and these would primarily come from the underlining of the Artists name on the album cover and advert. These lines then continued throughout the whole digipak, including the booklet. Not only do I feel this created a bold style, but it showed the continuity which the first drafts lacked and the development I had made. Moreover like on ‘AM’ it split up the track list and I felt although this was for no logical reason, it aesthetically worked well and livened what can be a dull part of a digipak. In addition challenging the line on AM I opted to make my lines thicker and straight, as I believed this created a bolder more powerful impact establishing the artists name as the main focus of the products.

Meanwhile the use of the black background was to create a slight mystery about the artist, as well as feeling that using a coloured background would make the album glary and off putting. Whilst most Indie/Indie Rock albums tend to use black backgrounds if images are not used such as the 1975, so I stuck with conventions. Also I think using a coloured backing would perhaps lead the audience to believe the album was a pop album, which would quickly accidentally alienate my intended audience. 

Despite this I did use a white background on the back and disc side of the digipak, as well as selected pages in the accompanying booklet. I did this as to avoid the album giving the impression of heavy rock which is not my genre, which with the red text could’ve been assumed and also liked the contrast it created. It could be argued that AM is all black but not a heavy rock album, this is true but that is their 5^th album so people know their genre and are likely to buy the product because they like the music, regardless of the artwork.

Furthermore I also took inspiration from The Black Keys 6th album ‘Brothers’. It was clear from my first draft that the Images used were boring and uninspiring. As a result I decided to change tact and avoid the use of images on the digipak and went for a plain yet bold black background. Such a background made the text appear bold and also followed conventions of many albums which avoid the use of images in preference for a more powerful focus on the text. I felt the power created on the front of ‘Brothers’ was achieved by the font used, therefore I researched this font and found it o be called Cooper Black. I then used this in my own work for a lot of my text; however I didn’t solely use it I felt it would then lose its effect, becoming boring and predictable. Moreover I didn’t use The Black Keys idea of making the text literate and stating the obvious, as I felt this would simply be copying and look cheap. The other font I used ‘Alien’ contrasted well with ‘Cooper Black’ as it was more pointed as opposed to rounded. I also on occasions used it in red as to differentiate between the artists name and the album’s title. Meanwhile because I didn’t have the unique nature of The Black Keys ‘stating the obvious” the change of font added a different dimension which it was until then lacking.

Furthermore this additional font made differentiation between areas of text within the digipak easier and clearer. This was the case on the spine of the album as the lines crossing here would’ve not made it clear as it splits the three words as opposed to just the two phrases. Such a technique follows conventions where different sections of text located close together are shown apart by either of change in font, text colour or size.

I added a barcode and the Sony record label logo to the back of my digipak to make it look authentic and match the conventions of real albums, which were backed up by accompanying the legal details placed below this, adding credibility to my pieces.

The track list was put in the same font as my album title indicating its lesser importance compared to that of the artists name. Whilst the lines on the digipak although not in any logical way split the track list, making it look less boring and slightly different from usual albums that just have the track one by one in a vertical list.

All the above information for the digipak also applies to the same features on the poster. This enabled continuity and an identity to be created, as well as being the conventional way to link the album and advert. The only real difference apart from the different formats is the inclusion in the bottom left corner of the bands website address and twitter name. I chose these as such contact details are the most popular among people today and especially that of an indie audience. Meanwhile such information is concise but to the point so doesn’t detract from the minimalistic style of the products.

Although I wanted my two pieces to be minimalistic I also knew that something more of an insight was required of the artist. So I decided to design a booklet to go with my digipak, as this way the minimalism of the album and advert were undisrupted. The booklet followed the same design as the other elements, incorporating the same fonts and lines. At the start there is a message to the people buying the album thanking them personally. This is a touch I added after seeing it in the booklet for ‘Scouting For Girls, The Greatest Hits’, I thought it worked well, adding credibility to the album and represented the artist positively. In addition the booklet contained a variety of images of my artist, as I believed it would be something fans would want to see and is used in many real products to make people feel closer to the artist whose music they are buying. I framed the images as I thought this style was effective and is often used by young people when posting on social media sites, therefore I felt this would suit the audiences preferences.

Finally the use of just the three colours black, white and red I felt not only made the pieces bold, but kept it original and followed the conventions of these three colours going together and complementing one another.

 

Music Video

When looking at music videos in the planning and research stage of the coursework a lot of videos produced were of an illustrative nature. Either because they were narrative and explained (showed a clear relationship between the music/lyrics) the lyrics or they were a performance style video. Initially my first draft video was a mixture of these illustrative techniques, but the combination meant that neither of the techniques stood out strongly and it was not very clear as to where the video was going. Some videos are a mixture of the two but I felt it would be very hard to match such conventions.

Moreover the idea of making a video of an Amplification nature or Disjuncture was not going to be possible. This is because with the video being discordant from the song it would not be clear to the audience of the relationship and ruin the songs reputation. Whilst the videos of such a style are hard to replicate and don’t often work with new artists, as they often come with established artists. Therefore I didn’t thin k I would be able to achieve such conventions.

After deciding to create an illustrative video of a performance nature, I looked at the theorist Andrew Goodwin and what he believes to be the conventions of a music video. I attempted to follow these as to make my video authentic. Whilst with my video not being disjuncture I felt following conventions as opposed to challenging them would be key to making my video a success.

Firstly I wanted to match the conventions he stated, starting with Through Beats Seeing the Sound. I quickened the speed of my cuts and their frequency to match the speed of the music and when lyrics started/stopped. Therefore I added more cuts as the video initially was boring because of the long cuts. Because of this my video appeared more conventional and realistic due to the more frequent cuts and speed of the video.

Secondly I wanted to make the song by The Vaccines appear to have been sung by my artist. Therefore I used all males as well as drums and 2 guitars to match up with the instrumental parts of the song. I felt this style in the video was reflecting the style of the song and kept up with conventions. However in parts my lip syncing wasn’t the best so authenticity often wavers as a result of this. Although the playing of the drums does look real and the close ups of this enhance its realism and live up to conventions.

Thirdly with my video being a performance not a great relationship was built between the lyrics and the visual. But I did use two locations (the car and outside band performance) to create a different narrative. I did this by having the artist one by one leaving the car and performing individually before being joined by the others. This didn’t have any relation with the lyrics but was an idea the Arctic Monkeys had used in their video for ‘R U Mine’ and I adopted the idea to give my performance video a different dimension. Although this did partly challenge conventions of a performance video, it was more of an addition to the genre than an alteration and mainly matched conventions.

Narrative and performance

As I have mentioned with my video being a performance where the visuals didn’t match the lyrics this relationship was not the strongest. However Goodwin sights that often the audience makes its own decisions about the messages a song is giving off. Therefore although this relationship might have not been the strongest I wasn’t too concerned as it still represented conventions, especially that of performance videos. Additionally Goodwin says most artists mime, however that it is in their best interest for the video to look authentic. As a result I had my artist singing and then removed this audio on Final Cut Pro, this way it still appeared authentic and matched conventions. 

The Star Image

This was important as there were 3 members of the band in my video, with (in the car) the main focus on the predominant singer, because of the cameras position. Meanwhile I was able to light the car with small portable lights and its own internal lights, showing the focus on the artist. However externally for the band performance it was hard to light the band well, I used car lights but these failed to fully light the entire band. Therefore the convention of Star Image was compromised because I used two locations. But it can also be argued that if I had just used one location the video would have lost this dimension and become repetitive and boring. Also my video doesn’t incorporate a lot of close ups upon the members faces, so more of this star image convention is lost. This isn’t my video challenging conventions, but more a reflection of the difficulty to match such conventions all the time.

Relation of visuals to song

I have already explained the lack of relationship between the lyrics and visual, but not too much about the song and accompanying visuals. I aimed to reflect the instrumental aspects of the song in terms of the mise en scene, by using as drums and 2 guitars to match up with the instrumental parts of the song. Not only did this match the song but it also correlated with conventions of other performance music videos. Also when not showing the band performance the drummer when in the car was drumming the back of the front seats, to ensure a continuation of this relationship.

Technical Aspects of Music Video

In terms of technical aspects I used the same camera throughout the whole filming process of my video. This was done deliberately to ensure a continuation of the quality of footage produced. This lived up to conventions of a music video and their maintained visual quality. A video that does challenge these conventions is Jake Bugg’s ‘Trouble Town, whereby he uses different cameras to create varying visual effects. Finally relating to the mise en scene I ensured the car was empty and when filming the music video on a driveway no items/or rubbish were in the frame. This made it look like a authentic production and accounted for the matching of conventions.

 

 

 

 

 

Filming Schedule

Monday 18th November 2013

• Test the attachment of camera inside the car
• Try out the logistics of people being seen in the car
• See how it would work with people gradually leaving the car
• Get performers into the song, learning lyrics and adapting their performance to the track
• Source all equipment required for the band performance
• review footage afterwards to assess, camera steadiness and how well it incorporates the band in the car

Sunday 24th November 2014

• Film all 3 band members in the car performing
• Film 2 band members in the car performing
• Film 1 band member in the car performing
• Film empty car
• Film all 3 members in band performing
• Film drummer and one guitarist in band performing
• Film just the drummer  in band performing
• Film setting up of band performing to add authenticity in the video

Music Video Inspirations

The first video I took inspiration was the Arctic Monkeys 'R U Mine'. I enjoyed watching this video and thought the mix between performance within the car and the more conventional band performance was a good combination. However such a video was achieved by Arctic Monkeys because Alex Turner is a highly talented performer, therefore replicating such good levels of performance would be difficult. As a result I decided to add a different dimension to my video, with a stop-motion element. Unlike in 'R U Mine' where both band members leave the car together, I chose to have my artists leaving the car at separate intervals, before subsequently appearing in the band performance. I felt this would detract from the fact they aren't professional performers and make the video interesting to watch, whereas with 'R U MINE' people will enjoy the video based on the Arctic Monkeys involvement solely. Moreover when editing the video I chose to convert my footage from within the car into black and white. This wasn't originally the plan, despite it working so well in 'R U Mine'. However it was difficult to light the car and putting the footage into black and white made it less glary, appearing more natural and authentic. Nonetheless I stuck with colour on the band performance footage, as I felt it looked more appropriate and showed clear differentiation between the two separate locations. Whilst the change in colour also provided the video with an additional element and this would keep it more interesting than if it was all in black and white. I felt this was essential as regardless of the song people will stop watching if the video is not interesting.

Furthermore the text at the start I felt would not only fill some of the time whilst the instrumental was playing (which could otherwise become boring if you weren't a massive fan of the song), but with it being a new artist would identify them quickly. Moreover I used the same font on this text as on my Digipak and Advert to continue this continuity and enhance 'Lost Planets' Identity.

Finally the transitions between these pieces of texts was similar to the transitions used on Kodaline's video for 'Love Like This'. The slide/wipe worked well because it was not too abrupt but clearly highlighted the change in text, enabling the audience to not be able to miss any information.

Digipak and Poster inspirations and the thinking behind them

After the feedback for the first drafts I decided that I needed to go at the work by focusing more on the conventions and what has gone beforehand on album covers and magazine adverts. Therefore I needed two key things, continuity and to create a bold identity for my artists. I felt this would prove difficult in terms of creating a completely original design from scratch, so therefore felt it would be best to adopt and carry on ideas used on existing material.

One of the pieces I used for such inspiration was Arctic Monkeys 5^th album ‘AM’. I felt this was a minimalistic design, but still had a strong style which stood out from other albums. I also believed I could convert features they used for my own work, to make it a success. The first of these was to use the idea of a line running through the whole digipak (as on AM) within my pieces of work. However I would choose 2 lines and these would primarily come from the underlining of the Artists name on the album cover and poster. These lines then continued throughout the whole digipak, including the booklet. Not only do I feel this created a bold style, but it showed the continuity which the first drafts lacked and the development I had made. Moreover like on ‘AM’ it split up the track list and I felt although this was for no logical reason, it aesthetically worked well and livened what can be a dull part of a digipak.

 

Furthermore I also took inspiration from The Black Keys 6^th album ‘Brothers’. It was clear from my first draft that the Images used were boring and uninspiring. As a result I decided to change tact and avoid the use of images on the digipak and went for a plain yet bold black background. Such a background made the text appear bold and also followed conventions of many albums which avoid the use of images in preference for a more powerful focus on the text. I felt the power created on the front of ‘Brothers’ was achieved by the font used, therefore I researched this font and found it o be called Cooper Black. I then used this in my own work for a lot of my text; however I didn’t solely use it I felt it would then lose its effect, becoming boring and predictable. The other font I used ‘Alien’ contrasted well with ‘Cooper Black’ as it was more pointed as opposed to rounded. I also on occasions used it in red as to differentiate between the artists name and the album’s title.

Additionally on both pieces I focused on conventions such as simply trying to make the work appear more credible and authentic.  These were often simple things such as using the Sony record label and the positioning of the barcode.

Finally the use of just the three colours black, white and red I felt not only made the pieces bold, but kept it original and followed the conventions of these three colours going together and complementing one another.

 

The Vaccines, I Always Knew Storyboard

Music Video Feedback

• An idea that doesn't really go anywhere.The song is far too dreamy and the video is very much of the real world.
• There's to much walking and countryside and no performance.
• You need to film again and come up with an idea that incorporates more performance.
• Keep it as simple as possible. Involve the 'artist' in the video.
• Lots of close ups and mid shots please.
• Level 2

Final Digipak and Poster

Digipak

Front and Back cover of booklet

 

 

 

Music Video (First Draft)

Digipak (font alteration)

Music Poster (font two)

 

Music Poster (font one)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digipak and Poster (1st Drafts) Feedback

For the Digipak the images used were seen as a bit dull, lacking impact and appeared washed out. This is fair comment, as they don't stand out and are quite boring. They possibly appear washed out because of they heavy rain at the time. Also it would be better to move the legal information from the inside left panel to the back cover, to make it look more authentic and credible. Similarly I need to add a catalogue number to enhance the albums athenticity. Additionally it would look better if the barcode and record company logo, were moved to the side or made to the same size. This is because at the moment they look a bit out of place, as well as cheap because of their differing size.Finally the font needs altering because like the above items, it seems out of place and doesn't fit in with the style of iamges used.

 

 

 

 

The main point of feedback for the Poster was that it was severely lacking in any impact, mainly contributed to by the dull image, which taken on the same day appears boring and washed out. It also lacks information because their is no release date for the album, just a random quote in support of the album. Therefore as well as the release date, perhaps a website or tour dates could be added to further add information, whilst increasing the posters credibility.

 

 

Overall I need to improve the impact of both my digipak and poster, by improving the images used and the fonts chosen. This will make them stand out more and look more professional, which could also be contributed to by using an official record company logo, as opposed to designing one myself, that doesn't look credible.