Evaluation 4 -Media Technologies

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? (YouTube, Photoshop, Premiere Elements)

Media technologies have been of a great use throughout the entirety of our project, predominately the research, planning and evaluation stages. We have used pieces of software that provide a wide variety of functions and software that has specific purposes, however all of which we have found to be equally useful.

One of the first pieces of media technology that we used in our project is the vastly popular Internet video sharing site – YouTube. We used this to watch existing music video’s in the music industry to evaluate and analyse them. At first we had some issues when trying to access the site as the school network we were on did not allow users to visit YouTube. However, this problem was overcome and when we finally managed to visit the site, we were able to embed the video’s into our blog and analyse the conventions and contents of both the video’s themselves, but also of the acoustic genre that we had chosen to create a video for. This was at the very beginning of our project and we later returned to use the media technology that is YouTube to help us clear one of the final hurdles in our project. This hurdle was getting our video published so that it could be viewed by our target audience and so that we could hold viewings to gather feedback on our video.

We also used the internet to use Blogger, another website where you can share information, be it text, music or video, with people around the world. We used Blogger to create our ‘e-portfolio’s’ and it came to be a great help as we could edit, create or manage the posts that we created while we were at home or otherwise outside of the school network. We had a few issues with accessing blogger as the school network did not always allow access to the site however, having access from outside the school network allowed us to collate all our work into one place where it would be safe and look very presentable.

When it came to editing our music video and applying the audio track to run in time with it, we used the program Adobe Premiere Elements. This software allowed us to cut, trim, add effects, edit and apply audio to the clips we had filmed while being able to carry out a lot more functions. At first, we found it the program a little tricky to get to grips with but after a few hours practice we had managed to start understanding the programs functions and tools. It was easy to use as we could drop all our clips into one long list then select them to add as appropriate. While adding effects to the clips, Premiere Elements allowed us to preview how the clip would look before fully applying the effect and adding the clip onto the timeline, this was very helpful as we experimented with a wide variety of effects however only a select few made it through into the final cut. We also found it useful in places where we had a clip that was just a little short of fitting in with the audio track. The software, in these places, had the option to stretch out, or condense clips down to fit in with the audio track. We did not experience any real problems while using this software however, we did have a few tumbles where we misplaced clips or the software would crash and not save our work, this was again due to the school network having problems.

One of the final pieces of technology that we used was Adobe Photoshop. We used this to create our album cover and our tour poster (ancillary texts). The software was very useful and fairly self explanatory when it came to using its tools. I found the way that you could create layers and edit/delete each one individually very useful indeed. Photoshop contained many useful tools that we experimented with to get the most from the program however; we only ended up using a few of these because we did not want to overdo our products and keep them as realistic and natural as possible. One of the effects we did use was render>effects>lighting effects. We used this lighting effect to create a spotlight than shone across the back cover of our album. This was to create the illusion that there was a light shining onto the track list and it also helps focus the audience’s attention onto this space.

While filming our music video we made use of the camera Panasonic SDR S26. This camera is fairly standard however did not record the best quality images. We also used a standard tripod to create the steady, stationary shots that we required. This however did not always work too well as the tripods were quite old and in places were stiff to move and in some places, a bit ‘jerky’ and unsteady. We were offered the use of artificial lighting, however, our group turned it down as we wanted to make sure that our product looked natural and we used only ambient lighting in the production of our work. I feel that our final product (the music video) that we created was of a good quality, however it could have been improved slightly had we had more up to date or more industrial standard equipment.

Overall, the use of media technologies that we had access to throughout our project has had a massive effect on the quality and finish of both our main product and ancillary texts. Although we encountered a few technical products here and there with some of the technologies, our group managed to work our way around them in an efficient and professional way. Our final product and ancillary texts both had a good quality and professional finish (this can be backed up with our audience feedback) and this is down to our use of the media technologies such as the editing software Adobe Premiere Elements and Adobe Photoshop. If we were to complete the project again, I would use the same software that we used this time however I feel we could make a slightly higher quality product now that we have the knowledge of how to use the programs.

Evaluation 3 - Combining Our Products

How effective is the combination of your main product (video) and ancillary texts (tour poster & CD)?

In our group, while creating all of our products we kept the same idea’s in our minds throughout the process of making each one. This ensured that we could keep a common theme and style throughout the video and both the CD cover and tour poster. As they all have similar styles and themes throughout, when put together and combined, I think our products work very well together. It is easy to see that they are all linked just from looking at the contents and how the different components are placed and used.

It was important for us to make sure that our music video, CD cover and Tour Poster combined together well and had similarities between them. This is because we wanted out products to be the best possible quality and have a professional feel to them. There was a certain amount of importance to create a good combination of the tour poster and the cd cover as the album is supposed to be released alongside the tour so to make it as realistic as possible, a clear link must be visible between the two products.

One of the main similarities between our main product and ancillary texts is the way in which we have used the artist’s name. Each time you see this, it is written in the same font and colour on every product. This gives the products an instant link to each other and makes sure that when combined, they look like they belong together and not from or about completely different artists/genres. We not only used the name in this way to combine our products but also to ensure that our artist will be recognised each time her name is seen in this format. We also used similar text fonts and colours for smaller pieces of text on the tour poster and CD cover, this was so that when the products were all combined they suit each other, have a common style and are not made up of mixed up fonts, sizes and colours.

Another significant link between our main product and ancillary texts is the presence of our artist. Our artist is the main character in our video and appears in both the narrative and performance sections. She fits the stereotypical girl who you would imagine to fit in to the acoustic genre with blonde hair and is naturally good looking. She is also the main image on our CD cover so this gives an obvious direct link between the two products. Though this is the case, our artist is not present on the tour poster however; we thought that the video may still be linked to the poster through the album cover. This would be through the album title style and the artists ‘signature’ style. I feel that this means they are well combined even though the products do not all link directly to each other.

In conclusion, when we put all three of our products next to each other, it is clear and easy to see the links between them, however further, more complex links can be found when an individual looks closer into our work. All the products we made tie in well with each other and combine in a professional way to create our project and can be seen as a brand for ‘MOR Music’ and the artist we used.

Evaluation 2.1 - Audience Feedback

This post contains graphs that show the feedback we were given when we handed out our questionnaires during our focus groups.

Evaluation 2 - Audience Feedback

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

We held two small screenings for a focus group where our audience could watch our music video and then answer a short questionnaire after the viewing. We had responses from five males and five females, all within the age range 13-57 – the majority being in the target group of 13-20 years. The first two questions were about the person filling out the questionnaire simply asking their gender and age.
We then asked questions based around the form of our video. The first question in this section queried the understanding of the video’s narrative. All ten people in our focus group told us that they did understand the narrative, which reinforced us with a feeling of confidence that we had created the narrative in a solid, clear way. One member of the focus group expressed that it was very clear and easy to understand, however, another suggested that it may become clearer if some form of title was included. This taught us that although we had made a clear narrative there are ways in which it can be improved through simple, yet effective, methods.
The following question asked the individual whether they thought that it was a good mix of narrative and performance in the video. To make sure that we got the best feedback possible we explained the meaning of this question and the different forms a music video can take. This ensured the focus group had a clear understanding of the question and could give a good quality answer. One of the males in the group commented that the inclusion of the two forms of video gave it a professional finish and made it ‘more emotional’. Other members expressed that it gave the video more depth. This taught us that it can be very effective to use more than one form of video as long as they are used in moderation and in an appropriate way.
A question was included in the feedback form asking what target audience they thought our video was aimed at. The answers came back in a very positive way with 8 out of 10 in the focus group saying teenagers (13-20) and 3 out of these 8 saying that they thought it was aimed at females. We learnt from this that we had achieved making the video appeal to our target audience as 80% of the focus group believed it was aimed at these people.
‘Do you think our video looks like a real life product?’ was one of our later questions for the focus group. Seven members of the focus group said that it did and looked professional. However, the other three claimed there could be; ‘some amendments made’, ‘possibly but it needed syncing’ and ‘if it stopped bouncing up and down’. This told us that we had made a good quality video however there was still room for improvement for it to be the best that it possibly could be, however due to complications with retrieving the audio track and filming schedules, some of these comments were expected.
We also asked our group what they thought could be improved. We did this so we could learn what we could improve on, or what we did well on, should we repeat this project. Some of the improvements suggested included; ‘facial expressions and acting’, ‘include opening titles’ and the most common suggestion was to increase the diversity of camera angles. We learnt from this that it is very easy to over use particular camera angles/movements, and this can have a direct effect on the quality of the video.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we asked our focus group whether they enjoyed watching our music video. 100% of the focus group answered that they did and this made us confident that we had created a video that was of a good quality that people would enjoy watching. Although all of our members did enjoy it, we are aware that this does not mean that it will be to everyone’s taste and everyone will enjoy it.

Evaluation 1 - Our Products

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

In many ways, our media products conform to the conventions of both our chosen genre and real media products. Firstly, our video sticks to the conventions through the form of the video using both performance and narrative in the visuals of our video. We used a simple narrative storyline about a girl who fell in love with a boy but did not have enough confidence to tell him, then when she gets the confidence to tell him the boy has found someone else. This gives the video a theme of love which is a theme very often found in music videos for the acoustic genre such as Duffy’s ‘Warwick Avenue’. We also stuck to the conventions of fades and slow paced editing to fit in with the genre of our chosen song.
Also, in our video, our artist was our main character in the narrative. This will help the artist get recognition for her music as people will be seeing her on not just the CD cover but in the visuals and audio of the music video too. This will mean the audience will start recognising her music and make the link between herself as an individual and her music creating a brand. This is important because she is just starting out in the industry and the sooner she gets recognised by more people then the sooner her fan base will grow. I don’t think that we challenged the conventions of the music video as we wanted to stick close to home with the acoustic genre.
Our CD cover conformed greatly to the conventions of a real life product. We decided to use a close up of our artist to use as the cover image for our CD. This means that the audience’s main focus on the CD cover is the artist. This means that the audience can put a face to the artists name whenever they hear her mentioned or hear one of her songs. We used a ‘sophisticated’ font for the artist’s name, which stands out slightly against the simple features on the rest of our ancillary texts. We used the same font across the CD covers and the tour poster so that there was a common style in which our audiences saw our artist’s name. The distorted background we used helped massively to help the audience focus on the close up of the artist. We applied a ‘lipstick’ effect on Photoshop to the artist’s eyes in the close up image which gave the audience an even finer focus point and suggests she is looking directly at the audience and added a splash of colour onto our CD cover. We also kept close to the conventions of a real life album cover on the backing to it where we included a barcode, copyright information and company logo across the bottom. These are featured on real life CD’s so we added them to ours to give it an air of professionalism and reality. I think we deviated slightly from the conventions of a CD cover when creating the track list as we wrote the track numbers in word format rather than the conventional number format. This is not completely new, but has not been used enough to be seen as a convention. We did this to represent going back to basics and thought that it would give the CD cover a unique point to it to stand it out against other products that would be on the market.
Our tour poster also fit into the conventions of real life products quite comfortably. The main component that fits into this is the list of tour dates on the right third of the poster. These are featured on almost every tour poster and are the main point of the product. With this in mind, we included them in a simple font to fit in with the rest of our ancillary texts and so that the information that the audience would need can be seen clearly and understood when walking by. We also included the artists name and tour name to fit in with conventions and to increase the recognition of our artist. The styles of the album and artists name also fit in with the rest of our products as the album release and tour are too run alongside each other so this is shadowed in the products we created.
Overall I think our products fit in well with the conventions of real life products and have a high level of professionalism about them. We kept within the conventions with most of our work as we wanted to keep within the boundaries of our genre and products. This was our safest decision as we knew these conventions worked well in the real world and are already successful. However, I believe there were a few cases where we deviated and challenged the conventions to make our product. The reasons for this were purely to make our products unique to others in the real world and to show that there was something that our artist has that others do not.

Final Video

This is our final music video, we have distributed it onto the internet using YouTube and is available at this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcMUaZdMacw

Tour Poster

Our tour poster ties in with the rest of our products in number of ways. We created it using PhotoShop using preset features and our own images. We used the same font and font colour on the artists name as we used on our other products. This is because it helps link all of our ancillary texts. As well as this, in the real world, if the public were seeing the new artists name in the same way in different places they are more likely to remember it through the style used. We used it for these reasons as it would help our new artists fame and star persona grow in the music industry. We have also used the same name for both the tour and album - I'm Ready Now. This is because it is our artists first tour and album so the names represent that the artist is now ready to make it big in the music industry and has a talent that should be eventually known worldwide. We have followed the conventions of tour posters by including a list of tour dates on the right side of the poster. These are in a simple white font to fit in and coincide with the rest of our ancillary products. The main image on the tour poster is an original image that we took at a school's drama studio. We set up the stool and microphone stand and positioned the lights above to create the shadow that we wanted to achieve. We left the stool empty to keep a slight air of mystery around our artist and although she is 'ready now', she knows that she still has a lot of work to put in and a long way to go until she has reached the fame where she will be known by her face alone.

CD Inners

To the left you can see our left side inner (top) and our right side inner (bottom). These were the most basic products that we created and we kept them simple and minimalistic as we did not want to go over the top in the design of the CD covers as a whole. For this reason on the left side inner, we inserted just the album name on the bottom right corner. This is to remind people of the album name and as this is also our artists first album, we left the rest of the inner black as this represents a wide space and that our artist has room to grow her fame, star persona and career in the music industry.

Our right side inner was designed like this for many of the same reasons as the left one - to leave space for our artist to expand, to not overdo the overall design of our album inserts. On this inner we decided to insert the logo of the record label 'MOR Music' to increase the publics awareness to this music label.

CD Back Cover

This is the back of our CD Cover that we created using PhotoShop. We tried to stick closely to the conventions while creating this and as you can see we included the generic items that are featured on a real life CD backing. These are included across the bottom of the product, and include the copyright details, manufacturers details, record label details, the record label logo and a barcode. We included these features in a smaller, minimalistic and plain text as they do not need to stand out so much however, people can read it and see it clearly should they want to.

We tried to keep the back cover in line with our other products so it is quite simple, yet I believe it is effective. In our tour poster we had a light shining down over a chair and microphone and we tried to continue this theme on our CD backing which you can see in the top right corner, there is the light shining onto the tracklist. We created this effect in photoshop using render>lighting effects then changed the settings and angle of the light to what we wanted.

When writing out the tracklist we tried to choose song titles that fit in with our chosen genre - acoustic. We also decided that we would use simple colours that we used across the range of our ancillary texts to keep a common house style within our products. They also represent going back to basics and being simplistic, and this is what we aimed to achieve by writing the song numbers in a text format rather than the conventional number format.