When researching information that would lead to the inspiration for construction of my media product I used both an apple Mac and an advent laptop to find out information then to write up my own thoughts and ideas. At this stage the equipment that I was using was not chosen specifically as it didn’t require any software that either one possessed.Whilst on either the Mac or advent laptop I used a variety of technologies, these included:

1) YouTube to watch and analyze music videos that have already been constructed.

2) Word press to blog every step of the process.

3) HMV website to analyze Artist albums.

4) MySpace to analyze current band websites.

5) Microsoft word to type up my findings and start construction.

Planning

When planning my media creations I again used the apple Mac and the advent laptop as my main source. Through them I also used :

1) Microsoft word to write up all of my planning.

2) As used in every stage in my work I used word press as an online blogger to blog my process throughout.

3) ITunes and IPod to listen to selected song repeatedly.

Construction

It is in the construction stage that the needs of the equipment used are different. I used an apple Mac for the construction of the Album booklet as I needed to use Photoshop. I used the advent laptop to edit the movie as I wanted to use windows movie maker. I also used :

1)  MySpace to create the bands MySpace page. To do that I used various other websites for codes to edit the MySpace page.

2) Word press to blog what I was doing.

3) Fujifilm A100 for two scenes of footage and all of the photo’s that were used for the website, album cover and music video.

4) Winait DV-136 1.5 LCD 3.1MP 4X digital zoom Digital Camcorder. Was used to capture the majority of the footage.

5) Blackberry curve 8250 to play the music off of so the participants can lip sing.

6) Face book to email my participants about meeting times.

Evaluation

I used both the Advent laptop and the apple Mac to create my evaluation. Other things I used were :

1) Microsoft PowerPoint to create my evaluation on.

2) Word press to blog everything that I was doing.

3) Microsoft word to write up evaluations to hand out to my target audience to get their opinion on all that I have done.

How would my production be better if I had other technologies ?

 If I had a different selection of technologies available to me then my work would have been slightly different.

Lighting

  Lighting was something that I had very little control over as there were no lighting kits available to me by college and I did not have my own. Therefore all I could do was pick days where the sun produced the correct amount of light I needed, or near enough, and I had to make do with whatever amount of light the light bulbs gave me. If I did have equipment available then my music video would have looked more professional. One setting that I used where lighting was a big problem was the wood setting, in which the sun has come through a pink colour and is noticeable. I would have liked to re-do this shot however my participants having the available time to re-do things was limited.

Photo editing

  I used Photoshop to edit all photos that I were using, however as I can’t afford the software at home, so could only edit when in collage. If Photoshop was available to me at home then I feel like all edits would have been in higher quality as I would have had unlimited time at home to edit for my final pieces.

Contacting equipment

   As I have a blackberry, there is an application which allows blackberry phones to contact each other for free by a messaging chat service. If my two participants had blackberry then it would have been very easy to contact them to arrange meeting times for filming. However as they don’t and may not always have credit to reply I had to contact them through face book, which then relies on them logging on to the website to read the message so it can’t always be guaranteed that they will read it and reply by the time that I would have liked them to.

Filming and editing

   As the only way to use a high quality recording camera was to use the college’s however then I would have had to edit it on imovie software which at the time that I was ready edit no one was able to work the software so I decided to use windows movie maker at home as then I was also able to edit it whenever I wanted and not stick to class times. This has made my music video look less professional but in a way does fit in with a video from a new artist so in a way It works.

Technological determinism

New technology did influence my media texts in certain ways, for instance the quality of the video due to the equipment I was working with. Also the limited time that I had with Photoshop, however I feel that I have made the most with what I have and would not let the limitations that I had in front of me stand in my way. There was some pluses to new technology and how it influenced my work, for instance YouTube, without which I would have had to watched music video’s on the television and would not have been able to pause to right notes or to chose what videos I wanted to watch. This shows how the progression of web 2.0 has opened up creative tools for inspiration. Also the advances in software such as windows movie maker and Photoshop has allowed me to create what I have.

A link to a powerpoint with this information on can be found ->

   Before I start evaluating the audience feedback that I received I would like to state that everyone asked were in my target audience, however I knew everyone who took place so whilst they are all giving their opinion they could have given  socially desirable answers and/or may have been biased. Questions 1-6 were all about different aspects of the music video, the audience were asked to rate each on a scale of 1-10, for all of these questions the feedback was on the high-end of the scale, they averaged at 8, 9′s and 10′s, this tell’s be that the audience enjoyed my music video, thought the aspects of it worked well and found it believable. Question 7 was about the audience’s opinion on the age of target audience, the average result suggested that the target audience would be age 14-20. This is similar to the type of audience that I aimed to connect with. Question 8 was one of the important ones as it was asking the audience what their favourite part of the music video was, this is important to me as it allows me to understand what I have done well. The results showed that the highest percentage (30%) that agreed with each other were suggesting that they felt that the ending was the best part, how it was all brought together with all questions being answered and finally the suicide which shows a clear ending to the music video narrative. The second highest percentage (20%) suggested that the settings where the best part of the music video, in particular the field/Forrest scene. All other things that were suggested were only suggested by one person. Question 9 is also important as it lets me know which parts members of the audience didn’t think worked or that they disliked. The feedback suggested that other than the 40% who said nothing, 30% said that the camera movements were too shaky, and 30% said that lighting in some bits needed to be improved. In question 10 everyone asked said that the narrative went with the music, which is something that I was trying to achieve. And question 11 asked what changes would the audience make to the music video if they had the chance, this was also an important question as everyone see’s things different and I was interested in what other people thought needed to be included, other than the 40% who weren’t helpful and said they wouldn’t change a thing, the only thing more than one person said was to get the characters not laughing, other things were also suggested, including make the story more darker, change the props, add more detail to story line, and have steadier camera movements. Questions 12 and 13 showed that everyone would watch the music video again, and that the music video flows from scene to scene. When question 14 asked if anything got in the way of the flowing 80% said nothing did, and two suggestions were made, which were the singing in mirror scene and the lip singing was out of sync in one shot.

   From my feedback I now realise that I should have asked the audience’s opinions earlier on when I had more time to then make changes due to their opinion as it is the target audience that I am trying to reach with my music video, although they did seem to enjoy it as feel it replicates a real music video, even a couple of slight changes could have made it even better. Some of the things such as them not liking how un steady the camera is at times I do agree with, so my ideas plus the target audiences could have made a music video of higher quality.

Ancillary project 1 : Website

   Questions 1 and 2 showed me that the MySpace looked realistic of a bands MySpace and that it was easy to navigate round, which are both important as it shows I’ve put in recognisable features. Question 3 was asking what the target audience believed to be the target audience, results averaged at 13-19, which is around the actual target audience which is good. Question showed that everyone thought the colours worked together. Question 5 is important as it is asking the audience’s favourite part of the website, 60% suggested that having individual pictures of each band member was the best part, 20% suggested the merchandise link was the best part and the other 20 % suggested that the way it all goes together is what is the best. Another two important questions were questions 6 and 7 as they discovered the least favourite part and what was missing. The majority of people suggested that the site was too relaxed, and they would add more eye-catching things. So this is something that I would keep in mind if ever creating a real band website and looking to attract people.

Ancillary project 2 : Album booklet

   The booklet is analized by page, so there is the front cover, then 6 inside double pages. For the front cover the majority of people gave it a 9 on a scale of 1 – 10 due to how realistic it looked. The two highest rated aspect were the setting and the font used. Half of the people asked would have liked the image to be closer up. Inside 1, this is also got a 9 as it was the most common choice, the audience liked the image used, shortly followed by the contrast with the image. Half of the people asked would have liked the text sized increased the most on this double page. Inside 2′s most common score was a 7, and the background and picture used were tied for te audience’s favourite thing. However their least favourite thing was once again clearer text. Inside 3 tied on highest score with a 10 and a 6, which are both very different which i put down to everyone having different taste, the colous used were rated the best part, and they thought that i could have used something other than a border on this picture. Inside 4 showed the most popular rating o be a 9 for this double page, the font lay out and it being eye-catching were tied on being the best part of the double page, and background and more separation tied on being what needed improving. Inside 5 received a 8 by a significant difference, half the people asked thought that te layout was the best part of the double page, and the circles in the layout were also chosen as what needed improving, either people loved it or hated it. Inside 6 received a 9 and the favourite thing was both the colours and layout, and the size’s of images needed changing.

- Although I did not use the Lead singer of the band who features in the music video on the front cover like you would find on a variety of current albums, I did use a band member. If you go onto the band website you can see individual photos of each band member, including the drummer who is featured on the front of the album cover and fans will recognise that. This connects the two together.

- Inside the album booklet there is at least one picture of every band member which again connects to the individual pictures on the MySpace. Together they tell show that a band consists of more than one person, which is a quality that a lot of bands fail to show.

- The events that take place in the music video can be described as quirky and edgy, including suicide, obsession, stalking. These components are not something that is seen in music videos on a day to day basis, if you look at the song titles on the bands album such as ‘Revenge’ ‘Numb’ Girl with one eye’ these are also topics that are not seen in the happy, loving image that is frequently linked with pop/indie bands, videos and lyrics. The way that the video’s contents/lyrics and the album song titles have similar feelings in them link them together in an effective way unique to the band.

- The music video has a dark undertone to it with the events that take place, I chose to use red and black writing on the MySpace as they are colours that represent death and evil. However to contrast this on the Album cover I had the words ‘Bad reputation’ in white as white is symbolise pure and innocence which is opposing to the words being show. This was done to say behind the bad appearance (wording) people do have good in them (white writing).

Overall I could have created the three products to correspond with each other more as there was many more opportunity to. However as they stand I believe that the combination of my three products are effective together due to the multiple links between them. It would be clear to anyone that they all of the products do back each other up and are connected.

Current music video’s

1) Lyrics: In pinks video ‘So what’ the lyrics state “I wanna start a fight nanananananana I wana start a fight” At the same time you can see her starting a fight with a man in a music store. Lyrics correspond with what is shown on-screen.

2) Music/tempo: In lady gaga’s video telephone, in an averaged paced 20 second clip there is 7 edits. Then in a fast paced 20 second clip of the song there is 29 edits. A significant difference is show.

3) Genre: Avril Lavigne’s video girlfriend present the indie pop approach on relationship problems. Although they are often featured in music videos of this genre they are always tackled in a light-hearted comic way. In shot above she bumps a boys girlfriend of a go-kart track so she can talk to him and it is all done in a light-hearted manner. No subject of high seriousness is approached.

4) Camera work: In Lily Allen’s video who’d have know there is a slight low angle throughout the majority of the  video when showing Lily, this presents her as some one with power.

5) Intertextuality: Intertextuality is not always obvious to the audience. Its mean is to add pleasure to people who spot the reference.  In d12 song ‘my band’ You can see a member imitating a scene from 50cents video in da club. Spotting and noticing this will flatter the audience.

6) Exhibitionism: Many female’s Music videos present themselves as being sexual provocative and in control of, and inviting a sexual gaze. In Britney spear’s video ‘womanizer’ it shows Britney laying down naked in a steam room, seducing the viewers.

7) location: The location in music videos is used to present themes moods and thoughts. In pinks video ‘sober’ you see pink in a white room which presents isolation.

My music video

1) Lyrics: In my music video the still shot above shows a hand going under her skirt/dress and pulling it up. At the time the lyrics state “I slipped my hand under her skirt” This shows that I have related the narrative to the song.  This is something that frequently happens in music videos.

2) Music/tempo : In the first 20 seconds of the first verse which is of an average pace for the song there is 2 cuts used. Later on in the song when the fast fastens, in the space of 20 seconds there are 8 cuts used. This shows a differences in the amount of editing used to match alongside the tempo of the music.

3) Genre: My music video challenges the conventions of an indie pop music video.  One example of this is by having my character commit suicide. This stretches from the ‘happiness’ seen in indie pop videos to a more dark troubled route. Also by making my character have a obsession/lesbian love interest challenges the conventions of media products as homosexuality strains from the ‘social norm’.

4) Camera work:  Near the start of my music video low angle camera shot is used on character a in bed to show  how they are in control of everything. Later on there is a point of view shot reverse show which presents a low angle shot on character b and a high angles shot on character a, this shows how the tables have turned and character b is not in control. Final when character a takes commits suicide a high angle shot is used to show her loss of control.

5) Intertextuality: In my music video there is no intertextuality . However I have used some key items like the diary which revels secrets similar to those in the movie ‘single white female’ which inspired me.

6) Exhibitionism:  My music video does not present and exhibitionism at all. There is so seductiveness in any character, and no sexual appeal. In this was my music video does not go with the conventions of real music videos. It’s challenging the audience’s reason to watch music videos as it is not just to see sexual elements.

7) Location: In my music video the location of field/forest is used to show the isolation and determination of the mind of the character on screen.

A link to a Powerpoint with this information can be found > Evaluation

For each image there will be three questions. For each I would like you to rate the image on a scale of 1-10. Also state in your opinion the best part of each and what you would improve.

Front cover

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10

Best:

Improvements:

Inside 1

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10

Best:

Improvements:

Inside 2

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10

Best:

Improvements:

Inside 3

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10

Best:

Improvements:

Inside 4

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10

Best:

Improvements:

Inside 5

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10

Best:

Improvements:

Inside 6 :

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10

Best:

Improvements:

Below is the results from the questionnaire feedback

Front cover:

30% 10, 30% 8, 40 % 9

30% Setting, 30% font, 20% girl, 20% everything

20% better quality, 50% closer image, 30% not sure

Inside 1

40 % 10, 30 % 9, 30 % 8

30 % contrast, 30 % pose, 40% image

30% needs more going on, 50% increase text size, 20%larger picture

Inside 2

30% 8, 30 % 6, 40 % 7

40 % picture, 40% Background, 20% colours

30 % font colour, 50 % clearer text, 20%picture more connected

Inside 3

30% 10, 30 % 6, 20 % 7, 10% 8

30 % Image, 40 % Colours, 30 % Clear

30 % Bland background, 40% something other than a border, 30 % clearer writing

Inside 4

40% 9, 30% 6, 20% 8, 10% 7

40 % font layout, 40 % Eye catching, 20% layout

50 % background, 50% more separation

Inside 5

80 % 8, 20% 7

50% layout, 30% Image, 20 % abstractness, 20 %

40% Circles, 40 % layout, 20% colours

Inside 6

40% 9, 30% 7, 30% 8

40 % colours, 40% layouts, 20% photos

30% photos, 30% blending, 40% size’s of images

Could you please rate questions 1-6 on a scale of 1-10.

 1) What is your overall rating of this music video? ……

 2) How would you rate the variety of camera shots? …….

 3) How would you rate the storyline? …….

 4) How would you rate the lighting? ……

 5) How would you rate the performance of the characters? …..

 6) How far do you believe that the music video could be a real music video? ……

 7) Who would you think the target audience for this video would be? …..

 8) What is the best part of this video? …..

 9) What would you suggest needs improving? ……

 10) Does the story go with the music/lyrics? …..

 11) What changes would you make to the video? …..

 12) Would you watch this music video again? ……

 13) Does the video flow? ……

 14) What stop the flowing, or is there anything that doesn’t fit into place? ….

Below are the results from the Questionnaire

Question 1 – 60% 9, 30% 8, 10% 10

Question 2 – 50 % 9, 50% 10

Question 3 – 60% 10, 20 % 9, 10% 8, 10 % 7

Question 4 – 40% 8, 20 % 7, 20% 6, 20% 10

Question 5 – 60% 10, 20% 9, 10% 8, 10% 7

Question 6 – 60% 10, 20 % 9, 20% 8

Question 7 – 14-20

Question 8 – 30% ending,, 20% wood/field, 10% singing mirror, singing bonnet, camera shots, draws eye, car mirror

Question 9 – 40 % nothing, 30% camera movements, 30% lighting

Question 10 – 100% yes

Question 11 – 40% no, 20% Laughing, 10 % props, more detail, steadier camera, make it darker,

Question 12 – 100% Yes

Question 13 – 100% Yes

Question 14 – 80 % nothing, 10 % singing in mirror, line out of sync

Circle the selected choice

 1. Does this MySpace look imitate a bands website?

 No….a little…Yes

 2. Is It easy to navigate round the MySpace Page?

No…a little…Yes

 3. What age would you think would most likely go on this Bands website ?

 5-10 11-15  16-24 25-30 31-40

 4. Do you think the colours work well together ?

 No…a little…yes

 5. What is the best part of this MySpace page?

…………..

6. What is your least favorite part of this MySpace page?

…………..

 7. What is missing from this MySpace page, what would you add ? …………..

Below is the results from the feedback

1 – 100% Yes

2 – 100% Yes

3 – 13 – 19

4 – 100% Yes

5 – 60 % individual pictures, 20 % merchandise, 20 & variety of things on there

6 – 30 % not enough advertisement, 50 % too relaxed, 20 % Open space

7 – 60 % More eye catching, 40 % needs music/more videos

Verse 1

00.00-00.01   Slight low angle, mid shot, Character A lying in bed.

00.02-00.09 Three images shown of Character A and B.

00.10-00.12 Low angle shot of sky, A and B walk over camera.

00.13-00.15 Close up A’s face, lip sings

00.16-00.19 A’s point of view, 45 degree turn to watch B skipping

00.20-00.23 two shot A and B walking

00.24-00.28 Close up A’s head, lip sings

00.29-00.32 High angle, girls hug zooms in

00.33-00.35 A sniff’s b’s hair, over the shoulder shot

00.36-00.39 Shot reverse shot, A and B driving away in car, looking out mirror

00.40-00.40 Tilt upwards to sun

Verse 2

00.41-00.42 close up of a knife

00.42-00.46 close up of knife cutting an eye

00.48-00.48 Over the shoulder shot of a putting picture on a wall

00.49- 00.51 zoom into close up of drawing on the eye

00.52-00.53 Low angle A on bed

00.54-00.55 over the shoulder shot of laptop

00.56-00.58 close up of picture on laptop

00.59-01.01 High angle a in bed grabs diary

01.02-01.02 high angle behind view of her writing

01.03-01.06 close up of diary, pans down the page

01.07-01.08 Slight low angle, a going to sleep

Chorus

01.09-01.19 Close up of A singing, turns 45 degrees to show her sitting on car

01.20-01.24 shot reverse shot of point of view window and A singing on car mid shot

01.25 -01.29 Close up of A’s face singing

Verse 3

01.30-01.34 Extreme close up of hand under dress

01.35-01.36 Mid shot of A piercing b’s belly

01.37-01.38 Close up reaction shot of b’s face

01.39-01.42 V’s point of view tilt upward to A singing

01.43-01.44 two shot of them on bed

01.45-01.46 B’s point of view as A walks out the room

01.47-01-47 Mid shot of B grabbing diary

01.48-01.49 over the shoulder at book

01.50-01.50 Shot of B reading diary

01.51-01.54 close up of diary, pans down the diary

01.55-01.58 mid/long shot A and B

01.59-02.00 Low angle point of view, B throws book

02.01-02.05 Camera tilts up as A get’s up

02.06-02.08 A throwing pillows

02.09-02.23 Over shoulder A singing in mirror

02.23-02.26 Low angle A in woods singing

02.27-02.33 switch between woods and field, long shots

02.24-02.35 camera spins 360 in woods.

02.36-02.36 A spinning in field

02.37-02.38 Camera pans woods

02.39-02.39 Mid shot spin in field

02.40-02.46 zooms in to A sitting on log

02.47-02.51 mid close up of A singing through a window

02.52-02.54 shot A behind B singing

02.55-02.57 B sitting on sofa

02.58-02.59 A taps window in time

03.00-03.05 Reaction mid shot B walks out into camera

03.06-03.07 high angle A runs up stairs

03.08-03.18 Pans room as A sings

03.19- 03.20 A falls to ground

03.21-03.22 Close up of pills and hand

03.23-03.24 close up of A’s face

03.25-03.27 over shoulder tips pills into hand

03.28-0.39 High angle, a sings, takes pills, camera pans down as she lays down and dies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk6-XQOTOc8