Thursday 17 February 2011
Sunday 13 February 2011
Preparation for evalution
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Research:-
Music video; textual analysis of 3 existing music videos, Goodwin's six and textual analysis of 2 previous student music videos.
Digipak; textual analysis of 2 existing digipaks with different layouts.
Web page; textual analysis of an existing web page.
I also had a look at Example's official music video, digipak and web page.
Screenshots from blog, screenshots from Example's music video, digipak and web page.
Adhering to conventions:-
Music video; Goodwin's six and other typical conventions.
Digipak; typical conventions.
Web page; typical conventions.
Screenshots showing comparisons between existing examples and my work and footage.
Theory:-
Music video; Goodwin's six.
Footage.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
Links:-
Production stills.
Colours.
Fonts.
Background (brick wall).
Screenshots, footage and photos.
Consistent design aesthetic:-
The links between each product create a consistent design aesthetic.
Synergy:-
Design aesthetic.
Music video; fast paced editing with a fast paced, catchy song.
The brick wall links all 3 products.
Web page; shows the video playing and the front cover of the digipak.
Screenshots of the web page, other screenshots, footage and footage of the web page working.
3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
Type of audience feedback:-
Test screening.
Questionnaire.
How:-
E-mail via Facebook.
Comments on YouTube and the blog.
Formally in 101.
Pictures of logos.
How useful was it? What did it tell you?:-
Quotes.
Improvements made:-
Jump cuts.
Special effects.
Footage, photos and quotes.
Things I would have done differently:-
Font.
Special effects.
Screenshots and footage.
What have the audience pointed out:-
Quotes.
4. How did you use media technologies in the research and planning, construction and evaluation stages?
Research and planning:-
Internet.
YouTube.
Blogger (scanning, screenshots, embedding video).
Slideshare.
Screenshots and pictures of logos.
Construction:-
iMovie.
Final Cut Express (forums).
Photoshop (forums).
Wix.
Digital camera.
Video camera.
Blogger.
YouTube.
Facebook.
iDVD.
Screenshots, pictures of logos and footage.
Evaluation:-
iMovie.
Final Cut Express.
Livetype.
Video camera.
Blogger.
iDVD.
Screenshots, pictures of logos and footage.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
4. How did you use media technologies in the research and planning, construction and evaluation stages?
Music video alteration
Amongst the feedback which I received from my target audience, it appeared that some people wanted to see some effects on the taxi sequence at the start of the film that match the beat of the music, such as the use of jump cuts. I have played around with this section of the footage to see what I was able to do with it.
1. I put in a series of jump cuts so that the taxi appeared to jump forwards.
2. I put in a series of jump cuts so that the taxi appeared to jump backwards and retrace its path.
3. I changed the scale so that there appeared to be crash zooms within the sequence.
After trying out each of these I removed all of them and left the clip how it was originally. I did this for the following reasons;
1. The jump cuts in which the taxi appeared to jump forward looked like blips in the footage. I found that I didn't have enough footage for the taxi to jump enough.
2. The jump cuts in which the taxi appeared to jump backwards looked to me as if they were a stuck record.
3. When I changed the scale to bring the taxi closer to the camera, I found that the black edges of the film disappeared. This was quite distracting and obvious. If I'd have stopped this from happening then the frame size would have been altered slightly which would have changed the scale of the taxi, causing it to be squashed during these clips.
To be able to alter this sequence to match the beat of the music then I would have needed to have filmed this shot from a series of different angles. I would then have been able to cut between these different angles in time with the beat of the song.
1. I put in a series of jump cuts so that the taxi appeared to jump forwards.
2. I put in a series of jump cuts so that the taxi appeared to jump backwards and retrace its path.
3. I changed the scale so that there appeared to be crash zooms within the sequence.
After trying out each of these I removed all of them and left the clip how it was originally. I did this for the following reasons;
1. The jump cuts in which the taxi appeared to jump forward looked like blips in the footage. I found that I didn't have enough footage for the taxi to jump enough.
2. The jump cuts in which the taxi appeared to jump backwards looked to me as if they were a stuck record.
3. When I changed the scale to bring the taxi closer to the camera, I found that the black edges of the film disappeared. This was quite distracting and obvious. If I'd have stopped this from happening then the frame size would have been altered slightly which would have changed the scale of the taxi, causing it to be squashed during these clips.
To be able to alter this sequence to match the beat of the music then I would have needed to have filmed this shot from a series of different angles. I would then have been able to cut between these different angles in time with the beat of the song.
Digipak alteration
During my audience feedback about my digipak I found that a lot of people thought that the track listing was hard to read. I made some changes to see if I could make the text more readable. This is what I would do to amend this problem.
I have made the text larger but it is still smaller than the text used on the album cover. By making the text white it stands out from the picture better and makes the font more readable. By making the text white I have still kept to my colour scheme as some of the text within the digipak and on the web page is also white.
Now I have added a barcode to the back page as well, as this is conventional of any product sold in a shop.
I've put the web page address on here too so that there is now a link between the digipak and web page on the back.
Now I have added a barcode to the back page as well, as this is conventional of any product sold in a shop.
I've put the web page address on here too so that there is now a link between the digipak and web page on the back.
Saturday 12 February 2011
Audience feedback: Music video, digipak & web page
I sent out several e-mails via Facebook to my target audience to ask them for their feedback on the music video, digipak and web page. I asked people to let me know what they liked about each product and why and if anything, what did they think could be improved and why.
"These are all sooooo good!!!
Ok....so Digipak : I really liked the colour scheme (as in the walls being black and white) as it made the characters really stand out. Having so many pictures also made it really interesting and FUN!!! The only thing was the writing on the back page, that I couldn't read....but it's probably better when it's actually printed :)
The music video is soooo good!! I really like the way that you've fitted all the lyrics to actions within the song (like the waitress bit). It also seems to flow really well, because of all the movement in the video, which really adds to the overall effect of the video. Also, the shots where you cut between him singing in two different places look so professional!! The lip syncing is maybe a little dodgy in some places...but it wasn't really noticeable.
Website : The website is really informative, especially with all the tour dates. The background is also so effective (I can't imagine how long it took you to turn it all black and white!!) The method of showing the pictures at the bottom is also EPIC...the spinning compliments the movement in the video.
OVERALL....this is darn epic. You've done sooooo well!!!!! YAY!!"
"Very good indeed!!!
The video is very well thought out. You've matched the settings to the lyrics and the characters play the part extremely well - again matching what the lyrics are all about.
If i had to be picky, the only thing I would say is look in depth at the lyrics. The lyrics sound like the girl has a powering effect on the guy - "SHE'S LIKE A GUN AND SHE AIN'T AFRAID TO USE IT" - you could maybe try to incorporate some of these powers into the video e.g. her pulling the guy along everywhere they go (taking control) with him always having a smile on his face?
Your digipak looks really good; original, modern, characters reflect your target age group, not too much going on, simple and effective. makes people look at it!
Again, if anything, it's kind of a get together song so them holding each other with smiles on their faces looking at each other might be another suggestion.
And your link - fantastic. Looks professional it really does. Colourful and you've used a huge range of custom animations with the photos. Again modern which helps draw the audience in.
I think is brilliant ... very well done."
"The music video is VERY good, I liked the story in it and the different backgrounds (brick wall, forest).
The Digipak is well designed, though the writing of the title on the front page, and the back page are a bit difficult to read. I like the photos and how they link to the video."
"Video = really good - easy to follow story, fits together well.
Digipak - I like, can't think of any negatives or improvements - looks really professional
Web page - same as previous"
"Like the black&white out of the bricks in the images used.
He looks a bit awkward and needs to make better eye contact with the camera in some sections during the video (intentional?)
I also like the use of the hot pink as your main colour & your production stills page 'cause it looks fun, young & hip! :)
Your ending to your video is pretty good too, I like the sunset-(ing) look and the romancey bit, very cute and appropriate for the song.
All round good work!"
"They’re goodddddddd. There isn’t really anything I can think of which can be improved. The album cover’s the best."
"Well done it's really good so well put together great video to lyrics"
"Love it !"
"Well done, very good. Particularly liked the careful taxi driver."
"These are all sooooo good!!!
Ok....so Digipak : I really liked the colour scheme (as in the walls being black and white) as it made the characters really stand out. Having so many pictures also made it really interesting and FUN!!! The only thing was the writing on the back page, that I couldn't read....but it's probably better when it's actually printed :)
The music video is soooo good!! I really like the way that you've fitted all the lyrics to actions within the song (like the waitress bit). It also seems to flow really well, because of all the movement in the video, which really adds to the overall effect of the video. Also, the shots where you cut between him singing in two different places look so professional!! The lip syncing is maybe a little dodgy in some places...but it wasn't really noticeable.
Website : The website is really informative, especially with all the tour dates. The background is also so effective (I can't imagine how long it took you to turn it all black and white!!) The method of showing the pictures at the bottom is also EPIC...the spinning compliments the movement in the video.
OVERALL....this is darn epic. You've done sooooo well!!!!! YAY!!"
"Very good indeed!!!
The video is very well thought out. You've matched the settings to the lyrics and the characters play the part extremely well - again matching what the lyrics are all about.
If i had to be picky, the only thing I would say is look in depth at the lyrics. The lyrics sound like the girl has a powering effect on the guy - "SHE'S LIKE A GUN AND SHE AIN'T AFRAID TO USE IT" - you could maybe try to incorporate some of these powers into the video e.g. her pulling the guy along everywhere they go (taking control) with him always having a smile on his face?
Your digipak looks really good; original, modern, characters reflect your target age group, not too much going on, simple and effective. makes people look at it!
Again, if anything, it's kind of a get together song so them holding each other with smiles on their faces looking at each other might be another suggestion.
And your link - fantastic. Looks professional it really does. Colourful and you've used a huge range of custom animations with the photos. Again modern which helps draw the audience in.
I think is brilliant ... very well done."
"The music video is VERY good, I liked the story in it and the different backgrounds (brick wall, forest).
The Digipak is well designed, though the writing of the title on the front page, and the back page are a bit difficult to read. I like the photos and how they link to the video."
"Video = really good - easy to follow story, fits together well.
Digipak - I like, can't think of any negatives or improvements - looks really professional
Web page - same as previous"
"Like the black&white out of the bricks in the images used.
He looks a bit awkward and needs to make better eye contact with the camera in some sections during the video (intentional?)
I also like the use of the hot pink as your main colour & your production stills page 'cause it looks fun, young & hip! :)
Your ending to your video is pretty good too, I like the sunset-(ing) look and the romancey bit, very cute and appropriate for the song.
All round good work!"
"They’re goodddddddd. There isn’t really anything I can think of which can be improved. The album cover’s the best."
"Well done it's really good so well put together great video to lyrics"
"Love it !"
"Well done, very good. Particularly liked the careful taxi driver."
Friday 4 February 2011
Music video ancillary task: Digipak
This is the front cover for my digipak.
This will unfold to show the Director's thankyou, the lyrics and production stills.
When turned over this will show a poster containing production stills.
This is the disc.
When the disc is removed, you will be able to see the inside of the tray inlay.
This is the very back of the album.
Music video ancillary task: Web page
This is the link to my web page.
www.wix.com/YNWAMediaProductions/Media-Studies-coursework
www.wix.com/YNWAMediaProductions/Media-Studies-coursework
Audience feedback: Music video
After making the changes mentioned in the previous audience feedback for the first cut of the music video, I showed the video to my target audience again. I asked them to say what they liked about the film and what they thought could be improved.
This is what they said they liked:
“Some nicely composed shots, eg. him in the woods and the silhouettes.”
“It’s all in time and very ‘to the beat’. It’s proper good.”
“Good use of camera angles. Loved the shots of the guy singing in different places.”
“I like the way the lyrics of the song fit well with what is happening in the film and the switch from the boy singing alone to shots of him with the girl.”
“I like how the events match the music, the variety of places used and the way the shots sometimes match the beat.”
“I like the storyline and that it followed as most pop videos do. The lip syncing appeared to be in time. The weather and costume is appropriate. I like the use of silhouettes. I don’t have any suggestions. Good job.”
“Was good.”
This is what they said they thought could be improved:
“Add special effects when he is singing - different effect for each location.”
“Maybe some special effects or something.”
“The boy doesn’t look like he is singing at times but it’s not very noticeable.”
“Sometimes when he is singing, the lip syncing is a bit out.”
“Maybe some special effects in the lip syncing parts.”
This is what they said they liked:
“Some nicely composed shots, eg. him in the woods and the silhouettes.”
“It’s all in time and very ‘to the beat’. It’s proper good.”
“Good use of camera angles. Loved the shots of the guy singing in different places.”
“I like the way the lyrics of the song fit well with what is happening in the film and the switch from the boy singing alone to shots of him with the girl.”
“I like how the events match the music, the variety of places used and the way the shots sometimes match the beat.”
“I like the storyline and that it followed as most pop videos do. The lip syncing appeared to be in time. The weather and costume is appropriate. I like the use of silhouettes. I don’t have any suggestions. Good job.”
“Was good.”
This is what they said they thought could be improved:
“Add special effects when he is singing - different effect for each location.”
“Maybe some special effects or something.”
“The boy doesn’t look like he is singing at times but it’s not very noticeable.”
“Sometimes when he is singing, the lip syncing is a bit out.”
“Maybe some special effects in the lip syncing parts.”
Audience feedback: First cut
This is the first cut of my music video.
Changes which I am going go make after receiving audience feedback are:
I am going to re-shoot the performance shots, using a different location and different outfits. This is so that I then have more performance footage to play around with. I will then be able to break up the existing performance sections into shorter clips and use fast-paced editing during these sections that will suit the tempo of the song.
I am going to use some very short clips and jump cuts at the start of the music video. This will be done using the section of footage of the taxi. These jump cuts will coincide with the reoccurring, distinctive beat that appears in the song.
Changes which I am going go make after receiving audience feedback are:
Wednesday 2 February 2011
Photoshop process for production stills
During the filming of my music video I took a series of production stills for the ancillary tasks. I used Photoshop to edit the photos. All of the photos were taken against a plain brick wall. In Photoshop I made the brick wall black and white in all of the photos and I left the subjects in colour in the foreground. This is an example of what each photo will look like:
Before:
After:
Saturday 29 January 2011
Audience feedback: Digipak photos
The key photo for my digipak is the one which will feature on the front cover. Another key photo is the one which will be used for the main picture of the poster inside the digipak.
I showed my target audience a selection of the production stills which I'd taken (un-edited versions only). I asked them to pick which photo they thought would be best for the front cover of the album and which one they liked best for the main photo of the poster.
This has helped me to choose the photos which I will be using for these purposes. From their reactions, I am also able to see which photos they liked the best so that I can use these photos for other parts of the digipak. My target audience said that they wanted to see something that was fun and different to what you'd usually see on a digipak.
I showed my target audience a selection of the production stills which I'd taken (un-edited versions only). I asked them to pick which photo they thought would be best for the front cover of the album and which one they liked best for the main photo of the poster.
This has helped me to choose the photos which I will be using for these purposes. From their reactions, I am also able to see which photos they liked the best so that I can use these photos for other parts of the digipak. My target audience said that they wanted to see something that was fun and different to what you'd usually see on a digipak.
Audience feedback: Alternative endings
During filming, I decided to film 2 different endings to the music video. They are both of the same line and contain very similar action.
NB. The track hasn't been added to this video.
After putting both endings onto the film and showing them to my target audience, it was decided that the first ending would be the one that I'd use for the music video.
Some of the reasons why my target audience chose to use this clip were:
They really liked the silhouette ending. This clip had a better finish to it. It was sweet and romantic. It had a nice composition to it. This clip was different from all the others and you can clearly tell that it's the end of the video.
NB. The track hasn't been added to this video.
After putting both endings onto the film and showing them to my target audience, it was decided that the first ending would be the one that I'd use for the music video.
Some of the reasons why my target audience chose to use this clip were:
Tuesday 25 January 2011
Audio track issues
When it came to putting the audio track into Final Cut Express, I found that the track appeared to be really bad quality. The track was of good quality and even played properly in Final Cut Express until it was put with the clips that I'd already edited.
The track that I added was an .mp3 file so I tried converting it. Apple's own website gave two ways of doing this, either in Quicktime or in iTunes. I found that neither of these methods worked at school or at home. Because of this I then tried burning the track onto a disc as a .wma file. I then put the disc into the Mac and imported it to iTunes. When I then put this file into Final Cut Express, it went in as a .aif file. This has solved the problem and the track is now working properly in Final Cut Express.
The track that I added was an .mp3 file so I tried converting it. Apple's own website gave two ways of doing this, either in Quicktime or in iTunes. I found that neither of these methods worked at school or at home. Because of this I then tried burning the track onto a disc as a .wma file. I then put the disc into the Mac and imported it to iTunes. When I then put this file into Final Cut Express, it went in as a .aif file. This has solved the problem and the track is now working properly in Final Cut Express.
Digipak idea
This is my idea for my digipak. This digipak will be presented in a clear jewel case and would be printed on glossy paper.
This is the front cover.
The booklet will open up to show the director's thankyou.
This will open up further to show the lyrics of the title song.
The back of the booklet will be a selection of production photos. These are 2 separate ideas for this page.
The whole booklet will open up to show a large poster containing lots of the production photos.
This is the disc inlay and the disc.
This is the back of the album which will show the track list. These are 3 separate ideas for the layout.
This is the front cover.
Wednesday 12 January 2011
Web page idea
This is the template which I will be using to create my web page.
1 The background picture will be a photo of the artist
2 Artist's name
3 The boxes will be transparent hot pink
4 The music video will be at the top of the page
5 This will show the album (using my digipak)
6 Tour dates
7 A music player which plays the whole album
8 The production stills will appear at the bottom of the page
2 Artist's name
3 The boxes will be transparent hot pink
4 The music video will be at the top of the page
5 This will show the album (using my digipak)
6 Tour dates
7 A music player which plays the whole album
8 The production stills will appear at the bottom of the page
Font
For my ancillary tasks, I decided to have a look and see if I could find a font on the internet that I could download. This fon't would be used for both the digipak and the web page. I wanted it to fit in the look of my ancillary tasks and suit the song that I've chosen to use. Unfortunately I was unable to find the font that is used on Example's own digipaks. Instead I found a font called 'Delusion'.
Saturday 8 January 2011
Production stills
The production stills will be edited using Photoshop so that they're not just an ordinary photo. Each of the photos were taken against a plain brick wall. This brick wall will be made into a black and white photo but the person will remained naturally coloured in the foreground. All of the production stills which I use for the digipak and web page will be done like this so as to create continuity between the two. These are the production stills that I have to work with for my ancillary tasks.
Thursday 6 January 2011
Filming
All of the principle filming and photography is now complete.
During filming, a decision was made to change the location of part of the film. I had planned to film in the Abbey Gardens but this was changed to the New Green in Thurston due to loss of light during filming. Rather than just filming another day, the location was changed so that I could film within school time and the New Green was very easily accessible for this.
I filmed using the backing track so that the lead male, who does all the vocals, was able to make sure he was in-time with the music. This was done by attaching the mp3 player and speakers to him using tape. It was put underneath his jacket so he could hear the music but nothing could be seen to be attached to him.
Whilst filming, I also took the shots which I needed for my production stills. These stills have been taken against the same brick wall which was used for the performance scenes in the film. This provides continuity for the music video, digipak and web page.
During filming, a decision was made to change the location of part of the film. I had planned to film in the Abbey Gardens but this was changed to the New Green in Thurston due to loss of light during filming. Rather than just filming another day, the location was changed so that I could film within school time and the New Green was very easily accessible for this.
I filmed using the backing track so that the lead male, who does all the vocals, was able to make sure he was in-time with the music. This was done by attaching the mp3 player and speakers to him using tape. It was put underneath his jacket so he could hear the music but nothing could be seen to be attached to him.
Whilst filming, I also took the shots which I needed for my production stills. These stills have been taken against the same brick wall which was used for the performance scenes in the film. This provides continuity for the music video, digipak and web page.
Wednesday 5 January 2011
Example - 'Last Ones Standing'
This is the official music video for Example's 'Last Ones Standing':
This is the album cover for 'Won't Go Quietly' which is where 'Last ones Standing' comes from:
This is Example's official web page:
http://www.trythisforexample.com/
This is the album cover for 'Won't Go Quietly' which is where 'Last ones Standing' comes from:
This is Example's official web page:
http://www.trythisforexample.com/
Cast, costume & props
Cast
A guy
A girl
A taxi driver
A waitress
Costume
Guy - Dressed for a casual date, coat.
Girl - Dressed for a casual date, watch.
Waitress - Black shirt, black trousers.
The taxi driver won't actually seen on the film.
Props
Watch
Coat
2 rum & cokes [which will be just coke]
Bill
Taxi
Costume
Props
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