Final Product- Video:

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

Throughout my work i have used a variety of technologies to produce a pleasing outcome. Some of the technologies i have used were already familiar to me but others i had to get to grips with.

Firstly i had to learn how to use the online blog called blogger in order to display my research,planning, evaluation and construction of all my media products. Blogger works by uploading a series of posts able to display text, images and videos. The fact that i quickly learned how to use Blogger shows my ability to pick up skills quickly and efficiently.

During the planning stage of my work i used a camera to take pictures of things that inspired me as well as a video camera to film my actually footage. Being able to capture the images allowed me to look back on the stimuli and come up with ideas in brainstorms and mood boards. In corporation with my own images i used the internet and search engines such as Google and Yahoo to find images and videos that i could gain inspiration from and that which reflected similar messages and thoughts that i had about my products. I used YouTube to view existing media texts which were from the same genre as i was planning to make my music video.

To edit my main product i used i Movie. i Movie is available on the mac which i previously used in my other work. I find that this particular editing program is very simple to use and easily to learn which enabled to complete the editing of my video quickly and efficiently. One particular aspect of this work which i didn't have to deal with before was that of lip syncing. Although i did not feature as much as i wanted i still had to match up the music and the mouth movement so it looked correct. i Movie allowed me to edit the brightness and contrast of my various clips as well has trip/crop them down to fit in with the timing of the song used.

To create my Digi pack and poster i used Photoshop which i had to learn how to use as i had never used it before. I found Photoshop difficult to get to grips with but with a helping hand a managed to learn a lot about it and about the various tools and what they do. I am really pleased about the final results of my ancillary products, perhaps even more than my final product as they look very professional in my own opinion. Some of the tools i used included the text tool, brightness and contrast tool, bevel and emboss, blur, clone stamp tool and magic select tool just to name a few. 

Evaluation: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Through analysing my audience feedback i have had mainly postitive comments. I feel i managed to develop products wich appealed to my target audience.

My audience said that they really liked the fresh and clean setting used in my music video which suited the song and lyrics. They could see that i had tried really hard to reflect the thoughts and feelings of the song although sometimes the lack of quality in the camera i used showed through occassional.

The audience felt that the choice of theme for my music video suited the song that i chose but found it difficult to fully understand what the story was to start with. They clearly could see that i had thought in detail what shots would work with each specific part of the song/video and which shots would work well.

The age group that found it more interesting was around the of 16-18. I think this is because at that age you have a better understanding of the message i was trying to make aware and in order to keep the younger age group i would of probably had to of made it less deep/complicated for them to fully appreciate the product.

My album cover and adverts reception came across as a lot more appreciated by all age groups as it was "different". They really liked the use of the bold frame but thought that it could of been made to look more real. All the comments on my poster were positive saying that it was "bold and clear to read", i agree with this as my poster is probably my favourite aspect of all my products as in my opinion looks the most professional.

Evaluation: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

The combination of my main product and ancillary products i feel has worked really well. When designing all of my products i took into account how they would integrate into the mainstream music industry but still keeping an edgy and mysterious feel to my main and ancillary products, my main product especially. I have kept the same theme flowing through all my products giving me a focus but still allowing me creative freedom with a broad range of stimuli which my subject matter provides. 

Knowing the lyrics of the song i chose are centered around the natural world and angels. When compiling my album cover for example i wanted to reflect the message of the lyrics but without making it gimmicky. The image i used of the artist standing, looking out onto a field was originally not going to be my final album cover but whilst playing around with my various images i realized that my eventual final image represented the song in a better light. I edited the brightness and contrast of the image to make the field look as if the heavens had opened and he had succumb to the light which ties in with the angel theme. All of my products features the artist so an audience can recognize and therefore purchase the product. 

My album cover is in my opinion a very unique design with the photo frame border around the main image and text. I made the frame bold which allows me to use softer colors in the main image. This is similar to my poster but instead i made the background black and white to make the image of the album stand out and make more of an impact when looking at it because after all its the album that the advert is trying to publicized.  

Evaluation: In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real music products

My media product uses some conventions recognized in music videos including a digi pack and magazine advert that does the same. With my main media piece I have tried to challenge stereotypes, mostly that of women. My male is protagonist is shown following the "girl" so she has control over the situation as the male character does not know where he is being led or where he will end up. This role reversal and exchange of dominance is not a conventional idea that is used in many music video, usually the man is shown to be in control and the figure of authority. My female character is not in skimpy, revealing clothing. Instead she is wearing a elegant, flowing dress which enhances the beauty of the character but not in a seedy way. The subject matter is a lot deeper than most music videos around at the moment making it unpredictable and stand out. The audience I am aiming for understands the type of outcome and reaction I want from my music video. Also my videos message has an underlying dark message to it but instead of using shots that would be stereo-typically expected in a dark themed song i have instead decided to contrast the dark message with light and natural scenes. 

The genre I chose has recently grown in popularity in the music charts and are known for their powerful messages and realistic music video which are now being backed up with catchy beats and unique lyrics meaning that the message is listened to and not just thrown onto the back burner. Songs from the same or similar genre of that I chose are either one extreme or the other, containing strong dark messages. 

For example “The A Team” by Ed Sheeran.

This video explores the down fall of a girl who resorts to prostitution and drug use. As you can see the theme of the songs is reflected in the video, including dark lighting and scene of emotional content. On the other hand the song could have a happy/light hearted message behind the song such as “bubbly” by Colbie Caillat.

The title of the song straight away gives the audience an idea about the type of atmosphere the video is going to create. As you can see the shots are a lot brighter and crisp compared to the video above. In my video i have tried to incorporate a dark message but include bright shots to contrast with each other.

Generally women in music videos are portrayed as week and dominated by the opposite sex. This portrayal is normally in genres such as hip hop and r&b as the theme of those types of songs are usually focused around sex. 

One example of this is the video “Bedrock” by Lil Wayne.

This is a typical still image from a hip hop music video. This specific image shows a large group of good looking women surrounding one man (the artist). The fact there is so many of them makes individuality non-existent, resulting in the women becoming objects or something to represent status rather than a person.

In my music video there is only one female character. This allows the audience to learn about the character and develop understanding as the male protagonist gains understanding. She is not shown wearing revealing clothing, instead she wears a white dress which shows her innocence and purity. Instead of her not having a purpose without the male being there this is turned on its head, and in a way the male character would have no purpose if the female wasn't there.

My Poster!!

This is my final idea for my artist poster!

Image:

The image i have used is set in a field. I decided to make it black and white as it remains bold but allows the other elements such as text and album image to remain prominent. The artist is positioned to the right hand side which i think works really well as it allows space to put the text and image on the left hand side. The artist is fashionably dressed which will make an audience appeal to him because he is well presented. I set it in a field cause the album has a natural theme that i have carried through the ancillary product so it works well with that.

Color & Text:

The main image is black and white as i stated above and which is obvious from the image. The main text is a terquoise color which stands out nicely against the background image. The rest of the text is black and bold which is very prominent. On the main title i added bevel and drop shadow which are effects on Photoshop. Bevel and drop shadow both to similar effects, bevel give the actual letters a rounded 3D effect and drop shadow gives the text a shadow to make it look 3D against the background. The bold colors of the album image stand out well against the black & white image, so therefore will be eye catching.

Initial Ideas (Poster):

These are my drafted initial ideas for my artist poster. I have included annotation to highlight the main areas of interest featured in each design.

My Album:

My Album Cover!!!

Image:

The image shows the artist looking over an empty field, with white light about to conssume him. I brightened the image to make the light in the background stand out more, i feel the use of natural light coinsides well with the title of the album "Illuminations". The position the artist is in standing in is very open as if he has sercomed to the light. I created a wood frame around the image using photoshop, the dark colour contrast with the bright light and shows the darker side to the album/songs. On the frame i tried to create a wood effect to make it more realistic.

Text:

The artist name i made to look 3D by giving it shadow and a bevel on photoshop, the font is of a medium size and overlaps with the wooden frame. The white colours stands out against the dark frame. For the album title i used a different font which is more ittalic and flowing. This text is also white which staands out. I used the word "Illuminations" as a title because it is a bold statement and will be remembered.

Booklet Insert 1:

Page 2:

Image, colour and text:

This is one of the pages from my digipack, showing a section of the tracklisting. I wanted to use three different fonts so they stand out. I used a old fashioned font for the numbering of the tracks and made it bigger than the other writing. The song titles are in itallic, which i think looks ellagant and flowing. The other text i have included is stuff such as the vocalist, drummers, producers etc. The backing graphic for the pages i decided i wanted to make it something that would stand out behind the other elements of the page. The design is very creative and abstract, incorporating different shapes and strokes to emphasize the creativity of the album. In order to make it more interesting i added quotes from the song lyrics and other graphics such as a image of the artist which i cut out using Photoshop and transferred onto the background layer. 

Back Cover!!

Image:

The image i have used pictures the artist sitting in a natural setting. The artist is off center which makes it more appealing because it uses the rule of thirds. I changed the opacity to make it faded so the black text stands out more. I wanted both images to be in a natural setting as the song titles are very natural sounding. The artist appears to be in a dream like state staring at the empty space. Keeping the image simple makes the front cover image more eye catching as if if they were both bold it would be to much. 

Text:

The text is a small font and a basic black in order to stand out. On both sides there is a strip which has the artist name and album title on which would go on the side of the CD case. It is postition to the right hand side of teh case to show the background image



Initial ideas (Front):

These are my drafted initial ideas for my albums front cover. I have included brief annotations to point out important aspects of each diagram.

Initial Ideas (Back):

These are the drafted initial ideas for my album back cover. I have included annotation to highlight specific aspects of each idea.