Friday 25 April 2014
By listening to some of my early audience feedback and getting advice for what to put in the bottom left box in my Digipack, the conclusion I came to for the suggested ideas was to put a close up of my artists face which will be instantly recognisable to the audience that it is him. By having his eyes looking into the camera it will create a bond with the audience. By having a picture of the artist it creates continuity with the Digipck advertising poster, the image is noticeably similar to the poster which makes it link. The setting for the photo is urban and similar to not only the poster but the music video, this is important in creating a media package that the audience will understand.
I have made the poster to advertise my artists album, I have further edited the original picture by blurring the background while keeping the artist image 'sharp', this was to create 'depth of field' and draw the audiences eye onto the artist and not the background. I used the original heading for 'hunter' which links in the album to the advertising poster to keep continuity. I also used a similar font in the writing for the album cover and the advertisement which makes it recognizable to the audience, I also included a picture of the album cover so the audience would know which album it was if they where to go out and buy it. I added various effects to the features on the poster like changing the opacity so they blended with the image more and didn't detract the focus from the artist.
Thursday 24 April 2014
I have decided to look at my original genre conventions and see if my music video fits in with these conventions or not. I chose to make a pop/rock music video of a song by 'The Script' which are an indie/ pop rock band. I had to keep the video linked to the song by making it the same genre style.
For my music video however I chose to reflect the genre of my music more and use a simple narrative structure which tells a story about the music. For this I had my actor play out the words of the song in a visual format to reinforce the story. It reflects a simple A,B,C structure which is common for my genre, and as you can see in the screenshots the contrast between the style without substance montage video of R&B and the story telling narrative of my music video.
Mise-en-scene:
Mise-en-scene plays a large role in establishing the genre of the video for example my video at the top of the video doesn't look like a happy pop music video and instead more of an indie video. Whereas the video at the bottom 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams clearly shows to the audience it is a fun video made for a pop song, it even goes as far as reflecting the title of the video. It isn't just a coincidence the videos show the genre, it is through carefully selected mise-en-scene. In my video I chose to shoot on a 'glum looking' day where the sky was overcast and there was rain on the ground, this reflected the video style of the main character being upset. However looking at 'happy' you can see the surrounding mise-en-scene to be colourful for example the multi-coloured banners hanging from the ceiling. The acting also contributes to the style of the video, in the screenshot of my video you can see my actor hunched over in an upset state and as a contrast you can see the screenshot of the woman jumping for joy showing that she is happy. I think through the use of mise-en-scene in my video I portrayed the style I wanted to and showed the emotions of my character through the acting, just as you see in professional music videos like that of 'happy' by Pharrell Williams.
Cinematography:
Evaluation: How effective is the combination of my main product and ancillary texts?
To answer this question I wanted not only to give my opinion but to ask the opinion of my target audience members, so to do this I did a video questionnaire which I put on my blog. For the video i asked my audience questions that I think will have given be the best idea of whether my final products worked or not.
For the first question: Do you think there is consistency between my music video, digipak and poster?
Both of my audience members stated that they saw continuity through all of the products, which is one of my main aims in the making of my final product combination, one of the audience members stated that he saw links with the mise-en-scene in all of the products in relation to the location. I used an urban themed location throughout all of my products and tried to keep it all mostly an old urban setting with brick buildings and picturesque settings. I wanted the old buildings because I thought it reflected the tempo of the song better, and because I don't think modern shops would have been as easy to watch in the video and wouldn't have fitted in as well. I had difficulty's with location due to having to re-film some of the footage in different locations, I filmed first in Beverley, East Yorkshire and then had to film my artist playing guitar in the park so to use the same artist I had to travel to Leeds however after going there and filming I didn't feel that the footage was good enough so regrettably I had to not use it however I put it on my blog and explained what was wrong. After that failed attempt I persuaded my artist to travel back to the area I was so I could film again this time in Cottingham, East Yorkshire as it was easier for my artist to get to, I needed a location that would match the original footage with an old buildings but urban backdrop, I managed to choose a suitable location where I had the old building backdrop.
For the second question: What features link all the products together?
The audience members noted that what linked the products together was the could scheme, which was similar in the poster and the album cover, especially so with the dark tint that was on most of the features of the products. for example the dark red that I tied through both the digipak and poster, it was used to highlight the name 'hunter' but also in the posted i placed a band which I edited so it didn't take all the attention of the picture of the artist. The slight hints of red captured the attention of the audience I feel and was a little touch that just linked the products together. Another thing the audience members mentioned was the use of the same artist throughout which actually was something I was hoping for after the first set of audience feedback where i decided to add another close-up picture of the artist to make sure he was reinforced and recognisable. As it was one of the most requested things in my first set of audience feedback I realised it would be very wise to do, evidently by doing the second set of audience feedback it has shown the opposite result, where the audience see allot of the artist. This means that they can instantly recognise the similarities with all the products, the audience would also be able to build a relationship with the artist and it not just be an anonymous singer.Also because of the artist being in the advertising poster the same as the artist in the video, people will be able recognise the face and if the people for example had seen the music video then they would then recognise the face in the poster and realise there is the artists album out, rather than relying just on the name of the artist to spark recognition.
For the third question: What doesn't fit within the continuity?
One of the audience members stated that the large glass building did not look like it fitted within the continuity of the piece. I can see where the comment came from, as it was something I took a risk on, As I have mentioned earlier I wanted to keep most of the buildings quite old and historical, however because of the urban theme of the video I decided to take a risk and try and join in the new with the old, however as one mentioned it didn't quite fit with the video. This combination could have thrown of the target audience I was aiming for however I think with the amount of pictures I had of the artist I think it was recognisable enough for the audience. Another point that was brought up by an audience member was that the location was different in the different products, also a valid point as he was referring to the fact he would maybe expect the location to be the same in the song due to the title 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved'. I think although this may sound like the right thing to do I think that not only it would be a boring setting and it would look all the same, but only the music video is that song, and as one of my products was the full album then it needed a mix of locations to fit with all the songs and not just the one in the music video.
For my fourth question: Is there anything you would change in my music video, digipak or poster to link it together better?
The feedback for this question was mostly the same as the previous question. one of the audience members brought up a valid point of having the artist pictured in-front of the same location that was in the video and putting it on the poster or the album cover, I think this could have worked and maybe I should have thought to put it in. I think I would also have been a valuable add on to my digipak, possibly in the place I had spare for a while. However most of the first set of audience feedback suggested that I should have a picture of the artists face there instead, I think I would have worked both ways but I went with the majority which I feel was the right choice as it still links with the music video as it is the same artist. I also wanted to keep all of the products interesting, so I didn't want it all to be the same and although it may have sounded like I good idea to do I don't think it would be as effective and it wouldn't have reflected the rest of the album as well. I think While it may not have looked as good to put a picture of the location from the music video, it would have helped with continuity. However I feel that there was still enough continuity for it to be easily recognisable.
For my fifth question: Does the combination work in promoting the music video?
For this question I received positive feedback, both audience members stated that they believed that the combination of the Music video, digipak and poster worked together. The male audience member noted that it all seemed to work as a package and promoted the video accordingly. The female audience member stated that it made you as an audience want to buy the album which is obviously the thing I wanted to most achieve because it is the purpose of all my products as a combination.
For my Sixth question: Does it all look professionally made? I not what makes it not look right?
I received no negative feedback in this question, both of the audience members stated that it did look professionally made and there was nothing that made it look amateur of dragged the rest of it down. The female member noted the use of Photoshop and how it made the ancillary texts look realistic and professional. This was also something I wanted to achieve as allot of the time in the drafting process the ancillary texts weren't looking professionally made, this is something I find especially hard because there is no special way to make it look right but it is just the small details for example the red band which I used to make the writing stand out on the poster, if the writing was written straight on the poster it blended in and didn't stand out enough which made it look very amateur, To combat that I added the red band around the base which made it stand out allot, I liked the red to be the same colour as the red in the signature 'hunter' logo which gave it continuity, However the red band looked easily done and blocked out the picture, to make this better I decided to add opacity to it so it made the writing stand out but didn't block out the picture. I still felt like the band dint look quite right so I added a shadow to it on Photoshop which gave it a more professional look and some texture, I felt this helped it promoting the album as it highlighted the features of it in a professional way.
Overall in my opinion I feel like my products all work together as a package of promotion effectively. I feel like there is consistency between all of the products, the strongest consistency is between the two ancillary texts due to the 'Hunter' logo that is shown in both of the products, i think this gives a sense of a 'logo' for the artist. I also think the colour scheme ties these products together with the use of the red like in the logo for 'hunter' and in the advertising band which was used in the poster. However one feature that ties not only the ancillary texts together but also the music video is the use of the mise-en-scene in terms of the old urban buildings that are used in all of the products. I think one thing that maybe could have been improved on it the back cover of the digipak with the use of the modern glass building, I feel that it looks good on the CD cover in principle but may not fit in with the video. What I would change would be to have filmed the building as well and put it in the video in an establishing shot of a city scape which I think would have given the photo more continuity with the music video. I personally feel by looking at the products myself and also examining the final set of audience feedback that my products work as a package well, By listening to the first sets of audience feedback that my products have improved. More consistency has been added and they are more interesting and look more professional.
To answer this question I wanted not only to give my opinion but to ask the opinion of my target audience members, so to do this I did a video questionnaire which I put on my blog. For the video i asked my audience questions that I think will have given be the best idea of whether my final products worked or not.
For the first question: Do you think there is consistency between my music video, digipak and poster?
Both of my audience members stated that they saw continuity through all of the products, which is one of my main aims in the making of my final product combination, one of the audience members stated that he saw links with the mise-en-scene in all of the products in relation to the location. I used an urban themed location throughout all of my products and tried to keep it all mostly an old urban setting with brick buildings and picturesque settings. I wanted the old buildings because I thought it reflected the tempo of the song better, and because I don't think modern shops would have been as easy to watch in the video and wouldn't have fitted in as well. I had difficulty's with location due to having to re-film some of the footage in different locations, I filmed first in Beverley, East Yorkshire and then had to film my artist playing guitar in the park so to use the same artist I had to travel to Leeds however after going there and filming I didn't feel that the footage was good enough so regrettably I had to not use it however I put it on my blog and explained what was wrong. After that failed attempt I persuaded my artist to travel back to the area I was so I could film again this time in Cottingham, East Yorkshire as it was easier for my artist to get to, I needed a location that would match the original footage with an old buildings but urban backdrop, I managed to choose a suitable location where I had the old building backdrop.
For the second question: What features link all the products together?
The audience members noted that what linked the products together was the could scheme, which was similar in the poster and the album cover, especially so with the dark tint that was on most of the features of the products. for example the dark red that I tied through both the digipak and poster, it was used to highlight the name 'hunter' but also in the posted i placed a band which I edited so it didn't take all the attention of the picture of the artist. The slight hints of red captured the attention of the audience I feel and was a little touch that just linked the products together. Another thing the audience members mentioned was the use of the same artist throughout which actually was something I was hoping for after the first set of audience feedback where i decided to add another close-up picture of the artist to make sure he was reinforced and recognisable. As it was one of the most requested things in my first set of audience feedback I realised it would be very wise to do, evidently by doing the second set of audience feedback it has shown the opposite result, where the audience see allot of the artist. This means that they can instantly recognise the similarities with all the products, the audience would also be able to build a relationship with the artist and it not just be an anonymous singer.Also because of the artist being in the advertising poster the same as the artist in the video, people will be able recognise the face and if the people for example had seen the music video then they would then recognise the face in the poster and realise there is the artists album out, rather than relying just on the name of the artist to spark recognition.
For the third question: What doesn't fit within the continuity?
One of the audience members stated that the large glass building did not look like it fitted within the continuity of the piece. I can see where the comment came from, as it was something I took a risk on, As I have mentioned earlier I wanted to keep most of the buildings quite old and historical, however because of the urban theme of the video I decided to take a risk and try and join in the new with the old, however as one mentioned it didn't quite fit with the video. This combination could have thrown of the target audience I was aiming for however I think with the amount of pictures I had of the artist I think it was recognisable enough for the audience. Another point that was brought up by an audience member was that the location was different in the different products, also a valid point as he was referring to the fact he would maybe expect the location to be the same in the song due to the title 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved'. I think although this may sound like the right thing to do I think that not only it would be a boring setting and it would look all the same, but only the music video is that song, and as one of my products was the full album then it needed a mix of locations to fit with all the songs and not just the one in the music video.
For my fourth question: Is there anything you would change in my music video, digipak or poster to link it together better?
The feedback for this question was mostly the same as the previous question. one of the audience members brought up a valid point of having the artist pictured in-front of the same location that was in the video and putting it on the poster or the album cover, I think this could have worked and maybe I should have thought to put it in. I think I would also have been a valuable add on to my digipak, possibly in the place I had spare for a while. However most of the first set of audience feedback suggested that I should have a picture of the artists face there instead, I think I would have worked both ways but I went with the majority which I feel was the right choice as it still links with the music video as it is the same artist. I also wanted to keep all of the products interesting, so I didn't want it all to be the same and although it may have sounded like I good idea to do I don't think it would be as effective and it wouldn't have reflected the rest of the album as well. I think While it may not have looked as good to put a picture of the location from the music video, it would have helped with continuity. However I feel that there was still enough continuity for it to be easily recognisable.
For my fifth question: Does the combination work in promoting the music video?
For this question I received positive feedback, both audience members stated that they believed that the combination of the Music video, digipak and poster worked together. The male audience member noted that it all seemed to work as a package and promoted the video accordingly. The female audience member stated that it made you as an audience want to buy the album which is obviously the thing I wanted to most achieve because it is the purpose of all my products as a combination.
For my Sixth question: Does it all look professionally made? I not what makes it not look right?
I received no negative feedback in this question, both of the audience members stated that it did look professionally made and there was nothing that made it look amateur of dragged the rest of it down. The female member noted the use of Photoshop and how it made the ancillary texts look realistic and professional. This was also something I wanted to achieve as allot of the time in the drafting process the ancillary texts weren't looking professionally made, this is something I find especially hard because there is no special way to make it look right but it is just the small details for example the red band which I used to make the writing stand out on the poster, if the writing was written straight on the poster it blended in and didn't stand out enough which made it look very amateur, To combat that I added the red band around the base which made it stand out allot, I liked the red to be the same colour as the red in the signature 'hunter' logo which gave it continuity, However the red band looked easily done and blocked out the picture, to make this better I decided to add opacity to it so it made the writing stand out but didn't block out the picture. I still felt like the band dint look quite right so I added a shadow to it on Photoshop which gave it a more professional look and some texture, I felt this helped it promoting the album as it highlighted the features of it in a professional way.
Overall in my opinion I feel like my products all work together as a package of promotion effectively. I feel like there is consistency between all of the products, the strongest consistency is between the two ancillary texts due to the 'Hunter' logo that is shown in both of the products, i think this gives a sense of a 'logo' for the artist. I also think the colour scheme ties these products together with the use of the red like in the logo for 'hunter' and in the advertising band which was used in the poster. However one feature that ties not only the ancillary texts together but also the music video is the use of the mise-en-scene in terms of the old urban buildings that are used in all of the products. I think one thing that maybe could have been improved on it the back cover of the digipak with the use of the modern glass building, I feel that it looks good on the CD cover in principle but may not fit in with the video. What I would change would be to have filmed the building as well and put it in the video in an establishing shot of a city scape which I think would have given the photo more continuity with the music video. I personally feel by looking at the products myself and also examining the final set of audience feedback that my products work as a package well, By listening to the first sets of audience feedback that my products have improved. More consistency has been added and they are more interesting and look more professional.
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What have I learned for conducting my audience feedback?
For my audience feedback I used various different surveying techniques to analyse my success including questionnaires and Prezi's. When it comes down to what I have learned from audience feedback there has been a few different things especially in my first set of audience feedback however there was significantly less in my final audience feedback where mostly the audience couldn't think of many things that could be improved. Most of the people asked in my second set of audience feedback thought it worked well together but many didn't know why. Many of them weren't media pupils so didn't have much knowledge or experience in the details or the creating process, so this meant I had to analyse the results and in some cases ask further questions about individual features of my products and show the audience members before and after progress photos of the making of my product to determine at what point they thought the products started looking professional. For example showing people he first draft of my music video they weren't convinced it looked professional in most cases, but when I showed them it after a few key stages like adding in some performance elements, people started it think it was looking more professional. The final majority of people thought my music video started to look more professional when it came to adding the transition effects like the blurs that linked the shots together.
By studying the audience feedback closely in the way I described above I noticed that it wasn't the big features that made the products look professional overall but it was the small features that really made it work. Obviously the products wouldn't have been good at all if it weren't for the big things e.g. the main photo in the advertising poster, the products wouldn't have made sense without it. However it's the things that just make it stand out and keep balance that turn it from looking amateur to looking professional. Specific examples in my poster would be the shadows in the writing around the names of the songs and the bevel, shadows and opacity that I used on the banner highlighting the digipak cover.
Other features that people felt worked well was the use of colours through all the products, for example the red that was used in the 'hunter' name in the ancillary texts, people felt worked well together. I used this red in both of the ancillary texts and members of the target definitely noticed it and thought it brought continuity to the products in fact the colour schemes where the most commented on thing when I asked about continuity. Other things that where mentioned when it came to continuity where the use of the same artist throughout. After my first set of filming i decided by listening to audience feedback that i should put in some performance elements in my music video which is a common feature within music videos. I travelled to Leeds and filmed my artist singing with a guitar in Hyde Park which took most of a day mostly travelling, however due to a mix up with cameras the footage didn't come out well enough to put in my music video. After this I considered using a different artist to do the performance element to the music video, as it didn't necessarily need to be the same person singing. However I thought it would have confused the audience if I did this, so i decided to film again and the footage turned out well so I used that in my video. After seeing the feedback for the products I think I made the right choice as allot of people commented on how they thought the use of one artist gave great continuity.
By looking at audience feedback one thing i think i could have done to improve the continuity of all my pieces as a whole would be to put in a common theme to all of my products. Of what i have learned from audience feedback the continuity was already good but some of the audience felt some things especially in the digipak where slightly unexplained. For example someone suggested that i used a different building for the back cover of my digipak and although it looked good it wasn't linked in with the video. Something that i think I would do to change it while taking that advice on board would instead of changing the building to accommodate the music video, i would add some footage in the music video of the same building which would explain it better. However I don't think it is desperately necessary for the the ancillary texts to have everything linked to the music video as they are representing the artistic and the full album and not only the song in the video.
Something that I found when looking at my audience feedback was that people liked the different transitional editing techniques I used in my video for example the fade to black I used when the video was sad and the fade to white I used when there was a positive part which helped portray emotions. One thing I have spotted through audience feedback is that people liked the parts of the music video where they felt emotional empathetic to the characters. People said they liked this in the slow motion flashbacks where they felt the black and white colour effects made it more emotional. I think i could have capitalised on peoples positiveness towards the emotional parts by maybe making the performance element of the video link with the storyline. For example I could have the artists emotional expression change through the video as to storyline developed. Like at the start of the video when the man is feeling upset, the artist singing could have been reflecting this, and then at the end where the narrative becomes positive he could have also reflected this change.
Overall by looking at my audience feedback there is some small changes i could have made to add continuity through all of the products. but overall people thought that my products looked professional enough and i feel they worked well together in promoting the album and music video.
For my audience feedback I used various different surveying techniques to analyse my success including questionnaires and Prezi's. When it comes down to what I have learned from audience feedback there has been a few different things especially in my first set of audience feedback however there was significantly less in my final audience feedback where mostly the audience couldn't think of many things that could be improved. Most of the people asked in my second set of audience feedback thought it worked well together but many didn't know why. Many of them weren't media pupils so didn't have much knowledge or experience in the details or the creating process, so this meant I had to analyse the results and in some cases ask further questions about individual features of my products and show the audience members before and after progress photos of the making of my product to determine at what point they thought the products started looking professional. For example showing people he first draft of my music video they weren't convinced it looked professional in most cases, but when I showed them it after a few key stages like adding in some performance elements, people started it think it was looking more professional. The final majority of people thought my music video started to look more professional when it came to adding the transition effects like the blurs that linked the shots together.
By studying the audience feedback closely in the way I described above I noticed that it wasn't the big features that made the products look professional overall but it was the small features that really made it work. Obviously the products wouldn't have been good at all if it weren't for the big things e.g. the main photo in the advertising poster, the products wouldn't have made sense without it. However it's the things that just make it stand out and keep balance that turn it from looking amateur to looking professional. Specific examples in my poster would be the shadows in the writing around the names of the songs and the bevel, shadows and opacity that I used on the banner highlighting the digipak cover.
Other features that people felt worked well was the use of colours through all the products, for example the red that was used in the 'hunter' name in the ancillary texts, people felt worked well together. I used this red in both of the ancillary texts and members of the target definitely noticed it and thought it brought continuity to the products in fact the colour schemes where the most commented on thing when I asked about continuity. Other things that where mentioned when it came to continuity where the use of the same artist throughout. After my first set of filming i decided by listening to audience feedback that i should put in some performance elements in my music video which is a common feature within music videos. I travelled to Leeds and filmed my artist singing with a guitar in Hyde Park which took most of a day mostly travelling, however due to a mix up with cameras the footage didn't come out well enough to put in my music video. After this I considered using a different artist to do the performance element to the music video, as it didn't necessarily need to be the same person singing. However I thought it would have confused the audience if I did this, so i decided to film again and the footage turned out well so I used that in my video. After seeing the feedback for the products I think I made the right choice as allot of people commented on how they thought the use of one artist gave great continuity.
By looking at audience feedback one thing i think i could have done to improve the continuity of all my pieces as a whole would be to put in a common theme to all of my products. Of what i have learned from audience feedback the continuity was already good but some of the audience felt some things especially in the digipak where slightly unexplained. For example someone suggested that i used a different building for the back cover of my digipak and although it looked good it wasn't linked in with the video. Something that i think I would do to change it while taking that advice on board would instead of changing the building to accommodate the music video, i would add some footage in the music video of the same building which would explain it better. However I don't think it is desperately necessary for the the ancillary texts to have everything linked to the music video as they are representing the artistic and the full album and not only the song in the video.
Something that I found when looking at my audience feedback was that people liked the different transitional editing techniques I used in my video for example the fade to black I used when the video was sad and the fade to white I used when there was a positive part which helped portray emotions. One thing I have spotted through audience feedback is that people liked the parts of the music video where they felt emotional empathetic to the characters. People said they liked this in the slow motion flashbacks where they felt the black and white colour effects made it more emotional. I think i could have capitalised on peoples positiveness towards the emotional parts by maybe making the performance element of the video link with the storyline. For example I could have the artists emotional expression change through the video as to storyline developed. Like at the start of the video when the man is feeling upset, the artist singing could have been reflecting this, and then at the end where the narrative becomes positive he could have also reflected this change.
Overall by looking at my audience feedback there is some small changes i could have made to add continuity through all of the products. but overall people thought that my products looked professional enough and i feel they worked well together in promoting the album and music video.
(1046 words 5967 characters)
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