Evaluation Question 4

4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Evaluation Question 4 on Prezi

Evaluation Question 3

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?


After gathering audience feedback we were able to determine some of the main problems in which were apparent with our music video. One of these was that the target audience, which is 16-24 year olds which are currently at some form of work and also may have some problems going on. This is what image we was trying to achieve with our main character however the audience suggested some of the things going on in the main characters life they couldn't relate to, an example of this is that they couldn't see themselves having a good paid job (judging based on what he was wearing) another is that he due to having a girlfriend it seems like like everything is right for him, almost as if it gave the connotations of having a perfect life. The target audience said that they couldn't relate to this because although the main character was having problems it seems like he was in some perfect style work. If we have similar task in the future or changing anything now we will be sure to relate the narrative more towards the target audience, this may be something as simple as instead of losing his job he may be leaving school. This way it will relate to the audience more, although we tried to give the connotations of having similar problems this wasn't clear enough so from our audience feedback we have learnt to make the music video more directed towards our target audience through the narrative and the mise-en-scene, such as changing the formal wear to jeans and a hoodie. 

One of the positives that we got from audience feedback was that the post production was very good, with the variety of effects helping to improve the simplistic shots and immerse the audience more within the narrative. One of the favorite effects was the Chroma keyer which allows you to only have a select colour on the screen such as the green elevator, however it needs to be combined with the same clip underneath however this one is desaturated, this gave the connotations that the main characters life was good (and in colour) and he had problems and wasn't feeling good. Which promoted the irony towards the song. 

Another effect is the jump cuts which made the simplistic shots seem more interesting and also allowed the audience to understand what was happening but in a quicker time frame. This helped to make the narrative flow more smoothly without the need to waste anytime and keep the audience entertained with the story and video. The feedback in which we got with out digipack was that although the pack looked very professional and the editing of the pictures was good there didn't seem to be an overall house style in which was inkeeping with the overall product, this is why we decided to do alterations to the product in order to improve the overall aspects and make it look as one product rather than individual pictures.

Audience Feedback Below with the updates in which they gave helpful ideas and criticisms in which we took on board in order to change our digipack to the finalised version with the neon colours and a consistent colour scheme.

Evaluation Question 2

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?


There was a long thought process when creating our main products in order to make it appealing to or target audience of 16-24 year olds, with the research done prior to undertaking our music video being highly used in order to make sure we achieved this. I believe the overall product in which was created was very effective due to the different techniques and effects used on the digipack and the advert to draw in the audiences attention and make them interested in the product we were attempting to promote. 


One of the techniques in which we employed was using eye catching colours such as the neon text displayed in the poster created, this also looked unique to other posters in real life products in the way the information was displayed, this would make it more appealing to the intended target audience. The text used was used in a really good combination with the text that wasn't as important  as the other information in a slightly darker colour to ensure that the audiences attention wasn't draw away. The important extra factors in which would be appealing to the audience are included such as the online features, this helps relate to our target audience which are younger so more used to using the internet.

We also used a combination of text to improve our overall product in relating in back to our music video such as the urban shots combined with the wording to promote our product, this helps the audience to relate back to the enjoyment of watching the music video and helps to give the connotations of being a good album. This combined with other ratings found on the poster help to give the impression that the album is something really special. Another example of the way we used ancillary texts to improve the overall look was having a consistent theme throughout in order to improve the work and house style making it very recognisable also with a sense of identity added to the casing to improve the overall look and feel making it more professional which is what we tried to achieve in the music video. The including of the lyrics behind the working on the digipack to improve the identity of the music video. 

Evaluation Question 1

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


Our music video Muse-feeling good, is a rock-indie genre which is aimed towards 16-24 years old has the conventions of being all about teenagers and that the conventions you'd generally associate with this is the typical jeans and hoodie main character and that the music video is mainly centred around the band and the performance concept.


We immediately challenge this with master shot of a main character being in a suit with no performance elements around them (instruments) this immediately challenges the forms in which you would find in our specific genre as well as media products with the majority of videos starting with the song immediately as well where as we have decided to start with a story before hand to add emphasis to the story. This progresses the storyline and because it is not a genre signifier it doesn't give anything away to the audience thus building suspense about what the story is about and how the song is going to relate to this.
(Picture of Jacob on Rooftop)

Also narrative music videos have the general conventions of following the music as a guideline to the story and relate it to the story, we have challenged this by adding a sense of irony to our music video with the contradictory elements such as the song being about feeling good and the audience is placed in what appears to be a depresses character thinking about his life, this was done to intise the audience into the music product more with the unique idea towards the song. This was also included within our other media products such as the digipack with the simplistic designs challenging the real life music products which are very complicated with the digipacks however we also develop this idea by still making the digipack look unique due to this simplicity  which also relates back to our music video.

*Pictures of Digipack and Jacob Bridge Shot*


Some of the ways in which we have developed on the conventions is the problems in which teenagers face such as relationships or school. This was developed with the narrative elements being based around a character who was relatively young to make the audience (16-24) easily relate to him and have similar morale problems in which they would face, so although the situations would not be exactly the same the intended target audience would be able to relate to  it. By doing this we were able to challenge the general conventions of real media products of a similar nature and thus making it more appealing to the younger audience in which we were intended to aim our product towards. The other ways in which we developed the product compared to real-life media products was the use of effects to represent how the character was feeling with his problems however contradicting this at the same time with lyrics. An example of this is Jacob in this lift with the character being in black and white (which gives the connotations of being depressed) however the lyrics he mimes is "I'm feeling good" this relates the target audience with teenagers sometimes having problems and keeping them inside when they feel terrible outside, this makes the shot more powerful and appealing. This is challenging real life media products because of the music videos try to see the more positive sides of the songs with the narratives. 
*Picture of Jacob in Elevator*

Director Commentary -Video

Final Digipak Design

Behind the Scenes Part 2

Behind the Scenes Part 1

Editing Process

In the editing process for our music video we used the professional editing program Final Cut Express that allowed us to do many things including the easy uploading process of video clips and video-audio manipulation that covers sound transitions, colour correction and conversion to a Quicktime file for easy viewing. Over time we gathered quite a lot of clips that we had filmed and slowly pieced them together on the timeline.

On of the many effects we included was the colour corrector that we added to many clips to make them look more interesting and to appeal to our target audience more:

This is probably our most anticipated shot of the music video. To achieve this we put two of same clip on the timeline and turned one black and white and the other we put a chroma key effect on it to make everything except the subject (the main character) their natural colour. We made the character black and white whilst the elevator interior remains green.

Within our final edit it is made up of a lot of elements including video and audio clips and the song track and sound effects/transitions. This all combines to give a professional piece of work that has had many hours spent on getting perfect and up to A-level standard.

With our music video there have been many edits and cuts that we have worked through to either try certain things or to see how the video editing process has progressed. Looking at the original and first edit, a lot has changed and decisions have been slowly made to improve certain elements including re-filming some things and re-arranging clips so they look better.

This is probably our most anticipated shot of the music video. To achieve this we put two of same clip on the timeline and turned one black and white and the other we put a chroma key effect on it to make everything except the subject (the main character) their natural colour. We made the character black and white whilst the elevator interior remains green.

Within our final edit it is made up of a lot of elements including video and audio clips and the song track and sound effects/transitions. This all combines to give a professional piece of work that has had many hours spent on getting perfect and up to A-level standard.

With our music video there have been many edits and cuts that we have worked through to either try certain things or to see how the video editing process has progressed. Looking at the original and first edit, a lot has changed and decisions have been slowly made to improve certain elements including re-filming some things and re-arranging clips so they look better.

Our video features three main people that is the lead singer/performer, the main character and his boss. The balance between the main character and the singer was heavily maintained through the video and we made sure that they were able to connect with the audience. The boss only has a small part so it may be hard for the audience to grasp his role as the person who receives the letter of resignation from the main character. Also important in the edit is considering the ordering of events as we tell a narrative story as well as featuring performance based elements.

The main character is shown in the intro on top of a car park and we lead the audience to think he might be jumping off and essentially ending his life. However through the edit we see him on a journey and the audience is made to believe that he quits his job and wants to be a free person to do what he wants. This is in fact true as we go back to the rooftop in the ending to show the characters journey and the audience expecting to see him jump. In the edit we make the ending similar to the intro to reinforce the story to the audience and show him drop his letter of resignation and walk off into the sunset as it were to start a new life.

Directors Commentary- Group Work

Introduction- Welcome to our Director’s commentary, we are Bradley, Ryan, Connor, Jacob.

In the opening sequence we immediately put the audience in the action by showing a clip of the apparent ending, this creates atmosphere, which is amplified by the mise-en-scene, with dark clouds and the urban setting.

This is immediately contradicted by transitioning with bright colours of the rising sun, followed by naturalistic shots involving the main character.

We continue the naturalistic shots placing the audience with the main character using lens flares and natural lighting to improve the realism as well as establish a setting. The initial lip-synching begins still including the main character and some aspects of a natural environment.

Jacob: The variety of lighting displayed on the shots with the contradictor shots to produce contrast and immerse the audience within the world, the chroma keyer was also relative to our digipacks and relating back to our advertising. The lens flares and ECU’S help to draw in the audience with the conceptual based elements.

Ryan: We first start to see the main character signing letters and conversing with a boss figure, we have done this to give the connotations of being fired from his job and a more natural progression when linking it with performance based shots. We also decided to use a variety of natural and abstract shots with varying location environments such as rivers changing into shots of London, we also included Jump cuts to progress the story quickly and yet keeping the audience immersed within the narrative.

Bradley: Here we decided to include a variety of colour effects on the shots to improve their power over the audience as well as fitting in the performance based shots to the song with the megaphone section being sung in an untraditional manner with shadows and blur effects to give a different style to the shots. However we continue to progress the main characters story still included within performance and making the music video slightly conceptual based, the high angled shots of the main character help to make him seem vulnerable, this combined with the singer being shown in an exciting way to showcase the singer such as a producer would.

Connor Part 2:  The idea behind these shots was to increase the tension with the audience by increasing the speed and abstract style of the shots as the music video progresses towards the climax. These shots offer the audience with more entertainment and excitement with the reversed shot creating confusing followed by the 5-millisecond shots of scenery and walking to make them more interesting and creates interest in the storyline.

The colour effects are repeated with the sky made to stand out followed by the close-up with good framing and is different to all the shots produced before to help build up to the climax.

Ryan Part 2: We begin to include time-lapses to give the connotations of the world changing around the main character and giving the connotations of this frustrating him, this is a good early hint towards the following shots of the release of anger with shots lasting less than 1 second to show all of the action in a quick pace with an overlay of the shots to give the blue effect. This sequence of shots was a good genre signifier due the action, which is directed towards the rock genre however the abstract nature of the shots signify the indie genre.

Finishing of the music video returning to the beginning of the music video gives the audience more of a build up of tension and finding out the true reasons behind standing on the rooftop, with the colour transition of the same colour of the sun and faded effects to make the audience interested in the story without being bored.

Analysis of Digipack

Updated :Pane one: We decided to give the first pane a simplistic nature to it with the band name and the song standing out and making sure that the audiences attention is drawn away from the importance of these feautres, the lens flare placed over the F also give the effect of being something special in which makes will give the connotations of being a very important album and the audience will be interested with the combination of the effects and simplicity 

Pane two: The second pane does not keep in touch with the style of the neon style font, however we chose to follow a different style. We have placed our lead singer in front of a brick wall, and by creating a work path in photoshop, wrote text following the outline of his head. The text is used to promote the product, as the is simple but very effective.

We believe it is important to put a face to the brand name 'Esum', and this keeps in touch with digipak conventions as more often than not, the artist will appear on their products.

Pane three: We used a photo that we took during the filming process as the backdrop for our CD case. The audience can create parralels between the music video itself and this pane, as this particular shot was used in the video.

Pane four: We decided to use the brick walls as a motif for our digipak.  We found a stock photo that was the sharp corner of a brick wall, and then based 2 columns of writing on each side of the corner. Both sides of the brick wall vary in darkness, and we chose to colour the font corresponding to the shade of darkness (dark= white font, and vice versa). We believe this has created an interesting visual effect, and boosts the overall look of the pane.




Final Version

After gathering audience feedback we done some changes keeping the overall theme similar to the original neon glow how keeping a level of constancy with the neon text and genre signifier's throughout our product. An example of this which is the most important is the neon glow which is meant to be upbeat, however with the darkness it seems more professional which is similar to our music video. The neon glow on our products help to target our audience of 16-24 because it is associated with clubbing which may be a hobby of the older end of our target audience as well as having a slightly 80's style vibe which relates back to the songs history and when the original version was first released. On the second pane it is very simple but effective with the lyrics behind the text making the product effect however some things may be added to make it more appealing. With this been said the other panes help to improve the overall effect with nothing necessarily be needed on the second pane other then the band profile however this wouldn't be in-keeping with our house style and would ruin the colour scheme.

With our finished neon colours we took some inspiration from the ministry our sound with our third pane, this was used to give our band more identity. The writing around the side of the wheel is a similar effect into which we added in our draft of our digipack which we all enjoyed prior and decided to keep this effects because of the same reasons which is that it is simple but yet effective.

Final Music Video

Draft digipak Design

Final Poster Design- Analysis

The first thing we took in to consideration when making our poster is the brand identity and house style of our band, which is similarly represented on our digipak. The neon glow is a juxtaposition (at first glance) of our video but it soon becomes clear that this represents our video accurately. The plain background takes its cue from simple backgrounds for concerts and shows that are seen plastered around places like London.

The quite flat and dull background makes the text really stand out and the alignment of the text is pretty much perfect for catching the eye with the important information in bold. However, some of the text isn’t too clear, particularly the ‘L’ in Feeling Good and although it still is legible. The text for ‘ESUM Presents’ is faded but it’s not a major problem in the grand scheme of things as it’s not the most important piece of information.

The neon text will instantly appeal to the audience because the connotations for it are exciting and energetic and this will most likely appeal to our target audience of 16-24 when looking at similar products it is obvious that colour is an important advertising tool and this was one of the first things we looked at.

Details on the poster such as the website is seen as more appealing to the younger target audience whilst also being a mainstay of the media so the obvious convergence gives the band and product more weight. This is also backed up by the mention of the music magazine Kerrang which would, again, appeal to a certain audience.

Overall, we feel that the poster is in keeping with our house style and brand identity whilst using certain conventions of a poster (website etc) whilst also reflecting on our video and album.

Filming Update: Croydon 2 Friday

After visiting Croydon for the first time we realised that it was a really good location to shoot on, with certain shoots needed to be redone after having to change the initial singer from Jacob to Connor due to feedback from other groups and associates. We decided to have a variety of different shots included within the location so not simplifying the camera work and making sure that each shot was interesting for example rather than fitting with the exact style of shots before in Croydon we decided to visit different area's of Croydon to give the video a different sense of location and a different feel to the shooting. Whilst there we also used the time to shoot some photo's of samples for the digipack's of what could be used and some shots which were just good for examples of what we could do however in better quality, for example shots of Connor standing against a brick wall with the shot back-light to give the impression of a silhouette. Overall we managed to get approximately 3 and a half hours of filming done with a good idea of how each shot can fit into the overall product but also keeping an open mind just in case certain shots don't fit into the final piece. 

Storyboards- Group work

Music Video, Media Research

Analysis of Digipack Advert- Change IMAGE

The digipack in which I have picked is of a similar genre to my music video in order to help to give me a certain inspiration for when designing our digipacks for our groups song. The Digipack advert is for Thomas Boardmen's new album Windows which uses a very simple window like effect to improve the general orientation and what the audience is looking at, with a simplistic look to it and a variety of different colours to give the connotation of bright colourful songs and lyrics in his video, with the natural barn behind him to help show case the level of simplicity and genuine character he displays.

You can clearly see the record label had a big say in what went on the advertisement with the variety of tour dates in which he is going to play to promote the singer himself and earn the company more model, by also placing it to the side it doesn't distract the audience from what's really important which is the singer. The tour dates are listed downwards as-well to give the impression that there are many tour dates and he is successful which might make more people want to see him. The variety of colored out windows have key points to showcase Thomas, such as a review on NME saying how great he is and promoting his level of skill. The companies in which you can buy the the CD from is also listed in order to promote him as an individual.

Song Lyrics with Possible Ideas

Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Reeds driftin' on by you know how I feel

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom in the trees you know how I feel

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me

Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Yeah freedom is mine
And you know how I feel

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good


Ideas
Some of the possible ideas in which we could use within our music video will be a contract between the variety of shots used such as an Urban setting changing into a naturalistic environment such as a park. The shots in which we might use will be portraying the singer in a good lighting as  a production company might do, this may be done with good levels of lighting, lens flares which will give the connotations of the singer producing good things about the world around them. However to make this music video abstract we could juxtapose this by having a contrast of shots with the good happening in the world around the main character however bad things are happening to him.

Representation of Groups/People In our Music Video

The representation of the key audience in our product is one of the very important concepts with the music video almost folding around it. After already identifying our key target audience and the main themes of our video, being 16-24 and about rebirth or a form of a new life. With this key concept in mind we wish to represent people in going through a series of changes and developments in their life almost like a teenager. This will be done through a variety of elements such as the camera work being high angled to make the main character look vulnerable which is how some teenagers feel sometimes and going into the deeper meaning of what is going on in sometimes head and just want to start again and feel good which relates back to the song.

The majority of the people shown within the music video will be young and have some way to relate to the lyrics and each group shown will have a different effect on the audience and the way they watch the video. We aim to promote the target audience in a positive light however we do go into deep emotions and feelings and take on different concepts of the lyrics of the song rather than taking it literally.

Shooting Schedule

Session One: (weekday): Match up storyboards to locations, discussion with brief filming
Session Two (weekday): General scouting of locations, preliminary filming.
Session Three (weekday): Opening of music video filmed and edited- possibly Abbey Mills
Session Four (weekend): Extensive shooting in more than one location of the entire song to intersperse with other footage.
Session Five (weekday): Time Lapse/More abstract material
Session Six: (weekend): Extensive shooting, the focus will be on the outro.
Session Seven (weekday): A day filming in Richmond Park- rural scenes. Woods/forest
Session Eight: (weekday) Stock footage
Session Nine: (weekday) Final location filming
Session Ten: (weekend) After editing, any shots that need to be rectified and changed will be re-filmed.
By Ryan Almond, Connor Sleet, Bradley Russell and Jacob Caria-Preen

Locations List

Locations List:

Naturalistic places

Forests/Woodland areas- establishing shot/pan-sun through trees

City- London- time-lapse

Streets- Tracking Shot

Alleyways- dark and creating mise-en-scene

Abbey Mills- the water flowing

Richmond Park-deer

Croydon Central

Mise-en-Scene

How are we going to utilise mise-en-scene in our music video?

Lighting is often overlooked when talking about mise-en-scene but we want to use lighting to create an atmosphere as well as captivating the audience. One idea would be to use flares combined with lens flares to create a streak of light across the screen. This is a powerful image and something that isn’t done often; it will set our music video apart from others and it is also an interesting and creative technique.

The lead singer plays an important role in our music video because we are following his story and the video revolves around him. However, we also want to make him look vulnerable and make the audience empathise with the character. The use of props and lighting will reflect heavily on the character, as will their surroundings. For example, looking in a mirror in a rundown bathroom will give connotations of his emotions or rundown life.

For costume, as the theme of our song is ‘rebirth’ we feel it would be important to change the costume of the lead singer. Binary opposites of black and white are likely to be used for the costume with changes throughout the song to indicate progression which leads back again to the connotations of change and- with white, for example- innocence.

To communicate the rock/indie genre it is typical of other bands to use instruments as props in their videos so we are likely to do the same as it is a reference to the genre to show we understand different conventions. This can also be said for costume as there seems to be a ‘dress code’ for indie bands with certain clothes being worn and certain clothes being avoided.

The message of our song is the change in life so we can show that through a variety of locations to once again reflect the change in character but it also is an effective way of telling the audience what is going on without explicitly stating it.

To attract, appeal and entertain our audience a lot of unique techniques and elements may need to be used. We are considering unique lighting effects as well as abstract ways of delivering our message and also a unique take on the song through the video. The twists in the narrative are also good examples. The non-linear structure of the video would appeal to the audience. This is similar to other videos in the genre including The Killers’ video for ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’

By Connor Sleet, Bradley Russell, Ryan Almond, Jacob Caria-Preen