Evaluation Question 4

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

Construction and Research

In the construction and research stages we used a variety of new technologies to aid us in the making of our final product. When filming our trial lip syncing video we used a standard definition camera, and iMovie to edit it together, at this stage we were planning to use Final Cut Express to edit our final video together, and we were planning on using a HD camera, as this would give our finished video and much more professional outcome. The use of a standard definition camera meant that the time it took to import the video to the Mac was a lot less, meaning we could edit it together a lot quicker. Also the use of iMovie, as we all knew how to use it well, meant we could edit it quickly and have it on our blog quicker. Throughout the research element we used the Internet, mainly news websites to gain information about current trends in music videos and what videos were popular at the time, this helped us work towards making sure our video fit with the genre of the song we has chosen, while also making sure it contains elements that will appeal to a wide audience. We also used YouTube a lot, firstly as a platform to upload our trail lip syncing video, but also to view previously created music videos and one which were of a similar genre to what we wanted our one to end up like. Doing this enabled us to do an even deeper analysis into the conventions of the genre we were working with, while also giving us a wider knowledge of other types of genres.

Planning

In the planning stages of making our Digipak and Magazine advert I used paint to make some very rough drafts of what I wanted the Digipak and magazine advert to look like, after getting feedback from people about what they thought of my designs I decided to use Photoshop to make new ones as people said they didn't look professional enough. Photoshop, although it is a very complicated programme was easy to pick up, I already had basic knowledge on how it worked so I made everything on there from that point onwards. I liked Photoshop more than Paint because it gave eve

rything I made a much more professional finish and look, also because it gave me a much wider range or effects and font that I could use.

In the planning stages of making our video we used iMovie once again to make an animatic story board, making this gave us a much better idea of what our finished video would look like and also gave us a chance to play around with the positioning of clips. Using iMovie also meant that we could do things much quicker and importing images into iMovie is a very quick process. We also used the Internet a great deal throughout the planning stages as we used Blogger to document all of our progress, which allowed us to keep everything organised and in order so it was easy to access when we needed in later on. We also once again used Youtube as a site to upload our animatic storyboard to, this was helpful as you can upload directly from iMovie and also it is easy to embed the uploaded video onto our blog and use in the Filming and Editing stage of our project.

Filming and Editing

After much deliberation we decided that due to the nature and genre of our video it would be much easier and save a lot of time if we edited it in iMovie, as opposed to Final Cut Express. Our video is in the genre of 'Indie' which means it doesn't contain many on screen special effects or text on screen, this means that we can use iMovie and still achieve a high quality, professional outcome. However there is a section towards the end of our video which we knew would require a filter so we decided that we would edit the raw clips we wanted the filter on in Final Cut Express then move them over to iMovie and add them to the editing timeline in iMovie, doing this saved us a great deal of time and also allowed us to achieve the filter effect which we wanted.

During the filming stages of our video we used many things to aid us in achieving a professional finish, the first of which was a tripod. Despite some of our shots being hand held, we required a tripod for a lot of the group shots and also the main lip syncing shot which is seen throughout. The tripod allowed us to keep the camera we were using steady and meant that  the focus in the shots we used the tripod in was more on what was going on in the clip rather than the shakiness that would've been present without the tripod. We brought a Dolly

along to the shoot as well, which came in handy not only while we were filming but also when we were moving the equipment from room to room while on location, because we did many shots outside and in different positions in the main room of the house we used the dolly to move the camera around these location with ease.

The camera we used was a Canon Full HD Camcorder, the camera had a large amount of built in memory which meant we didn't need to worry about how long the clips went on for or how many clips we ended up filming because we had plenty of space on the camera to experiment and re-do the shots which we didn't like or weren't 100% sure about. The camera also has auto-focus, which was extremely helpful for us because we were filming in an environment where there was a lot going on in shot so having auto-focus meant we could focus more on what there people in the clip were doing and less on minor things like whether the camera was in focus or not.

After trailing the programmes we were going to use for our Digipak and Magazine advert we decided that our best option was Photoshop, it allowed us to add a broad amount of effects and fonts onto our Digipak. I liked using Photoshop as it was easy to pick up and also allowed us to give our Digipak and Magazine advert a very professional finish, meaning it looked like it had been created by an actual institution.

Evaluation
Through-out the entire process of making our project I have used Blogger to document my progress and create a timeline on my blog similar to that of a Diary, showing the journey we have made from our initial ideas and choosing the song we wanted to use to having a final video, Digipack and Magazine advert. Blogger is a really easy site to use which allows you to not only create individual post which can contain slideshows, images and videos, but it also allows you to organise everything in a way which is easy to look back on and use in each stage of our project. The evaluation stage has been made a lot easier by blogger because I knew I wanted to do every question in a different way, using different forms of technology, and using blogger allows me to use any type of technology I want, because I can just embed it onto my blog and it will appear there.

Evaluation Question 3

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Evaluation Question 2

How effective is the combination of the main product (your music videos) and ancillary tasks (digipack and magazine advert)?

Evaluation Question 1

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

Top Music Videos Research

As it is nearing the end of the year, many websites and blogs are releasing posts and articles highlighting which music videos have been the most popular this year. I have decided to take information from one of the posts and analysis some of the decision to see why they were most popular, what aspects of the video made them popular and also if what parts of the video I like and dislike. I have decided to use Rolling Stone's 'Top 10 Music Videos of 2013' as they are a reputable music source.

Number 10 - Vampire Weekend - "Diane Young"

Vampire Weekend are an indie band, who have a quite large and dedicated following of fans, this song was the first single off of their most recent album so it was bound to be quite successful. Vampire Weekend are one of my favourite bands and I personally think this video is one of their best, because it finds a good balance between narrative, which is mild as they are an indie band, but I find they work the beat and feel of the song in well with the video. As the song builds so does the video and that's why I think it is such a well liked video as the building of the song and video help build the viewing experience and help give the audience a better feel for the music. Rolling Stone quoted the video as 'frantic and hilarious' which I agree completely with, they achieved this by also using well known figures in the Indie scene such as 'Sky Ferreira, Santigold and David Longstreth', while also using a set which some will recognise from the famous Leonardo Da Vinci Painting of the final supper. This use of a well known painting will draw people from other musical scenes who probably wouldn't have watched the video otherwise, therefore widening the audience and gaining publicity.

 

Number 8 -  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "Can't Hold Us"

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis released this song as a second single off of their most recent album, as their first song was such a big hit both musically and due to the video going viral, this song and video were much anticipated, however also due to the fact that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis had exploded onto the music scene this year bringing in a whole new type of artist, Macklemore combines rapping and positive political messages, in a way which is accessible for many types of audiences, while using Ryan Lewis and various of artists to create and feature in his music. The video for this song covers more than just the song featuring a small narrative section at the beginning and end, also credits are featured making the video more of a short film than a video. I agree with the video being in the Top 10 because it suits the artists style of music but also challenges standard conventions of that genre, most rap artists wouldn't have a video with a narrative, or a video that is filmed in such a professional, almost sophisticated way, however this video does this successfully in my opinion.

 

Number 5 - Robin Thicke - "Blurred Lines"

Robin Thicke has exploded on to the scene this year with his controversial one hit wonder that is Blurred Lines. Undoubtedly the most controversial video of the year, the song combines singing and rap to form an all round standard misogynistic song that is expected in the Hip Hop/R&B world of today. The video in my opinion is very distasteful and painful to watch because of the blatant stereotypes of the genre which are featured, however I personally think the acknowledgment of these issues is 50/50 with the audience as the video and song are popular for two main reasons. The first being people actually like the song and video, enjoying the voyeuristic treatment of women and using it for their own viewing pleasure. The second reason I think its gotten so much attention is because people are fighting against the message and trying to make a point about it. However there is no arguing that the video has been a big hit this year, regardless of why, the video fits in with the Genre of the song and this is probably why people enjoy the video so much, as it is nothing out of the ordinary for what is expected of that genre.

 

Number 1 - Miley Cyrus - "Wrecking Ball" 

Miley Cyrus in the past year has probably made the biggest change to her musical identity and look than ever before in her life, some argue the changes to be bad, some argue good, but regardless Wrecking Ball was a complete game changer for Miley. After a year of criticism and at times abuse for her song 'We Can't Stop', she completely opens up to her audience and the world with her minimalistic video and ballad like song Wrecking Ball. Managing to claw back any respect people ever had for her, she ALMOST makes a tasteful video, the two element which I personally think make this such a popular video is the stripped back, honest feelings which are displayed in the video make it appealing for the audience who are hungry for anything to do with the artists personal life. However the video is also popular as people are intrigued to see and criticise her controversial chose to ride a wrecking ball naked.

Magazine Advert Plan 2

 

I have made a second magazine advert plan to aid our group in making our one, this time I have decided to focus less on the artist being the background and focus more on the use of colour. I have done this by taking a picture of Ben that has him holding a bright blue gun and using that colour to help make the title of his name stand out more. I have also used a similar image to the one I used in my Digipak plan to create some continuity. After looking at other magazine adverts for artists and album, I have tried to make this design more professional by adding things like a website and copyright at the bottom.

Magazine Advert Plan 1

This is a design I have created to give me and my group some ideas on what we want our Magazine Advert to look like, I have taken inspiration from other artists I have looked at as many of them have chosen to use bold text and contrasting colours. I have made the whole background of the advert a picture of out artist and then surrounded the picture with information like his name and the name of the album, and also the release date.