Introduction to Evaluation and how did you use new technologies in the construction and research and planning and evaluation stage?

For the A2 media coursework we choose to carry out a music video with two ancillary products; of a digipak and a magazine advert. This captured our interest as both my partner and I have a passion for music and interest in learning how music videos are created and exist in the media industry. My partner is also involved in his own band as a vocalist and therefore had an ideal song of his own, which we both enjoyed and got inspiration from.
The genre which we choose and concentrated on was Pop, as through research into other genres we thought this complimented our chosen song and additionally our music interests.
Throughout pre-production, production and post-production, many new technologies were put to use to aid and support the preparation, management, construction and assessment of our products:

Blogger - Web 2.0 
Since the beginning of the coursework we created our blog using the site Blogger to post and keep track of the information and work we collected.   

This new technology was effective as unfinished work could be saved as a draft and published whenever needed. Also we could access the site using our mobile phones and therefore could post ideas and other information whenever and whereever we wanted.

BBM- Blackberry Messenger

Both my partner and I have BlackBerry devices which we used to contact each other through the Internet-based instant messenger application when in need of information for and about our media products/work. This made it very easy and quick to message each other as we both are BlackBerry users and carry our mobile phones on us constantly. Another service we also used to contact and send each other work was: 

Windows Live Hotmail

Celtx

 
During pre-production I used the Celtx technology to produce the storyboard sequence for our main moving-image product. This software was easy to use and as a visual learner it was very useful for the idea development and organisation. Even though it was my first time using Celtx, I found it was simple and quick to get a hang of and therefore defiantly would use it again.


Photoshop Adobe CS3

 During different stages of the production of our ancillary and main products the new technology Photoshop was very useful in editing our images and creating the digipak and magazine advert. As we had use of this software in AS, we were therefore more advanced in skill than last year and more confident of what we could and wanted to achieve. 
Example: 

Dafont.com

When using photoshop to produce the ancillary products, I searched for efficient and appropriate for our artistic style using the site dafont.com. It is a archive of free downloadable fonts. This was very useful as you could search through different categories such as modern, brush and comic. I found one font which was used in the ancillary products within the handwritten theme:

This technology was new to me but was simple to put into use within Photoshop. At first I had to find out how to download the fonts effectively by using the search engine Google to then find a tutourial on Youtube:

Overall this was very successful and I definatly would use it again in future productions.

Youtube - Video sharing website

 

This site was very useful during pre-production and research into real media products. When looking into music genres and their codes and conventions, we used YouTube to watch and analyse existing videos.

Also we used this technology to upload our own moving-image product so we could share and link others easily to our video. 

Final Cut Pro 

We used this as it is a non-linear video editing software where we could transfer our video from the tape and A1 camera onto the Mac hard drive to edit and process. However as it was the first time both my partner and I had access and use of this technology it was at first challenging and slowed down our production process. However after more use and advice from media lectures we got more confidence and skill and managed to produce our product for the advanced portfolio. Although there is much room for improvement, I believe we did the best of our ability at the time. 

Facebook

This social networking service helped us achieve audience feedback as we could create a link to our video on YouTube asking friends on Facebook to give their honest and fair opinions.

Overall the use of new media technologies within our work was very influential to the success and strength in all the areas of production.

What have you learnt from audience feedback?

From the audience feedback which we collected from using Web 2.0 on the site Facebook we learnt the different opinions and critics of our target audience. Negative points which were brought up were that : 

• More effects were needed 
• Some shots lasted too long within the video (behind the subject wide-angle shot)
• Camera movement was sometimes jumpy and uneven 
• Video and lip-syncing has room for improvement

However there were also positive views shared within this feedback such as:

• The video suits the tone of the song and vocals
• The idea of involving public within the frame (showing aspects of their lives) is effective
• It is free of ambiguities

These points are useful to overview our product as the comments were appropriately responsive and fair. Much therefore was learnt about how we could aid and improve the production of our video if the opportunity arose. For example using different techniques of filming with a dolly or mechanical device with wheels that could stabilise a shot even while travelling.
However as it was the first time we had use and access to the Final-Cut Pro software our level of skill and confidence was moderately stunted which consequently affected the overall product.

I also interviewed candidates for audience feedback with a written comment sheet and videoed using a DSLR Nikon D5000. This was so the candidates could voice-out any key points and opinions they had. This feedback was very useful as it provided both negative and positive statements about each product individually and as a whole.

How effective is the combination between your main product and your ancillary tasks?

Using cross-media advertising inspired by other artists such as Nirvana, the combination between our own moving-image product and ancillary task is very substantial. We linked the music video to the digipak and magazine advert cover by using images/shots of the same subject at the location of the clock tower in Stratford-Upon-Avon’s Wood Street.  All products therefore interlink with their mise-en-scene.

From all three products the audience is focusing upon on subject, allowing them to create a relationship and relation to this subject. This also links in with Roland Barth’s narrative code of enigma, as the audience begin to question who this figure is, where he is going and why.

The use of type faces and colour schemes between the ancillary products is also the same and the QR code upon the magazine advert links the audience to the music video and of track 'Heaven and Hell'.

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

When planning the moving-image product we researched into real media products and found inspiration from videos by The Verve for their song Bittersweet Symphony directed by Walter A. Stern which was also influenced by the video for Massive Attack with their song Unfinished Sympathy directed by Baillie Walsh. Using new technologies such as Youtube we were able to watch and achieve textual analysis of real media products of this type. Therefore recognise conventions such as:

• One main subject concentrated on throughout (male or female)
• Insert cuts of different shots for example point-of-view
• Subject walks down the street – audience is taken on a 'pavement journey'
• Location set in a town/city (public areas with passers-by and traffic)
• Lip syncing
• At the end of the video the subject walks off into the distance

We were inspired by this as we believed it would work effectively with our chosen soundtrack and as a concept was challenging, artistic yet achievable. Initially we had the idea of shooting the moving-image in just one shot, however decided that in adding cutaways and insert cuts with different views of the subject's feet, point-of-view shots and close-ups would add interesting perspectives for the audience and overall would be a more advanced and complex product.

For our ancillary products we used influence of cross media advertising to link all of our products appropriately; using images taken of the subject and at a location shown within the video upon our Digipak cover and magazine advert. The real media products which also used cross media advertising for example is the band Nirvana, who used controversial images/shots of a naked baby in a swimming pool within their music video, magazine advert and Digipak album cover.

Edit Decision List - Used when editing in Finalcut Pro

Moving-Image Product- Music Video

From the inspiration of real media products such as The Verve's music video for their song 'Bittersweet  Symphony' directed by Walter A. Stern and Massive Attack's video for their track 'Unfinished Sympathy' directed by Baillie Walsh, this video followed their codes and conventions and the genre of Pop.

There is demonstration of mise-en-scene within the video, for example the wide shots that track the main character and reveal the character's surroundings and therefore the location of the video; which is in the public area of the town Stratford-Upon-Avon.

 Initially the target of this video was to be in the more urban location of Coventry. However when arriving at that location for the night which we planned to shoot, the area was closed down due to reconstruction. Nevertheless Stratford-Upon-Avon still provided us with the side-walk/'pavement journey' to complete the continuous shot, inspired by the real media products.

The inclusion of the public worked effectively, especially in the point-of-view shots as it created the illusion that we as viewers see the subject's view point of society and the world around him. 





This also involves Roland Barthe's  narrative code of enigma as it creates a mystery for the audience and makes them question who the subject is, where he is going and why.  

The lighting used within the video is all natural, provided by the location's sunlight. At first we planned to shoot at night within Coventry, however due to time-constraints and budget limits we chose to shoot during the day within Stratford-Upon-Avon. This worked very effectively and supplied the camera with bright yet soft unrefined light and helped portray the deeper meaning of the last shot that we wanted.

The sunlight within the frame as the subject walked into the distance helped convey how he is travelling independently to a brighter and better future. 
Our use of camerawork was very much an issue in which we faced during the production of this moving-image product. We decided to use the cinematographic technique of the hand-held camera, this resulted in a quite shaky camera motion however gave a sense of immersion. As views we see a rawer look upon the subject and visualise his view point.

However much can be improved and much was realised especially after feedback, on simple ways we could of increased the quality of our product.

When shooting the film we used the Sony HVR-A1E camera without the microphone due to the use of the soundtrack. However to complete successful lip syncing the subject videoed sang to the music that was played out loud while shooting.

Final Digi-Pak Front Cover + Backcover + Inside



Font and back cover panels



Inside panels


This is the final ancillary product design of the digipak. To produce these I used the technology of Photoshop CS3.
This also uses the colour scheme of the magazine advert of black, white and dark tourquoise and the font use of 'Pappo's Blues Band Offical' and 'Strungout'.  The design is simple however still effective, the use of the black  does challenge conventions of the genre of Pop music, for example when researching into real media products such as Coldplay's 'Mylo Xyloto' album they had much vibrant colour use :

Nevertheless the black provides a more professional look to our product and contrasted well with the white and tourquoise.

Overall the product design was succesfull and is very much based on real media products, having the conventions of :

• Band name and website
• Contents on back panel with numbered tracks
• Placement for CD
• Barcode
• Record label logo