Sunday, 15 April 2018
Saturday, 14 April 2018
Final Thoughts
My final thoughts on this year of media:
From this year I've learnt a lot, not just in terms of the course but also in my own personal style and way I like to work. Filming outside in really populated public places proved much more of a challenge than I thought it would be, but it's been a real learning point. I've learnt that I much prefer working in a small, private environment like last year, as I can control everything that possibly moves. Also, it really eliminates the light and weather changes which did become a bit of a challenge for us this year. This said, I'm really glad I learnt these things now so that I can be more prepared when I go to uni in September.
From this year I've learnt a lot, not just in terms of the course but also in my own personal style and way I like to work. Filming outside in really populated public places proved much more of a challenge than I thought it would be, but it's been a real learning point. I've learnt that I much prefer working in a small, private environment like last year, as I can control everything that possibly moves. Also, it really eliminates the light and weather changes which did become a bit of a challenge for us this year. This said, I'm really glad I learnt these things now so that I can be more prepared when I go to uni in September.
Friday, 13 April 2018
Evaluation 4
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Thursday, 12 April 2018
Wednesday, 11 April 2018
Tuesday, 10 April 2018
Evaluation 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Monday, 9 April 2018
Evaluation 4: Planning and Script
Script
Throughout this year of media, we have used a variety of technologies to research, plan, construct and evaluate our main and ancillary tasks.
These technologies can be categorised by either hardware or software, both of which came together in order for us to develop ans create our products.
Hardware we used includes an iPhone 6, a Mac, an iPad, a MacbookPro and a Wacom graphics tablet; and the software we used includes Blogger, Youtube, Deezer, iMovie, Adobe Creaive Cloud and CutecCut Pro.
In the initial development stages of creating our product, we used various technologies to carry out the necessary research. When deciding on the song we wanted to use, music streaming service Deezer was particularly useful as it suggested smilar songs and artiststo those we had searched for ourselcesd, allowing us to find the song we eventually settled on. We also used Youtube to find pre-exisiting music videos and this allowed us to lwarn about the conventions that we could use or challenge on our own products.
After editinf, we did some research on how to create the animated scribble effect. and for this we used Twitter and Youtube.A video I came across from Savannah Brown featured style of animation similar to what we wanted to create, so I decided to get in contact with the illustratoe, Maddy Vian. I used Twitter to do this, and it proved successful with Maddy gettong back to me within 10 minutues, explaining how she created the effect with Photoshop. We then headed over to Youtube to find this explained in more detail, which is where I found a tutorial for creating animations in After Effects instead. A fter looking into both, we decided to use After Effects as it seemed to be a better fit with what we had in mind.
Ater research we began to plan exactly what we wanted to film- a lot of this was through practice shoots and communiccarion, both done through media technologies. Things like photographing potential filming locaions ad going out to test the feaability of filming on trains allowed for us to plan in more detail and with more accuarcy. For both of these we used an iPhone to capture the images and footage. As for communication, a group chat between myself, Rachel, Ted and Catherine was vital, and for this we used Whatsapp. It allowed us to easily check schedules, plan filming days and share any ideas we had with eachother.
Producing and constructing our main and ancillary products is where the majority of media technologies were used this year. Like last year, we decided to film on an iPhone ratgher than a camera as this allwed us to easily share, back up and import footage to to other Apple devices we were using through feautres such as AirDrop. Also like last year, we edited our footage together on iMovie 9 on a Mac, however when itcame to adding post production effects we moved to different hardware and software. When we were ready to add the animations, we moved the project over to a MacbookPro where we could open it in After Effetcs. With a Wacom tablet and After Effects, we were able to create simple, sketch-like animations to bring another dimension to our music video and achieve a more light, fun feel.
As for my ancillary tasks, the digipak and magazine advert were created using Photoshop and Pages, both on a MacbookPro. We used Photoshop to edit the images, and Pages fro creating the layout and postitioning the text.
For my evaluations, in order to create 4 different videos, I used software such as Prezi to add variety. When collecting data to help evaluate my products, I used media platforms such as Twitter and Whatsapp to share or video and gather feedback from our audience. I also used survey creating software SurveyMonkey, a media technology I had never used before. This proved a really effective way of getting feedback from a large audience. Finally, I edited all my evaluations on an iPad on editing app, CuteCut Pro.
For all stages of media this year, from initial research to final evaluations, I have used Blogger to document my progress and share my final products.
Sunday, 8 April 2018
Saturday, 7 April 2018
Evaluation 2: Planning and Script
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?
Script
As with any marketing campaign, it was vital that the music video, digipak, and magazine advert were all variations of the same thing. This means there needed to be a clear link between all the products, and this was achieved by using the same colour scheme, images, font and style on all 3 products. Real media producers also ensure this kind of correlation between their products, for example the recent album, video and advert from The Pretenders are all linked through the black and white images and light pink, eye-catching pink.
Our main task this year was to create a music video, and for this we used 'Don't Get Me Wrong' by The Pretenders. To add another dimension to the video, we used simple, hand drawn animations to display the thoughts and inner monologue of the main character. These animations became the base for digipak and magazine advert in terms of colour. The 5 main colours used in the animations were: pink, yellow, blue, red. and orange, but perhaps most prominent were the pink and the yellow. They were often used in small stars in various shots and scenes.
From this, we decided to use these as the main two colours for our ancillary tasks. The bright pink background with yellow accents and black and white writing on both the digipak and magazine advert immediately makes them eye-catching and noticeable even to someone who isn't looking out for them. Not only do they stand out, but these bright colours hold connotations of fun and youthfulness a lot more so that darker, more dull colours do. This really represents the music video well as it was intended to be a quirky, light-hearted, upbeat narrative. Feedback from the music video was overwhelmingly positive, and so by using the same style and features on our ancillary tasks, they too should be effective.
The use of the font chosen for the band name and album title is meant to act like a logo for the band. As it features heavily on both ancillary tasks, it would be reasonable to assume that this is a style the band always use, much like a trademark. The style of font we used in all of our products was a sans serif white font called Futura, placed on a black background. This makes it easily recognisable as well as legible. The lettering was capitalised for the most important information like the band name, the album title and "out now", but used in a lower case for the smaller details such as the reviews on the advert and song lyrics on the digipak. The use of this style of font was based off research into other bands of a similar gnere and era. Oasis use a very simple black and white logo for all of their products, and it is instantly recognisable to millions, making it very effective. We have adopted this style into out own products to also have the same effect.
The images we have used on all three tasks are perhaps the most effective feature of these products. From audience feedback, we found out the ending shot of the video was really memorable as many people commented in our survey how much they liked it. For this reason, we used it as the cover page for the digipak. It works really well because audiences are instantly introduced to both members of the band, as well as meeting them again inside the digipak. As for the magazine advert, the main photos are taken from the scene of the music video where these 2 characters meet and establish a 'love at first sight' connection. These photos are used in the inner sleeves of the digipak, and again ties all three products together. The decision to not use the ending shot as the main advert picture, is because it is featured on it already in the form of the the digipak towards the bottom left. By having more than one photo from the music video on the advert may act as a way of gaining more attention as it shows audiences that there is a story between the two characters.
Finally, the use of animations in the music video was a huge success, with all comments describing them as fun and that they give a new feel to the video. With the feedback we got, it was essential to include the animations in the ancillary tasks. In the main pictures on the magazine ad, there are some small hand drawn hearts between the two characters- for audiences who haven't seen the video, this is easily recognisable as the start of a possible relationship. As for the digipak, the same images are used on the inner sleeves but it is the CD itself where the main bulk of animation is. The CD shows the shot of the pivotal moment when the male character noticed the scarf, and what essentailly began the story that was to follow. It is placed on top of a pink and yellow map of London, tying the digipak to the music video.
Overall, I believe our main and ancillary tasks to have been very effective as welistened to our audience and incorporated many of the features they enjoyed, namely the ending shot and the animations. All of our products are libked together in various ways, an this makes them memortable to an audience as they are seeing repeated images. The bright colours used in all three products are also memorable anf bring a light, quirky feel to all three tasks.
Script
As with any marketing campaign, it was vital that the music video, digipak, and magazine advert were all variations of the same thing. This means there needed to be a clear link between all the products, and this was achieved by using the same colour scheme, images, font and style on all 3 products. Real media producers also ensure this kind of correlation between their products, for example the recent album, video and advert from The Pretenders are all linked through the black and white images and light pink, eye-catching pink.
Our main task this year was to create a music video, and for this we used 'Don't Get Me Wrong' by The Pretenders. To add another dimension to the video, we used simple, hand drawn animations to display the thoughts and inner monologue of the main character. These animations became the base for digipak and magazine advert in terms of colour. The 5 main colours used in the animations were: pink, yellow, blue, red. and orange, but perhaps most prominent were the pink and the yellow. They were often used in small stars in various shots and scenes.
From this, we decided to use these as the main two colours for our ancillary tasks. The bright pink background with yellow accents and black and white writing on both the digipak and magazine advert immediately makes them eye-catching and noticeable even to someone who isn't looking out for them. Not only do they stand out, but these bright colours hold connotations of fun and youthfulness a lot more so that darker, more dull colours do. This really represents the music video well as it was intended to be a quirky, light-hearted, upbeat narrative. Feedback from the music video was overwhelmingly positive, and so by using the same style and features on our ancillary tasks, they too should be effective.
The use of the font chosen for the band name and album title is meant to act like a logo for the band. As it features heavily on both ancillary tasks, it would be reasonable to assume that this is a style the band always use, much like a trademark. The style of font we used in all of our products was a sans serif white font called Futura, placed on a black background. This makes it easily recognisable as well as legible. The lettering was capitalised for the most important information like the band name, the album title and "out now", but used in a lower case for the smaller details such as the reviews on the advert and song lyrics on the digipak. The use of this style of font was based off research into other bands of a similar gnere and era. Oasis use a very simple black and white logo for all of their products, and it is instantly recognisable to millions, making it very effective. We have adopted this style into out own products to also have the same effect.
The images we have used on all three tasks are perhaps the most effective feature of these products. From audience feedback, we found out the ending shot of the video was really memorable as many people commented in our survey how much they liked it. For this reason, we used it as the cover page for the digipak. It works really well because audiences are instantly introduced to both members of the band, as well as meeting them again inside the digipak. As for the magazine advert, the main photos are taken from the scene of the music video where these 2 characters meet and establish a 'love at first sight' connection. These photos are used in the inner sleeves of the digipak, and again ties all three products together. The decision to not use the ending shot as the main advert picture, is because it is featured on it already in the form of the the digipak towards the bottom left. By having more than one photo from the music video on the advert may act as a way of gaining more attention as it shows audiences that there is a story between the two characters.
Finally, the use of animations in the music video was a huge success, with all comments describing them as fun and that they give a new feel to the video. With the feedback we got, it was essential to include the animations in the ancillary tasks. In the main pictures on the magazine ad, there are some small hand drawn hearts between the two characters- for audiences who haven't seen the video, this is easily recognisable as the start of a possible relationship. As for the digipak, the same images are used on the inner sleeves but it is the CD itself where the main bulk of animation is. The CD shows the shot of the pivotal moment when the male character noticed the scarf, and what essentailly began the story that was to follow. It is placed on top of a pink and yellow map of London, tying the digipak to the music video.
Overall, I believe our main and ancillary tasks to have been very effective as welistened to our audience and incorporated many of the features they enjoyed, namely the ending shot and the animations. All of our products are libked together in various ways, an this makes them memortable to an audience as they are seeing repeated images. The bright colours used in all three products are also memorable anf bring a light, quirky feel to all three tasks.
Friday, 6 April 2018
Evaluation 1: Planning and Script
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The plot in our video is very typical to many narrative videos, as there is a focus on love and friendship. As this is a theme running through many songs, it makes sense that it would be a part of many music videos as well. Songs such as Ed Sheeran's 'Galway Girl' have a strong theme of love, and this really shows through in the video, particularity the ending shot. Our video conforms to the love narrative, and the animations simply emphasise this, particularly the use of hearts in the two shots.
Our use of animations in this video comes under a style of special effect, a feature that is becoming more and more common in all types of videos, including pop and rock. Bruno Mars' 'That's What I Like' video features sketched animations not too different from ours, and this is a convention of real media products we have used. Also, videos like Biffy Clyro's 'Wolves of Winter' branch into abstract, suggesting that the boundaries of what defines a rock video are shifting.
A convention of pop videos that we really utilised throughout our music video is the use of both highkey lighting and bright colours. Filming during the daytime in quite open parts of London allowed for us to get bright natural lighting, and even the scenes set at night saw bright indoor lights being used. As for colour, through both the mise en scene and the added animations, there is a lot of colour among the shots. with the main prop also being a bright red scarf. As this was in every shot, it meant there would always be some form of colour, even if filmed in a more plain location. Though this conformed to pop conventions, it really challenges typical rock videos which often feature lowkey lighting and a dark colour scheme.
The rest of the mise on scene in our video also challenges rock videos. As they tend to be performance videos, they often feature close up shots of the instruments played by the band, however this was something we decided not to include. The main mise en scene in our video focuses on the famous sights and landmarks of London, such a The National Gallery and Piccadilly Circus. However, something in the mise en scene that pop and rock videos share is the costumes used- they both often feature casual dress. As our characters are both wearing jeans, a tshirt and a jacket, they conform to the typical dress of pop and rock music videos.
Script
The song we chose to use for our music video this year is 'Don't Get Me Wrong' by The Pretenders. Though classed as a 'rock band', this particular song falls under the hybrid genre of pop-rock. For this we have created a music video that has both conventions of pop and rock, but falls more towards the genre of pop.
Some typical conventions of pop music videos include things like bright colours, a narrative story line, and a link to the lyrics; whilst typical rock videos will often use lowkey lighting, have a darker colour palette, and are generally performance videos.
In our video, we have confromed to many more conventions of pop that rock, but we have also challenged many convetions of standard music video. As well as this, we have also developed upon some of both genres convetions to create our own.
To start, the style of music video is strictly narrative, with a distinct lack of any elements of performance, this develops the style of most pop videos, and challenges rock videos. Though many pop videos often feature a narrative element to them, they tend to be combined with performance elements, either through cut-aways to a performance, or with the performance taking place throughout the narrative, for example Dua Lipa's New Rules. As for rock videos, they are much more likely to be completely performance, with a strong focus on the artist, as seen in the Foo Fighter's The Pretender video.
The plot in our video is very typical to many narrative videos, as there is a focus on love and friendship. As this is a theme running through many songs, it makes sense that it would be a part of many music videos as well. Songs such as Ed Sheeran's 'Galway Girl' have a strong theme of love, and this really shows through in the video, particularity the ending shot. Our video conforms to the love narrative, and the animations simply emphasise this, particularly the use of hearts in the two shots.
Our use of animations in this video comes under a style of special effect, a feature that is becoming more and more common in all types of videos, including pop and rock. Bruno Mars' 'That's What I Like' video features sketched animations not too different from ours, and this is a convention of real media products we have used. Also, videos like Biffy Clyro's 'Wolves of Winter' branch into abstract, suggesting that the boundaries of what defines a rock video are shifting.
A convention of pop videos that we really utilised throughout our music video is the use of both highkey lighting and bright colours. Filming during the daytime in quite open parts of London allowed for us to get bright natural lighting, and even the scenes set at night saw bright indoor lights being used. As for colour, through both the mise en scene and the added animations, there is a lot of colour among the shots. with the main prop also being a bright red scarf. As this was in every shot, it meant there would always be some form of colour, even if filmed in a more plain location. Though this conformed to pop conventions, it really challenges typical rock videos which often feature lowkey lighting and a dark colour scheme.
The rest of the mise on scene in our video also challenges rock videos. As they tend to be performance videos, they often feature close up shots of the instruments played by the band, however this was something we decided not to include. The main mise en scene in our video focuses on the famous sights and landmarks of London, such a The National Gallery and Piccadilly Circus. However, something in the mise en scene that pop and rock videos share is the costumes used- they both often feature casual dress. As our characters are both wearing jeans, a tshirt and a jacket, they conform to the typical dress of pop and rock music videos.
According to Andrew Goodwin's theory 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory', two of the things all music videos should have is a link between the lyrics and the visuals, and a link between the music and visuals through editing to the beat. We have done this throughout our video, in order to conform to real media codes. On lyrics such as "pass on the street" our two characters cross paths, linking our lyrics to the visuals. It is also edited to the beat throughout, but is particualrly noticable in the instrumental montage section, where our character appears at a variety of famous London landmarks. At this section of the video, we have used fast paced editng to match the beats, a technique often used in rock videos to match the pace of the song.
Overall, our video for 'Don't Get Me Wrong' uses, develops, and challenges many codes and conventions of real media products. The style of video develops upon the usual pop video by being strictly narrative, and at the same time completely challenges rock videos as they tend to be all performance. The lighting and colour palette also conforms to pop and challenges rock, with bright lighting and colours. However pop and rock do have some shared conventions which we have utilised in our video such as the casual dress costumes and editing to the beat.
Overall, our video for 'Don't Get Me Wrong' uses, develops, and challenges many codes and conventions of real media products. The style of video develops upon the usual pop video by being strictly narrative, and at the same time completely challenges rock videos as they tend to be all performance. The lighting and colour palette also conforms to pop and challenges rock, with bright lighting and colours. However pop and rock do have some shared conventions which we have utilised in our video such as the casual dress costumes and editing to the beat.
Sunday, 1 April 2018
Magazine Advert- Final Version
Here's our final copy of the magazine advert which promotes the digipak.
It's main colours are bright pink and yellow to match the majority of the animations, and it links together with the digipak and music video. The font used to display the band name and album title are also the same on all three products. The 2 main photos on this advert are also taken from the music video, and the animations on these shots really sum up the video and accurately advertise it.
Typical traits of a magazine advert such as quotes from critics, a star rating, and a plug of the hit singles also feature on here in order to make it look as close to a real media text as possible.
In the last quarter of the page there is a photo of the front cover of the digipak, one of the CD itself, and a label which simply reads "Out Now".
The website, band logo, and social media symbols also feature at the bottom of the page as this is a common feature of many types of posters nowadays, whether that be music. film etc.
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