Friday, 22 April 2016
Thursday, 21 April 2016
EVALUATION QUESTION 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I chose to produce a music promo pack for the song Pumped Up Kicks by indie pop artist Foster The People signed to Columbia Records. "Pumped Up Kicks" became the group's breakthrough hit and was one of the most popular songs of 2011. The song was written and recorded by front-man Mark Foster while he was working as a commercial jingle writer. Contrasting with the upbeat musical composition, the lyrics describe the homicidal thoughts of a troubled youth.
My promotional music video is very different to the original music due to costs and professional equipment. I deconstructed the lyrics which can be seen in my Lyric Analysis, this gave me another area to look at what I can produced in terms of my music video but also gave me a narrative sector for my music video which fits with the lyrics. (I chose to film abstract in the end however as I couldn't think of an idea without it being too similar to the original narrative in the video.) I did this as a part of my research and planning stages to prepare me before I start the filming process. I will evaluate both my music video and the ancillary texts to compare to existing products.
The original song on first listen without looking at the lyrics is upbeat and happy but once you've analysed the lyrics it gives a deeper meaning depending on how the audience views it. This deeper meaning includes links to the growing issue of mental illness in teenagers and being judged in society.
I created my own absract ideas by analysing the lyrics and thinking about the meaning behind them and the overall themes to give an overall meaning but to no narrative therefore the meanings and ideas were applicable to however the audience read and viewed it. In order to create my final products I had to plan out what I was going to do to ensure I accounted for all possible problems and had a video that was well made stylistically and narratively. I also created a 6-panel digipack and a promotional poster for my artist, whom I had to invent a false name for as we were not allowed to use existing branding when creating any of our work. For my work to be successful, it will have to have an individual style and set itself apart but fundamentally it should adhere to the conventions of real media texts if it is to be recognisable and sellable to audiences. This is the reasoning behind why I used the same colour scheme throughout all three products and used the same fonts which I found important in branding the artist so that they are recognisable.
Media texts contain conventions in two key areas. The form itself, this being the conventions of any music video as a medium, and the genre, meaning the set categories that music videos are grouped into to make it easier for audiences and institutions to discuss and discover music. For example, conventions of form are that music videos edit to the beat of the song, contain imagery that is relevant to the narrative of the lyrics in some way and are usually under 5 minutes long. Examples of genre, in my case, would be that often artists favour narrative or abstract videos as many of the sounds are created electronically and a performance video would not feature much of interest, so usually visual metaphors or narrative performances are used instead within my genre.
To understand conventions of indie music I analysed two indie music videos in detail on both an abstract or narrative level and in terms of the micro technical features of film making that were used to construct the productions.
Indie Music Video Textual Analysis
I did not take direct inspiration from the original Pumped Up Kicks as I decided to make an abstract video with a contrast between a male and female character, whereas the original consists of fun between the artist itseld. Through looking at ideas that made the indie genre what it is, I was going to stylise my own video through my editing skills and use of micro technical elements.
In terms of style I wanted my video to convey the same emotions and themes visually as the music did so I researched the different connotations of colour and exposure within music videos and visual art in general. I realised that an appropriate stylistic choice for my video would be to use earthy, wish-wash colours that are more original and independent. For example bright colours scream pop music which would make my products unsuccsessful in achieving products of the indie genre. This fits with the conventionally dark exposure of similar texts that follow the conventions.
Below is an existing album advertisement shown on a billboard. The artist name and title of the album is conventional as it establishes what is being advertised to the audience and explains the main image. The release date is also shown here. However in comparison to my product there are no ratings which I felt necessary as this gives further information about whether the product is worth buying. For example, my advertisement shows that it was rated 5 stars, this will persuade more people to buy my product.
This prezi presents some of the similarities between my products and existing products, presenting how I have used and occasionally challenged conventions in order to ensure that my product looks professional and is successful in representing its genre and form.
I chose to produce a music promo pack for the song Pumped Up Kicks by indie pop artist Foster The People signed to Columbia Records. "Pumped Up Kicks" became the group's breakthrough hit and was one of the most popular songs of 2011. The song was written and recorded by front-man Mark Foster while he was working as a commercial jingle writer. Contrasting with the upbeat musical composition, the lyrics describe the homicidal thoughts of a troubled youth.
My promotional music video is very different to the original music due to costs and professional equipment. I deconstructed the lyrics which can be seen in my Lyric Analysis, this gave me another area to look at what I can produced in terms of my music video but also gave me a narrative sector for my music video which fits with the lyrics. (I chose to film abstract in the end however as I couldn't think of an idea without it being too similar to the original narrative in the video.) I did this as a part of my research and planning stages to prepare me before I start the filming process. I will evaluate both my music video and the ancillary texts to compare to existing products.
The original song on first listen without looking at the lyrics is upbeat and happy but once you've analysed the lyrics it gives a deeper meaning depending on how the audience views it. This deeper meaning includes links to the growing issue of mental illness in teenagers and being judged in society.
I created my own absract ideas by analysing the lyrics and thinking about the meaning behind them and the overall themes to give an overall meaning but to no narrative therefore the meanings and ideas were applicable to however the audience read and viewed it. In order to create my final products I had to plan out what I was going to do to ensure I accounted for all possible problems and had a video that was well made stylistically and narratively. I also created a 6-panel digipack and a promotional poster for my artist, whom I had to invent a false name for as we were not allowed to use existing branding when creating any of our work. For my work to be successful, it will have to have an individual style and set itself apart but fundamentally it should adhere to the conventions of real media texts if it is to be recognisable and sellable to audiences. This is the reasoning behind why I used the same colour scheme throughout all three products and used the same fonts which I found important in branding the artist so that they are recognisable.
Media texts contain conventions in two key areas. The form itself, this being the conventions of any music video as a medium, and the genre, meaning the set categories that music videos are grouped into to make it easier for audiences and institutions to discuss and discover music. For example, conventions of form are that music videos edit to the beat of the song, contain imagery that is relevant to the narrative of the lyrics in some way and are usually under 5 minutes long. Examples of genre, in my case, would be that often artists favour narrative or abstract videos as many of the sounds are created electronically and a performance video would not feature much of interest, so usually visual metaphors or narrative performances are used instead within my genre.
To understand conventions of indie music I analysed two indie music videos in detail on both an abstract or narrative level and in terms of the micro technical features of film making that were used to construct the productions.
Indie Music Video Textual Analysis
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| Original Video |
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| My Video |
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| Original Video |
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| My Video |
In terms of style I wanted my video to convey the same emotions and themes visually as the music did so I researched the different connotations of colour and exposure within music videos and visual art in general. I realised that an appropriate stylistic choice for my video would be to use earthy, wish-wash colours that are more original and independent. For example bright colours scream pop music which would make my products unsuccsessful in achieving products of the indie genre. This fits with the conventionally dark exposure of similar texts that follow the conventions.
Below is an existing album advertisement shown on a billboard. The artist name and title of the album is conventional as it establishes what is being advertised to the audience and explains the main image. The release date is also shown here. However in comparison to my product there are no ratings which I felt necessary as this gives further information about whether the product is worth buying. For example, my advertisement shows that it was rated 5 stars, this will persuade more people to buy my product.
I have placed my advertisement onto places where the product would be advertised in real life. They are used to spread the word about products to a wider audience than purely the fan base of the artist. I think that the white text on the black background make the text stand out more and make it easier to read.
This prezi presents some of the similarities between my products and existing products, presenting how I have used and occasionally challenged conventions in order to ensure that my product looks professional and is successful in representing its genre and form.
Analysis of my Ancillary Texts - Conventions Used from tashaxgs
Richard Dyer's Theory
Quotes:
" starts are commodities that are produced by institutions "
"A star is a constructed image, represented across a range of media and mediums"
"Stars present and embody certain ideologies"
"Icons and celebrities are constructed through institutions for financial gain"
I chose to conform to Richard Dyer's star theory, to ensure that the rap artist I created was attractive to my target audience, to encourage them to consume it.
Stars As Constructions
Dyer believed that stars are constructed, artificial images, even if they are presented as real people (e.g. by experiencing emotions). If the audience believes that the star is a real person it will be easier for them to relate to the star and therefore consume the star's products.
"A star is an image, not a real person" constructed through marketing and advertising through magazines, film features and musical products etc. They create a persona desirable to a target audience, not a true representation of themselves. It is a constructed identity and constructed ideologies with the aim of making society want to consume them.
In my product there is no star however there are characters. These characters were juxtaposed to explain ideologies of the artist. Therefore even though the artist itself is not shown as a construction, the audience is still seeing the ideas and beliefs of the artist through other people placed in the video.
Stars are represented as real people which we can consume, however this is not the case. They are constructions of themselves, making themselves more consumable. An artist's personality and dress sense will be different when they are not working. A Unique Selling Points (UPS) are given to stars allowing for them to be more desirable. In the case of the Indie genre the costume is relaxed and everyday, therefore my product is challenging this theory. The actors in the video are not 'dressed to impress' as the indie genre is more open minded than the pop genre. I decided this from planning costume ideas. Also as the artist is not showing their own identity they are using their own ideas through other people that the audience do not know. This means that there are no pre-judgements of the artist and how they are expected to look or act.
Sven Carlsson's Theory
Sven Carlson suggests that music videos fall into three groups; performance, narrative and conceptual/abstract. If we were putting this particular music video into a category it would fall under narrative as the audience can easily follow the message and ideologies of the video.
My video is an abstract video as there are no performance or narrative elements.
Blumer and Katz - Uses and Gratifications Theory
The Uses and Gratifications model represented a change in thinking, as researchers began to describe the effects of the media from the audiences point of view. It looks at how people use the media and why in the way that we do. It shows that the audience is not forced into consumption but they control what they choose to consume, the media only creates the product. The theory argues that the audience need social and psychological experiences and needs that create expectations of what they consume. Although underlying this theory, there is the idea that rather than finding out how the media uses us, the model asks how we as the audience use the media and what we gain from it. The four 'needs' of the model are surveillance, personal identity, personal relationships and diversion.
This theory relates to my products as the audience have different ways of reading everything. This depends of social and psychological experiences. I find that this is more interesting for abstract products like mine as it doesn't give away anything such as a narrative or how the audience should read it. The music video may make them happy to watch particularly if they are adventurous people. On the other hand it may make people sad as it could remind the audience of their youth and days where they weren't victimised by society.
Richard Dyer's Theory
Quotes:
" starts are commodities that are produced by institutions "
"A star is a constructed image, represented across a range of media and mediums"
"Stars present and embody certain ideologies"
"Icons and celebrities are constructed through institutions for financial gain"
I chose to conform to Richard Dyer's star theory, to ensure that the rap artist I created was attractive to my target audience, to encourage them to consume it.
Stars As Constructions
Dyer believed that stars are constructed, artificial images, even if they are presented as real people (e.g. by experiencing emotions). If the audience believes that the star is a real person it will be easier for them to relate to the star and therefore consume the star's products.
"A star is an image, not a real person" constructed through marketing and advertising through magazines, film features and musical products etc. They create a persona desirable to a target audience, not a true representation of themselves. It is a constructed identity and constructed ideologies with the aim of making society want to consume them.
In my product there is no star however there are characters. These characters were juxtaposed to explain ideologies of the artist. Therefore even though the artist itself is not shown as a construction, the audience is still seeing the ideas and beliefs of the artist through other people placed in the video.
Stars are represented as real people which we can consume, however this is not the case. They are constructions of themselves, making themselves more consumable. An artist's personality and dress sense will be different when they are not working. A Unique Selling Points (UPS) are given to stars allowing for them to be more desirable. In the case of the Indie genre the costume is relaxed and everyday, therefore my product is challenging this theory. The actors in the video are not 'dressed to impress' as the indie genre is more open minded than the pop genre. I decided this from planning costume ideas. Also as the artist is not showing their own identity they are using their own ideas through other people that the audience do not know. This means that there are no pre-judgements of the artist and how they are expected to look or act.
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| Planned Costume |
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| Planned Costume |
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| Costume Outcome |
Sven Carlson suggests that music videos fall into three groups; performance, narrative and conceptual/abstract. If we were putting this particular music video into a category it would fall under narrative as the audience can easily follow the message and ideologies of the video.
My video is an abstract video as there are no performance or narrative elements.
Blumer and Katz - Uses and Gratifications Theory
The Uses and Gratifications model represented a change in thinking, as researchers began to describe the effects of the media from the audiences point of view. It looks at how people use the media and why in the way that we do. It shows that the audience is not forced into consumption but they control what they choose to consume, the media only creates the product. The theory argues that the audience need social and psychological experiences and needs that create expectations of what they consume. Although underlying this theory, there is the idea that rather than finding out how the media uses us, the model asks how we as the audience use the media and what we gain from it. The four 'needs' of the model are surveillance, personal identity, personal relationships and diversion.
This theory relates to my products as the audience have different ways of reading everything. This depends of social and psychological experiences. I find that this is more interesting for abstract products like mine as it doesn't give away anything such as a narrative or how the audience should read it. The music video may make them happy to watch particularly if they are adventurous people. On the other hand it may make people sad as it could remind the audience of their youth and days where they weren't victimised by society.
EVALUATION QUESTION 2
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
Analysis of my Ancillary Texts - Conventions Used from tashaxgs
Before starting the production process I wanted a style throughout my products which makes them recognisable like a Artist Motif, I ensured I used the same character in my video on my ancillary texts as I felt this was much more effective but also creates a continuity through my products. The artist remains anonymous throughout all three products, therefore the focus is purely on the art-form and abstract purpose of my products. To ensure I had a costume which was the same as my music video I planned and took several photos on the day of shooting the clips of the male character as he is the dominating focus in my video. This made my experience creating my ancillary texts much easier as my artist was in the same costume which also creates continuity.
As well as using the same characters you can see that I also used the same font throughout my album and poster, although the font looks smaller on the album it is the same font used. I used Arial in Bold for the artist names and Myriad Pro for the title of the album. Unfortunately when I went to create my advertisement I was on a PC not a Mac, therefore they didn't have this exact font so I used Lato which was the closest font just with a wider span. This fitted also with the indie genre and made my artist and products fit within the expectations of the audience. I used the same font on all of my ancillary texts for continuity, this would make my album and poster easy to stop as the same product.
It is also key to notice that I used the same image on my poster and album which makes them fit as one. Most of the images on my digipak were taken during the time of shooting the same shots that ended up in the video. I also used the kaleidoscope effect in post production of the video, this looked effective and 'indie' so I screenshot it to save it as an image and used it for the inside sections of my digipak.
I also used the same colour scheme throughout all three of my products. This makes them recognisble to the audience as the colours reoccuring will be memorable. Therefore whenever the products are scene they will be recognised as belonging to my artist 'Adopt The People' and belonging to the album 'Pumped Up Kicks'.
The effectiveness of my products can also be seen within the audience feedback I gained when asking whether my ancillary texts and video complained to the indie genre and if they could noticeably deconstruct my products being from this genre below you can find the survey results and the feedback I gained:
Before starting the production process I wanted a style throughout my products which makes them recognisable like a Artist Motif, I ensured I used the same character in my video on my ancillary texts as I felt this was much more effective but also creates a continuity through my products. The artist remains anonymous throughout all three products, therefore the focus is purely on the art-form and abstract purpose of my products. To ensure I had a costume which was the same as my music video I planned and took several photos on the day of shooting the clips of the male character as he is the dominating focus in my video. This made my experience creating my ancillary texts much easier as my artist was in the same costume which also creates continuity.
As well as using the same characters you can see that I also used the same font throughout my album and poster, although the font looks smaller on the album it is the same font used. I used Arial in Bold for the artist names and Myriad Pro for the title of the album. Unfortunately when I went to create my advertisement I was on a PC not a Mac, therefore they didn't have this exact font so I used Lato which was the closest font just with a wider span. This fitted also with the indie genre and made my artist and products fit within the expectations of the audience. I used the same font on all of my ancillary texts for continuity, this would make my album and poster easy to stop as the same product.
The effectiveness of my products can also be seen within the audience feedback I gained when asking whether my ancillary texts and video complained to the indie genre and if they could noticeably deconstruct my products being from this genre below you can find the survey results and the feedback I gained:
Survey Responses from tashaxgs
EVALUATION QUESTION 3
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
I used Survey Monkey to create a questionnaire to upload to my social media account and also to college students to answer. Here is the survey I created:
Final Product - Audience Feedback Survey
I used Survey Monkey to create a questionnaire to upload to my social media account and also to college students to answer. Here is the survey I created:
Final Product - Audience Feedback Survey
Survey Responses from tashaxgs
I shared it onto Facebook to gain a range of ages to answer my survey and felt people are more likely to be harsher when it is private, it is a draft they are looking over therefore the changes and feedback which are given I can change before uploading my final music video.
Not only have I had opportunity to use my own social media accounts friends and family have also shared it among friends so I get an broad analysis from people who don't know me or my work as they then wont feel obliged to be polite and give me honest feedback.
I shared it onto Facebook to gain a range of ages to answer my survey and felt people are more likely to be harsher when it is private, it is a draft they are looking over therefore the changes and feedback which are given I can change before uploading my final music video.
Not only have I had opportunity to use my own social media accounts friends and family have also shared it among friends so I get an broad analysis from people who don't know me or my work as they then wont feel obliged to be polite and give me honest feedback.
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| Feedback from my first draft by Liam Pattinson |
My audience feedback gave me insight to the audience and how they perceive my music video and promotional package. They looked over the my first full draft of my music video I had expectations of changes I would need to change and wanted them to look over my draft so they can watch the final production and consider the new changes I have put in place because of the feedback. Even after getting feedback I left my music video for two weeks after the changes were made and I have no decided on further changes including the editing and trimming of the clips.
Overall I learnt what my audience prefers in terms of my advertisement and digi-pak in terms of colours, filters and editing.
My feedback allowed me to see if my work fits within the genre, and from the results I feel my work fits within conventions of not only ancillary texts but the genre of indie also. This is a positive as it means it will reach my demographics which I decided within my planning and research. Social class E/D is who I was aiming for and during my survey a lot of the replies where from students and this was a great benefit for me and my work as it appealed to a lot of the people who took the survey.
I also got really good feedback from my focus group which allowed me to get a different view point, I asked questions and got a range of replies and answers from only 2 people but of different age groups and genders. It gave me insight to what people expect from the indie genre, such as props, costume, location and setting. These are linked below:
I felt I restricted myself massively as I was a bit behind on time therefore I didn't conducts as much feedback as much as I wanted. I would have made another focus group using a teenage girl to see what this type of person would expect from an indie music video.
During the beginning of my audience research I also made an initial online survey that I sent out to the Media and Film department of college, and also shared on my social media (Facebook and Twitter). I used questions based on demographics, so that by age, gender and the stereotypical genres that the people who responded listen to should show patterns. The responses helped me by taking the comments and answers and putting these ideas towards my promotional products. Below is the link to my survey and screenshots of the questions I included. These questions are useful because I can recognise what genre and age group listens to what genre and what they like from music videos with secure evidence.
Online Survey - Music Videos from tashaxgs
I also made a questionnaire on a paper document so that people could answer openly without having options to choose from or boxes to tick. This meant the answers were not as limited and were more personal. Below is a presentation of all of the responses.
I also made a questionnaire on a paper document so that people could answer openly without having options to choose from or boxes to tick. This meant the answers were not as limited and were more personal. Below is a presentation of all of the responses.
Paper Questionnaire from tashaxgs
Bulmer and Katz - Uses and Gratifications Theory suggests that people will contribute and have an active role in the media. However the media text needs to apply to at least one of four of the users needs to satisfy them into becoming active users. The four needs are shown below:
Bulmer and Katz - Uses and Gratifications Theory suggests that people will contribute and have an active role in the media. However the media text needs to apply to at least one of four of the users needs to satisfy them into becoming active users. The four needs are shown below:
This theory means that people will watch my product differently depending on the users personal needs and experiences. This being the reason that I created a product that makes the audience feel nostalgic towards their childhood. I know that I was successful in doing this because of my audience research. The survey I made asking about the user after they have seen my products show that my music video makes them feel nostalgic (shown in Question 5).
EVALUATION QUESTION 4
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
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| This is the camera and tripod that I used |
Monday, 18 April 2016
FINAL MUSIC VIDEO
Overall this feedback tells me that people enjoy watching my music video, they especially love the effect used. I am grateful that a variety of age groups have given me feedback and also both males and females. One comment from Francesca Taylor suggests that I should reduce the effect on some shots to make the image more clear. Therefore when I upload my final, tweaked draft (although it will be almost the same as this) I will make sure all of the shots flow and are identifiable, also that the saturation is reduced in a couple of the shots.
I am happy that different age groups like my video so that it appeals to a wider audience and will be more successful. However I have mainly aimed it at teenagers to young adults. I feel that the effect looks fairly masculine although because there are male and female characters in the video that it can attract both genders.
Thursday, 17 March 2016
TIME MANAGEMENT
I completed both of the ancillary texts on Friday 11th March and my music video on Thursday 17th March. This shows that I have good time management as they needed to be completed by Thursday 24th March. This was the college's deadline. I am very happy that I completed the tasks a week before the deadline as it gives me a week to focus on completing and improving all planning and research. I also have time to get audience feedback on all of my music video drafts and ancillary texts.
I have also booked to spend two days during half term at college to make changes to my music video and ancillary texts, also to finish planning.
Wednesday, 9 March 2016
MUSIC VIDEO - SECOND DRAFT & FEEDBACK
My second draft of my music video shows my themes and ideas coming together. It is a big difference in comparison to my first draft. I have used rhythmic editing throughout the whole video as this looks more professional and neat. So far the video shows some variety of editing (fast motion, slow motion, reverse) and a variety of shot types (close ups, pan, medium shots, long shots, establishing shots). I am happy with the look of my video overall, especially the use of 'crop and feather' to make the shots look longer and more cinematic. However I know that I need to improve using my feedback shown below for making my third draft.
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| Feedback 1 |
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