EVALUATION Q.4.

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

I feel that one of the most important pieces of equipment that I used during this whole process is the Canon EOS 1100D that I used to film my video. As previously mentioned, I already had limited experience with this type of camera, therefore getting to know its features didn't take too long, allowing me to start the filming process without any set backs. Because I knew that I would be removing the sound during the editing process, I actually changed the settings on the camera so that certain videos recorded without sound, as I felt that this would make the editing easier. However I reverted back to the original settings when filming shots that involved Jonny singing and also playing guitar, as I knew that being able to listen to these tracks would help me in matching them up to the song. Before filming I ensured that the movie recording size was set as high as possible, which was 1920x1080, ensuring that my footage was of a high quality to create a professional image and to ensure that the clips were crisp and easy to watch. For many of my shots, I used a tripod to stabilize the camera in order to produce steady, static clips where necessary, as I found that no matter how stable you believe you're holding the camera, the slightest movement makes the clip shaky and unpleasant to watch.

Alongside Premiere Pro, another Adobe editing software that I will discuss later, I feel that my use of Photoshop was also one of the most important parts of the process, as it enabled me to create my two print tasks: the CD digipak and the magazine advertisement for that CD.

Having used this software in various situations including work experience at a local graphic design company called Azure Design, and in my AS levels in Media and Graphic Design, I was confident that my Photoshop skills were adequate in order to produce the pieces to a high standard. I have high standards when it comes to my design work, and I like things to be precise, therefore I took much longer to improve my print work to the highest standard than I did with the video. 

In order to illustrate how I used the advanced features in Photoshop to create my CD cover, I will provide one particular example of how I was able to make the wallpaper image of the cover look old and scratched. Once I had edited the wallpaper image and was happy with the colour scheme etc, I added a new layer which I filled with white. The next step was to 'Add Noise' as shown below, which I set to about 38, checking to box to change it to Gaussian blur and ensuring that it was monochromatic as to not have any other colours bar black and white. This made the image look like 'white noise' that appears on TV screens, which I then took the magic wand tool to, leaving the tolerance set to the default '32', and ensuring a large portion of the image was selected, deleted this selection.

This left small parts of the 'white noise' effect, so when I increased the transparency of the layer, these parts began to appear as old marks on the image. To further add to this old look, I used the white brush tool at a small point level to swipe random lines across the image, appearing to be scratches on the image.

I was really pleased with how this turned out as it was exactly the effect that I wanted to achieve with the image, making it look old and worn. I felt that this edit tied my CD cover in to my Alternative genre, whereby artists often go for more abstract or vintage looking images, rather than a stereotypical studio image of the artist.

I feel that this is the most effective software that I could have used in order to create the print tasks that I had envisioned, to the high standards that I work to. Using any other software such as Microsoft Publisher would not have produced work to as high quality as I was able to achieve using Photoshop.

Premiere Pro is the software that I used to create my video. I had no previous knowledge of this software at all, and although I was skilled on Photoshop I was worried that my inability to use a video editing software to its full advantage would have detrimental effects on my work. Because of this, I allocated time into my planned Media timetable to get to know the software and have a non-formal 'play around' with the clips in order to find my feet and not make any mistakes when editing the footage seriously. 

Once I had figured out how to work the software I found that I picked it up quite quickly and was successful in editing considering I began the process with no experience at all. I tried to use all that the software had to offer, however I feel that I may have played it a bit safe in order to not complicate things for myself. I used various transitions including Cross Dissolve and Dip to Black to make my video run smoothly and to try and embody some of the conventions of a music video from my genre. Furthermore, I altered the speed of many of my clips in order to create the slow motion effect that I had recognized as being an effective way to show emotion from one of Birdy's music videos. 

Having began the editing process as a novice, I feel that I embraced the software and attempted to become as familiar with it as I am with Photoshop. Although I do not think that I have done this, I have definitely learnt where my strengths lie, however I am very pleased with how my video turned out as my expectations for this were not very high, and I feel that I surpassed my own goals.

During the third question of this evaluation, I utilized a social networking website that I am a member of in order to conduct a focus group to gain audience feedback. This website was of course Facebook, which I used by sending an inbox to a certain amount of friends and class mates who I believed would provide me with detailed and relevant feedback that I could then use to evaluate how I performed. I drafted together four questions that addressed areas that I wanted to gain feedback on, including how obvious my audience thought that my storyline and genre were portrayed.

Thankfully all of the people that I sent the message to replied with feedback that addressed exactly what I wanted it to, and showed me areas that I had succeed and also areas where I could make considerable improvements if I had the time to do so. I really feel that Facebook was the most efficient way I could have chosen to gain audience feedback, as I was aware of how often people of my age check the social networking site, so I knew that they would receive the message and would reply quickly, enabling me to progress with the evaluation process.

In order to document the research/planning, production and evaluation stages I have obviously used Blogger. By using an online blog-publishing service, I was able to treat it like an electronic portfolio in which to display my work. I found that having somewhere to document my progress was really helpful when producing my print work, as I could post as soon as I made any changes/progress, keeping myself up to date and also providing evidence to support the choices that I was making throughout the design process.

I have also utilized a few other media technologies briefly during the research/planning, production and evaluation stages which I have identified in the following Prezi:

Minor media technologies

EVALUATION Q.3.

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

When in the process of creating and improving my magazine advertisement up to the same standard as my CD digipak, I consulted my lecturer who then referred my work to a Graphic Designer, who was able to give me some tips on how to improve. It just needed fine-tuning, therefore gaining a professional opinion was really helpful to me, as both the compliments and advice I was given enabled me to improve my design and also grow as a designer myself. Below is the feedback that I received on my magazine advertisement at the stage that it was in the image:

RE: Design, it's pretty impressive. I think it's mainly a case of being a bit more practical. At the moment the main headline screams 'new album' but I don't know who it's by - the artist name and 'new album' should be more equally weighted. So maybe have "THE NEW ALBUM BY JONATHAN GRAY" or something as the main headline, and make the 'stellar' review a bit easier to read too - it's very quiet. I think the shot of the chap and the tree is ok but the cut-out at the bottom is a bit clunky - maybe make the photo bleed off the bottom of the page so the bottom of the tree isn't visible - the text along the bottom can stay where it is but can be overlaid on top of a strip of white/semi transparent colour so that it's still readable over the pic behind it...

After reading this I felt confident that my underlying layout and basic design were successful, and that I could change a few things in order to make it that bit more refined. I took this advice on board and changed the main sell line from 'THE NEW ALBUM' to simply 'JONATHAN GRAY', which I feel is far more effective and contributes to bringing the album cover and the magazine ad together as two texts from the overall image of the artist.

In order to gain some feedback for my video, I decided to conduct a Facebook focus group of sorts. I drafted up four questions that I wanted to ask, and sent them to various people who I thought would be best to answer those questions. These included close friends and also various people from my Media class at college, as I knew they would be able to provide me with detailed answers on various aspects of the video including camera angles etc. The image below shows the message that I sent via Facebook inbox:

Below are some of the responses that I received (as this page is public, I have hidden their surnames and Facebook profile photos):

I was really pleased to see that the majority of the people I asked recognized my video as being from the Alternative/Indie genre, which I was surprised at as I had assumed that the genre wasn't easily distinguishable. Many of the people I asked picked up on the costume of the main character Jonny, which was also reassuring as it showed me that I had made the right choice in terms of costume and props, adding to the mise en scene of my video and contributing to the overall image that I wanted to create to portray the genre. In order to help me to consolidate my findings, I created a summary sheet that details what I found, so I could then evaluate this and reflect upon my final pieces and the feedback that I received for them.

From this feedback I have definitely learnt that the main issue that I had with the video, the portrayal of my storyline, was one of the main areas that people believe I have gone wrong. Something as emotional as a break-up needs to be portrayed in a more emotional way, which evidently I have not done. Although simplicity was my aim, I feel that if I had a chance to improve upon my video, I would design a chronological structure that I would make obvious by incorporating the female character into the video a bit more, showing their crumbling relationship. Furthermore, I would perhaps pick one other location, such as their house, to film some scenes from the past, which I could have displayed in black and white, distinguishing it as a flashback to happier times in their relationship, or perhaps when things started to go downhill.

I only included a few shots that attempted to portray the storyline, as shown below. These were the shots that my respondents picked up on as contributing to how the characters portrayed the storyline. I feel that these were successful, however I should have included more of them in order to make my video a lot more obvious, whilst still trying to stay true to the simplistic nature of an Indie/Alternative music video.

EVALUATION Q.2.

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

I feel that one of the most important aspects of creating a successful combination of texts is keeping consistency. If I was to produce three pieces that had no similarities, they wouldn't be able to be presented as an advertising campaign, and would provide a disjointed and somewhat 'messy' image for the artist.

Using an example that I have previously listed as an inspirational text, I will show how I think this particular artist has kept consistency, thereby creating a strong image for herself and presenting a concrete advertising campaign for her album.

The image above shows Florence and the Machine's various texts associated with their album 'Lungs', including the CD cover, the magazine advertisement for that CD and two stills from tracks that are included on the album. The clothing that Florence wears is consistently floaty and gives an ethereal look, contributing to the overall fantasy image that the band were hoping to achieve. The same fonts and the same main image are repeated over the two print tasks, making them almost identical, apart from the extra information given on the magazine advertisement. 

This is what I have tried to replicate in my print tasks, using the same modern serif typeface called 'Nueva Std' which I felt was exactly what I was looking for; a serif font that was formal, but not too formal and as recognizable as Times New Roman. I have also used the same wallpaper design over the two ancillary tasks, which I sourced from Homebase, photographed and edited on Photoshop to create the colour scheme that I wanted. This colour scheme is very dark and somber, and is exactly what I wanted to create to reflect the mood of the song and the video. I have aimed to explain further in the video below:

Obviously, in order to create a solid image for my artist, I have to include images of him, in order to put his face out there and advertise him to his audience. As mentioned in my previous evaluation post, I chose not to include an image of my artist on the cover of the album digipak, as I had already decided on the wallpaper design. In the following video, I will explain how I aimed to combat the lack of image on the CD cover, and how I hoped that this would relate to the video, thereby linking the three texts together as a product:

The following images show how I have used Jonny's image throughout my texts, in the hope of establishing him as an artist and beginning to associated the themes/moods of the pieces with his image.

click to enlarge images:

MAGAZINE AD
The images to the left show the still that I took from a piece of footage I shot on location in Backhouse Park when filming with Jonny, that I then used in my magazine advertisement. As you can see I cropped the image considerably, flipped it horizontally and removed the background before placing it onto my revised magazine advertisement. Jonny is wearing a black coat, black jeans, brown shoes and a checked scarf, in keeping with the style of the Indie/Alternative genre and also the weather in which we filmed.

His relaxed stance and serious facial expression reflect the mood of the song, as if he is stood contemplating his relationship.

VIDEO
This is a still from my finished video, which shows Jonny stood against a tree in a medium shot. This is similar to the image from the magazine advertisement however it is taken from a different angle. Jonny's costume remains the same, keeping consistency between the two texts. Again, he has a subdued facial expression which suits the mood of the video and also reflects the emotional lyrics.

CD DIGIPAK
Although I didn't use an image of Jonny on the cover of the CD, I did include one on the inside cover that I designed:

In this image Jonny is wearing a different costume and isn't directly facing the camera as he is in many of the shots in the video. As I mentioned in the video, like the magazine advertisement, I feel that the genre of the album is much better suited to an image where it appears the artist doesn't know it's being taken. I wanted to differentiate this image from the ones in the video and magazine ad, as the song that the video is for is only one track on the album, so the image used on the digipak had to be more universal.

I feel that using Jonny on all of the pieces gives them a strong image and brings them all together under a common aim; advertising the artist and creating a reputation. Many times, an music artist is best known for their appearance first and their music second, which is why I wanted to establish Jonny as a brand in his own right.

EVALUATION Q.1.

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

I feel that my media product, which consists of a music video with an accompanying CD cover and magazine advertisement, has made considerable use of forms and conventions of existing media products, a lot of which I have actually used as inspirational texts when in the production process. Below I will evaluate the various conventions that I feel I have utilised in my work, operating from various different genres and media platforms.

RELATIONSHIP/BREAK-UP STORYLINE
The main narrative of my music video involves a young couple breaking up. This is a very common topic for popular music, with one of the most famous examples being 'Someone Like You' by Adele. This video (shown to the right) is a very minimalistic video and concentrates only on the main character, without any interference from outside influences.

By including just one character, the camera  is able to concentrate solely on them, using shots like close ups to show the facial expression of the character, emphasizing the emotional turmoil that they are experiencing from their break-up. This is the effect that I wanted to create with my music video, which I feel I have successfully achieved. My main character Jonny is the main feature of the video, with only a few shots involving the 'girlfriend' character played by myself. The majority of the music video consists of a mixture of close ups, medium shots and long shots of Jonny miming the lyrics to the song with a sombre facial expression. 

Another shot that I have included that I feel follows another convention of a break-up storyline is the 'walking away' shot, which is a stereotypical shot from a video of this genre, as it symbolizes the man/woman walking away from their partner and the relationship that they once shared. As I had proposed in my early planning stages, I wanted to include this shot at the end, as I feel it has more impact this way. Adele's video for 'Someone Like You' actually follows her on a walk, which I feel has been done as it is a typical thing for someone to do when they have a lot on their mind, or need to 'escape'.

However, I feel that I have also challenged the typical representation of the couple in a break-up themed music video. In Adele's video, she is the person that has been 'dumped', with the song describing her feelings on the matter, contrary to my music video in which Jonny is the 'dumpee', explaining how he can't be with his partner anymore and needs her to 'let him go'. In this sense, I feel that I have both incorporated AND challenged these particular conventions of a music video that revolves around a break-up narrative.

In terms of media theory, and the conventions of music videos that are recognised by various theorists, I feel that my music video follows a number of Anthony Goodwin's theories of language use and structure in a music video. The first is 'Links between lyrics and visuals',which I feel I have embodied by having Jonny mouth the words to the song for some shots. The more emotional lines such as: 

"I don't want you, and I don't need you anymore" 

benefit from being shown coming from the character as I feel this heightens the emotion of these words and makes them more believable, evoking an emotional reaction from the viewer. Furthermore, a lyric at the beginning of the song refers to holding hands, therefore as planned, I have filmed my two characters holding hands at this point, then gradually separating hands further into the video which symbolises their break up.

Another of Goodwin's theories of language use and structure in a music video that I feel relates to my video is the similar 'Links between music and visuals'. The way in which this links to my video is the fact that I have involved an instrument in my video. Because my main character Jonny actually plays guitar in a band, I was able to film him playing the strong guitar melody that features heavily in the song, in order to occupy the time rather than just the couple on screen throughout. This links the music to the visuals, a conventional tool used in many music videos, especially those from my chosen genre, Alternative/Indie. 

This can be seen in Birdy's music video for 'Shelter', in which she plays piano. This links the music with the visuals, and also provides an example of how I have followed a convention of a video from my genre.

Typical Structures;
My video concept, in my opinion, loosely follows a 'Fragmented' structure. Although it does have a narrative, it doesn't follow a solid 'fairy tale' structure whereby the couple break up, get back together and live happily ever after, etc. My narrative is literally that they're in the process of breaking up, but don't follow a string of events that decides their fate. I feel that this confusion/enigma is fitting for my chosen genre of Alternative/Indie, as videos from this genre rarely follow an obvious narrative like videos from Pop artists might.

When conducting research for my Extended Project, I came across this article in the September 2012 issue of Media Magazine, titled 'The Iconography of the Album Cover'. I read the article and found that it addressed many of the aspects of creating a CD cover, and featured an interview from Julian House, a creative partner at a London creative agency 'The Intro Partnership'. He works on the creation of CD covers for various artists, and when asked how prominent genre conventions were in the production process, he commented:

 "I tend not to think of designs in terms of genre; each specific job exists in its own world with its own set of reference points."

Perhaps this is how he approaches his work, however I feel that following genre conventions is key in attracting the proposed target audience. Because my song belongs to the Alternative/Indie genre, I knew that I had to create a CD cover (and magazine ad) that has certain similarities with others from this genre, as making a cover that doesn't represent that genre would not appeal to followers of that genre. One example which I have used as an inspirational text is Birdy's cover for her self titled album 'Birdy': 

On one hand, I do feel that I have followed certain conventions of texts from my intended genre, however there is one thing that I chose to do that I feel challenges one of the most obvious conventions of the CD cover in genera; my choice to not include an image of my artist on the cover. Typically, because a CD cover is used as an advertising tool, its aim is to bring as much attention to the artist as possible. This usually involves including an image of the artist on the cover, to bring awareness to what they look like and to sell their face as a brand in its own right. Using iTunes, I accessed the top albums from the R&B music genre, one that could be considered opposite to my chosen genre. The image below illustrates that a convention of an album from this genre is to make the artist the focus:

However, the second image below shows the top albums for the Alternative genre, which clearly shows that many artists from this genre do not include an image of themselves, as it simply isn't what they are 'about'. In my opinion, the genre is better suited to not including an image of the artist, as they are more focused on their music, rather than their image. We cannot homogenize this genre, as examples from Lana Del Rey and Paramore show successful albums that do include their image, however I still feel that these two examples do have a stronger image than that of Foals or Alt-J, and therefore use this as an advertising tool to increase their artist awareness. Typically female artists who are attractive are used on album covers as they are seen as a sex symbol as well as a talented artist for many men, which further increases their sales. 

The majority of these album covers involve an Instagram-esque image that features muted colours and an unusual focal point, such as legs coming through a ceiling purple/pink bandstand. With the rise of the popular photo-sharing social networking app 'Instagram', I feel that this is the vintage feel that many young people are aiming to achieve when posting unusual photos. I feel that my final CD cover fits in with this look, as it follows a muted colour scheme and focuses on a wallpaper pattern that I have previously identified to be prominent in popular culture.

Furthermore, I feel that the wallpaper reflects the narrative of my video. This is because it revolves around a break-up; a domestic event that occurs in the private sphere of society, away from the public eye. Obviously, wallpaper is something that is associated with a home, probably a more up-kept home that could connote a happy family. Therefore the fact that the wallpaper is has a considerably 'drab' colour scheme and is actually ripped represents the broken relationship and therefore the broken domestic structure of the couple. 

Record Label;

Another way in which I have followed the conventions of the media texts that I have created is by my use of a record label and other information that make up the formalities of a CD cover/magazine advertisement. These details are typically located at the bottom of the back cover of the CD sleeve, whereby you typically find a record label, a copyright statement and various websites for both the artist and the record label. As you are prohibited from using existing images from Google, I knew that I had to design my own record label that looks professional whilst still fitting in with the overall layout of the cover. Taking inspiration from Island Records, one of the most renowned record labels with a very recognizable logo that is familiar worldwide, I was able to create an image using Photoshop that I feel could easily pass as a professional business logo. I feel that the Island Records logo with its famous palm tree silhouette is very simple, which is what I feel makes it memorable, therefore I took inspiration from this to create my own silhouette-inspired logo. When it came to placing this onto both the CD cover and the advertisement, I decided to alter the colour to create a dark indigo shade that matched the text on both pieces. The 'gh' was transparent allowing the cream background to come through, tying it into the layout and allowing it to be seen but not be overpowering. 

This logo, along with a barcode and a copyright statement fill the lower part of the back CD cover below the ripped piece of wallpaper. They give the piece more authenticity and present it as a professional document that contributes to the overall image of the artist.

In order to explain how I feel I met the conventions of a magazine advertisement, I have created a Prezi which can be accessed below:

Magazine Advertisement Conventions