Evaluation

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

Question 1 on Prezi

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



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



What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Music Video - Final Edit

Music Video Draft Edit

Magazine Advert Construction

Magazine Advert - Final Draft

1.) Firstly, I opened the image in Paint Shop Pro. I decided I would remove the saturation from the image, as this created synergy with my music video, which also had a lot of the colours detracted from the image. On the left is the finished result.

2.) I then decided I would add a review of the band onto the image. I went on DaFont.com to find a suitable image of a star to use for the star review.

3.) I print screened the page and, using Paint, I selected the star, and chose the transparency setting. Then I pasted the image into Paint Shop Pro and copied it onto my main image. I then copy and pasted it three other times to create the final four stars.

4.) I then decided that I would add a black border to the advert. Using the paint brush tool, I used the minimum hardness setting to paint around the main image so the black faded gradually. I then decided I did not like the border at the top, so I just left the black at the bottom.

5.) I then used DaFont.com again to create the band's logo. After putting the text in paint, I painted in the 'O' of the logo. This created an aesthetically pleasing design. I the

n put the image into Paint Shop Pro and onto the black section at the bottom of the advert.

6.) I then made finishing touches. I used the Arial font, to write about the different ways in which the EP was available, including CD, MP3 and Vinyl. I then added a comment about the music being a cross between indie rock'n'roll and 90's grunge.

Digipack Construction

Digipack - Final Draft

1.) For the lyrics page, I decided that I would remove all the saturation from the image. This improved synergy with the music video because a lot of the shots in that had very little saturation. I achieved this look by going into Paint Shop Pro, selecting Adjust-Hue and Saturation, then going to Hue/Saturation/Lightness.

2.) Finally, to add the lyrics I selected the Text Tool, and wrote the lyrics in the box. I chose the colour black for the text, because this is the colour I used for text in the magazine advert and it was important to have similarities between the texts.

3.) To create the two panels on the outside of the digipack, I decided that I would use one image of the band. I opened the image in Paint Shop Pro and duplicated the layer.

4.) I then moved the image slightly to the side. I then altered the opacity on this layer. It left me with this effect, which gave a motion blur effect which

seemed appropriate because it seemed to capture the hustle and bustle of city life that the track's lyrics seem to explore.

5.) I then increased the contrast in the image and used the channel mixer tool to pull out certain colour to make the image look 'colder'.

Music Video Construction

Editing

For editing, we used two different pieces of software - Sony Vegas 10 and Adobe Premiere Pro. I will now discuss how we achieved certain effects and transitions in the construction of our music video.

1.) A technique we used in editing was the overlaying of two different video clips. For the part of the narrative where our main character has begun the treatment, I decided that I wanted to overlay the footage of the wires and the m

ain character with dreamy footage of the machine's red light. This would imply that transition between reality and the main character's memories that he will begin to explore. To achieve this effect I put the two video clips on top of each other in the timeline. I then decreased the opacity of the top clip, allowing the bottom to show through.

2.) Another technique we used when constructing our music video was jump cutting. This is an editing technique conventionally used in music videos. I used it at the end of my music video when our main character walks up to the house for the second time. It gave a sense of pace at the end of the video and reflected our character's impatience and curiosity to find the machine again.

3.) I decided early on that I wanted to have the narrative in colour and the performance footage in black and white. This would help an audience distinguish quickly whether they were watching the story unfold or the band playing. To make the narrative footage black and white I selected the Black & White tool in Sony Vegas 10 and put it up to 100%.

4.) Another effect we used was the Desaturate Highs tool. I used this to pull the colour out of the main character's skin tones at the beginning when he walks up to the house. This helped to imply the lack of colour and vitality in his life.

5.) For the sequence where our character awakes in bed, I used the Desaturate All But Reds tool to highlight the significance of the headphones and the music, which reminds our character of the supposed 'dream' he has just awoken from.

Filming Days 1, 2, 3 and 4

Sunday, 25th Sept. 2011 - Day 1

Me, Zoran and Oliver arrived at the location in the early afternoon. It was raining lightly. We then unpacked the equipment - Zoran had brought his tripod and I brought my Son

y DSC W350 HD camera. Oliver had come in the correct costume, including a denim

jacket and Converse shoes. Because it was still raining we decided we would begin with the opening shot, which was a close up of Oliver's eyes. Zoran set up this shot and filmed it. After we had filmed this, we noticed it had stopped raining and the sun was breaking through the clouds, which cast an amber light on the location.

We then decided we would start filming Oliver walking up to the house. I filmed the hand held shot of Oliver walking then stuffing his hands in his pockets to pull out the note. Then I set up the angled shot of the note close up with Oliver walking towards the building in the background. We then continued filming. I stopped at intervals to find insert shots that I could shoot around the location. Me and Oliver then traded jackets to film the last sections of the music video when our main character approaches the building a second time after waking up in bed.

Monday, 26th Sept. 2011 - Day 2

The next day, Oliver and Zoran showed up at my house to begin filming the interior scenes of the inventor's house. We then went about the task of making a mug of coffee for the inventor, played by me, to be seen drinking. We were more limited than we thought by the cramped space in the garage so we could not match the storyboard drawings as well as we thought.

Tuesday, 27th Sept. 2011 - Day 3

The three of us then met at the Arboretum Park in Nottingham the very next day, late afternoon. The weather was perfectly sunny and beautiful. This

Zoran helped film some of the close up shots of the machine and the shots where me and Oliver are acting together. I filmed the shot tilting from the wires of the machine, up to Oliver sat in the chair. After we had filmed almost everything, Zoran set up the last shot of our main character opening the door to the garage and reacting to the absence of the machine. I filmed the point of view shot of Oliver's looking into the empty garage. This was the final shot.

was perfect for the happy, dreamy state of the memory. The main task we found difficult to overcome in such a public location was people walking in and out of shots. With the opening shot of Oliver walking into the park, we found it near impossible not to capture a member of the public walking into shot without tilting the camera up. Zoran filmed a lot of the insert shots of the flowers, while I filmed and set up a lot of the shots of Oliver walking, including the shot on the ground as Oliver's feet walked into frame. After finishing the final shot we had completed the entirety of the narrative shoot.

Sunday, 1st Oct. 2011 - Day 4

Sunday 1st was when the band was available to film as Sunday is their day of practice. So, me and Zoran showed up at Cai's house. Lucy and Lawrence were already there and were keen to start filming. I had brought my camera, with a fully charged battery, while Zoran had, again brought his tripod. I kept the camera angles sheet I had created on me at all times, as well as the storyboard so we could correspond with shots at the right time.

To start Zoran filmed Lawrence playing his drum part, stopping in the middle to change angles so we could see his face more. I then filmed Cai playing his guitar part and miming. I made sure while I was operating the camera to zoom into Cai's face as the vocals begun, as this would enhance the 'star image' of Cai that were trying to create. After Zoran had filmed Lucy performing her bass part for the song, we finished with filmed the entire band. We made sure to have the whole band in most of the shots, frequently focusing on one member of the band at times.

We wrapped filming. Now we had all the shots necessary to compile all the shots we had taken in editing to create our music video.

Risk Assessment

The Risk?
Damaging equipment.

What is at Risk?
The instruments and camera.

The level of the risk

Likely

Prevention?

Be extremely careful when carrying the equipment making sure that we don’t fall over or drop anything.

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The Risk?
Dropping/breaking the camera.

What is at risk?
The camera.

The level of the risk?

Unlikely.

Prevention?
Again we will have to be extremely careful when using the camera. This means making sure that properly attached to the tripod when in use and when not using the tripod making sure that we have a firm grip on it. There is a case for the camera which protects and we will use that when the camera isn’t being used.

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The Risk?
Losing equipment.

What is at Risk?
The equipment.

The level of the risk?
Very unlikely.

Prevention?
The props we are using are too big to be easily lost. However, we still make sure that we remember where we place everything so that if we need to re film we know where the props are. We also need to make sure that we bring all of the equipment back once we have finished filming at a location.

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The Risk?
Breaking the tripod.

What is at risk?
The tripod.

The level of the risk?
Very unlikely.

Prevention?
The tripod isn’t very strong and it is easily portable. We will need to make sure that we are being careful with the tripod so that it doesn’t break.

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The risk?
Health and safety of crew.

What is at risk?
The crew.

Level of the risk?
Unlikely.

Prevention?
Be extremely careful when crossing roads and making sure that we do not trip.

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The risk?
Weather.

What is at risk?
The equipment.

Level of the risk?
Unlikely.

Prevention?
If the weather is poor and it is heavy rain than this means we will have to film outdoor at another time so that the camera isn’t damaged.

Written by: Zoran Markovic

Camera Angles Decisions

Shooting Schedule

Shooting Schedule on Prezi

Locations

Locations are a very important aspect of my music video to get right. It can give a good or bad texture or feeling to my video, so I have to make sure my choices suit the song and the story of the narrative.

Abandoned House/Fields

This location is next to a farm house on the fields at the back of the Japanese Water Gardens, near the A52. I have asked the owner for permission to film here and he said he has no problem with it, as long as we don't film his house. This will not be a problem.

The dilapidated brick work suits the narrative because it seems like a crazy inventor could be working away in there, building a machine.

I have planned to use this location, also on the same field as the abandoned farm house, for a scene where our main character walks up toward the very same house in the opening scenes of our music video. The barbed wire was initially going to be used in a scene after the treatment, where our main character walks up, still dazed, and begins to try and touch it. He then cuts his hand.

Overall I liked the idea of the man being confused at what reality now was, but for pacing and the timing of the song, it was removed.

Park

This is the Aboretum Park in Nottingham which I intend to use as the park that is in our main character's memory, and which he walks through whilst he is being administered to the machine's treatment.

The park is pleasantly well-maintained and is a perfect place to showcase the peaceful, happy memory that the main character is exploring again. As can be seen in the top left-hand side of the photograph, there is a small bell tower. This is where the main character climbs up to and, when the treatment is suddenly interrupted, collapses as he is abruptly removed from the memory.

Interior of Abandoned House

The idea with the interior of the inventor's workplace is that it is an abandoned structure that he has then moved into. I thought my garage would be perfect for this, because of the dilapidated brick work and the random scattering of items. The garage is also well laid out, because it means the main character can walk in through the door, and then see the machine sat to the right.

d

Bedroom

I chose this bedroom, in my house, also for the bedroom of the main character. This location will be seen when the treatment from the machine is interrupted and the character awakes in bed. I chose this bedroom because it was the plainest I could think of that we could realistically shoot in. The reason I wanted the room to be plain was because I wanted it to reflect the bland, repetitive life of our main character.

Animatic & Storyboard

This is the storyboard for my music video, which I then converted into an animatic by scanning the storyboard and splitting all the shots and editing them together. I then narrated over the top of the animatic to explain my intentions of filming and the narrative plot.

Props

Instruments:






















These are instruments and musical equipment that will appear in the video: a microphone, a drum kit, a bass guitar and an electric guitar. The items are already at the band's rehearsal space.

The Machine:














I assembled the machine in my garage, ready for filming. The image shows other props, such as a chair, headphones, a vinyl player and an amp are all used to create the overall look over the inventor's machine. I also used wires coming from the machine and at the end of one of them is a plastic circular mat, which I have used to emulate a heart monitor.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the look of the machine, surrounded by all the books, which makes it look really lived in and like the inventor has a breadth of knowledge at his fingertips.

Note:
















In many ways, this is the most important prop of the piece, well certainly of the narrative anyway, because is the source of propulsion within the plot - it gives the man the reason to be at this mysterious house.

I made the note by cutting out a business card-sized piece of paper. I then wrote down the address and message. The yellowed paper implies that the note is old and has been used many a time to lure unfulfilled, unhappy people to the inventor's place of work. I achieved this style by wiping the paper with coffee. I then tore the paper to make it look like it had been through a lot over the years.

Side note: The address, which contains the word/name 'Sigmund', refers to Freud, the famous pyschologist.

Costume

We have taken a lot of effort to make sure the costumes we use in our music video fit the conventions of the track, and Indie rock songs.

Below are the basic costumes I intend the performers of our music video to wear:

Costume for the main character.













Costume for inventor of the machine.












Mock Up of Digipack:-

Mock Up of Magazine Advert:-

Music Video Track & Permission

The song, 'Made of Concrete' was selected by the band and it coincided with some of the strange, surreal ideas we had for our music video. The song is, musically, based around riffs. This is common of Indie Rock, and the selected song has a notable signature riff that sounds very dreamy and serene.

Below is the permission to use the track and a request to film the band performing the song:

The lyrics are based around urban decay and perhaps a lost love. I will not get to concentrated on the lyrics, however, as I asked Cai, the lead singer how he writes his lyrics, to which he responded that they rarely mean anything and are always crafted around the music at the last minute. This does not mean, however that they are poorly written. I think this is a fantastically inventive lyric.

Made of Concrete
(Cai Burns, 2011)

You get so scared
Even when there's friends there
You really wanna walk out
Even though you're stuck now
And you feel the pain in your feet
Because the floor is made of concrete
And you try to make them turn 'round
But you've travelled way too far now

You dream of being somewhere
So you don't have to be here
But you don't even know where
You could find a place that
Remotely matches your plan
Of a castle in the Outlands
So you think of all that you can
And you take ahold of their hand

Music Video Brainstorm

Digipack Research

zzzz on Prezi

Audience Questionaire

Determining the audience of my video is an important step in the production of my music video. It will help me to understand what my audience will like and what they will dislike. I decided that a questionaire would be the best way to discover my audience's preferences. I handed out thirty copies to various people at college, to my family and other friends outside of college. The results are below.

What is your gender?

a) Male - 19
b) Female - 11












The results here may have something to do with the fact that more of my friends are male, but I will cater my video for both genders, but include more male-orientated elements to it.

How old are you?

a) 10-20 years - 10
b) 21-30 years - 7
c) 31-40 years - 6
d) 41-50 years - 5
e) 50+ years - 2












Age is an important factor to consider when tailoring a video for your target audience because it can effect everything from the costumes used in the video to the narrative or performance. From the pie chart I have determined that the answers collected come from persons aged from 10-20. This might suggest that people who watch music videos are of this age group.

This has also helped me to realise that my main target audience is males aged from 10-20. However, I will also cater for other needs to refrain from pigeon holing my audience.

How do you consume music videos?

a) TV - 8
b) iPod - 6
c) Computer - 15
d) Mobile Phone - 1
e) Other - 0













These results show that music videos are consumed more with a computer (15) than with a TV (8) which demonstrates how new technology can change the way people watch music promotions and videos.

What genre of music do you like most?

a) Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B - 5
b) Rock - 7
c) Pop - 5
d) Indie - 9
e) Other - 4


















These results show that my audience are mostly into Indie and Rock. This is good because Kagoule, the band I am making the music video for are a mix of Indie and Grunge, a sub genre of Alternative Rock, so I will use conventions of these genres of music videos in my work. For the 'other' category, four people said Metal. Surprisingly, not as many people as I thought chose Pop. This might reflect the people I asked, but it may suggest a decline in the popularity of the genre, and a more spefic taste in genres among the masses.

What do you prefer a music video to contain?

a) Narrative - 9
b) Performance - 6
c) Both - 15












From the results, I can summarise that, while the people I questioned prefer to see narratives in music videos over performances, the majority of them like to see a combination of both. This fits in with my treatment which involves both a performance and a narrative interweaved throughout.

What type of costumes do you like music videos to contain?

a) Smart - 12
b) Casual - 18

I was quite happy with this response because it would not suit an Indie rock music video to have the characters in very smart clothes as this does not fit into the conventions. Indie music videos tend to include characters in casual wear, so I will include this in my own video.

Overall, this quetionaire hashelped me grasp ahold of who and what my target audience enjoy. This will help me during the production of my music video with decisions such as costumes and mise-en-scene.