What I would like to finish with

The process of blogging and the creation of both the thriller and the music video has been involving a lot of effort, problems, creativity but last but not least a lot of fun and an experience for life. When considering the creation of the music video we were faced with a lot of problems such as the absence of a group member for the whole month of production and therefore more work was put into our hands.

This in my case help me to engage with the subject much more then what I did at AS and therefore also help to develop my skills in almost every part of the process, from research and planning to the editing and making corrections on the finished product. We were also faced with last minute changes in the cast list and also the cast not being able to play the instruments and the list goes on of problems that we faced, which had to be solve on the spot knowing that the time is short and crucial. But what I then feel is that I can look back from the first day of AS and look at what I achieved during these two years and it reminds me that I have a lot to be proud of.

Feedback on Director's Commentary

Im Not Like Anybody else

Teodora and Nina

Excellent and considerate understanding of the technologies used in production of the video, for example FCP and After Effects. There are evident links between creative decision making and use of technology on both productions of the video using professional digital cameras (e.g. green screen and bridging gaps between scrapyard and studio based shots) and in the post production editing process – in discussion of match of action. This is sustained and thorough and accurate in discussion of the branded themes of the MV. The commentary shows a discrete awareness of the use of new media technology and uses discriminating examples really well, particularly to selection and construction of narrative and intertextual references to the ‘Bond’ movies. Excellent command of terminology and well presented – understands and discusses convergence really well.

Outstanding Effort and Excellent commentary, well done.

Video commentary on the production and post production

Evaulation task 4

The concept of our music video was to show the aspect of regeneration, recycling of the media market and products and to maintain the quality within music products instead of quantity products.  Therefore we used the junkyard as a part of our location for both the performance and the narrative by the use of a green screen in the media studio. This technology became crucial to our final product combining studio and location shots.

Pre production, media technologies used in research and planning

In the research and planning process we used different media technologies that enabled us to work creatively with different ideas that we had for our media products. We used the internet in most cases and especially in terms of researching similar artists and their products. Youtube were also used for the purpose of researching as it is used as an online broadcast agency and enabled us to look at different genres of music video. But Youtube also helped us to look at parts from different movies such as Storm breaker that was a big influence to our music video in terms of using the junkyard, Link: Storm breaker

Our ideas and the planning process were then posted upon eblogger, another media technology used that enables any person that is a user to upload opinions and information on a regular basis. In the use of eblogger we were also able to take advandtage of technology convergence by using our phones to upload both posts and pictures upon our blog.

As we found a basic structure and ideas that we wanted to be included in our music video we decided to do an animatic filming the storyboard, which can be defined by being a preliminary version in which animated pictures are used instead of live participants and real objects.

Media technologies used in the digipak and poster creating process

Several pictures of the band members were used in the poster put together as one picture using different techniques such as layering in Photoshop. Layering helped us to create a montage that helped to create one image out of several images. In the creation of the CD we used some of the stills from the junkyard to create the theme of recycling and with these pictures we used different effects such as the burn effect and saturation levels. This helped us to create a darker feeling but also to match the colors of the digipak so it would be more appealing to our target audience.

Photoshop is defined as an editing software that are able to crop, resize and correct colors on pictures this is also what we did but did also putt emphasis on the layers. Layers are images overlaid on top of one another that creates a greater control for us as the user to create a professional looking result. The use of Photoshop this year has taught me new creative ways and the use of fonts really interested my by for example creating a band logo that could not be replicated but small changes had to be made to make it one of a kind, by for eg. using the smudge tool.

Feedback on Evaluation Task Three Audience Feedback

I like the Prezi - you do need to spellcheck the presentation! I feel that you have done well with collecting audience feedback. I feel that you clearly understand audeince theory, but I would like to see this more closely linked to what you found out with your audience - thsiis crucial. You can also make links to real media examples. Finally you do need in evaluation to address the question set more closely, in terms of oppositional and negotiated readings. You also have lots of opportunity to argue that the audience recieved your dominant preferred reading.
Excellent effort - please re draft your entry on this question.
Well done

Evaluation task 3 - Audience feedback

Evaluation task 3 on Prezi

Feedback

This is an excellent evaluation. I am really impressed by your presentation and the content. the application of theory is superb. you combine links to actual media examples with your a own work and are clearly in control of what the question is asking you to do. I would suggest one slide extra at the end which might suggest how the campaign is consistent branding of the star image. Excellent effort.

Evaluation task 2 - how effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Feedback

Excellent evaluation of task.  Well done.  My only comment for further development of your answer is to use a few hyperlinks which will develop your understanding of the links between the music campaign you have designed and real media products.

Well presented work.

Evaluation task 1 – poster

The third media product that we produced was our promotion poster for the band here we used conventions such as an album tile, band name, the best seller song, Facebook and twitter logo and the record company’s website and logo.  These helps the audience to identify what kind of product this is and also gives the audience a clear view of what is trying to be promoted. By using a Facebook and twitter logo it allows the audience to know where they can interact with the product and other people that find interest in the product or band.

What we also chose to use was a QR code which is becoming popular since this enables people with specific phones to scan this and to look closer into the promotion, this also creates a connection between how media nowadays can be consumed and making it handier for people on the go where ever they may be.

We also choose to show the synergy between the movie and the music video on the poster and therefore we put the name of the film  “The Agent” on the promotional poster. This will help people to recognize the product made by the band but also a way to promote the movie.

Evaluation task 1 – digipak

The digipak becomes important when talking about conventions and the star image of the band and is often what will help a consumer to buy the CD. Our front cover follows some conventions and expectations from the consumer by having the album name, name of the band and being a normal size album. Since we are not using a picture of the band as our front cover it can be argued that it is the creative element that is being sold to the audience by the use of clear text, used throughout, this element can been seen as both subversive and adhering to the conventions depending to what media products its compared to. We also used the recycling sign and the mood colors to symbolize what the band is representing and the opinions they have. Also the recycling signs bring forward the idea of recycling and regeneration which emphasis the star image once again and what the band is all about, this is of course also connected to the album name “Retaking the music”.

The back cover is also imitating different conventions such as the use of a barcode, record company name and logo, copyright, and the track list where these songs are also a way to represent the star image of the band. By adhering to these conventions the audience is pleased since they will unconsciously know what they are looking at and see this as a digipak. 

We also continued on the representation of the recycling and regeneration by having a picture of the actual scrap yard as the back cover and we can also see a sign in the corner “car and metal recycling”. We are also using throughout the digipak a darker color shade to get the feeling of used material, that dark and rusty sense that you can get from metal. To understand the idea of our digipak better here is a link to the two different PowerPoint I did on digipak research and development and see what we were influenced by and what conventions that we looked at: Research into digipack and Futher research into digipaks

Evaluation task 1 – Narrative, Lyrics and editing structure

In the narrative theme we choose to go with the influence from the British James Bond movies that represent quality and perfection in what he does, which is what we were trying to portray on the male hero in the narrative. This was also influence by the movie “storm breaker” that was shot in a scrap yard using the elements of the set to reinsure the use of the location and the tension of what is happening. Therefore we also had a victim and used the conventions such a gag, ripped clothes and high angle shots to see the vulnerability of the woman to pleasure the audience with what they expect. By using James Bond and Storm breaker as our main conventions this could be applied to one of Goodwin’s key features arguing that “There are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music video or to films or TV texts” the use of old text or known text can help an audience to spark some kind of recognition and interest in the product also argued by Steve archer is that intertextuality will increase the audience engagement with the product.

Comparison between stormbreaker,and James Bond to our product

What is further more argued by Steve Archer that the narrative is rarely complete and often just shows parts of the product leaving the audience longing for more, quoting: “often music videos will cut between narrative and performance of the song by the band… But it is the lip-sync close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music video, as if to assure that the band can really kick it” and it is also this that is argued to be the way to reach out to the audience. Below we can see an example of this that we used in our video

The lyrics of the song “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” states that the man doesn’t want to be conformed, plain and simple, but wanted to go against the dominant ideology of society which especially applies to today’s high pace of production also applicable to the music industry. By using this we tried to create a similar star image for our band by portraying them as demanding quality and different products to be brought to the market and seeing the importance of albums and not singles’. This would be applicable to what Goodwin argues to be one of the key features that “there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visual, with the visual either, illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics”. Since lyrics helps to establish a general feeling and mood were for example key lines such as the chorus we often choose to show the singer in a close-up shown in the picture above to get a the message through to the audience.

We choose to SUBVERT the editing of the music video, though it was cut according to the beat, lip-sync or the lyrics but we did not cut as for a normal music video, but instead the music video was a promotional tool for a movie therefore changing the order of the shots. On the day we had high ratio shooting and together with both narrative and performance we took over 140 shots, this is in many cases normal for big companies since shooting days are expensive and should be as productive as possible. So the shots were then divided in to bigger part of narrative since it was important to create a story, promoting the movie, therefore using up to 30 seconds of just narrative structure. This is not common as in a normal music video almost every other shot is suppose to be going from performance to narrative. But for us it was important to introduce the movie to the audience so that the music video could be used as a promotional tool.
Here is a similar type of music video that is also promoting a movie, in this case transformers they also are using the same way of editing, long scenes of narrative ; Link: Similar promtional music video

Evaluation task 1 – In what ways do your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Before starting the production of our music video we had to research other media products Link: Digipak covers by similar artist  and develop it into our own ideas, either to adhering to a convention or if we wanted to go against it and the two specific element that is needed to make a music video is the performance and the narrative which could be connected to the song or not. But there are more specific conventions that will relate to the media product, Keith Negus argues that there are 13 common generic conventions of popular music some of them listed below.

• The explicit and unashamed promotion of the artist’s “image” (aesthetic/generic/ideological) as a specific product with a brand identity, ready for mass consumptions
• The featuring of the artist (almost without exception)
• A wide and extensive use of shot types, camera angles and movement

So to create our Pop video we will need a star image of the artist and a approximately 3 minutes long video, the use of many different camera angles: close-ups establishing shots etcetera. We will have to construct a narrative story, in our case the use of conventions seen in the movie stormbreaker (Link: Stormbreaker) but also connected to features of James Bond. A performance element must also be included often seeing the whole band with the focus on the singer, it will also include the construction of a mise en scene that will fit together with the track that in our case for example having suits and metro sexual hairstyles going back to the representation and conventions often seen in British James Bond movies. 

screen grabs from our music video

These conventions can then either be used or subverted to make the audience interested in the media product. We could either choose to give the audience the expected like cutting according to lip-sync and a regular cutting back and forth of performance and narrative shots. But we could also give the audience the unexpected by subverting the conventions, this is also what we did by instead of cutting back and forth between narrative and performance we decided to create a more film like narrative by having longer periods of narrative to introduce the audience to the actual movie and the synergy between the two products. We ensured this synergy by the use of green screen so that the narrative and performance were taking place on the same location this was later done in after affects. 

an example how a green screen can be set up

The finished digipak and poster

Below we can see the finished result of our poster; it includes all the band members used in the music video. From the beginning it was all four different pictures with the green screen in the background but by using Photoshop we were able take away the green screen and put all the different photos/band members into the same picture and making the look of it realistic as well. Then we used some influences used in the poster by “the verve” showed in the earlier blog posts.

We can also see the finished result of out digi-pak which ended up looking a lot like we planned and we used the original plan of the regeneration and recycling idea. We can also see that the template under the CD is a bin with the mainstream music people in the sense that we are recycling them then the CD is shown as the lid.