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Main Task: Music Video

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Ancillary Task: Digipak

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Ancillary Task: Magazine Advert

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Evaluation Question 4 (Pt 3/3): In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Ancillary Task: Magazine Advert

The magazine advert was an important element to my project as it had the job of advertising the digipak to my target audience along with my music video. In order to make the advert look as professional as possible I implemented many codes and conventions usually associated with this type of advert. 

From looking at other magazine adverts I learned that the name of the band and album should be very prominent. To achieve this I made the font for these two texts very large. I also underlined the album name, All Star, to make it stand out. I also learned that most artists make the font represent the emotion or main ideas from the album. For example in Green Day’s magazine advert the band name is painted on almost as if it is graffiti. This has connotations of a rebellious act as graffiti is often associated with people that don’t like to conform to society. I wanted my font to represent a school, this is why I made the font chalk with a blackboard background. I think this code is good because it makes it clear to the audience that the girl on the front of the magazine advert goes to school and is therefore young. This then means that younger people, who happen to be my target audience, are more likely to watch the music video or buy the CD because they know it is by someone their age. 

I also think it is vital that the release date is clear on the front so that people can start building anticipation in waiting for the CD to come out. I also found it is conventional for other forms of media to be advertised like vinyl and digital releases. This is because I want the album to appeal to as many people as possible and it may be that some people may not want a physical copy but a download instead which are becoming more and more popular. 

It is quite common to see an advert for an album with a photo of the album on the front. My advert may be seen as being unconventional as it doesn’t follow this trend. I did this because I went for a minimalistic approach to the magazine advert. I think this makes it look a lot more aesthetically pleasing and the audience can see all the important information more clearly without unneeded images in the way. 

In conclusion, I think I used conventions in an effective way to create a magazine advert that is easy to read and will direct interested people towards the new album. 

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Evaluation Question 4 (Pt 2/3): In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Digipak

As part of my project I had to create a digipak for an album release. In order to create a CD case that looked as professional as possible, I researched many different artists and looked at what was conventional and also what ideas I could develop to produce a more original piece of work.

I started by creating the front of the album cover. It was important to me that the whole band was displayed on the front as, in the story in the music video, it is the band that help Netta get over her bully. So I think all the members should be presented equally in this section. The photo was taken of the band on stage after their performance, this image was then transferred to my digipak template on photoshop. I made this image a chalk texture to stay in keeping with the rest of the digipak and to create a stronger link to the magazine advert. This is very conventional and can be seen in most CD covers. This is because it is important for most artists to include a photo of themselves on the front cover so that it is clear to the audience who they are listening to. 

The faces of the all the band members except Netta can be seen on the music stave. I came up with this idea after feedback was given to me that the other supporting band members aren’t presented enough in my ancillary tasks. It became apparent to me that Netta is shown more than the other band members so I wanted to find a way of introducing their characters to the CD cover on more than one section. This image of the faces on the music notes is very unconventional and I haven’t seen anything like this in my research. I hope for this element of the CD case to bring some humour to the product. This will appeal to my target audience as they are made up of younger people who are most likely attracted to this type of humour. 

The back section of the CD case is just as important as the front cover. It tells the potential audience what songs are on the album, what label the artist belongs to and another information that may be needed. For example I found that it was quite conventional for there to be a website at the bottom of this section that leads to the bands website where the CD, merchandise and concert tickets are likely to be sold. My CD back has two different fonts, a light one for the song names and a darker one for the other information. I think this is good because it allows the audience to differentiate between the two and not get confused. I made the font for the song listing the main attraction on this panel, I did this by making the font large and by making it lighter than the other fonts. I did this as I wanted to make it clear to the audience that this is an important piece of information that should be taken into account. It seems that other artists share this point of view as they have also made this part of the section stand out in a similar way as seen in the photo of Lana Del Rey’s album below.

One of the last parts to this project I designed was the actual CD that is placed inside the CD case. My CD features the album name, All Star, across the top so that it is easy to identify the CD if it is ever seen without its case. This is quite conventional with most CD’s. However, I wanted to develop this concept and by adding additional art work to the CD. My CD has a treble clef coming from the centre hole in a chalk line. This is then underlined by another chalk line with a piece of chalk next to it. I thought it was important to add this element to the CD to give the CD a more aesthetically pleasing look so that people will have a bigger incentive to pick it up.

I think that my digipak was successful at incorporating different conventions to create a final product that looks professional and includes elements that you would see on a real world media product. 

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Evaluation Question 4 (Pt 1/3): In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Music videos are known for their symbolic and artistic characteristics, they attract a range of audiences and explore never ending diversity. However, they all share similar traits and conventions. All forms of media are encoded by the producer and then decoded by the audience, from this genre, representation and overall narrative are portrayed to the audience. For example certain facial expressions and reaction shots of those facial expressions are universally decoded to convey the same meaning, however, some codes are less obvious, they might be more symbolic which means they might be more open to interpretation. There are some conventions that an audience may expect to see in a specific form of media or in a particular genre. These associations that come with certain products are expected to be seen by audiences. For example, in most films the main protagonist will be the hero and in most film posters this character will be at the forefront. However, it is sometimes the unconventional characteristics that can set a film apart from the rest. This is what I hope to achieve with my music video. 

Before starting my project I researched real music video posters, CD covers and music videos to get an idea of what was conventional. I found that with in the pop culture many brands looked the same and music videos were very similar. The song that I have chosen is alternative rock and, unlike pop, it has many different characteristics and no single music video was the same. However, I was able to identify some conventions that appeared often throughout different music videos. Following conventions can make a media project more recognisable for the audience that it is being aimed at and some people find it easier to watch something that they can easily decode. It is also important to create something that is unique so that it stands out from other media products.

Narrative

Narrative explains how a story is conveyed to an audience. Not only does it describe the story of the film, it also describes how the story is shown and what the intended effect of the story is on the audience. A piece of media text is comprised of many codes and conventions. Roland Barthes said that a piece of media is “a galaxy of signifiers”. Some of these include: referential codes, this can be when media text makes an intertextual reference to another piece of media text, enigma codes are mysterious actions in a media text that may be answered shortly after or later in the film. Action codes are certain events that may move the narrative in a certain direction. They are usually used to show the audience something new. The final codes I will be looking at is symbolic codes, this is when a deeper meaning is conveyed to an audience that may not be the intended final message.

My main protagonist is introduced to the audience very early on in the music video. Through different action codes, such as Charlotte hitting the book out of Netta’s hands, we can see that Netta is being bullied by Charlotte. This is very unconventional because singers are usually in a place of power in their music videos. Artists usually do this to make themselves appear cool and attractive to their audience. This is usually shown through over sexualising the character or by presenting their strength in other areas. For example, in Hold Up, Beyoncé walks through the street smashing car windows with a baseball bat. This is to show her anger towards the man she is singing about but also shows her strength and independence. In contrast, Netta is shown to be intimidated by Charlotte. The benefit of doing this is that the audience can follow Netta’s growth as a person to the point where she is putting the bully in her place and rising to a point of power over the bully. In the long run this makes the character more relatable because most people have experienced being in a unfair situation. The audience is able to infer that Netta’s character is a more introverted character from beginning because she is holding a book. This prop code allows the audience to see that Netta is not yet a confident singer. Netta goes on to use her new found confidence to make peace with Charlotte. A conventional feature of the music video is the fact that it has a good moral at the end. The moral is that even a rival can become a friend and that effort should be made to let this happen. Most music videos have good morals at the end of them which is usually in line with the lyrics of the song. 

During the studio scene, Netta greets everybody with a high five or a hug. People don’t do this unless they know the person well. This shows that some time has past since Netta joined the band and she has got to know them a bit more. It is conventional in a music video for the other band members to have an equal amount of screen presence as the singer, my music video challenges this convention because Netta takes up most of the screen time and the story in the video is based around her rather than the band. This is to communicate to the audience how lonely Netta is at the beginning of the music video. The band, however, are still heavily involved in studio scene and performance scenes which is very conventional of music videos. Music videos quite often contain scenes depicting the whole band so that the audience can be introduced to all the members. Green Day’s Basket Case does a good job of this by having the band frequently play throughout the video. This is good because the audience will feel closer to the band if they are familiar with all the band members.

Genre

Genre is important to both the consumer and the producer as it enables them to classify a media text. Genre allows the audience to make choices about a certain type of media text as they can associate characteristics and features, also known as codes and conventions, with a certain genre. If a person likes a certain genre then they are more likely to recognise its codes and convention. This then means the producer can involve codes and conventions specific to that genre in order to attract its target audience. For example a crime drama is likely to involve violence, police, victims, suspects and chase scenes. It is likely that a media text will cross different genres and in the process create hybrids and subgenres. This concept is evident in my music video as it has many features and characteristics.

The music used in my video is rock, the common conventions of this genre are very broad and many bands come under the genre of rock. My song is also very alternative, so the music can be given the name of alternative rock. This hybrid genre also has many codes and conventions. The genre alternative rock is best described using its target audience which is teenagers and people in their early 20′s. The music appeals to these people because it is usually different to other music available to their age group. The artists sing about subjects that are related to teenagers which also makes the music appeal to this audience. My music video follows this convention because it is set in a school. It follows the story of a girl that is getting bullied who resolves the problem by joining a band. This suits the genre because teenagers can easily relate to an artist that is also a school student. However, most music videos are set in multiple locations to help express different emotions throughout the music video. My music video is primarily set in one location, the school, with the exception of a couple of scenes. This is very unconventional but it is required for the narrative as the story is about getting bullied in school. This location code is important because it tells the audience that the girl is still at school age. 

The costume codes stay constant throughout the film, this is also very unconventional as most music videos will feature more than one set of costumes for a single character. The reason for this is similar to why locations change frequently in music videos, to show a change in emotion or meaning. For most of the music video, Netta feels intimated by Charlotte. When Netta  finally stands up for herself, the emotion of the music video changes. Because of this, her costume changes when she performs on stage to show that she has a new found confidence. This develops the convention that costume should change along with a change in emotion. Netta experiences a change in mood during my music video. This is shown by a change in costume when she goes on stage. Her stage image is much more conventional to this is genre as she has visibly put more effort into her appearance. This shows that she has increased confidence and wants to show off her singing skills. This is similar to the performance scene in When I’m Gone by Eminem where Eminem’s costume change from quite casual clothing to a suit in which he performs in. This has been done to the audience that Eminem has a different persona on and off stage. 

Representation

The official description of representation is ‘the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way’. In addition to this I believe that for a media text to be represented in the intended way it also requires an element of pre-existing shared view or knowledge that most people are familiar with. These shared pre-existing views are also known as codes and conventions. Audiences can use this to identify certain character types and give them a better idea of what the characters role is in the music video. Some media texts purposely challenge certain stereotypes in order to gain a certain response from the audience.

In order to represent Charlotte, the bully, in a certain way I created an image that was easily dislikable. One way I did this was by getting Charlotte to act in a spiteful manor. This included getting her to walk out in front of Netta on more than one occasion to make it clear she wanted to cause her trouble. This body language is very hostile and helps construct a very dislikable character profile. The act of smacking the book out of Netta’s hand then proceeding to push her over also gives the audience the impression that Charlotte is the bully. I have used conventional stereotyping to create this image of a bully, however, it can be seen to be unconventional to have a main character that is not in a place of power or confidence. In most conventional music videos the main character or singer displays a high level of confidence by singing at the camera or in other forms of assertiveness. For example Taylor Swift, similar to Beyonce’s music videos, shows a high level strength and independence. For example in Blank Space she can be seen hitting a car owned by a boyfriend she doesn’t like. This is the opposite of Netta’s character because she doesn’t show any aggression towards Charlotte until later in the music video. However, I believe that this makes Netta’s character more relatable and therefore more enjoyable to watch by the audience.

When creating my music video it was also important that the band were represented in the right way and that they all had their own personalities. The guitarist, Kieran, is a level headed character that only really comes out of his shell when performing. The drummer, Olli, is represented as a cheerful character that is overly kind. His is very unconventional as most drummers are presented as being erratic and unpredictable. For example the drummer Keith Moon, from The Who, was often seen destroying kit on stage and even asked to leave the stage when misbehaving too much. In contrast Olli is a very systematic and in control. The final band member, other than Netta, is Louis who plays the bassist. Louis is very cool and doesn’t require to much attention on stage. This is why he is a bit further back than Kieran on stage, to show his laid back approach to the band. He can also be interpreted as being a bit unreliable because he turns up to the recording session late. This is shown using a point of view shot from one of the band members angle opening the door letting him into the room. Louis then goes on to shake the band other band members hand which shows that they are respectful of each other as this is a universal symbol for friendship. 

Overall, the band has a very youthful appearance, this is supported by the location which is school. This helps show the audience that the band members still attend school. The music is aimed at a younger audience as it is fairly fast paced and modern. In addition to this, the band wears fashionable clothes that you would expect teenagers to wear. This is especially evident with Netta who wears very fashionable clothes on stage. Her clothes consist of a trilby hat, sleeveless vest and bright red lipstick. I have done this to show a contrast in her off stage clothes to her final stage clothes. The audience is able to see Netta’s progression as a singer and a person. This is important because the song is about realising your full potential and becoming an ‘all star’.

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Evaluation Question 3: What have you learned from audience feedback?

Audience feedback was very important for the development of my media project. Both formal and informal feedback allowed me to change the products along the way so that the end product was as good as possible and fitted my target audience well. Throughout the project I asked for feedback from my teachers and peers to gain a large amount of opinions. I have assembled a film presenting some of the feedback I have received in the last year.

I have learned a lot from the feedback I gained whilst producing my project. I created a pitch quite early on in the planning stage of my project. In this pitch I outlined my main ideas for the music video and the two ancillary tasks. I pitched theses ideas to my teachers who gave me some formal feedback. My teachers started off by saying that All Star was a good song choice for the music video because the lyrics can be easily illustrated into actions on screen. For example, at the start of the song the lyrics state that their is a girl with her hand on her forehead with her fingers shaped as a L. This can be replicated in my music video to represent Netta being bullied.

The second comment the teachers made was on a scene that I had edited in preparation for the assessment. I edited a scene where the band perform their song. The teachers commented that the costume codes of the band don’t allow the ending scene to be the climax for the band that I had intended. To fix this problem I re-filmed the performance scene with the characters more “dressed-up”. My teachers also said that the ending performance would look a lot better if the band had an audience, this would make the band look like they have become really successful which is the aim of the music video, however, the this was not carried out as it would have been too hard to organise.

My idea was to outline the band onto a blackboard with chalk. After learning that the school has no blackboards, I came up with the idea of replicating this effect by using the editing tools on photoshop to use a normal photo and make it look like it was drawn on with chalk.

I also gained some feedback from some of my friends, which was useful because they are part of my target audience so it was helpful to get their opinion of my ideas. One of the pieces of feedback I acquired was the idea to change the amount of band members from 3 to 4. This is so that the band look more balanced on stage and so that their is a more conventional structure to the band. I implemented these ideas and presented them to other people who also approved.

Overall, I think I used feedback effectively to improve my media project to make an ending project that is as good as possible. I think that getting feedback from my target audience was especially helpful because it allowed me to get an insight into what people from this age group want to see.

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Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

For my project I have created a music video as my main task. As well as this I have created a Digipak and a magazine advert. It was important to me that the different products worked well together and are clearly connected. To make the connection as strong as possible, Netta, the main singer, is featured throughout the different products. She can be seen on the magazine advert and alongside the band on the CD cover.

From early feedback I learned it was important that my project has strong branding so that the main task and the ancillary tasks compliment each other well. This is a very good form of marketing as it makes the product look very professional. The products compliment each other well because they follow similar codes and conventions. This is especially apparent in the colour scheme between the two ancillary tasks. The magazine advert is mainly black and white with the exception of Netta’s lips which are red. My Digipak is also black and white, there is a clear connection between the two tasks. The presence of Netta on both products also helps to link the ancillary tasks to the main task as she is featured a lot in the music video.

The band in my music video is called Blackboard Jungle, this name comes from the fact that the band attend a school which is commonly associated with blackboards. To add an element of synergy to my ancillary task, most of the text is written in a font called chalkdust and the background is a blackboard. This adds an element of synergy to the products as they can all be clearly connected by the blackboard background and chalk writing.

The target audience for my music video is teenagers and school students, this is why it is important that the location in which the music video is filmed in is expressed fully throughout all my products. This is because my target audience can associate with the location, a school, very well because they have spent most their lives in this location. Because of this I made it a priority that the school element of the music video is consistent throughout my ancillary tasks as well. In order to do this I used different features like chalk writing and blackboards to suggest a school location. At the beginning of my music video the title All Star can be seen in chalk writing across the screen. The same font and writing can be seen on the CD cover and on the CD its self. It was crucial that all the All Star titles were in the same font so that the a brand identity could be seen across the different products.

The next way I attempted to combine my products was by making sure the band featured on the CD case and that Netta, the main singer, could be seen on the magazine advert. This is good because Netta and the band are quite easily recognisable and anybody that is familiar with one of the products will be able to link another product because they feature the same people. Netta is also wearing the same thing in the performance scene in the music video as she is on the CD case and on the magazine advert. This also makes the link between the products better because she is wearing the same costume. A few artists, like Ed Sheeran, wear the same clothes throughout every album release, this makes them instantly recognisable but it is hard for the audience to differentiate between a new and old album release. This is why I have made Netta’s costume very unique so that if she was to ever release a new album with Blackboard Jungle, the audience would be able to tell the difference between the new and old album just by looking at her costume.

In conclusion I think that my products combine together very effectively. The audience can easily link the different products together and a strong brand identity has been created through the use of font and costume. The fact that the name of the song is featured in every product also means they have a strong connection. This is good because it means that each product can advertise others in a way that means the audience will know exactly what music video to watch once they’ve seen the magazine advert and the CD case.

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Evaluation Question 1 (Pt 4/4) - How was media technologies used in the editing stage?

My music video had many scenes that had to be edited together to make a film that was fluid and that fitted well with the music that went with it. The editing process can be very long and tedious, especially with a music video as every scene has to perfectly fit the music. My choice of media technology made this process easier as most of the software I used is very well know and it was easy to look up tutorials on how to use certain tools to achieve a desired product.

One of the first forms of media technology I used was Final Cut, I started by adding the sound track which I had recorded in the construction stage on Logic Pro. I then added the footage that I had filmed. This was different to year 12 because I added the sound last in year 12 as it wasn’t as important. However, this year the music was a lot more important in the way that the music is why most people watch a music video. The footage is also important but the audience is usually a fan of the song and band before the music video, therefore it is important that the music is right. Logic Pro allowed me to edit the music video so that the sound fitted well with the footage and so that it was obvious to the audience and possible fans that the music was just as important as the footage.

Final Cut was my main software for editing, I added all the shots separately then joined them together using quite simple transitions. This is so that the fluidity is maintained throughout the music video. I could then use Final Cut to adjust any shots that needed enhancing, for example a few shots are filmed inside where the light coming in from outside fluctuates. I changed the contrast and saturation on the shots where it was required to make the shots fit together better.

Overall I think the editing part of my production went very well. The media technology I used was major component of my project, it allowed me to create an arrangement of scenes that are the final product the audience ends up seeing. It also allowed me to enhance the film to give it a professional finish.

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Evaluation Question 1 (Pt 3/4) - How was  media technologies used in the construction stage?

Media technology was used frequently in the construction of my music video. I broke the production stage down into 2 sections; the music and the video. Both parts utilised many media technologies which could then be edited in post production to create a music video. This was a big step from last year because I had to incorporate more than one main component for the end product, as well as having to produce the music and the film, I also created a magazine advert and a CD case. In order to create the best products possible with a good level of synergy I had to many forms of media technology.

When filming my music video I used a Canon EOS 1100D, the camera had a very good quality and could handle moving scenes very well due to its compact size. This was helpful when filming a scene in which the main singer, Netta, is walking towards the camera singing. I had to film this walking backwards so the small size of the camera made this a lot easier. The digital aspect of the camera also made it easy for me to transfer the footage from the camera to the computer, then from the computer to my editing software, Final Cut. In comparison a film camera would have taken a lot longer to process once the filming had been done. Film cameras are also a lot more expensive because of the film you have to buy separately. This also means that the amount that can be filmed is limited. This was not the case with my Canon EOS 1100D as the memory size was more than enough for all my footage.

The recording of the music was new to me as I have never recorded my own vocals before. I learned how to use my recording software, Logic Pro, by watching videos on youtube and asking my teacher for help. I first used a backing track that I found on youtube that I then recorded into Logic Pro. I then recorded Netta singing over the top of the original backing track, Netta’s voice, however, was a different pitch to backing track. So, using Logic Pro I modulated the backing track. It was suggested that I modulate Netta’s voice instead of the backing track, but after gaining some informal feedback from my friends, I decided to modulate the backing track instead. I was then able to layer the two tracks, Netta singing and the backing track. This final combination was then saved to a hard drive, I could then transfer this file to Final Cut where I could add the music to the footage to create the music video.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to use a green screen when taking photos for my magazine advert and CD cover. My magazine advert features Netta on the front writing Blackboard Jungle on a blackboard, which is the name of her band. Using the studio to take the photos also gave me the opportunity to use ultra bright lights that could give me the highest quality photos possible. This photo was then put onto my magazine cover and made black and white to be in keeping with the rest of my project.

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Evaluation Question 1 (Pt 2/4) - How was  media technologies used in the planning stage?

The planning stage of the process was very important because it helped gather all my ideas together. Using media technology, I was able to create a plan that would help with the construction of my music video to make it more efficient. This is because I had planned where I was going to be filming, who was going to be filmed, what they were going to wear and what was actually going to be filmed.

I started my planning process by taking elements from my previous research stage that I liked and creating a basic narrative. This narrative was constructed using powerpoint, each slide on the powerpoint displayed my ideas for a particular scene and some potential shots that could be used with in that scene. The powerpoint also stated my original ideas for location, characters, editing techniques, details on how the music would fit into the music video and also outlined my initial ideas for the ancillary tasks. I then pitched this powerpoint to my teachers and other students, they then gave me feedback and I was able to change some of these ideas to improve my products. The teachers were able to give me formal feedback which I then posted on tumblr to keep track of all the changes I would be making to my plan. My peers also gave me feedback which was less formal than the teachers feedback but just as helpful as the feedback was coming from my target audience. The information they gave me was very helpful because it gave me an insight into what changes they might want to see from a younger persons point of view.

One key part of a music video is the music, the sound that plays over the top of the film influences what happens on screen because as the story changes in the song, it should also change in the video. This means that timing of the film has to be very precise, more so than in short films or even feature length films because the sound can be made to fit around the action. However, in my music video the sound came first. In order to be able to plan the length of each shot I had to first record the music. I used a backing track for Netta, the singer, to sing over the top of from youtube. I found that the pitch of the music wasn’t right for Netta’s voice so before recording Netta, I had to first modulate the song to fit Netta’s voice. I did this on a programme called Logic Pro. This is also the programme that I recorded Netta on. Using this programme enabled me to layer the different tracks and change the sounds independently of each other until they sounded right. Logic Pro also made it very easy for me to transfer the music from one to programme to another as a sound file. This was useful when it came to adding the song to my editing software, Final Cut.

Due to the nature of music videos, the band are a very important element to its production. This is because the band play a very big role in the video. Organising a way of communicating with the band was essential because it enabled us to discuss what the band were willing to do and what individual skills they all have. For example, I had planned for Kieran to perform a guitar solo as part of the bands performance. To make sure this was in Kieran skill range I asked him to send me a video of him doing a solo on his guitar. He sent me a video over Facebook Messenger which confirmed that he could perform a guitar solo. This was good because it saved a lot of time when it came to actually filming the stage performance as I didn’t have to cater for a bad guitarist.

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Evaluation Question 1 (Pt 1/4): How did you use Media Technology in the Research stage in the creation of your short film?

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Test Music Video

In preparation for the production of my music video I filmed a practice music video. I did this so that I could be prepared for the filming of my real music video. During the filming of my music video I learned a lot of skills and techniques that I want to carry forward into my music video. I also made a lot of mistakes in the production of my practice music video that I will not include in the real one. 

The opening shot consists of Sam scootering up and down the ramp, the camera is zooming out at this point so that the whole ramp is included in the shot. This introduction also acts as a good establishing shot because it shows the audience that Sam is in a skate park. From this camera angle we can also see what clothes Sam is wearing. Clothing like the Van shoes and the hat are very synonymous with skaters and clearly represent him as being a regular at the skatepark. 

I learned from the process of making this film that the slow motion is very effective and emphasises certain camera angles and movements. Slow motion is a very conventional technique to use in music videos, its used regularly in this type of film to create a very unique dynamic.

One good use of slow motion in this music video is when the two skaters have just jumped off a ramp and are hovering in the air. They then 360 degree turn with their handle bars and then land. I think that the slow motion is effective for this shot because it allows the audience to really take in the movement of the two characters. The low angle of the camera makes the characters look like they are higher than they really are. This has the added effect of exaggerating the scenes so that they look like they are better skaters.

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Music Video So Far 21/11/16

Skip To 2:48

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Media Assessment Feedback

I recently pitch my media project progress and future ideas to my media teachers as part of an assessment. During this assessment my teachers gave me feedback on what was good, what I need to do better and what I should include that hasn't been included yet.

My teachers started off by saying that All Star was a good song choice for the music video because the lyrics can be easily illustrated into actions on screen. For example, at the start of the song the lyrics state that their is a girl with her hand on her forehead with her fingers shaped as a L. This can be replicated in my music video to represent Netta being bullied. As part of the planning process for my music video I should also make a more detailed story board to follow when filming so that no shots are missed. This saves time because it means that I won't waste time re-filming.

The second comment the teachers made was on a scene that I had edited in preparation for the assessment. I edited a scene where the band perform their song. The teachers commented that the costume codes of the band don’t allow the ending scene to be the climax for the band that I had intended. To fix this problem I will re-film the performance scene with the characters more “dressed-up”. I might still use the footage but as rehearsal footage instead of the ending performance. 

My teachers also said that the ending performance would look a lot better if the band had an audience, this would make the band look like they have become really successful which is the aim of the music video. When editing the scenes in which the band play along to the song I will edit the scene so that the music syncs with the bands movements and Netta’s lips.

Towards the end of the pitch I showed the teachers my ideas for the ancillary tasks. This included telling them my band name, BlackBoard Jungle, and how I am going to incorporate the name into my digipak. My idea was to outline the band onto a blackboard with chalk with the exception of Netta who will actually appear in front of the blackboard. After learning that the school has no blackboards, we had to come up with an idea to paint blackboard paint onto a big board. This is actually an improvement because I can control where the board goes and the lighting that is projected onto the board. 

I also learnt from my assessment that a band identity needs to be created related to school for my digipak. This will include taking photos of the band in a school setting. This is in reference to the band name as the word BlackBoard is usually associated with school. 

Overall I found the feedback that I got from the assessment very useful. I will use this feedback to improve my music video and make it as professional as possible. 

[lewissmithmediaa2-blog]

Pitch Feedback From Messenger

Its important when creating my media concept that I get feedback from other people so that I can adjust ideas and even already produced content. This will allow me to create the best music video possible that can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. It is especially important that the music video is entertaining for my target audience, which is older school kids. Because of this I asked a couple of my friends with in this age group to look at my pitch and some practice footage and give me some feedback on it. They were able to identify some good elements that I should definitely keep and some other elements that could be improved.

In the first message I received, my friend told me that he loves the music video idea and that the use of technology in producing the music video will keep it up to date with current music videos. However, he suggested that I should create a clearer brand identity. The current lack of band identity could hold me back from attracting a larger audience. The music alone will entertain a selected audience, however, a good band image and brand will open the band up to more people. I have recently consulted my teacher on this, we have come up with the idea to base the band image 

[lewissmithmediaa2-blog]

Story Board