Evalutaion

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

I believe my music videos uses the codes and conventions of a music video in terms of the way it looks, i have used mise-en-scene to create a realistic image to an audience. I have used several types of techniques in my music video such as performance, narrative and random image. However i feel my music video challenges the codes and conventions of a music video in some ways as it is quite random at parts and could be seen as not nessesarily showing a story line,even though i have still followed a narrative throughout the video, it isnt as obvious as shown is some music videos. I have tryed to edit the video so its in time with the beat of the song, e.g. the feet walking down the steps at the beggining of the music video. This is another one of the codes and conventions a music video tends to have. The pace of the editing is also suited to the pace of the music video.
My cd cover uses the codes and conventions of the media product as i have used the same font throughout each page of the case to create a specific image of the artist as you would assosiate that text with the artist. I have also used the same font on the magazine advert to create the same affect. My cd also covers many of the codes and conventions of CD's as i have included a barcode, the artists website name, the record label name and where it was made etc.
My magazine advert follows the codes and conventions of a magazine advert as it uses phrases to attract the reader such as "win tickets for live shows" and provides one main image that takes up most of the page which is of the artist. The title above the main reader i think draws the reader to the image as i have used the perspective tool to make it look 3D and on a slant. I have used bold fonts throughout the project and on much of the text i have used the outerglow effect to make the text stand out even more e.g. on my magazine advert on the artist title the yellow outer glow contrast's against the black background.

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

The combination of my cd case and magazine advert works well as i have used the same fonts throughout the product. On my the magazine advert i have also used the same image which i used on the front of the cd cover, this would add to the audience assosiated that image between the two media products. The music video works well with the cd cover and magazine ad as i have used mise-en-scene is both projects in terms of the clothes the actor is wearing etc, which contributes to an audience assosiating the main project and other texts together.


As you can see in these screen shots of my magazine advert and cd cover i used the same font and kept to the same style throughout the project to make the name of the artist recognisable

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

I have used Final Cut Express to create my music video therefore exploring many of the effects which can be done when using it such as the colour key, layering videos, changing the colour of the clips etc. This added to creating the effect of making it look like a realistic music video. I also used a sony handycam to film my music video with the use of a tripod at certain clips to create steady shots. I used the camera to film various shots in terms of were the camera was positioned etc. To make my cd cover and magazine i have used photoshop including layering and many of the effects such as the cloud filter on my magazine advert to create the red cloud effect. I also used illustrator to create the main image on my cd cover and to create some of the titles in the project. In the evaluation stages i have used a program to video my screen where i have videoed the screen putting together my magazine advert and cd cover. I have also taken screen shots of my project to show how i have put my music video together in the evaluation stages. I have also videoed me talking about my magazine advert.


What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Having interviewed several people asking what they think of my music video I have learned that my music video could have perhaps done with more narrative as it can be quite random however people thought the video worked well in terms of the effects used, and thought that the random image style of music video worked well and did look realistic to be a music video.
If i was do to my music video again i would most likely change it so that i included more narrative and made it less random. I think i have met the expectations of my target audience which was 14-20 as when i showed people in this age category they liked it. I have attracted my audience by including young people in my music video, and exiting effects which would appeal to the target audience. I also chose a song which would most likely be known by the younger generation which would therefore attract them rather than other age groups.


I asked someone at my school what they thought about my music video and this is what they said: (video below)




This is positive feedback as i have now learned that my music video comes across as 'very inventive' and their favourite part of my music video was the dancing feet and the outlines of people dancing on the coloured backgrounds. This allows me to find out what the most effective parts my music video were.



Here is my finished music video:

To create the effect for having the same person sitting on the same bench. I used a tripod to film the clip and i filmed the person at either end of the bench. I then cropped one of the clips so that the side of the bench where noone was sitting disapears and the layer underneath with the clip of someone sitting on the other side is seen.

In my video i have made the effect of having a video clip playing inside the frames of the actors sunglasses. To do this i put bright orange cards inside the frames and then used the colour key to make the frames see through.


I then put another video clip on the layer underneath the clip with the sunglasses so that when the video starts you can see the video playing in the frames.

Production of the music video

To make my music video i have used final cut express. For my music video i wanted to try and use all three types: performance, narrative and random image to film it. The story behind the video is that the girl is an young artist trying to make it in the music industry, no one believes in her and then she eventually does.

At the beggining of my music video i have added text which shows the name of the artist and the name of the song to make the music video realistic to my audience as this is something you often see when watching a music video. I have also added the mtv sign in the top left corner of the music video to add to making my music video look realistic.

The video below shows i created the reverse clip effect in final cut
I firstly go into modify menu and click speed , i then change the speed of the clip to make it faster and then reverse it so it looks like shes going back in time.





The next clip shows another effect i created in my music video:





To create this effect i firstly had to film a person dancing in front of a green screen.

I then added the colour key effect which would remove all the green from the video. In order to get rid of all the green you had to change the tolerance , feather and thinness of the colour key to make sure it looks as it is below.

After you have changed the tolerance, edge thin and feather it will look like this.











Then i cropped the clip to take out anything outside the black and i put a solid colour layer underneath the clip of the dancer which will make the black colour see through like shown below:















To then make the person completely black i added the colour levels affect to the video of the dancer and changed to tolerance to 0

Front cover

Side of case

Inside front

Inside back (where cd goes)

Back cover

Booklet

Production of CD cover

Production of main task

The video below shows how i have created my magazine advert. I have kept to the same font throughout my project to create recognition to the audience so they assosiate that font with the artist. I have used the outer glow effect on all my text to make it stand out against the black background. I think the santogold title worked well by using the perspective tool to give it a 3d effect as it is the main thing your eye is drawn to when you look at the advert.



Finished Magazine Advert

Here is a sample of the main images i took for my main project





Click here to view my storyboard
Planning the Main Task
For my music video i have chosen the song L.E.S Artistes By Santogold. I think this is a good choice becuase the song it not that well known therefore you can't relate it to a music video thats already been done. The song “is playing on the fact that everyone tries to make things fancy and it’s really pretentious” and “about being accosted by the New York scene and the scenesters and hipsters, who are really not artists and are just pretending to be. They’re all about just being seen.”

As copyright may affect my song choice. Below is a draft email which i could use to ask the record label if it could be possible for me to use thier song in my music video project.

My music video is going to mainly be made up of random image clips as i think it will make the music video more interesting to watch. However i will include some narrative and performance clips. In terms of narrative, with the song being about how some artists arent actually talented and are only famous for their actions and how they look, i have decided that part of my music video will be showing the comparison between these two types of people in the music scene (My ideas are shown in the storyboard below).

Mise en scene will be an important part of filming my music video to make the video realistic to an audience. Therefore costume plays an big part in this, as the genre of the song im doing is electronic/pop, i will try and keep my costumes in theme with this genre. Therefore i will make my characters look retro by including clothes such as high top trainers, crop tops and leather jackets. This will keep in style with the music itself.

Props is also another important factor to help with filming my music video. Some of the props i will need are:

• An ipod




• a green screen




• Musical instruments




• Sunglasses




• A CD case

The locations for my music video will be very important to make my music video realistic. Here is a list of some of the locations and scenes which i might need to use in my music video:

• A music studio (at my school)




• Big Concrete steps




• An avenue with lots of cars (Victoria avenue)




• The beach

For these two i plan to ask the radisson hotel if i can use the hotel for filming my characters walking in and out of the building and the lift inside the front enterance.

• A big building ( To look as if its a recording labels office)




• A lift

The image above is a plan of my cd case. I plan to use a colour scheme throughout the project, the backgrounds will most likely be black as i think that colour works the best as everything stands out against it. I will also keep to a font which i will use for the artist's name. I will also do the same for the magazine advert, which i have made a plan for below:

Research into Target Audience

To get research for a target audience for my music video, i asked a questionnarre to 50 people to gather information on what i should include in my music video.

How Old are you?

• 14-16


• 16-20


• 20-26


• 26-30


• 30 +
  
  

1. Do you often find yourself watching music video's on the music channels?

• Yes/No
  

2. Do you prefer watching(Please tick appropriate):

• Narrative music videos(where the video illustrates the lyrics in a story)


• Performance videos(where the artist is shown performing the song)


• A mix of performance and Narrative


• Random image videos(where the videos dont neccesarily have to fit in with the lyrics of the song but show random clips)

As you can see from my pie chart the people i asked thought that the best types of music videos were ones with a mixture of performance and narrative, the second most popular were random image music videos. I will take this in to consideration when making my music video.

3. What type genre of music do you prefer?

• HipHop/Rap


• Indie


• Rock


• Dance


• Pop


• Drum And Bass

As you can see by the pie chart the most popular genre is pop, which would suggest that music videos for pop songs generally have the biggest target audience. The second most popular genre was hip hop, this suggests that this genre also has a large target audience therefore music videos in this genre would be more popular than others.

4. What type of genre do you think produces the best music videos?

• HipHop/Rap



• Indie



• Rock



• Dance



• Pop



• Drum And Bass
  

As you can see the people i asked think that the genre's that produce the best music videos are hiphop/rap and pop. This is most likely because you can assosiate many more things with these two genres so the music video would be easier to make in terms of thinking of ideas and the use of different locations and props would be easier to decide on.

5. Are your favourite music videos the ones that you find memorable?

• Yes/No
  

By looking at my research into target audience i will be most likely doing a music video with pop as my genre. I will also be aiming my music video at the 14-20 age range as by looking at my research it shows that this is the age group which will most likely be watching music videos. Therefore in my music video i will be using props and locations that appeal and are assossiated with young people. My research also suggests that the most popular type of music video is a mixture of performance and narrative, i will therefore include both of these in my music video. I also like the idea of using random image in my music video as i think it makes the music video more exiting and interesting and gives it repeatability, as a music video has to be able to get repeated and shown several times to an audience.

Kings of leon - Use somebody

This music video is a good example of a performance video. It mostly shows clips of the band performing the song rather than illustrating the meaning of the lyrics. At the beggining of the video i like the effect of the fast motion motorway at night with all the lights going really fast, i think its a good opening to the video. The mixture of different camera shots in the introduction to the song before the lyrics start works well with the rhythm of the song. As soon as the lyrics of the song come in, the mood of the song changes and the transition of fast editing is replaced with the lead singer performing in a close up shot. At 0:57 in the music video, i like the way two different clips are editing to layer each other and the close up of the lead singers eyes combined with the fast motion effect on the motorway gives the idea of him going into thought which works well. The use of black and white on some of the clips in the video add to the mood of the song as it fits in with the sad nature of the lyrics at points in the song.

David Guetta + Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over This music video fits in with the mood and tone of the song. It seems to have a fun/summer theme to it which fits in well with the tone of the song. Bright and busy locations are used to film the video e.g. the park and beach, and summer activities are shown in the video e.g. skateboarding, dancing outside and the the sea, this sets the tone of the music video. The actors and artists in the music video are also wearing contrasting and bright colours which i think is a big factor to this music video as it makes it unboring and creates repeatability. The editing is done well as it jump cuts to many different scenes and clips e.g people dancing or just someone walking along the beach. Its also quite quick editing which makes the video exiting to watch, this also gives the music video repeatabiltity as the audience wouldnt get bored of watching it. I also notice when the mood of the song changes the camera shots will be done in slower motion and then change suddenly to faster clips as the beat of the song beggins to come back in. I think the fast editing fits in well with the fact that the genre of the song is dance and the beat of the song is very quick.

Black Eyed Peas - I gotta feeling
This music video is edited well, in terms of it being in sync with the beat of the song. At the beggining it shows clips of people walking which goes in time with the beat which works well as the lyrics suggest they are getting ready for a night out. As the mood of the song changes, the pace of editing and camera clip will also be changed, when the beat of the song gets faster, the video jumps to random clips of them out in different clubs and different parties. The fact that several random clips are shown makes the video exiting to watch as it seems like there is lots going on. Mise-en-scene is an important part of this music video as they have to wear clothes to make them look like they are going on a night out, this also applys to the props used in the music video e.g. the make up, drinks, glowsticks in the nightclub. The lighting used in the clip must have been a big factor to get the image across to the audience of them being in a nightclub. To create a good music video mise-en-scene would be one of the main factors to consider as it makes the video realistic

This music video for Taylor Swift - You belong with me is a good example of a narrative music video.

It illustrates the song to the audience by filming the story to each section of the song. In this case, the

story of a teenage girl who likes a boy (her next door neighbor) who already has a girlfriend and it turns out he likes her aswell.

I like the idea of using sketch pads to make the two characters communicate to each other through their

windows. The editing has been done in sync with the lyrics of the song which makes it work well.

A good example of this is towards the end of the song where the mood changes and it jumps to a clip

of the girl arriving at her school dance.

Mise-en-scene has also been used to create the image of young high school teenagers and a prom towards the end

of the video. The narrative and style of the video also fits in with the genre of the song which is pop/country.

Album Cover Research

This album cover for Florence and the Machines album called lungs shows one main image of the artist surrounded by flowers and a patterned material. She is also wearing some fake lungs around her neck, this is obviously to fit in with the name of her album - Lungs. I think having one main image as the album cover works becuase it gives the audience one thing to concentrate on. I also think that the album cover looks quite different and wierd but it makes it stand out from others so works well. There is then a main title at the top of the cover in a handwriting type font. The title works well in white on a black background because it draws the audiences attention to the cover.


The back of the album is very plain. It includes a diagram of the lungs with numbers linked to it which appear to be linked to the tracks listed underneath the diagram. The list of tracks is put in horizontal lines, and appear one after the other, wheras usually you may see a vertical list of tracks. The back cover also includes a barcode, the artists website, the record labels website, the name of the record label which made it and when it was made. I think the back of the album works well as its quite unusual but would stand out to the audience looking at it. On the side of the case they have used the same font for the name of the artist and the name of the album which they used on the front cover of the cd, this works well as creates recognition to the auidence.


The pussycat dolls album features many of the codes and coventions a cd front cover has. It seperates the difference between the band name and the album name but changing the font and colour of the two. "The pussycat dolls" title has a gradient effect across it which works well and contrasts against the black background. I think black blackgrounds are often most effective as you can contrast so much against it to make things stand out. The main image of the cover is all the members of the band lined up posing. They have used mise en scene in terms of clothing to get them all within the same style which works. They have used a shiny sticker on the front which says the album is special edition which would attract the audience as they feel they are purchasing something a little bit more than the ordinary album. They have also inlcluded a sticker which says the album includes some hit songs which people would have heard of. By putting this on the front cover of the album this will draw people to it as they might have heard those songs and want to hear more.

The inside cover is quite simple. Where the cd goes they have just put the album name "PCD" in very large font to make it eye catching. It matches the album name which is also on the front cover. Underneath this they have also inluded the bands website. They have put the website name in the same font and colour as they used to do the band name on the front cover. This works well as you then assosiate to two together. They have then included a booklet. the back of the booklet which is on show includes an image of the main singer and then details about a competition to win a hoody that looks like hers. They have put "get nicoles hoody" in a yellow star shape which make it stand out against the other image and works well towards getting the attention of the audience.


The back cover is very simple and follow the same style as the front cover. It inlcludes the same font for the artists and album name. They have used yellow against a black background for the track list which contrasts well and they have used the same font as the band name so it fits in with the style of the album's other covers. They have also included a barcode, who made it, where it was made, the website etc. I think the simple design of this cover works well.

This is the front cover of the album Monkey Business by the Black Eyed Peas. The design of it is quite eye catching as they have cut out the band from a picture and put them in the center of the cover and then used a swirl pattern throughout the cover which all sort of swirl in towards the image of the band. They have used swirls on the text aswell which is in keeping with the style of the cover, and they have kept the artist and album name the same font. The colour scheme works well as by using a dark red background, the yellow writing stands out a lot and i think your eye is mostly drawn to the monkey business text as its quite decorative and the yellow text against black contrasts well.


This is the inside cover of the album. They have kept the design quite simple with a picture of a monkey taking up the circle where the cd will go. This is quite effective as it is a very big image so is definatly eye catching to the audience. They then have a booklet on the left hand side which includes things such as, thanks to all the people that were involved in making it, where it was made, several pictures of the band, dates that they are on tour and other facts about the band. A booklet inside a cd cover is often a code and convention which you would see in such projects. The back cover has a very similar design to the front cover, this works well as the design is consistent throughout the project and they have kept to the same style. They have included the same monkey business album name as the one on the front cover. The track list is centered in the middle of the cover and is just listed vertically without any numbers, i think this looks attractive to the reader as it is then surrounded by the swirl pattern which makes the track list the main focus point of the page. They have also included in the right hand cover "includes a bonus track" this would perhaps be a contributing factor to someone buying the album as you can only recieve the bonus track from this album. Other things included in the back cover are a barcode, the logo of the record labels that produced it, where the album was made, who made it etc.

Having analysed cd covers i have came up with some codes and conventions you can generally see:

• One main image that takes up most of the cover
• Colour scheme kept throughout the project
  
• Eye catching/contrasting colours
• Artist name font is kept the same throughout the project
• Things which will encourage someone to buy it such as "special edition" etc.
• Barcode, website name, record label name, where it was made etc.

This magazine advert is for 'Them crooked vultures album'. It uses an eye catching image as the main point on the advert. Your eye is drawn to it by the effect which creates lines coming out from the middle of the page. The colour scheme used contrasts well, changing the colour of the album name and 'out now' works well because it seperates the two apart. They have including a place where you could buy the album which in this case if amazon.co.uk. They have also included the website name for the band, the record label and where it was made.
This advert is for the prodigy's album 'invaders must die' uses an exiting font to catch the readers eye. They have also kept to the same style font for the album name. By using green against a black background for the album name, it brings it out the text. They have also included comments from news papers and magazines which say things like "red hot" and "no1 album", "special edition" which will attract the reader to buy the album. It also shows what the album cover looks like, this is a good technique to show the reader what the cover looks like when going to purchase it. Below this they have the hmv sign to show where they could then go and buy the album.
This magazine advert for The Clash's new album includes text which says that the album includes limited edition features and a free dvd about how the album was made. This would attract the reader to buy the album. It also includes a place where you can buy the album which is amazon.co.uk. It shows what the cd cover looks like, this makes the cd recognisable to the reader in the case that they do go and buy it. Half the advert is taken up by a drawing which differs from the normal codes and conventions of a album advert so therefore may attract the reader as its not something you always see.

Having analysed magazine adverts i have came up with some codes and conventions:

• An eye catching image or title
• A colour scheme
• Eye catching/contrasting colours
• Quotes that will help sell the album such as "special edition" "no.1 album/single" etc
• Often the logo of a place you can buy the album
• The website name of the artist
  

Codes and Conventions of A Music Video

The codes and conventions of a music video depend on the genre and mood of the song.

• The lyrics of the song influence what is shown in the video and often show a story to what is written in the song.
• The artist is often shown perfoming the song
• The pace of editing fits in with the pace of the music
• The dress codes reflect the mood and genre of the song, for example, if the song was a rock song you would expect them to be wearing clothes which are punky

The music video could be a simple performance video where it just shows the artist/artists performing the song or it could be a narrative video where the video illustrates the meaning of the lyrics for the audience. When making a narrative video, it is important that the story fits in with the mood and genre of the song. Some music videos could also be a mixture of both narrative and performance. Ilustration is what makes the music video realistic and understandable. Some music videos dont nesscessarily have anything to do with the song but work well as they are so creative it keeps the audience involved in the video, i think a good example of this is the music video for Justice - D.A.N.C.E. 

It is important that a music video has repeatability, meaning that the viewer can watch the video several times without getting bored. A good way to do this is to not make the music video too detailed and make the narrative more suggestive and imaginative. When making a performance video, a good way to create repeatability is to use varied camera shots at different angles to make the video more interesting. 

Mise-en-scene is also an important point to consider when creating a music video. This can be affected by the time period of the video and the genre of the song. For example many R'N'B songs are set in glamourous locations surrounded by money, well dressed people, expensive houses etc. Mise-en-scene is important for making the music video realistic and believeable to an audience.