Evaluation Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Throughout the production process we used a number of media technologies to produce all parts of our production work, but also it has played a part in the initial research and planning stages and getting feedback.

According to 'Bell' (2005) As technology becomes a part of everyday life it rules the lives of youth and becomes a massive part of them - they run their lives through technology without even realising it.
This relates to our production in that, because of modern culture, we often forget that we are using new, modern technology or it doesn't register. Obviously the production couldn't have happened without the use of technology but it is an interesting thought that alot of what we did bypassed us and become almost automatic.

The most obvious technology we used was the stop-motion animation. This was the first time I had ever used this method of video production, so a lot of it was experimental and just seeing what worked. I feel it was a very effective use of technology and produced a successful result.
Stop-motion involved the use of The DSLR cameras, the software Premier Pro 2 we also used the lights kits available to us at college which I feel improved the quality of the video as the lighting was kept constant the whole way through.




For the print production I used Photoshop to edit photos taken for our video, but also another separate photo I took especially for the magazine advert. I used the same software to put together the whole CD cover and magazine advert. Photoshop was probably the best software to use for this, in my view, and worked well as I produced a reasonably high quality, finished looking piece.





Other technologies involved in this project included the use of the social networking sites, especially 'Facebook', to get feedback from our target audience. This was a successful and easy way to make people aware of what we were doing and get their views, this is because a lot of people are on Facebook and are interested when informed about new things. By getting feedback it made me aware of what worked and what I could work on - giving the audience the feel of creative input into our piece. This use of media 2.0 benefited me as getting an outside view meant things were noticed that maybe I didn't notice originally.


The Internet helped us alot - as initial research was done almost completely through websites like youtube to see what existing products there were on the market and how we could be different or similar to these. Also image searches into CD covers and magazine adverts were useful.



Our initial ideas and pitch to the class were done on 'PowerPoint'. This made it more visually interesting, therefore more engaging to look at. This was good professional practice of the real media industry as a new product would have to be pitched to the company investing in it - so you would want to make it as exciting as possible.



I think the growth in new media technology has made people more creative. There is a definite link between the two because as media gets more advanced there is more you can do with it - if the possibilities are there then ideas for products will get more and more creative.
I feel that the range of media that was available to us for this product gave me more ideas of what to produce and was a big part of our production work, the fact we had access to the DSLR camera, lights, Premier Pro software etc made it easier to produce a high quality product.

Technological determinism - The fact that stop motion has become much easier to produce recently, and we had the technology needed to achieve it available to us, resulted in us choosing this style. It has become more and more popular in recent years so we decided on this effective filming method.

Evaluation Question 3: What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

To gain audience feedback from our target audience we used a variety of techniques. Putting the video and print work on facebook and asking for friends to comment was one method:





Most comments on Facebook were positive. They all thought that the video and print work targeted the audience clearly - it was clear who it was aimed at and was well made and finished. Most said it would encourage them to buy the song. There were a few small things that were said I could improve on for example the number of fonts on the magazine advert is maybe too busy and I should have stuck to 1.

What I learned from this feedback

Most replies to the questions we asked were of a preferred reading as what they said was what we intended to create - they enjoyed the production and thought it was a fun portrayal of the music.

This an example of a 'preferred reading' as it is exactly the impact we wanted to have on our target audience:



However, some replies were of a negotiated reading as they liked a large majority of it but there were a few things they felt I could have changed to make it better or that they didn't like. For example:




Different audiences use the media to gratify their needs. I feel that that audience, by watching this video, fulfilled their needs of belonging in a certain group. The fact the video relates to other videos and is a bit different and alternative gives the audience a feel of belonging to the 'indie scene'.

Those who know the band knew it was going to be a up-beat, quite light-hearted song so expected a corresponding video - and that's what they got. Those who didn't know the band but were interested in this genre of music expected a conventional indie video and, as i explained in the previous blogs, this is what we achieved but broke conventions slightly.

Another method of gaining feedback was to interview a member of our target audience about our video and print work. We filmed their response:



From these interviews I found out that the products we created attract the target audience and are what we aimed for, generally. The first interview in this video was mainly what we expected, however when asked 'do you think the video accompanies the song', we got a more oppositional reading as he thought that the cartoon, child-like style would suit a 'pop' song better than the indie song we chose. This was an interesting point and made me think about how different people could perceive it in different ways.
He laughed at various points throughout the video and said things like "that's cool!" which suggests that his need for laughter and entertainment were fulfilled.
The print work was well evaluated here and he felt i accomplished everything i intended and there was nothing he would change. This preferred reading was very encouraging.

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

In order to produce a coherent 'marketing package' that worked together well with the actual video, as to attract an audience, I had to create a house-style. This consisted of a 'homemade', 'childlike', 'cartoon' style.
This marketing package, if it existed in the music industry, would be used to advertise the product and attract the audience. By having a continued house style audiences can recognise a product, therefore be more persuaded to buy it.
To produce a coherent marketing package I have tried to keep the same mood and feel through all my production work. Using stills from the video on the CD cover kept a definate house style and audiences can relate. This is probably the easiest way to brand a product and stick to conventions of creating a house style.

These stills, and others, I used for my CD cover front and middle panels. I feel these stills in particular sum up what we were trying to achieve and are a good example of what the video consists of.





I also included the same font in my CD cover and magazine advert, this was another way of continuing the style.


My magazine advert didn't contain stills from the video in order to make it a bit different, but i still had to keep the same mood so it could be related to the video. Using young people dressed in modern clothing represented the target audience for the band, therefore attracting these type of people. Also, I feel the use of the handwritten, brightly coloured letters connotes fun and links to the house-style.

The modern 'indie style' people in the advert are portrayed in a fun way giving the advert a light-hearted feel:



I feel, when planning the print work, I could have spent more time on it and thought it through more thoroughly - maybe before and during making the video not just an after thought.

Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products

Inspiration
The video below was our main inspiration. It shows entropy with the use of stop motion and props rather than people, but the redundancy as it is what you would expect from this band and this genre.
The video fits the song really well and I liked the use of including the lyrics into the video. We used a number of ideas from this in our video.



We really liked the stop-motion in this video and use of 'Lego' as it gives it a child-like feel, also it is a similar genre to ours so would fit with our song.



We used lego in our video as it looks really effective in stop-motion:







The print work for 'indie' style bands follows the same sort of alternative style as the videos do. The element of disjuncture that a lot of them include is a successful way of both portraying the genre and catching the eye of the target audience.
The cartoon style of this album cover/ magazine advert I really liked for these reasons so wanted to include the contrast of bright colours on a white background in mine.


I didn't include this album cover in my original research but found it later on and thought it was a perfect example of the kind of conventional disjuncture that attracts the target audience.



My research into CD covers and magazine adverts made me aware of the conventions that must be followed as to produce a professional, finshed looking piece. For example in most adverts there is an image of the CD cover somewhere on it so the audience are aware of what they're looking for if they want to buy it.
Also general conventions like a barcode, copyright information, images/logos that need to be incorporated onto the CD cover I had to research and include in mine.



Doing research into a number of styles of music has helped me find out what exists in the music industry and what is new and original, or conventional and a rework of old ideas. For example we looked into a number of R&B/Hip hop style videos, CD covers and magazine adverts which almost all have the same house style - flash cars, jewellery, attractive women and men and an obvious massive budget. This kind of house-style attracts a massive mainstream audience so taking this genre into the music industry would mean you'd have to stick to these conventions as to be successful.



This is obviously the complete opposite of what we were aiming for but just shows how genres, generally, have to stick to conventions to be successful.
Challenging forms and conventions can potentially be dangerous in the music industry as if it is too different then the target audience may find it difficult to recognise or relate to, resulting in them not listening to or buying the music. However if conventions are followed too strictly withour deviation then there is a risk of it becoming too generic therefore not remembered or not seen as anything different- just the same as anybody else.

E.G:

- White lies

- Muse

TOO GENERIC??


We did some inital audience research on our target audience to see what was thought of our plans for the video. The responses that we got were that the ideas were what they expected from this genre and would work in the music industry. There was nothing they would really change, this confirmed that our ideas fitted with the genre and attracted the audience we wanted. Due to this we followed our plans - trying not to change anything.
Our initial research came out of an interview with a friend, which we videoed and is included in my blog, but also we set up a group on 'Facebook' explaining our project and we loaded up the storyboard as another strategy in getting initial views.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=174461543734

Print work

This is my final print work.

Magazine advert


CD cover

Print planning

These are some ideas for my magazine advert and CD cover. I have tried to stick to the ‘child-like, home-made’ look of our video to keep a house style. By researching similar products I have noted the conventions and what each piece of print should include, and will incorporate this into mine. For example a barcode and copyright information on the back of the CD cover.
I liked the ‘sketchy’ handwriting style of ‘The Clash’ advert so have tried to use this in my CD cover by including stills from our video which follow this style. I will also try to find a similar font and include the bright colours it uses.