Evaluation question 4: How did you use media technologies in theconstruction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

I had to use many types of media technologies throughout the planning, research and creation of my final product. The media technologies I have used are to achieve the best outcomes I could and make my work look the best it possibly could.

The technologies are:

Canon 70D DSLR camera

64GB SD card

32GB USB stick

My own tripod

Samsung handheld camera

Online:

Prezi.com

Google Chrome

Microsoft Office

YouTube.com

Wyke.ac.uk

Software:

Adobe Photoshop cs6(64bit)

Final Cut Pro

I have used both mine and the colleges own equipment. I used two types in camera to film my music video, although the Samsung video recorder was of an appalling quality which meant I had to re film on  another day. I filmed on a DLSR camera which I thought might be a bit more difficult as it is heavier and harder to control than a small handheld camera but it also gave a much better quality than another camera would have. It also helped me take images from my ancillary texts which was a great help. Final Cut Pro was easy to use and get my head around, it was simple to use to edit my video and add effects to it. 

Evaluation question 3: What have you learned from your audiencefeedback?

When I have shown my music video to other people I have gotten very good reactions. These reactions are ones that I have based upon my second draft of my music video so that I could take them on board and improve upon my video if needed.

Patricia Wilson said "The varying shots really make the video interesting and intriguing to watch. The colours really convey them of a country music video and the costumes are casual and relaxed, making the music video relatable and easy to identify with"

Katy O'Hara said "To the younger girls out there this is an ideal music video for them. It is simple yet interesting enough for them to watch it over and over. It relates to the events happening in their life and the artist is someone for them to look up at"

Owen Wood said "The slow motion really adds a certain edge to this music video, it makes it that little more attractive and it really goes with the music. I would maybe make some of the shot lengths a bit shorter and add some others in towards the end to make it just that little better"

Adam Brocklebank said "The hand held camera look really tops this music video off. It makes it look homely and makes it easier for the viewers to relate to the music video because it feels like it is made from someone's point of view"

Because of these reactions I decided to shorten the shots towards the end to make them fit in better with the music. I have learned that the more the shots go with the beat of the song the more interesting it looks. It makes the music video more dramatic and creates a better vibe.

I have also learned that the handheld camera look makes a video more relatable. 

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

Along with a music video I had to create ancillary texts to promote my music video. I chose to create a digipak and a magazine advert because I felt these were the ones which would promote my album the most and be the easiest to create and distribute.

I feel like my music video and ancillary texts coincide with each other very well. I have ensured that I use images that I have either taken whist filming of that I have taken from my actual music video. My music video has a very old look to it which can't be recreated within photoshop, so to ensure the continuity I have made sure to use the same images with the same effects on so that you can clearly see that they link. I feel like my digipak recreates the country genre very well, the colours and the effects that are on the music video create an antique look which links with country music really well. It is full of beige, brown, and gold colours which I feel are colours that feature a lot within the country genre.

I have made my magazine advert a lot more abstract tan I was planning to. I planned to feature my artist centrally within the image and use text centrally within it too. This didn't go to plan as I figured that I hadn't gotten and decent images of my artist which are central. Because of this I improvised and used a photograph of the church where I had been filming. I used this image because you can very easily make the link that it is the same church, also I felt like it was a powerful image because it is just the door of the church. Because it is the door I feel like it is inviting you in and this links to love very well. I feel like using my magazine advert image as an abstract now has a more powerful message than it would of if I was to have used an image of my artist. I have used the same typography on my magazine advert that I have used on my digipak. This creates a continuity that I wouldn't have if I had used a different type face on each.

The front panel of my digipak is my favourite part of my digipak itself. I like the easy link it creates to one of my scenes within my music video. I also like the framing of the shot. My artist isn't completely central and she is looking off into the distance. It's like she is looking on to the future and trying to find answers. I love the simplicity of the typography within my image, I feel like it is really eye catching and would draw the audience in. The curvature of the word 'TONI' also creates the country feel within my digipak, this gives people an indication as to what sort of songs will feature on the album and will entice them into buying it.

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

The task for my media project was to create a music video and promotional material to go with it. The music video I created was to the song 'love' by Jana Kramer, to create this music video and promotional material I have to research the forms and conventions of existing media. I will be explaining how I used and challenged these.

In Jana Kramer's original music video for the song 'love' it is set in a remote third world village, I didn't see how this linked with the song so I have set my music video in an urban city. With the beat of the song being very slow and sometimes repetitive I felt like I had to incorporate this within my shots. By making some of my shots slow motion, and editing them to the beat of the song, I have recreated what Jana does within her music video just with different scenes. I feel like I have switched up the range of length of my shots enough for my music video to be interesting. For example I have made some of the shots with miming in quite long, and some without miming in short, I feel the changing in length of the shot mimics that of Jana's original music video and keeps the audience interested.

In her own music video she features a lot within it, which made me think that I had to feature my artist a lot in my music video too. I featured my twin in my music video as I felt she was the only person I could really get the end product that I wanted out of it because I could tell her exactly what I wanted and she would do it.

I did feature some of the same conventions that Jana did within her music video, she uses tracking shots from the front and the back quite a lot on her music video and I also incorporated this in my music video.

I feel like this give the audience a perspective from the artist's point of view, you can see them walking and moving forward and I think this will create a sense of inspiration for some viewers. I have also centered my artist within the frame so that she is the main focus like Jana is in hers. 

I have also replicated tracking shots of Jana from the side. 

Although the framing is a little off in my scene this is my version of Jana's side tracking shot, I feel like it is a nice shot to use because it conveys a message that you can't always see where you're going to end up. Because the audience can't see where the artist is heading I think it creates this message very well and again gives inspiration to the viewers for the future.

I have used a cantered angle within my music video which Jana doesn't use.

I used this cantered angle shot because it shows confusion and distorts people's clear view. I feel like this shot really goes well with the message of the song because the subject of the shot is a church which is one of the biggest symbols of love. This is a challenges the conventions of Jana's music video but I feel it is for the better. This shot's message is that it is ok to be confused about love, there is never a clear view ahead and that is alright, love is always there you just haven't found it yet. I feel like a church is a huge convention of not only songs about love but country music itself. 

When it comes to mise en scene although I haven't exactly copied the style of Jana's costume exactly, I have made my artist's costume casual and day to day just like Jana's is within her music video. I couldn't have my artist in a short sleeved top and jeans because unfortunately it was winter when I filmed so I just has her wear jeans, boots and a leather jacket, casual enough for you to wear day to day but also warm enough to film in winter. 

When it comes to my digipak I used shots from my music video to create a link between them. I didn't have a clue how to set my digipak out and what to incorporate into it so I did some research into what existing ones looked like. What I found was that almost always the artist will feature within the digipak and it will incorporate the same theme as the music video does. Because of this I used the scenes within my music video whilst creating my digipak and this created a really nice continuity between the two products.

With my music magazine advert I did the same thing. I made sure I used all of the conventions that you would see within a professional advert for example, the artist's name, the name of the album, the release date and the copyright. etc. By not featuring my artist within my magazine advert I am breaking conventions. I did this because I wanted the church to stand out as the message of love and create a link towards my album. My magazine advert is very simple and only has a few words on it. It is very central which links to Jana's original advert for her album 'love' and the type face I use looks very similar to the one she does too. 

My Music Video.

Magazine advert.

Digipak