Evaluation - Use of new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages

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

A Canon SD was used four times from November the 16^th to the 20^th to be able to gain enough images so to be able to choose which ones to use for the digipack and magazine advert. In using it skills were picked up about how many should be taken to gain a portfolio of photos, especially as often lots of images can be captured and out of a few, there should be one good photograph. This is why there were multiple photos taken for each section of the text, and to be able to gain more hands-on experience when it comes to the production side of work. Once enough were taken, they were uploaded to Photoshop by inserting the SD card into a Mac. This is where the more creative aspect of handling the ancillary products came into play, as although using Photoshop didn’t feel new, this was a lot more technical than having had used it before.

The first job was placing appropriate effects to modify the image so it had the right look for a band that’s meant to perform in the genres of Alternative and Indie Rock. Inner and Outer Glow are two highlights as those two effects, added by selecting a layer style encapsulated the post-production side of the construction stage. This is because these were an influence in knowing what fonts to use as a particular font might appear too dark and in adding that layer style, the title can be easier to read and so forth. A first draft of the digipak was completed by November the 31^st and although everything looked rough, this was an important first step to be able to reflect and look back and see what can be improved.

Final drafts of each of the ancillary products were done by the 16^th of February and despite the long process, the construction stage has been efficient. Efficiency has been achieved as from the start of A2, a lot more knowledge has been gained about Photoshop than I knew previously as all ancillary products were created through this.

Blogger was the programme used the most for A2 Media coursework as it was there for uploading work, doing research for knowing how to create really good products, planning and for doing the evaluation. Part of the research was looking into artists and how they achieved the success they did so that would inform the creative process. Blogger helped as five of them were researched in terms of their attitudes, audience, genres and other information. Researching this was helpful to reach a conclusion about what the demographic was going to be, the attitudes of the band any anything else to create a realistic construction.

The next stage of research was through providing six music video and three magazine advert and digipak analyses. Doing the analyses proved to be an advantage in gaining knowledge not only about bands and how much of their beliefs, demographic and other factors that make their image up are integrated into products such as music videos, but also the forms. When analysing items that come from bands it helps to be able to gain an understanding of where the verisimilitude comes, and how it carries over.

Questionnaires were given out for feedback that would change the composition of the texts. These included questions such as what age range people were in, because that would determine their interests and it informed aspects such as how much do the products follow conventions and what are they trying to connote.

The Killers was chosen to be a band to adapt a song into a music video and the next part of the research stage was target audience. Statistics had to be collected from the Internet about their popularity and these were collected through two sites, Lastfm and MySpace. Information, such as The Killers having over 175 pieces of information shared on Lastfm informed how the music video was going to look and the marketing. An attempt to reach them on their official Facebook page was made, along with sending a message to the forum administrator for their website and an email to the manager. Overall this research helps with learning about multimedia and how that carries over to certain demographics.

Blogger was also instrumental in the planning stage. There’s a post named “Beginning”, where it introduces the content of the blog and has a general overview. A couple of ideas for the video had been thought of, and these were both uploaded to Blogger to help get an idea of the target audience, as by uploading ideas, this would hopefully set a demographic and it did. Filming and when the photos were going to be taken were also written about, as by documenting progress, it helps for keeping track. More ideas also came up as not as much energy was spent on keeping a steady flow, by documenting each stage of the planning.

Finally, when it came to the evaluation, Blogger wasn’t used as much apart from a couple of posts that have links to Prezi powerpoints evaluating questionnaire results. It’s because it felt when it comes to discussing anything ranging from the ideology to what one of the texts is trying to connote, a more traditional format should be used. Word is used for many types of documents, including scripts and therefore feels as if Word is natural for writing an evaluation. Other technologies have been used however for the multimedia evaluations, including a focus group interview, giving feedback about the texts. This was crucial because in being able to gauge how the target demographic is responding live, it’s a better platform to gain feedback.

To discuss an example, one of them is with the front cover, where raindrops where placed on the image and through using Inner and Outer Glow, it gave a texture to the raindrops that helped in emphasising the themes. Shooting the music video with a Panasonic HD was more challenging as although the tripod is there to steady the camera and that helps the process become more efficient, it’s still difficult to micromanage everything. From November the 16^th to December the 1^st the same camera was used and it helped with learning what a shooting process is, how time should be used and other lessons. Once the footage had been shot, it had to be captured on Final Cut Express. This wasn’t always the fastest process as the tape had to be rewound and there was waiting until it was captured and upload. Ultimately it’s an expression of how it’s tough in the media industry when it comes to the physical side of things though.  Sometimes a member of staff was there to provide help with shooting and overall there was a lot learned about how to operate a video camera. Along with this was learning how to take advantage of a tripod and about features on a still camera such as the shutter speed.

Final Cut has been used to edit the music video, and it was vital for ensuring it had the appearance of a professional music video. Part of this was selecting the right effects, such as adding glows that adds a saturated appearance and cropping the footage so the video fit together. Once the images were taken they were uploaded to Photoshop, where the process began to create the magazine advert and the front and back covers for the digipack, in addition to the inside along with the CD and DVD. It was an interesting learning process as Photoshop was used in the first year, as well as on previous courses so this was a refresher and new skills were picked up, such as adjusting the colour balance so the colours are kept in balance and that helped in giving the images a magical quality.

The official Facebook fan page of The Killers was used in an attempt to find out about audience research, but the attempt was unsuccessful in trying to contact them. Blogger has been very useful as at the end of a day it’s a diary and diaries normally have daily entries in them, so this was a useful motivation to constantly update the work. It developed writing skills also as through the analyses, analysing skills have developed. It’s an inspiring way to display work as it’s a blogging programme so there’s a community sensitivity to everyone uploading work. Feedback has been received by others viewing my blog so that was also useful. Work was partially hindered with the presence of others, uploading work in one space at times however. This is as there was increased pressure and organisation isn’t one of my strongest points so it was difficult at times to keep track of work, and refine them to an appropriate level.

Evaluation - What has been learnt from audience feedback?

What have your learned from your audience feedback?

The demographic is people aged sixteen to twenty five and while there wasn’t a set gender in mind, it leans more towards males as they dominate the texts. Ideology that was thought about through the items, both creative and marketing was that everyone’s equal and to ensure this, there was an attempt to target both genders. Discussing the digipak, there was a certain colour design employed across the production. By doing this hopefully it ensures the audience thinks of it as representing iconography from alternative and indie rock. These are both wide ranging genres so by not having too many colours and selecting ones that are favoured by both genders, for example green and white, the production has a universal ideology behind it.

There are similarities with the magazine advert in that most of the imagery carries over from the front cover, but different fonts appear along with an image of Peter dominating the advert. By having the main artist take over, the versimilitude increases and appeals to that age range, along with both genders. This is true as through the mise-en-scene is represented as someone down to earth with a nifty jacket and in appearing young, can cross over to the female audience.

There wasn’t a specific gender in mind, but the products lean more towards males, as there’s a dominant male presence. An example of attempting to target the age range is through bright, expressive images that convey a variety of moods so it’s up to the audience what they want to think and by expressive images, this would attract a lot of people.

Designing the front cover took a lot of time as there had to be an appropiate balance between having it look expressive, but also making sure the elements fitted with the rest of the digipak. This is an example of the process for designing the entire digipak as there had to be a sense of going after the target, while designing all the pieces to make sure it could potentially go after other audiences. The aesthetic of the advert has a similar appearance to the digipak as a result, because there had to be a harmony, from the products to the marketing.  

Based on the feedback given by a focus group, the strongest element about the music video is the colours it employs, as that gives a good indication of what the text is attempting to represent. The weakest aspect is there are short takes that appear at random points and that disrupts the video. In terms of what the focus group would change, this included giving clarity to the narrative and not repeating certain shots, this being valuable advice as it shows some pick-ups might need to be done.

Moving onto the print productions, with the digipak a lot of praise was given towards the colours again. Evidence therefore shows the ideology of music texts has been used creatively in these products, as they represent the complexity of alternative and indie rock. They appeared to be an agreement however that some of the text was hard to read, particularly when it came to the front cover. This ties into separate feedback that was given about there being too many colours, perhaps suggesting the style of the mise-en-scene needs to be toned down. That is what the group appeared to agree needed to be adjusted, so the style doesn’t stand out too much.

Positive feedback about the magazine advert included how the main font is styled, although that also ties into the main part of the negative feedback. This was how the font of the front cover appears in the magazine advert, as the representation doesn’t necessarily go well with the rest of the advert. A duplicate of the background from the front cover has been placed in the background of the advert, so perhaps this is a point about how the content needs to be re-arranged.

According to the focus group who also took questionnaires that were given, it would appear they’d expect to see and buy a music video online. This fits as the convergence of online technology is expanding, meaning there are more platforms to access media, especially suitable with the target demographic of people aged sixteen to twenty five. The same is for the digipak, where the positioning of this text online opens the audience up beyond niche marketing further. 

Regarding magazine adverts, the target audience went for television, indicating magazine advertising should move beyond being in magazines, and take advantage of convergence, as the positioning has change dramatically in the past few years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fjHrCm8uUk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvC9tCJgIa4

Evaluation - How effective is the combination of main product and ancilliary texts?

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

All the texts combine as they have a theme of sombre subject matter. When it comes to the music video this occurs because of the components used, such as how it crosscuts between Pete supposedly reflecting on an experience in a studio, and to these events. The front, back, inside and CD and DVD of the digipack all have images that symbolise beauty, but have elements that can contradict this. The front cover has font that’s modelled after graffiti and the text is reflective of the complexity, especially the album name that appears to take away any beauty the viewer might be thinking of.

Referring to the back, that is the same image but has more of a red slant, indicating matters have deepened. Tracks/videos that are listed have a similar function to the text on the front cover. “FromStreetArt” is used again and although the font is expressive, that expressiveness is almost taken away as the titles range from “Old Friends” to “Grab Life By The Ropes”, again indicating a sombre tone. With the inside, again that features the same image but half is cropped and has been copied and pasted only flipped. The CD and DVD have the raindrops, magazine advert the front cover and part of the music video was shot in the same location. It shows this being another example of the texts combining as all of them feature the same location, having a theme of unity in terms of how messages are put across, including the complexity of life.

As mentioned earlier, “FromStreetArt” and “Hand TypeWriter” are the two main fonts that have been used. This was intended to expand on the theme of unity, as both of the fonts are expressive and speak towards the target audience because of the representation, as it can be argued they showcase the age range. Expanding on this, the two fonts work across the texts by balancing the message of how there can be hope and sometimes contradicting this message, showing the idealism of people in the range of sixteen to twenty five as they’re still trying to find out who they are.

Target audience remains the same across the texts, carrying an idea of unity as for instance in the music video, a location has the same representation as it did across the other texts. The similarity is there are no effects added that hide the grass. Therefore this location is represented as somewhere people attempt to resolve issues, the attitude being plains are limitless so there’s space for expression.

One of the main differences is because the main text is a music video, that’s able to represent the attitudes and values of the band more in-depth. Several flashbacks are used, arguing about what the value is in reflecting on the past and whether it’s worth searching for vengeance whereas in the ancillary products, there are hints of the themes. The magazine advert is the only text that explicitly features intertextuality, where an image of the front cover appears.

More of the layout is composed around the image of Peter and this asserts his dominance, a haunted expression featuring on his face, which partly reflects an expression he sometimes uses in the video, another example of intertextuality. The ideology of alternative and indie rock is shown uniquely across all texts, an instance being the inside of the digipak. A single image reflects on itself, reflecting an awareness of being trapped and the two genres have roots in underground sensibilities. That is a single example of how each aspect combines to present the verisimilitude of the genres and how it manifests across different areas.

To summarise, the audience can view one text and perceive similarities between the others, working to link themes and messages and the products have done this accordingly. It’s achieved as through similarities including images, and communicating the same messages, there’s no confusion about the demographic. Although there are differences in each text, they have similarities in the mode of address.

By using the same design elements repeated in different ways throughout all the texts a theme is created, which means that if a consumer has seen one element that was part of the composition in one of the previous texts, they will recognise the text if they see another because of the familiar elements that make up the representation, such as images and fonts.  

Similar images are seen for instance Pete has a haunted look across the ancillary products, that carries over to the music video and it means the audience feels they can relate. This is why they unite over the music video, magazine advert and digipak as everyone can see something in them that carries over.

It testifies to the genres of alternative and indie rock which also spread across, as it proves although there are certain boundaries within them as they both share the name “rock”, there’s potential for disteritfication and they’re two genres where any message can be expressed. At the end of the day the themes add up to contradictions, because when complexity occurs everything often contradicts each other and this is why the combination of the main product and ancillary texts is effective.

The language of the digipack title, “On The Edge”, suggests themes that aren’t related to beauty, possibly including the effects that betrayal has and other themes as it’s indicative of sombre subject matter that may be affecting the mind. Alternative and indie rock, the two genres of the digipack, both have underground sensibilities and cover a variety of sounds, so they’re able to address these themes. The vocabulary and language used has been kept to a minimum as a result, being in spirit of the underground appeal of those two genres. The limited range of the vocabulary and language has provided incentive to a specific audience that this is a digipack they’ll take pleasure in.

Many of the titles found on the back cover for the tracks and videos, add to further evidence the digipack is largely centred on themes relating to the mind, so adding to the reasons why there’s a theme of contradictions. It’s as if the fonts and images are meant to combine to represent the complexity as they stand out and are eye-catching, but the themes contradict the lightness that’s expressed by the colour and font. The fonts and images function in being able to appeal to the target audience range of sixteen-twenty five as they’re striking enough to attract that range, FromStreetArt and Hand TypeWriter, being the two main fonts, do this well as they have a trendy appearance. The images are remarkable enough to attract anyone especially given how they have ambiguous meanings, this appealing more towards the older range.

The magazine advert has the theme of contradictions because the main artist, Pete looks focused and is surrounded by a dark background. To counter this bright colours are spread across the fonts and on an image of the digipack front cover.

Another comparison that can be made is the images connect across the still products and the music video is partly set in the location where these images were taken. There’s a theme of unity that’s borne out of this, where all the products act in the manner of a mosaic because the audience can see the continuity. Further comparisons which can be made are the consistent use of fonts. This applies for the digipack and magazine advert, the fonts being Codygraff and Hand TypeWriter that stand out and communicate the themes well.

Evaluation - In What ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions?

A2 Productions - Evaluation

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

Product: Music video using the “Mr Brightside” track by The Killers.

One of the ways in which the music video uses forms and conventions is the narrative, being a love triangle that follows in the footsteps of videos such as “Mr Brightside”. Discontinuity editing is used for flashbacks and develops conventions of music videos, showing how mode of address is being used to engage the audience in a particular way. It’s accomplished because especially here, they’re expected to be an active audience by following a narrative that’s suggestive and put the pieces together.

The genres are alternative and indie rock within the context of this video, it makes sense as the way The media language used has an experimental perception to the text. As referred to the use of discontinuity editing isn’t an original concept within music videos, but is appropriate keeping in line with the values of the genres. One of the key flourishes of these two is an underground style as it reflects the attitude that within alternative and indie rock, there doesn’t have to be a mainstream style. Another example of how that’s shown is largely there’s natural lighting, so the mise-en-scene has little use of low or high-key lighting and adds realism. Mise-en-scene extends to the positioning, costumes and other elements as it combines to show a complete representation of the characters not having traditional beliefs, as almost nothing is compromised to display the verisimilitude as realistic in the mode of address of a music video.

Megan is the only female to make an appearance in this video and she conforms to a stereotype as she dresses to appear pretty, has make-up and the message is trying to connote that she’s a victim. This falls into conventions as females are stereotypically shown as damsels in distress, although it also develops conventions here because Megan also stands up for what she believes in by attempting to stop the quarrel between Peter and Will. The majority of music videos attempt to exaggerate the delivery to please certain audiences. Only part of this is set in a studio, contradicting the realism as well although what’s set in the studio implies as Peter is doing the song to put the situation behind him.

The target audience isn’t niche as the age range is sixteen to twenty five and there’s a sense the ideology is attempting to tell all audiences about the danger of betrayal, so here again conventions are developed.

Product: Digipack named “On The Edge” by Mr Brightside, a made-up band

It uses, develops and challenges conventions in a number of ways. To give an example the representation is quite stylised and clashes with the music video. It’s intended to subvert the ideology of the main product and evoke multiple responses, as the intention is to please the target audience but also reflect the complexity of what occurs in love triangles. The image for the front cover is a flower surrounded by grass and raindrops exaggerated by high-key lighting. Rain is a piece of iconography that evokes certain feelings but as the representation is subverted, it adjusts the ideology to something where there’s a range of emotions. In addition they connote the genres of the album by adjusting the ideology to something that covers a broader range of emotions.

Regarding the titles there are two main types of font: FromStreetArt and Hand TypeWriter. Conventions are developed as FromStreetArt presents a graffiti image, denoting the album as appealing to a younger audience although the titles indicate otherwise, ranging from the album title “On The Edge” to track/video titles including “Always Look On The Brightside Of Life”. That conforms to conventions of back covers as it lists the tracks/videos and helps the overall presentation of the digipak appear clean. This is as digipaks have a structured mode of address, where it ranges from the cover giving an introduction to the style, explaining why the cover is quite stylised to the CD and DVD itself that traditionally includes a single image, along with the album and band titles. The digipak can again been seen as following the tradition of media language as this is what the CD and DVD feature.

Colour design also follows a structure as to give an example, similar colours are used from the front to back cover. Here conventions are challenged as although there are similarities in terms of there being similar fonts and the image is the same, the colour used for the main image is different. Purple spreads so as well as doing this to appeal to the target demographic, the change in colour is attempting to connote a change in mood, reflecting the complexity hinted at by the titles. These are placed close to the top on the front, while the content listed on the back is laid in the top right and so forth. As convention doesn’t especially change, this shows an attempt to arrange the composition so audiences can spot the important information, including the tracks/videos.

To summarise the mise-en-scene almost everything is heightened, this having been referenced earlier. The location has the appearance of having gone through some big modification in post-production, and shows the exaggeration that’s often displayed within the genres of alternative and indie rock.

FromStreetArt has a graffiti look and is a metaphor for alternative and indie rock’s roots in an underground style, as well as setting up the idea the songs and videos that are featured are going to feature complex themes. “On The Edge” is the title of the album and even though it appears exaggerated, the words suggest the content could be edgy and subverts expectations, as the idea of contradictions is developed. The band’s name, “Mr Brightside” is placed below the album title, challenging what most covers would do. This was done to place emphasis on the meaning of the album however. As a result of being placed near the top it acts as an introduction and the image dominates the cover, continuing the tradition of what album covers do but as the raindrops dominate, it contradicts any optimism as it suggests people can’t escape the complexity of life. This challenges conventions.

Product: Magazine Advert

There’s a continuation of what media language is used for in the advert as there are links to the digipak. This is because the framing of the background uses the image of the front cover, an image of Peter is lifted from the CD and DVD and there’s a screenshot of the front positioned just below his neck. What it does is state the composition has been arranged so the style is linked and highlights intertextuality very well. In relation to the rest of the content, this is composed of promoting the digipak edition, as well as being able to have a free poster if pre-ordered at Amazon. Having a poster available with pre-ordering uses the ideology of adverts, as companies usually compete to offer incentive if the product is ordered from their retailer. A full-page magazine advert is around A4 size, depending on where the advert is placed so it uses convention and states the mode of address clearly, this being where the audience is directly addressed especially as Peter looks directly ahead. The positioning of him stands out as Peter dominates most of the advert; clearly stating he is the main artist.

Colour design is simple, the main use being yellow as it’s the most prominent and this is to attract the age range of sixteen to twenty-five. The other dominant colour is purple and both of these address the verisimilitude of magazine adverts, being the media language of magazine adverts is that promotion is the component that comes first and attractive colours are used. Mise-en-scene is minimal as the content is small, although there’s an association with all the texts as the location features in all of them as does the jacket that Peter wears. Overall the representation is simple but effective as the minimal content that’s shown is designed to giver Peter a star image. It contradicts what all the products are trying to communicate as the message is intend to imply the ramifications of an event, but the haunted look that’s given also keeps it intact.

Concluding the question all the texts use, develop and challenge forms and conventions by varying means. More conventions are used and the themes are intact so the target demographic is targeted effectively.   

It’s conventional for there to be similarities in style as the purpose is to promote the album, and this ties into why performers are featured in adverts. This is as they have an important role in the album so for the purposes of promotion, they need to be the people selling the album and depending on their star image, this can enhance it.

Pete takes up a large portion of the album so the layout is structured around him, meaning this is continuing a tradition. The size fits around his body so it’s creating an immersive advert, developing conventions. Placed at the top is the magazine title “Musicall”, along with introducing themselves for promoting a digipak edition of the album. Magazine titles are known for being placed at the top to promote themselves and balance the credit that’s given, so the advert continues another tradition.

A puff is the next item to appear, giving a pre-order link and there’s already a linking factor to the text at the top, as the circle’s yellow and the text stands out, being in the colour black. Conventions are used here as the puff has a pre-order link and uses a particular style to help it stand out. Placed just above the middle of Pete is an image of the front cover, both using and challenging the purpose of magazine adverts as this takes promotion further, but pushes the style as the edges and lines have been rubbed out.

This means the images transmit a variety of feelings, such as optimism but the raindrops also transmit a feeling of sadness. Overall the representation conveys passion as there’s more than one theme, especially in the titles as these suggest a range of themes across the songs and videos. One of them is “Always Look On The Brightside Of Life”. Conventions are developed as a result because messages contradict each other. They’re developed more as the font varies. FromStreetArt is an example that has a graffiti aesthetic, but there’s also font that appears professional, an example being StaticBold and one of the uses of FromStreetArt is for the tracks and videos, helping them to stand out. The variation is reminiscent of how there’s no set style in Alternative or Indie Rock, using conventions.

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