A2 Media, Advanced Portfolio Evaluation:

Out of the choice of products we could create I decided to pick the task of making my own music video. I wanted to do this as I believed that it would challenge me in many ways and I would be able clearly interpret my own thoughts and opinions on screen of a particular piece of music. In order to create a successful and appropriate music video I looked at all kinds and genres of music videos to make a balanced decision of which type of video it is that I wanted to create, this research and planning can be shown on my blog post ‘Music Video Conventions’(06-08-2012). I made the decision to look further into the genres of pop, alternative rock, RnB and country because they all differentiate from each other and therefore the conventions and narratives ect. In the music videos will all have a clear divide between them- making it easier for me to decide which style of video it is that I wanted to create. Ultimately I decided to pick the alternative rock genre to choose a song from and create my music video and ancillary texts for. My reasons for doing this were that it is a genre of music that I particularly enjoy and therefore I knew I would have been able to throw myself into the task, a second reason being that I liked the sound of alternative rock music video conventions. A band that I enjoy from the alternative rock genre is Enter Shikari, and I therefore decided to pick one of their songs (Constellations) off their latest album (A Flash Flood of Colour) to create a music video for. I decided that in order to be able to understand alternative rock music videos I would analyse and create a storyboard for alternative rock band ‘Boys Like Girls’ music video – ‘Thunder.’ This can be shown on my blog posts on the 7^th August 2012 and my main reason for doing this was so that I could see examples of shot speeds, camera angles and choice of casting in the video to use as a base of what my video would be. I also discuss conventions of an alternative rock video more generally in my blog post ‘Conventions of Existing Videos’ uploaded on 23^rd August 2012 which was when I researched into what narrative styles I should approach creating my video for Enter Shikari – Constellations. I discovered that because Enter Shikari are an Alternative band, but Constellations is the slowest track from the album with a more acoustic and calm feel to it, as opposed to the upbeat digital effects and strong beats used on the other tracks on the album, I had the freedom to play around with my own ideas for this video because Enter Shikari had already gone against the genre that they fit into in creating this track on a heavy electro, alternative rock record. 
          As discussed in my ‘Conventions of Existing Alternative Music Video’s’ post, I wanted to keep my video realistic in the sense that it would feature real people expressing their narrative through actions fitting to some of the lyrics of the song- which have been highlighted in my blog post ‘Enter Shikari – Constellations Lyrics’ and I did this so that I could always go back to the themes of love, death and feeling lost throughout the narrative of my video. Blog post ‘Bands/Musicians of a Similar Genre’ shows videos that gave me inspiration for the male searching for his female love interest narrative that is shown throughout my video and I used these video’s to eclectically borrow ideas of conventions that I should follow during the production of my video in order to target it at the correct audience. Understanding alternative rock genre conventions was also equally as important when producing my ancillary texts as I had to ensure that they would catch the eye of my target audience, and draw them into wanting to read the information produced to them on the advert as opposed to just flicking past it in a magazine such as NME or Kerrang that they might purchase. Research to help me ensure that my target audience would pay attention and ultimately be attracted into looking at my magazine advert or digipack is shown in my blog post ‘Target Audience Looks’(07-11-2012), ‘Ancillary Text Ideas’(17-12-2010) and also in my Prezi presentation that I created to help me plan how to create a successful ancillary text in blog post ‘Mind map of Ancillary Text Ideas’ which I created on the 3^rd January 2013.
          In looking back at my video in comparison to other video’s within the same genre that I posted on my blog ‘Bands/Musicians of a similar genre (15-8-2012) I can compare and contrast different media conventions that I have used with what other music video’s have used.

The images above show how both my video and alternative rock band We Are The Ocean contain similar performance shots within them. Both shots show a medium close up with the artist miming in the centre of the shot to the song. This is a convention that I wanted to incorporate into my video as I believe that the lyrics within my song are very important to the narrative, therefore having a good actor who can convey the emotions of the song to the camera was very important to me. I picked Charlie to do this part of my video as he is a performing arts student at Wyke College and I know that he would be able to portray emotions easily through miming and facial expression. When the editing process began I decided to contrast the 2 shots so that one is slightly slower then the actual lyrics of the song and one is faster. This highlights the important theme of confusion, feeling lost and also the ‘ghostly’ characters, Charlie, and Lucy within my video.

This shot shows on the left an ‘Alexisonfire’ music video, set in a common supermarket. I decided that I also wanted to use realism within my video so that my audience could build a stronger emotional bond between my character and his struggles due to it being in a realistic setting such as a train station shown in the image on the right taken from my video. In the distance you can also see a man around the age of 20, I picked a male character for my video also as it relates back to who I am targeting this video at. I use Lucy briefly as the main character (Joe’s) late girlfriend, as I believe that my secondary target audience would be the males who enjoy alternative rocks’ girlfriends.

This image shows Bring Me The Horizons digipack for ‘There is a Hell Believe Me I’ve Seen It’. The image shows 2 personality’s/characters becoming one which is a theme similar to what I have used- as Charlie is symbolic of the voie of reasoning trying to guide Joe- the main character into making the right decision, and is therefore dressed in a red coverage as he is trying to warn him of the upcoming danger. However character 2, Lucy is the ‘evil’ force trying to persuade Joe to kill himself, and at first when we see her she is dressed in red o symbolise the fact that Joe is in love with her and she is symbolic of death also, but then the second time we see her in shot she is wearing a white t-shirt with a cross around her neck to show that she has taken Joe over to her side in death, and is now symbolic of an angel in the shot as he is reunited with the girl that he loves once more. My digipack shows 3 different images of Joe. One regular, one in red to symbolise the love, danger and death themes, and one in grey to symbolise the themes of being lost and confused- and the feeling of emptiness Joe experiences since his girlfriend left him when she died- my advert can be seen in the image below to compare the conventions of 2 characters/emotions/themes joining together to become one, which also links to the ideas just discussed within my video.

 

For my ancillary texts I had the choice of picking 2 out of the 3 options which were:
-A webpage for the band
-An advert for the album
-A 6 panel Digipack

I decided to pick the 6 panel digipack and the advertisement as I believe that my target audience are not the type to research a band or be particularly interested in finding out more about them via a webpage- therefore I felt as though the options I chose were more appropriate.
I have linked my three texts together through use of character, costume, house style and colour theme as discussed in my GoAnimate below- and also shown in the annotated images:

 

 

Media Text Links by abigailhastings on GoAnimate

Animated Presentations

 

 The image displays the shared elements that link the 3 texts together and therefore this has the effect on the audience that if they see the advertisement in the paper they’ll know exactly the style of digipack they’re looking for in a record shop- or if they see the music video on telly and like the song and then see the digipack in stores then they will hopefully of already established that the video is a track off that album before looking at the track list on the back of the digipack cover.

I handed out some feedback sheets to fellow pupils at my college as I know that they are within my target age rage. I have kept the feedback anonymous but I believe that questions such as gender, age and favourite music genre are important so that I can establish whether or not my texts are appropriate for the alternative rock audience I am trying to target. The image below displays several of the feedback sheets that I received back from students with a range of responses that I believe I can use as constructive criticism to understand what I could of done more effectively.

 

This feedback covers such points as actors need to remain more focused, this is a point where i can empathise with the audience point of view- however this is something at points i asked cast members to do, for example in the graveyard scene when joe is visiting Lucys' gravestone he smiles before bending down as he is reminiscing of the good times he's had with her, this is then backed up with joe going on to then getting his phone out and looking at images of them 2 together at happier times in their life. Another point that this can also be picked out is when joe has woken up by the trees and taken an overdose only to wake up and see Lucy. Lucy then smiles/laughs as she is happy and relieved that Joe has now joined her and they are reuinited once more. Because audience members have pointed this out i need to ensure that my actors are always portraying emotions correctly and in the most convincing way possible throughout the whole of my video to make sure the audience focus isnt broken and it is a convincing performance throughout. There was mixed reviews about the narrative sequences and the fast pace montage sequence in the middle of the video as the music picks up. I believe that this is souly down to personal opinion regardless of target audience or not, as i asked a wide range of people for feedback and recieved different opinions each time, that is the main reason why i used both structures within my video- so that hopefully everybody within my target audience range will at least enjoy one aspect of the video, whether it is the narrative based around the ideas of Joe looking to find ways to get to his girlfriend, or the jump shot, montage section in the fields that i shot after recieving verbal audience feedback from my media teacher Tim.

My audience feedback has taught me that in creating two ancillary texts that are bright and eye catching they will draw most people of a variety of target groups to look at them and pay attention to them regardless if they enjoy this genre of music or not. This is effective as it means that it may increase the rate of sales my digipack has or even the amount of views on youtube that my music video gets, therefore promoting my artist in the most positive way possible.

Lastly a comment that i recieved from my audience feedback that i found was interesting was that one of the audience members didnt realise that Joe had overdosed and died at the end of the video. This has taught me that different audience members may interpret different things from my video therefore if a point is key to the narrative- such as Lucy being dead, and Joe overdosing at the end of the video to join her at the end in a life after death then i need to either make it more clear, or establish an alternate narrative where the audience can make an assumption based on what they have seen to create their own narrative.

 

I have used all different media technologies to help me with the production of my media texts. Programmes such as: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier Pro, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Word, Blogger.com, GoAnimate.com, Prezi.com, Google.com and also the HD handheld memory card video recorder that I used for still images and my video shots within my video.

These programmes helped me to produce and present my work throughout the whole process and all of the internet sites were accessible anywhere with an online connection which meant I could continue updating and constructing my work at most times. Sites such as Prezi and GoAnimate were particularly helpful to me as I believe in using them it was easier to get my points across in a more pleasing way for the audience- also I enjoy doing mind maps (which I did on prezi) as they help link many ideas together and ultimately create something new, which is something that I saw happen, and have commented on further into my blog. I have used many of the sites and programmes before , however I was completely new to creating a video on Adobe Premier Pro- which meant I had to use Google and other peoples comments to help me improve my knowledge of how to edit or manipulate certain shots in the way I found relevant to my video. I am particularly proud of the fact that I have never used this programme before as I managed to successfully create a professional looking video in looking at my audience comments, when it was my first try ever using the software.

Once I had got past the issue of having to research and Google all the tools available on Premier Pro I began to upload my clips from different shoots to create a draft of a basic outline of how I wanted my video to be. I did this in December when I only had the shots of the mime sequences used in my video- so I uploaded them and began placing them onto the timeline for my video. In doing this I realised how precise the programme was and I saw that I could cut the shots down to the necessary millisecond to make sure that it fit at the time I wanted it to in the music. The biggest downfall of this software however was that I was limited to only doing my work on the one editing suite- which meant as I got further on into the process, other people were often on the edit suite that I needed to be on to complete my work and I found this to be quite an obstacle when it came to meeting deadlines or producing high quality work in shorter amounts of time. Because my work could only be on one editing suite, it also meant that I couldn’t access it from home which is something I would of liked to of done as I believe that if this would of been possible I would of refined more sections and spent more time perfecting it rather than having to rush in between lessons, during dinner or after college- as long as there wasn’t already somebody using the editing suite needed.

I used programmes such as Microsoft word and Microsoft publisher to type up blog post of research or work that I had done to put onto my blogger.com media page. I used word instead of just typing it up on blogger itself because on word I can spell check and ensure that I’m making sense to my audience looking at my more. Publisher helped more when I was doing my ancillary texts – particularly the advert as I could try out different templates and styles, which is something I couldn’t do on photoshop as I don’t have software on my computer at home – I can only access it from college.

Blogger.com is the site that I have used to build up my A2 Media Portfolio and is a site that is open to the public and therefore means that my work can be examined. I used blogger in my AS media coursework and therefore I knew how to use it easily and productively and found it very handy resource to be help me view and update my posts in chronological order to see the progression that I have made throughout this whole process. I have had difficulties with blogger however such as how to place an image in a blog post where I want it- which I have overcome through the use of google searches, as can be seen at the start of this evaluation but aside from that it is a very easy site to work with and has helped me to display my work in a way that I am proud of.

I uploaded all my drafts, my timelapse shot and also my final music video onto my google page. This is something I have never done before- however I have always used youtube to find new music and watch new video’s therefore I found it quite easy to figure out. A main problem with youtube however is that if they believe that a video has gone against copyright laws then they will remove the video- which is something that they did with my 3 draft videos that I put up after completing them. I re-uploaded them however recently under a different name that didn’t include the artist and song title and therefore they haven’t been removed as of yet. I have declared in the additional comments box under my main /final video on youtube that no copyright fragment is intended and that my media video is for educational purposes which will hopefully overcome the obstacle of youtube removing it at any point.

Overall, in conclusion to this whole project I believe that I have coped with meeting and using new technology well and thoughrilly to produce a high standard piece of work.
            I have found many aspects extremely challenging, even simple things that I thought would be easy such as planning when my actors would be free to film at a time when I could book a camera- to making sure that filming conditions and weather where appropriate for the shots, which was difficult suring winter time when I wanted to film in the sun and all we was getting was early sunsets at night and dull rainy/snowy days.
            I’m happy with my decision to work alone during this process as now that it has come to the end I can see that all the hard work and spare time that I have filled with updating my blog or creating new ideas for my ancillary texts has payed off and it gives me a sense of pride that it is all due to the effort that I have put in on my own.
            If I could go back and alter anything throughout this whole process it would be that I would really aim to meet deadlines by creating a plan or a diary for myself to ensure that I didn’t have to stress and panic at getting work in at last minute- even though I believe I did well at managing 4 college subjects at A Level, a part time job outside of college,driving lessons and socialising with family and friends at a high standard, there is still room for improvement there.
            One thing that I am most proud of within this whole process is that my video is unique and although it has similar conventions of other video’s within the alternative rock genre- nobody in the world has created the same video as me, which makes me extremely proud of the time and effort I have put into creating a high standard piece of work alongside the 2 ancillary texts that I also produced on my own.

WordCount: 3,547

 

 

 

Purchasing My Album:

In a world of ever adapting media it is important to ensure that a modern audience can access my album as easily as possible in order to ensure the most sales. Through various research i have found out that it is on iTunes where artists now get their most reckognition- through the growth in popularity of the 'itunes charts' where atrists compete each week to hit the number 1 spot of most downloads to be announced at 7pm on a Sunday, and therefore being crowned the UK's number 1 artist of that week.

 

This image shows how i will sell my single, constellations and also Kari's debut album Constellations on the itunes site. Itunes can also be accessed through iphone smartphones, as can youtube where my video has being published- making it easier to access the music that i have produced when on the go.

 

 

Complete Music Video: 'Kari - Constellations'

Convention Comparisons of Alternative Rock Texts:

 This image shows the comparison of conventions used between my ancillary texts and the ones that have been used on alternative rock/rock single 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' by Green Day.
This post shows how i have stuck to conventions of a typical alternative rock advert and digipack but put my own twist on it to fit the style of my artist and the themes of which i have addressed in my video because of the lyrics of the song- but still keeping conventions the same in order to ensure that my target audience are aware that if they like albums such as Green Day then they will be more attracted into wanting to purchase my album.

cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);

magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package)

Draft 3:

Draft 3 of my video shows that i have the basic narrative of my video now complete, however i still have issues with some of the shot lengths - as in looking at other rock alternative videos there are often a lot of fast pace shots rather then few longer ones. Now that i have finished shooting however i can ensure to focus on the editing process and adding approprate effects where nescessary.
I asked for feedback off my subject teacher Tim Anderson, and after watching it i was advised to add a montage sequence to contrast against the strong narrative scenes. Another comment that was suggested to me was to ensure that if i need to have a longer shot add a 'jump cut' effect, this will keep the audience engaged and catch their attention. Other effects i could use to help with shot length would be to add reverse shots which are aesthetically pleaseing as well as fitting in with the theme of feeling lost and confused.