Final Edit

Task 13: Question 4 - How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Question 4 Powerpoint by Oli on Scribd

Task 13: Question 3 - What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I created question 3 of the evaluation through the use of Prezi. After completing the presentation, I was able to embed it and add the link to my blog.

Task 13: Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts)?

The main product which we created was a music video for the song 'Faded' by Alan Walker. We then created two print artifacts which were the digipak album and the magazine advert.

We felt that it is important that the music video would meet the needs and wants of the audience. This means that it be of high quality which means that it should have high quality footage and professional editing, which was done so. After carrying out a survey on Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.co.uk) as part of primary research, I found that 53.33% of respondents find music videos with storylines 'very interesting'. With such a high percentage, it was clear that the music video should have a storyline or context behind it which is why we based the video around a teenager who had suffered from memory loss before searching for his memories which had 'faded' away. The high percentage also shows that using a music video like this would be very effective as it seems to have a high demand which means there would be more viewers and the artist would be able to generate more revenue from adverts.

The digipak album consisted of four parts. It was important that we used detailed photo editing and ones that would appeal to the target audiences. By using Adobe Photoshop, we were able to create our designs with a number of layers and using the tools in the software

As the character in the main product was seen as a disadvantaged and isolated character due to mental disability, the front cover of the character was very fitting as we had the character staring at the camera and breaking the fourth wall as if they are begging for innocence. Therefore, the emotions in the products are effective because it encourages audiences to view the product and be encouraged to purchase it. Furthermore, having the character staring at the camera on the front cover makes it obvious that the music artist is the character in the video.

We found that breaking the fourth wall by having the artist stare at the camera was very effective in terms of advertising products. One product we were influenced by was Steve Aoki's advert. Having him stare at the camera makes it obvious to the audience that he is the artist and helps create a brand identity for the artist, therefore indicating brand growth. In terms of the colour, the blue filters on the advert also inspired us. We thought we could use them to make the product look more professional and more appealing to customers. In terms of the camera's angles and distances, it can vary between medium shots and close-up shots, as shown in the Steve Aoki advert. Positioning the artist in the middle of the advert makes the artist the center of attention and really creates a brand identity for the brand, as shown in our print artifact.

Nowadays, music artists are often seen as brand images and idols, especially to their fans. Therefore, social media has had a large impact on this. For example, Ed Sheeran has a Twitter account with over 17 million followers. This means that this many people are able to keep updated on any new releases or albums such as when he released his new song to his followers. One advantage of this is that thousands of his followers are able to view his products, meaning he is likely to gain large audiences and make more album sales, generating more revenue. Another advantage is that people are able to 'retweet' and share his posts. This links to viral marketing and how people can share his posts to make more people view it. Doing this gives the music artist more followers and therefore new customers when purchasing his products, which heavily indicates the growth of him as a brand.

Task 13: Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Question 1 – Interview (Script)

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

Firstly, can you describe the character and the narrative of the music video?

The music video is about a young adult that had an incident affecting his brain, leaving him with retrograde memory loss. Throughout the video, you see the young outcast find hope in his imagination where he creates a ‘dream palace’. In this world, he has regained his memory which had previously faded away in reality and as he continues to explore his imagination, he begins to find his real self, leaving him back to where he started, broken, alone, losing his true identity indicating the isolation of the character due to mental disability.

What message does the video give out to the audience?

The adventurous characteristics of the character in the music video shows how he is fighting against his disadvantages and searching for freedom. It is sending the message that you need to work and fight towards any problems you want to fight against or fight towards any of your life goals. This also implies that people in today’s society have become effortless and people need to put more effort into life and their personal goals.

At the beginning of the music video, the character was breaking the fourth wall and looking straight at the camera. Why was this?

The character was looking straight at the camera because we wanted to show the characteristics of the main character to the audience. We felt it is important for the audience to understand the characteristics of the character because plays such an important part throughout the whole video.

Can you explain how the character relates to the music artist

The character in the music video is the music artist. This is beneficial as it creates a brand image. Audiences who view the artist will recognise them from the music video and other products like the print artefacts such as the magazine advert and the digipak album cover. This allows the artist to grow as a brand as it helps them become recognised. During the music video there was no evident performer. This is a very modern thing as DJ’s are often seen as the stars especially with house music. Promoting the artist as a brand is very effective and beneficial for creating revenue and encouraging brand growth to gain a larger market.

In the music video, we saw that it was produced by Owl Studies. Can you explain this?

Owl Studies are a production company and decided they would like to help produce a music video for the remix of the single ‘Faded’ by Alan Walker. In the music video, we promoted the production company which is very effective in the music industry nowadays. Many music videos nowadays are produced by production companies and are promoted as a way of the artist earning money and in terms of brand promotion and growth.

Did you take any inspiration from any real life media products?

We took huge inspiration from one of Coldplay’s songs called Adventure of a Lifetime. Their official music video was presented by a production company Parlophone Records and it was almost like a short film and we thought this would be very suitable to relate to in our music video.

Creative Journey: Creating the Magazine Advert (Task 11)

Creative Journey: How I created the digipak album (Task 11)

To create the digipak, I used a template from a website called Disc Makers (www.discmakers.com). I was able to choose from a wide variety of templates such as ones with 4 panels, 6 panels, 8 panels, ones with pockets and with different tray designs. My final choice was to go with the template with 4 panels and 1 tray. This design was 

When creating my print artifacts, I was planning on using this character who I made through the use of shapes and colours on Microsoft PowerPoint as a cartoon representation of the artist. However, after asking my peers, they thought I should use real life images rather than cartoon characters to make the video and the advertisements look more professional. 

Creative Journey: Editing the Raw Footage

Editing

                                       
This is the first draft edit. I used one main character but two characters. One character wearing the blue coat was the main character and was his first identity, whereas the other character in the hospital gown was the same character but his other identity which had been lost and had 'faded' away, linking to the title of the song. The compilation between the two characters represents how the character has two different identities and are very differentiated, but are searching for each other in order to restore the equilibrium.

In terms of editing, I used many techniques. For example, I used a colour correction filter to add warmth to the footage. Adding warmth meant that the footage had a high quality filter and looked a lot more professional. I used transitions such as fades and cuts between scenes. The fades I added in were slow fades which was done to emphasise the slow pace and the meaning of the song. The song is called 'Faded' and is about memories which have slipped away and are slowly returning back which makes the fading transitions very suitable.

I also used more advanced editing skills such as reverse techniques. I did this on Adobe After Effects by going to 'time' and using the 'remapping' tool. Doing this meant that I was able to show more professionalism in the product through higher quality editing which encourages the audience to view the product.

When editing the video, I considered the story and how all the editing linked to it. I used faded transitions as it links to the heading and narrative of the video as the two characters are faded away. However, towards the end I used more cuts as the fading begins to stop and the equilibrium slowly starts to restore.

Print Artefact Research

CD Size

CDs are 4.724 inches square (120mm x 120mm). This means that when making the CD Cover, it is crucial that I keep this in mind and set my paremeters accordingly.

CD Cover Design

When creating the front cover for the CD, I will want to make the changes more obvious. To do this, I will change the base colour scheme to something like dark gray or a type of blue. Alternatively, I could have an image in the background such as a forest to match the context of the music video. 

For example, in Drake's artwork for his album 'Views from the 6', he used an image which is an extreme longshot of him sitting on Toronto’s CN Tower from a very far distance which makes him seem the size of a child’s action figure. Since everything Drake touches turns to meme sensations on social media, this album cover is extremely relatable and very effectively used. Moreover, this can be seen as a very clever viral marketing technique. This artwork became a trending topic on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook which meant that more viewers saw it and were encouraged to purchase the album.

Creative Journey: Filming

For our filming, the main location was the forest. We filmed in a place called Hopwas Woods and we found a number of places to film. We used many different filming techniques and camera angles. For example, our cameraman Joseph Dalley positioned himself in a number of place such as climbing up a tree, hiding under bushes and many more. We also used more advanced filming equipment such as gorilla-pods. This was very beneficial as it meant we were able to position our camera in more unique position. Furthermore, this increased the levels of professionalism throughout the video

Task 10: Filming - Risk Assessment