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

To complete the promotion package, I had to use merous amounts of different technologies, both hardware and software. Throughout the research, planning, constuction and evaluation, the software I used were; web 2.0 (Facebook, YouTube, Blogger, MySpace), Google, iMovie and Photoshop. The hardware I used were cam corder and a tripod, and the applemac itself. 

 

During my research I used the internet (Google) to look into existing music videos of a variety of genres, to get an outline of the different convensions. I deconstructed productions from Birtney Spears, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. I also used YouTube to souce this information. Google was also used in researching into existing album artwrok and magazine adverts, look at Led Zeppelin and REM covers and adverts from magazines such as the NME. By using exisitng institutions I created the designs and ideas of the final product.

Planning the whole package meant a lot of drafting. I used Blogger, an online blog, to document and link to web connections, as well as upload designs and ideas which i had hand drawn and scanned into the computer. I also used the apple mac software to practice using the programmes i needed to use (iMovie and Photoshop). This was to ensure that the prodution ran smoothly. Another practice run i did, was using the head cam and getting it into the correct position for filming. During research and planning, we were able to experiment unsing the head cam. We were using it as part of the band live footage and incorporating different views into the sequence. Unfortunately, due to spilt of the band, the head cam wasn't used in the final product.

The construction of the video used the software of the apple macs and the hardware of a camera and tripod. By using a tripod while filming, made sure that we got a steady shot to keep a concentrated effect. This was because we wanted the focus to be on the storyline, and no be ruined by the unsteady filming. To upload all the footafge, I used a firewire into iMovie. This allowed manipulation and editing to the footage as well as the track itself. I used the Fast/Slow effect to create the time lapse. This was a long shot to film, but when it was sped up, it was really effective. The fast/slow can we adjsusted according to the effect desired. The opposite of slowing down the shot, was used as the two characters met on the stairway. This was to create a precausious atmosphere.To create the DVD Digipak and advert, I used Photoshop.

As both parts of my products were designed in connection, and the design is all computer generated, I was able to create the two pieces just through Photoshop. I used multiple layers, including text, photos and shape tools, which made the repetition of the image easier, from DVD Digipak to advert. The image below is an example of the layers which i duplicated in both parts of my package.

Evalating the finished promotion package used many different technologies. The video was put onto YouTube to gain feedback and some information on the audience. promotion of the YouTube upload was put on Facebook to help gain more feedback from different audiences. Another form of feedback we gained, was through a viewing and questionnaire. The Questionnaire was created using NeoOffice and the results were recoreded and displayed through blogger.

Evaluation: What have you learnt from your audience learned from your audience feedback?

For the video, we had a target audience of 15-22yr olds, of both genders. In my case, the production of the music video needs close attention to the target audience as the product is created for a purpose with a specific aim. The video which we produced had to appeal to the target audience for it to be successful. If the target audience didn't enjoy the video, then it wouldn't match the desired genre of rock.

To gain appropriate feedback, the vidoe was placed on YouTube and a link was pasted on Facebook. The image above shows the tags which the video was labelled with. Each tag was designed to increase hits and availablity through searches. I included tags which the video could be associated with; such as Led Zeppelin, Fall Out Boy, and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. These are similar bands which could help promote Vivid Sky and their own material and genre. I also tagged the video with A-level, media studies, Nikki Frost and Elissa Cosway, so that people who are looking for our video or a simlarly created video, would be able to access the video more easily.

This image shows where the hits and recommendations came from. The biggest amount of views we have recieved so far was from referrals from Facebook. 30/107 views were from Facebook. With our second highest views being 24/107 coming from "other" sources such as word of mouth and specific viewing. From the first viewer, I can see that the tags applied to the video were successful which is also shown through more recent searches of the band and song title itself. All these results show that Web 2.0 is the best promotion of the music video as a preliminary media promotions, but relies on effective tags.

The comment that video recieved on YouTube, was recieved by an 18 yr old female who, by the video she uploads, is into pop culture and as a result of this, she commented expressing a misunderstanding. From this, I read that; because it isn't her interested music genre, it is more difficult to interpret.

A screening of the video was done with viewers of our target audience. We created a questionnaire which helped us identify minimal information about the individual and more information about the video itself. The most common strengths identified by the viewers were the variety of shots and use of effects. These were two of the main things we wanted to acheieve in our finished product. From the feedback, we know that the storyline and clarity needed to be improved. The viewers enjoyed the video but when asked to explain the storyline, found it difficult. I think if the drug reference was stronger, the narrative would be clearer. Another area of improvements which was identified is the acting from the actors. The main issues was the actress' facial expression. Due to the delay in starting film prodcution because of the band disputes, we had to find an actress as soon as possible. The actress was unsuitable for the role of this character due to her "smiling" expression.

A question included in the questionnaire was asking about TV channels where the audience would expect to see the video. From this, 8/10 said MTV and 2/10 said Kerrang. Both TV channels were channels we previously aimed the video at.

The feedback which we gained from one of the band memebers was very constructive. The lead singer, Lewis Burks, had critically analysised the video to give appropriate comments and feedback. From a band members point of view, he felt that the video narrative told the story of the song. He was very pleased with the finished product and said it represented the genre and band effectively. As for the target audience, as Lewis informed me, Vivid Sky were aiming to increase appeal to the younger audience. He knew instantly that the music promotion video would appeal to the younger audience. Overall, the band are very pleased with the outcome and complete promotion package I have produced.

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

The promotion package contains the video, DVD Digipak and magazine advert. From the production of the video, I created the DVD Digipak based on ideas I got from the video.

The final design of the DVD Digipak came to after drawing a brief design of what I wanted. However, due to lack of artistic ability, I drew a stick man to represent a real man. After looking at the design for improvements, I decided to keep the stick man as a final design. I did this because it is simplistic, which fits in with similar album artwork of other artists of the same genre. Also, the stick man represents the fun that the video production entailed. The band members themselves are fun and like to have a joke, I felt that it was important to include band characteristics within the DVD Digipak.

The front and back cover of the DVD have a rule of thirds composition; vertically on the front and horizontally on the back. This was done to be easy on the eye and to distinctly separate the bold colours. From looking at other DVD artwork, I noticed that the rule of thirds is frequently used but in various different ways.

The title writing used on the cover is similar to that of the bands – cracked red writing. I felt that it was important to maintain the colour scheme of the band; of black, white and red. On the wall, bother front and back, graffiti writing is used. This was because I wanted to reinforce the appeal to younger people and relationship to both artist and target audience.

The last part to complete of the promotion package was the magazine advert. I for the idea for the template from an advert I had research in the NME magazine. However, the middle section of the rule of thirds is the same designs as the DVD Digipak; keeping a consistent theme throughout the promotion package. I repeated the wall and stick man as well as continuing the black, white and red theme. The whole advert was designed this way to be easy on the eye and give a quick, simple message that the DVD is out.

After much research, I think that the NME magazine is the right place for the magazine advert and that a TV channel for the video to be shown would be Kerrang or MTV. The video has been placed on YouTube and Facebook to see the feedback from the public.

The whole package represents “Vivid Sky” for their personalities. The editing is reasonably fast, thus synchronous to the track. The actors are young and dressed in a way that the target audience can associate with. The enjoyment and fun, within the video production, represents the band completely, which is also shown through the DVD Digipak and advert design.

Evaluation: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms...

The aim of the promotion package was to create a video, DVD Digipak and magazine advert for a local band.

The band I used was “Vivid Sky”, a group of 4, 17-20 year olds, who write and produce their own material. I estimated their target audience to be male and females, aged 15-22, with an average lifestyle but may enjoy gigs and live music more. From this information, I was able to construct a video which matched with the identified characteristics. The main storyline of the track is about a drug dealer; to try and make the target audience aware of the dangers of drugs, and understand the lyrics. The original plan was to use narrative.

The video itself is based on Goodwin’s illustrative theory. By using illustrative shots and acting we were able to connect the lyrics to the video. We decided to use an illustrative style as we thought it would help the audience understand the lyrics and meaning of the track. The lyrics to the track create a lot of mystery, and so we wanted to imitate that within the video. Enigma is an important convention where mystery is created. Barthes theory uses enigma codes and helps the audience to decode what is being created. I feel that the video we have constructed develops the enigma convention. Also, the video follows Todorovs’ theory of having a structure; however we created a new equilibrium [the woman in black] instead of a re-equilibrium. Propp’s theory of characters is not used to a great extent, we have the villain [man in black] and the victim [girl] but there is no hero present.

The mise en scene of the man in black is created around the target audience (age 15-22). The man in black is wearing trainers, a hooded top and tracksuit trousers. This was because this age range is more likely to connect with the younger dressed, danger of the man rather than a man in a long, black trench coat. The way that the woman is dressed supports the male gaze theory and she is dressed to look vulnerable. This helps create the potential risk and danger which the girl faces. The weather which the video was filmed in was a dull, windy day. This was to reflect both track lyrics and the genre of the artist. This band’s main colour theme is black, white and red, so we wanted the weather to match the alternative rock, darker atmosphere.

I think our video uses the same conventions to many other music videos of a similar genre.

Overall, I feel that the video develops current forms of conventions. Due to the amount of enigma created, I think that the video is individual to the genre and styles to usual videos of this genre. A lot videos of an alternative idea, nearly always still uses band footage. Due to the band having problems, we were unable to gain the footage we needed and therefore there was no band footage within the video. This challenges the typical convention of illustrative idea in terms of genre videos.

Final Magazine Advert

Final DVD Digipak

This is my completed design for my DVD Digipak. I am very pleased with the final product and I feel that it has represented both the track and the artists themselves. From my original plan, I have developed my ideas accordingly. I have only adjusted the design slightly, but I feel it was for the necessary affect.

The original plan was intended for an actual silhouette of a “man in black”, however, i substituted this for an stick man. As you watch the video you can notice the smiles throughout, I wanted to keep the “fun” within the cover so they are more synchronised. The brick wall is kept in the brick colour instead of the designed white, this was to keep the colour the same throughout the cover. I then repeated the wall and colour scheme [black, white, red] on the back cover.

The plan on the back cover has changed as I felt it wasn't quite right for the presentation I wanted. I kept the rule-of-thirds composition but just re-arranged how they were, moving the image to the top and track listings to the middle third.

This is the design for in inner of the digipak. I chose to use a band shot as this fits in with the research DVD Digipaks I looked into. This kept the band image present within the Digipak, and continued the simple band image from the back of the outside cover. Simple, yet effective.

DVD Digipak Ideas

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Funky Monks
Front Cover
Simple photograph used as the main image which also includes a tattoo of the bands logo - cleverly designed image
whole cover consists of one main bold, block colour - this keeps it easy to the eye but is also an eye catch.
The title of the DVD is printed as hand written writing - nice, basic, effective font
image uses rule of thirds composition
Back Cover
Font is bold but written to the right hand margin which makes it easier to read
central band image, orange section and bottom section [containing production details] are all divided evenly - rule of thirds



The Best of REM
Font is used throughout the cover
One big image of a moon is used, which is very effective, but because of the pink colour makes it unique - centrally framed
Black backgrouns is slightly pink in places due to transparency of other smaller planets - keeps the theme going


Led Zeppelin

The Clash

This is the inside of a Digipak by The Clash. The double spread is a live band image. This is quite often a reflect of the video which is usually mainly band footage.

Rootjuice

This is the inside of the Rootjuice Digipak artwork. They have divided a band photo which is of a typical positioning of the band members. This is a common way to display the band in their own genre style without relating it too much to the video.

The Finished Product

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CKridRXrF0

Nearly Finished

Shot, Props and location List

Shot List

Time Lapse [highlight]

Shoulder bang – Shot reverse shot

Feet shot [highlight]

Pan girl by stairs (verse1)

Pan girl by sidewalk (verse2)

Ped up on MIB

Girl walking away (location 1 & 2)

MIB following (location 1 & 2)

Girl running

MIB grab girls

Girl relaxing against wall

MIB grabs girl

Graphic match – girl to MIB

Props List

Girl in black – black hoody, black jeans, black heeled boots

Man in black – black hoody, black trackies, black shoes

Girl – red heels, grey top, black skirt

Further Location Ideas

Multi-story car park

Meadfoot

Sea front

Pier

The New Schedual

New Shooting List

00:05:30 – 00:18:30 Group joking

00:18:30 – 00:24:00 Rewind shot

00:24:00 – 00:30:00 Bang shoulders

00:30:21 – 00:37:00 silhouette

00:37:00 – 00:49:00 on the rocks

00:56:00 – 01:02:00 Chris grabs Elissa

01:08:00 – 01:40:00 Chris vs. Elissa 

01:40:00 – 01:45:30

01:51:00 – 01:58:30 silhouette

01:59:00 cross camera

The New Idea

Knock Back

So everything was going so well, and the schedule was on target. Until the lead singer of the band, Lewis, rang me to say the band had broken up. This was not the news Elissa or I wanted to hear. Already into our editing time, this was a big set back within our filming. 

So now we have to go back to the drawing board. We are keeping the original theme of the video, but obviously we have to change what we are going to film for the footage we were going to use for the band. This is a large percentage of our film and it is very important we keep on track and focus on the new idea.

Editing 1

Once we upload the footage we had gained, we began to edit and choose the frames which we were to keep and re-film. Unfortunately, the weather was really windy and so we need to re-film alot of the shots. However, we were both really pleased with the time lapse we got. After speeding the filming up and editing the timing, we managed to get the final time lapse which will be in our video.

The New Storyboards

Back in the middle of the morning of the night before
Met a man on the stairway
Tried to pull me through the door
He said “walk this way and for a very small fee, I’ll get you into something, make you cool like me!”
Back in the middle of the morning of the night before

Back in the middle of the morning of the night before
Met a man on the sidewalk
Tried to sell me a score
He said “listen son, try little beast, and I’ll guarantee you something that’ll make you very pleased” [58secs]
Back in the middle of the morning of the night before

Get out of my way
I know I ain’t too cool
But I can tell you something, I’m nobody’s fool
REPEAT

Look out for the man in black
He’s the legal Satan
Wants to shoot you in the back
Look out for the man in black
He’ll take you to the devil
And grill you on the back

Back in the middle of the morning of the night before
Met a man on the highway
Tried to push a little
He said “come on boy, you know you want to fly, step in to the kitchen, and give it a try”
Back in the morning of the middle of the night before

Get out of my way
I know I ain’t too cool
But I can tell you something I’m nobodies fool
REPEAT

Look out for the man in black
He’s the legal Satan
Wants to shoot you in the back
Look out for the man in black
He’ll take you to the devil
And grill you on the back

Look out for the man in black
Look out for the man in black
Look out for the man in black
Look out for the man in black

Look out for the man in black
He’s the legal Satan
Wants to shoot you in the back
Look out for the man in black
He’ll take you to the devil
And grill you on the back

Look out for the man in black
Look out, for the man in black
Look out for the man in black
Look out for the man in black

The Filming

This was our third attempt at filming, however the first one where we got footage, because the previous Friday, when we were meant to get some filming done, needed to be cancelled as the person who was willing to be filmed cancelled last minute, and we couldn't find a suitable replacement within such short notice. Due to this, we organised another time when this person would be available, however once again, a cancellation happened leaving us with no footage once again. This was when we had decided that we should alter the storyboard to make it fit with some one who was more flexible, and by changing the main character to a female, gave us an opportunity to film whenever the two of us had spare time.

What Happens Now..

All information is updated and Elissa and I are ready to film. Reece shots and the beginning of filming are happening this week. The band have been emailed on attending gigs for filming and filming on-location.

Filming Schedule

The Track

Head Cam

Storyboard 10 shows, we use a head cam on the guitar. To gain more confidence and knowledge of how to use the head cam, we did some practice shots with it. Neither Elissa or I have used a head cam before so we needed to learn. The head cam itself does not have a view finder so it took a few attemps to get it perfect. We now know how to get the angle and security of the head cam on the guitar. We've taken photo and filming of each stage of our experimenting to show our development

Our First Attempt
This is just Velcro-ed securely around the head of the guitar using the strap provided.

From this first attempt, we decided that we wanted to adjust the angle of the head cam as we wanted the guitar to take up more of the frame to give a better impact.

Our Second Attempt

As it doesn't have a viewfinder it would have made this task very difficult, but after experimenting we now know the angles that work best and that it's secure on the head of the guitar.

We were both please with the framing of this shot. However, we wanted the guitar to be more horizontally straight rather than at an odd angle. This was just a learning curve.

Our Third Attempt

We now turned the head cam to a 45 degree angle to gain the desire effect we wanted. This is how it looked.

As it doesn't have a viewfinder it would have made this task very difficult, but after experimenting we now know the angles that work best and that it's secure on the head of the guitar.

Proposal

Vivid Sky is a group of 4 males aged 17-19. They try to write and perform all types of music but are trying to create their own genre. Anyone interested in the band and their music, I think, will be male and female - aged 15 to 22 years. Their lifestyles may not be significantly different to your average life, however might endure in heavier music and gigs. The fans and audiences can access information about the band and exclusive material through the bands MySpace [www.myspace.com/vividskyuk] and their own website [www.vivdskyband.co.uk]. On the sites there are gig dates and venues, messages from the band, tracks available for online play, images and many more exclusivities. 

The name of the track we are using is “Man In Black”. As the lyrics show, the story of the song is about a drug dealer. In our video, we would like to portray this as a narrative and try to create an atmosphere from the “man in black” as a drug dealer. The lyrics of the song describe how this “man in black” [drug dealer] is like the devil and is always there trying to push that pressure on people. We wanted to include this within the narrative and give the right impression as, obviously; we don’t want to promote drugs. We planned the video like Goodwin - illustrative. The lyrics are very similar throughout easy verse. We wanted the narrative to be synchronous to the lyrics as we could, but not to a point that it is word for word. During the chorus’ we wanted the video to be band based. We included the narrative originally because of the band availability to film, however we still want to include them. We plan to film the band at gigs from many different angles and also have a day of filming is selected location as listed in blog post below. All of the sequences will be edited and used in a variety of different orders to fill in the chorus’ where the band will be used in the video.

The logo that the band uses is simply the band name, “Vivid Sky”, in red against a black background. All of the group members wear similar clothing, all of which are nothing out of the ordinary and average to their age groups. We want to keep this look throughout the music promotion. The band members will just be in their normal clothing that they want to wear and the locations and setting for the video will be in keeping with this theme. All of the location ideas are open plan which creates a friendlier feel to the band and makes them more approachable to their audiences. The filming in each location is going to be done in low lighting as it fits in with the design of the band logo and the atmosphere of drug dealingThe camera shots we want to use of the band are low level, high angle, close up, medium shots and wide shots. All of the varied shots are going to give us a better range of angles of the group and creates a connection between the audience and the group. The shots used in the narrative are all going to be close-up, medium shots or long shots. This is to create enigma within the storyline and create a more intense atmosphere which matches the lyrics. Editing of the video will be planned as simple jump cuts. This is so the minimal action isn’t overridden by fancy cuts. The mise en scene is a very important part of the video. Through the filming we want to keep the clutter and surroundings to a minimum to make the scenes more “open”. Due to the locations being outdoors, we will have to be careful with other people being around – from a permission as well as viewers point of view.

The band is currently not signed but has been recording. I think that the music promotion that we create could be shown on music channels like Kerrang and maybe MTV and TMF as the song will appeal to many different types of people. Our production will be put onto MySpace, Facebook and YouTube. All of these will enable feedback from viewers and improvements for future productions.

 

This is Vivid Sky's website. Their fans and audiences can see any updates and exclusivity's from this site. 

Locations, Props and Mise en Scene

Location Ideas

All of the ideas we have come up with for the video are all in open space and show a lot of sky. This was to reinforce the band name and to make them more appealing to the audience. The Large amount of sky shows that each and every member of the band are just normal people in a big world, just wanting to enjoy their talent in music and for their audience to feel more connected with the band. 

     

Torquay Harbour

Torquay Pier

The Big Chair, Dartmoor

The White Bridge, Torquay 

A Yacht

Haytor Rock, Dartmoor

The Balloon, Torquay

Props and Mise en  Scene

The props and mise en scene for the video is very basic. The band members will just be wearing their own clothes, nothing particular. They may be wearing their Vivid Sky merchandise as shown in the picture below.

Lewis Burkes, Lead singer, wearing a Vivid Sky t-shirt

The man in black character will just need to wear all black clothing and try not to revile his face. 

The other characters which as used for very little filming. For example, story board 1 & 2, we use two pairs of feet, and two characters [one of which is the man in black]. The shoes in storyboard 2, need to be a smart pair and a casual pair, to show the distinction between the two characters. Whereas the outfit of the character in storyboard 1 is just everyday jeans and a jacket. However, the jacket needs to be of colour so that it contrasts to the "Man in Black", this is so you can see the distinct difference between the two characters.

The Mise en Scene will just be basic. When filming outside or in an open location, we want the atmosphere to be evening/dusk, so the mise en scene will be minimal anyway - as there wont be as many people around. When filming the band during gigs, we really just want the band members in the frame, but this shouldn't be hard to ensure. If we film the band outside of gigs, we want it to just be band. so by filming in the evening will decrease the pedestrians around. If we have problems with the mise en scene then we will have to attend to them as we go.

"Man In Black" Lyrics With Storyboards

[Lyrics start at 00:19]

Back in the middle of the morning of the night before

Met a man on the stairway

Tried to pull me through the door

He said “walk this way and for a very small fee, I’ll get you into something, make you cool like me!”

Back in the middle of the morning of the night before

Back in the middle of the morning of the night before

Met a man on the sidewalk

Tried to sell me a score

He said “listen son, try a little beast, and I’ll guarantee you something that’ll make you very pleased”

Back in the middle of the morning of the night before

Get out of my way

I know I ain’t too cool

But I can tell you something, I’m nobody’s fool

REPEAT

Look out for the man in black

He’s the legal Satan

Wants to shoot you in the back

Look out for the man in black

He’ll take you to the devil

And grill you on the back

Back in the middle of the morning of the night before

Met a man on the highway

Tried to push a little

He said “come on boy, you know you want to fly, step in to the kitchen, and give it a try”

Back in the morning of the middle of the night before

Get out of my way

I know I ain’t too cool

But I can tell you something I’m nobodies fool

REPEAT

Look out for the man in black

He’s the legal Satan

Wants to shoot you in the back

Look out for the man in black

He’ll take you to the devil

And grill you on the back

Look out for the man in black

Look out for the man in black

Look out for the man in black

Look out for the man in black

Look out for the man in black

He’s the legal Satan

Wants to shoot you in the back

Look out for the man in black

He’ll take you to the devil

And grill you on the back

Look out for the man in black

Look out, for the man in black

Look out for the man in black

Look out for the man in black