At the beginning of the year my group and I were asked to create 3
products, a music video, a website and a digipak for our chosen artist. Over
the last year we have spent time in researching into these products, planning
what we wish to include and how we want our products to be portrayed then
actually producing these products. Overall the process has been time consuming
but most of all it has been extremely educational in terms of media forms as by
going through these processes I have been able to gain an understanding as to
what goes into and what it takes to makes these products in real life. These
has also enabled be developed my skills on different programs such as final
cut express and been able to create something that is professional looking. I
hope that enjoy going through by blog and are able to see the effort, passion
and development that has gone into the creation of by products. Thank you.
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Final Website
http://giannifrancis.wix.com/alteredmindshighlife
(There may be difficulty with opening this website on a mac computer)
(There may be difficulty with opening this website on a mac computer)
Monday, 25 February 2013
Evaluation Question 3
It was very
important for my group and I, after completing our 3 products, to get audience
feedback regarding the products. This is because we had created the products
for our audience therefore in order to evaluate how successful our products
were we needed to gather opinions from our audience to identify what was
successful and what was unsuccessful.
Firstly when
choosing our target audience during the planning stages of our products my
group and i had decided that it should be teenagers and young adults between the
ages of 14 – 25 as this is the age group that has the most disposable money and
time, therefore they are the most likely group of people to watch music videos,
look and buy digipak’s and visit artist websites, We had also chosen this age
group as they were the largest age group that listened to and were influence by
our chosen genre (Hip Hop) therefore it was important to direct and create our
products for the right people. As this chosen audience had been decided when getting
feedback it was important to get it from our target audience as the products
were made for them so therefore their opinions on the product were of the most
value and what we would take into consideration. Even though we had selected
our audience carefully we had ensured that they did not particularly favour a
particular genre of music as we were very aware that all different audiences would
be viewing our products therefore it still had to appeal to everyone. When gathering our audience feedback we did
mainly aim to get feedback from males as they do take more of an interest in
the hip hop genre therefore they are most likely to recognise stereotypical aspects
of the genre and identify what works for the genre and what does not. This
stage was very crucial as we didn’t want the results of feedback to bias and
dishonest, however we did feel as though it was very important that the
audience did have genre knowledge in order to base their feedback on. I don’t
think that we have chosen a niche market to get our feedback from as the hip
hop genre is so large and widespread. There is also such a variety of styles of
hip hop and we have not selected a particular type which makes our audience
very open and the different responses are likely to be based on the style of
hip hop they like best which could enable our products to essentially be more
diverse and appeal to all the different styles within the genre. Essentially I
think the audience we did receive our feedback from were the most appropriate
as they were able to give us honest opinions and thoughts on the 3 products as
well as well as giving knowledgeable feedback making it even more valued as
there is genre knowledge behind the response which could enable our products to
be more successful within the genre.
When getting
our audience feedback we did and online survey via survey monkey and videoed
interviews asking what was liked about the product and what could be improved
on regarding the product. Even though these questions were very basic, I think
that they were the most suitable questions as these questions were very open.
They allowed us as creators to hear or see what the audience liked about the
products, so we could establish the successful aspects of the products. However
I do personally think that the improvement question was the most important as
this would allow us to identify what we would change/alter if we had the opportunity
to create the products again. Also this questions means that we can establish
what was unsuccessful to whom and potentially identify whether our products
appealed to a more specific audience that we had originally decided. The use of the video allowed us to visually
see honest answers being given after they had been seen viewing the products
and this was very important to us as if the answers were truthful we were more
able to get an accurate reflection as to whether our products were actually as
successful as we believed it to be. The
online survey was also very good as it allowed our audiences to see our
products and answer some basic questions regarding our product which was a less
time consuming method and the audience were able to do this in their own time
at their leisure, feeling no pressure therefore the answers as also likely to
be truthful. Also by using this survey the audiences could respond anonymously therefore
they may not have been part of our selected target audience which meant that we
were still able to get a wide range of responses from the audiences which would
allows us to see how receptive it was by all audiences and also how we could be
it appeal to a wide audience if we had the opportunity to create the products again.
When getting
audience feedback regarding the music video I was able to watch the audiences
view the video and see their initial reactions to the music video which I
personally liked as I was able to visualise for myself what parts of the music
video got the audiences to respond enthusiastically and what aspects of the
music video were not so exciting to the audience. I found that from the
feedback the most successful aspect of the music video was the use of the
technical edits, this was regarding the fast motion, slow motion and the green
screened background that featured travelling smoke. In particular the green
screened background appeared to be very popular for a variety of different
reasons. For example one of our audience members stated “I liked the green
screened background as the use of technology was very evident and also the
smoke theme is very current and relates back to the song, the digipak and the
website”. I personally believe that this aspects of the music video was very
successful as it looked very professional and something that would be commonly
seen within real music videos, I also think the fact that it can be linked back
and related to the other products and the song is very successful as this
creates a recognisable synergy between the three products which was one of the
main aims. From this I am able to learn and understand that a prominent use of
technology throughout the music video is a popular aspect as it adds character to
a scene and shows use of modern day technology which appears to be popular
today. If we had the opportunity to create the music video again I would definitely
include a wider variety of green screened shots featuring different background
and more slow motion as these aspects of the music video add altered scenes the
video which essentially appears to be attractive and popular to our target
audience. The aspect of the music video
that appeared to be the least successful was the fact that there were no other characters
within the music video and there were a lot of repeated locations. The fact
that our artist was our only character within our music video was not a part of
our original idea however due to the inability to get actors/actresses that
were able to film when we needed to meant that we had to cut that aspect out of
our music video as we had time restrictions in order to get all of our footage
filmed. Due to this we decided that it was very common for artist to have green
screened scenes of themselves within their music videos as the main scenes
within the video so we had decided to adopt this idea for our music video. Also
our artist was able to lip sync so well in these shots and we were able to get
such a large amount of footage that it was best to use these shots hence why
they are so heavily featured within our music video. If we had the opportunity I
think that when filming we would use more locations within our music video that
were similar to the south bank scenes as these added colour and modern youth to
our music video making it more current and essentially making it more popular
among our target audience.
When getting
feedback from our target audience regarding the digipak I had found that the
most popular aspects were the smoky background image and the graffiti art
background image. From the feedback the smoky background was as popular as it
had related back to the music video and the website which unexpectedly
audiences really liked. I believe this was as popular as there was a continuous
theme that could be related to young people for a variety of reasons. Also the
image is very simple yet it still manages to capture the element of enigma as
there is no source of the smoke evident in the image therefore the audience are
unaware of where exactly the smoke is coming from. The graffiti was very popular as it is adds verisimilitude
to the digipak and it’s a hip hop style of artwork therefore it fits in well
with the genre. “The graffiti art image is what I like about the digipak the
best because it’s a reflection of hip hop culture in an art way, which is
something I really, like to see” was a response from one of the audience
members regarding the digipak. I think that this response is very useful as it
is evident that the audience member has based there response on knowledge of
the genre and this response also shows that art work is an aspect of the
digipak that people will notice if they were to buy the products therefore it
is important to be creative, attractive and fit the genre with the artwork
which this image is able to do. If we had the opportunity to create this image
again then I personally think that we would include more graffiti artwork that
were of different styles showcasing different art formats (e.g. writing,
pictures) as this is colourful and appealing to our target audience. An aspect of the digipak that was not so
popular was the fact that the smoke image had been used repeatedly within the
digipak, and the audience thought that we could of used another image replace
the repeated smoky images. I agree with this response; however we did repeatedly
use the smoky image in order to reinforce the theme throughout the three
products. Also there was risk that if other images were used the smoky image
could potentially appear to be very random and audiences may not have
understood the use of the image. However if we were to improve this is we had
the chance to do so I think that the repeated images would defiantly be
replaced and if not replaced they would be altered so they were all slightly
different as the use of the same picture can be tedious for audiences to look
at and potentially dissuade them from looking or even buying the products.
The website was
very popular among our audiences as it was so professional looking which
automatically and potentially unconsciously made the website appeal to the
audience as they feel as though this is a real product. The most successful
aspect of the video is the fact the use of colours and the navigation was so
easy to use and access for the audience. The colours of the website were black
and white which were very simple however this had linked to the music video
which had made the connection between the products. Also the black and white
made the website very clear as even though it was simple there was nothing to
confuse the audience’s view of the website which makes it easier for the
audience to view the website. One of the most important aspects of the website
is navigation which we had discovered in our research of websites as if a
website is difficult to navigate it is likely to put audiences off from viewing
the website again and encourage them to come of the website altogether therefore
it was important that our website did not do this. Fortunately for us it was
one of the most popular aspects of the website. The first page of the website
is an enter page playing our artist song and showing the title of our artist
name, once this page had been viewed it linked to the homepage of the website which
also featured many other pages such as new, tour dates and merchandise. This
easy access around the website for the audience meant that they were able to
get around the website easily and if they went on the website for a particular
reason they were able to locate the part of the website they had wished to
easily. One aspect of the website that was fairly unpopular was the fact that
there was no blogger page, which meant that the fans were unable to interact
with one another and comment on the artist website. If we had the opportunity to
create the website again this is definitely something that we would include
within our website as it is very important for the fans to be able to interact
with one another and have discussions regarding the artist. Also this is a very
common feature of professional websites currently therefore it is important
that our page is also very current and contains the features of a professional
website.
Overall from
the audience feedback I do believe that our products have been successful and are
very popular among are target audience which was very important as they are the
people that our products were created for, however I do think that the
unpopular aspects of our products would be things we would improve on in the
future or if we had the opportunity to do so again as not only would this enable
us to create better products but it would also make it more suitable to the
genre and the audiences who have to watch and view these products.
Evaluation Question 4
How did you use media
technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
The use of media technologies was prominent throughout all of the stages of creating my three media products (Music video, Website and Digipak) as it was important that I was able to learn and develop my knowledge and understanding of the different media technologies as well as being able to showcase my knowledge by using these media technologies is the best way I possibly could. These different media technologies enabled me to create and present professional stages and products throughout my A2 year.
During the planning of my
products the use of media technologies that I was using was expanding as all of
the processes where becoming specific to the products and there were certain media
technologies I needed to use in order to display the choices and decisions we
were undertaking as a group. The first stage in the planning was the basic
ideas; for this is I had used a media technology called ‘bubbl.us’ which would
enable me to display all of my potential ideas into a brainstorm format. This
was very good for what I was trying to show as the site would give me a basic
brain storm which I was able to expand on in whichever way I had chosen to. On
this site I had the ability to separate my ideas into sections and then split
these into smaller sections if I had wished to. I personally think that this
media format way very helpful for me to use as I was able to display my ideas
in a much more creative and interactive way. For many of the planning stages
such as colour scheme ideas and design sketches I used another programme that
was very similar to ‘bubbl.us’ called ‘Prezi’ this programme had a variety of
templates I could use in order to display any information I wished to post onto
my blog. On this site I was able to upload videos and pictures as well as text
and for my planning stages this was perfected as it allowed me to display
potential ideas in an attractive way whilst also being able to link other
products such as images and pictures which I am unable to do on ‘bubbl.us’. The
display of this programme allowed me to change the style and background of my
presentation as well as editing the format and the order in which I was able to
display my information which gave me freedom which a lot of other sites such as
‘bubbl.us’ do not do as they are much more restricting. There were also other
important stages in the planning such as fonts and a site called ‘Da font’
provided a large variety of fonts split into different styles for example when
designing the Digipak my group and I either wanted to use a cartoon or graffiti
style font on this website I was able to click these sub-links which would lead
me to a series of other specific styles. This site gave my group and I a large
choice which meant that we were able to visualise and analyse the best option
for use before choosing and option that was the most suitable for us. One of
the stages of planning the music video product was my taking a genre specific
music video and analysing the features that make it Hip Hop (our chosen genre)
and the aspects and techniques we wished to adopt and include within our music
video. We did this by watching the video repeatedly on YouTube and making the
analysis, we then had to perform this analysis in front of a green screen
whereby we filmed our analysis and then edited it using the programme final cut
express. These media technologies allowed me to edit the shots by placing them
into an order that worked best with the song, I then had to remove the green screen
background and then place the video behind us in the scenes. This meant that we
were discussing the music video whilst it was playing behind us, this form
media technology allowed me to cut out the shots that I did not wish to include
using the cut tool, I was able to remove the green screen in the background
using the Chroma keyer where by it was take remove everything in the scene that
was green and then our bodies would remain in the shot. From there I had to
place the video behind us by adding it as an extra layer underneath the video.
This media technology allowed me to use my basic knowledge of the programme
from my AS year as well as develop the new skill of Chroma keyer which would
benefit me in the development of the music video. I also used this programme
for the lip syncing tests which was also included in the planning stages
however it was simpler to do as all I had to do was cut the shots that were
unable to be used and then ordering the scenes in the same order as the song. I
then had to place the song underneath as a sound layer and then cut and move
the scenes slightly so that they are in sync with the song. When choosing the
song we had to make sure that it was not copyrighted so that we could have full
access to the song, for this I had used a site that contained only
non-copyrighted music. This website was very useful as it contained a large
variety of genres from drum and bass, to pop and Hip Hop, this meant that we
weren’t restricted in our choice. This media technology was not only very good
for what we were creating but it was also could to have knowledge of as a media
student alone as it provides such access to a wide range of different music
which could potentially be used as non-diegetic sound in other products such as
a short film clip.
The use of media technologies was prominent throughout all of the stages of creating my three media products (Music video, Website and Digipak) as it was important that I was able to learn and develop my knowledge and understanding of the different media technologies as well as being able to showcase my knowledge by using these media technologies is the best way I possibly could. These different media technologies enabled me to create and present professional stages and products throughout my A2 year.
The research stages were the
first stages of the process as I needed to gain knowledge and a deeper
understanding of what I was about to undertake, what I wanted to produce by the
end of the year and what would enable my product to be as successful as
possible. When doing my research I was firstly looking at the music videos I
had liked and analysed why I had liked them. During this stage YouTube was the
best media technology that I could of use as there is such a vast range of
music videos on the site which not only allowed me to view the music videos I
wished but it also allowed me to compare and take note of what other peoples
opinion of the video was and why that was there opinion in the comments
underneath the video. Due to the fact that I was able to watch this video on
the internet meant that I was able to rewind and re-watch the video as many
times as I had wished in order for me to thoroughly see the video this feature
also allowed me to notice aspects of the video which I would not of previously
noticed if I had watched the video on another media format such as the
television. During the research stages I also had to look at the different
genres in music video and the conventions they feature, I also use YouTube for
this for the same reasons as my research for my favourite music videos. The
fact that I was able to analyse these videos in such detail meant that I was
really able to utilise the functions of the YouTube site in order for me to
identify what I would and would not like to feature in my potential music video
and what aspects create an excellent professional looking music video. As part
of my research it was also important that I had research into different
theories and theorist. The internet is so broad that that it was very easy for
me to access the relevant knowledge related to the theorist and the theory.
Even though the internet is the best media technology I could have used for research
of this kind it also contains a lot of unreliable sources such as websites like
Wikipedia therefore it was important but also heard for me to find a reliable
source for me to base my knowledge and understanding of these theories on.
YouTube was also very good as it contains such a variety of videos; I was able
to watch people’s tutorials and explanations of how the theory relates to the
artist of the music video. I personally think this is an excellent access to
information as I can apply the basic knowledge I have learnt to something
visual which help me to better my understanding and help me to consider how I
wish or should use this theory within my music video. Included into my research
was looking at the products that already exist that my group and I intend on
producing by the end of the year. Through the help of Google images I was able
to see a range of clear example of products that were existing already and I
could Identify how popular they were and why they were popular I was able to do
this as many of the images that I was looking at were linked to blog sites were
by people were able to post their opinions and display similar research as what
I was doing. This was excellent for me as I was able to get primary knowledge
and opinions which would help me with designs for the ancillary products
(Website and Digipak). I personally think that research is one of the most
important stages in the process of my group and I creating our products as we
are creating for a target audience and it is very important that we have the
understanding of what the audience want, what appeals, what is popular and also
identifying what is unpopular so we also know what not to include. Through use of the internet sites I was able
to use media technologies in order to develop and gain an understanding on the
products I intend on creating.
During the construction of
our media products the media technologies were much more specific as they were
used for making the specific products (Music video, Website and Digipak). For
the construction of the music video we firstly had to film the product, the
media technology used for this was a professional HD camera and tripod, this
meant that when we was filming we could get a clear and accurate image and we
could also get a variety of shots, in a simple manner without any disruption of
a shaking hand. The use of the HD camera was very easy as the cassette the
video was being filmed on to needed no setting up therefore when we wanted to
film all we had to do was to press record. When we wanted to look back at what
we had previously filmed we had to stop recording and then click the play
button and rewind all the way the beginning of the scene to check that we had
filmed the correct shot and everything was just how we wanted it to be.
Whenever we wanted to record again and keep the footage we had previously
recorded we had to fast forward to the end of the footage otherwise we would
record over the previous recording and loose our work, even though this was
fairly time consuming it was important as it wanted to make sure we had filmed
all of the correct scenes and shot types but it was also important that we
didn’t lose any work. Once all of the footage had been filmed for the music
video the program final cut express pro was used in order to construct the
music video into something professional. The first stage was to cut the footage
that needed to be discarded as it could not be used, this was very simple as
all I had to do was playback the foot on the program and then cut where it was
most appropriate. I then had to insert our chosen song as a sound layer and
then order the footage so the rapping was in sync with the song and the shots
were placed in a way that the video would not become boring and each shot was
different, just as it would be in a real music video. After the scenes were in
sync and in order with the song I then had to edit the scene according to how
we had planned to do so on our storyboard and as group. On some of the scenes I
had put a black and white filter and then increased the speed to
unrealistically fast as this shot had featured our artist moving extremely
slow. This meant that our artist would stand out and still appear to be alone
and moving very slowly against everyone else in the scene who were moving
extremely fast. After this edit was complete I then had to slow to down a scene
to extremely slow, this was a simple process as all I had to was decrease the
speed of the shot. After this all that was remaining to edit was the blue
screen scenes, with these scenes I used the Chroma keyer to identify and then
remove all of the blue in the scenes with was simply the background. I then
attempted to so feather the edges so that there wouldn’t be a clear distinction
between the where the background use to be wasn’t so evident, once I felt that
it was of t6he best quality it could be I then went on to add a background to
these scenes. Throughout our other products there was a common theme of a smoky
background therefore I felt as though it was appropriate to add a smoky
background to the video in order to create a link and flow between the website,
the music video and the Digipak. I did this by selecting a smoky background
from YouTube that I thought would look the best, I downloaded this video and
then added it in as a layer underneath the main music video in order for it
show in the background rather than on top of the original scenes. I then had to
export the video using QuickTime conversion as this would allow the video to be
viewed like a regular video and be in the correct format whereby it is able to
be uploaded to YouTube and my blog. During the making of the music video final
cut express was the prominent media technology used as it had all of the
features to create a professional looking music video which I was able to do. I
was responsible for constructing the music video using the final cut express
program even though this was a lot of responsibility I was able to use previous
basic knowledge, which meant that I was the person most able in the group to
construct the video whilst the other members in the group were responsible for
the website and Digipak whereby they had more experience, skill and knowledge using
those programs and creating/developing those products. For the construction of
the Digipak once again the Photoshop program was the main media technology used
in its creation as it had contained many features and gave a lot of freedom
whereby the template was made and all there was left to do was to design and
add images and texts to the actual template. This was fairly simple as that had
to be done was the import of the images and texts however this program allowed
the additions to be edited in a variety of ways, for example blurring out the
background involved the background being drawn around and selected whilst the
artist remained in the original state, then the highlighted background was
blurred simply by clicking the blur button. This appears to be very easy
however the selection of the background required accuracy therefore it became
time consuming as the original state of the artist was manually drawn around on
the computer in order to differentiate between the artist and the background. The
creation of the Digipak process was done by a member of my group called Georgina
who was able to gain basic knowledge and develop skills of the program which
enabled her to create a genre specific and professional looking Digipak. The construction
for the website was carried out by the other member in the group called Gianni and
the process was very similar to the construction of the Digipak however the
program called Wix was used instead of Photoshop. The Wix website gave a series
of templates which one was selected as it gave a basic structure of what the
website will be like then everything was able to be developed around the basic
template, for example a background could be inserted, images and videos could
be posted, text could be added and other links/tabs could be added to the page
in order for our website to be specific to what we wish to create.
During the construction of
the evaluation it was very important to make sure that all of the information
was there and it had to be presented well. Therefore the main media technology
used for this was Microsoft word as this allowed be to write all of the information
that I wished to be presented in my evaluation. For each of the questions I would
use a different format to present the evaluation which meant that a new media
technology would be used. For the evaluation question one I used the media
technology of Prezi in order to present my answer. This is because I was able
to showcase a large amount of writing, which could potentially look of putting
to read, in a much more attractive and interactive format. This was very important
as the evaluation is very intense and contains so much writing that the only
way to project the information yet make it interesting to read is through the presentation
of the answer. I also used a program called Glogster for question two which
once again allowed me to showcase a large amount of information and images in a
more attractive and enticing way. The most interesting way I was able to
construct and answer the evaluation questions was for question three whereby I created a news report to translate my answer
to the question. The first construction process of this answer was finding out
and gathering the audience feedback. The media technology I used for this was
survey monkey; this allowed me to create an online survey regarding what people
thought about the 3 products my group and I had produced. The audience would answer
the survey anonymously which meant that as a group we was able to get honest
feedback. We also created a shot video whereby we asked people on camera what
they thought about our products, we did this so not only were we able to see a
response to our products but so we were able to interact with our target
audience and find out their opinions/feedback. After the feedback had been
gathered we then had to relate this into an answer to the question, we did this
by creating a news report where we were able to respond to the question and
then showcase how we came to those conclusions through our video and background
image of the example survey. This was done through using the green screen to
record the clip of my actual response to the video, and then all of the videos
were gathered and placed in the appropriate places on final cut express. this
was very simple as the footage didn’t needed to be edited much apart from the
green screen scenes where by I used the Chroma keyer once again in order to remove
the background, I then placed a news format background behind me in the correct
position so it appeared that I was in the news room, then the answer was able
to be presented as though it was being presented on the news. This question had
involved the most media technologies (survey monkey, HD camera, final cut
express) as it had contained much more of a process for the presentation to be
as interesting as possible.
Overall I can conclude that
the use of media technologies throughout the research, planning, construction and
evaluation was were different as some were simpler to use than others however
because there was such a large variety of media technologies used throughout
all of these stages I was able to use existing knowledge, develop and expand on
previous skills as well as be introduced and learn how to use media technologies
that will be used in the professional business. I have been able to gain an
understanding into the large amount of media technologies that go into the research,
planning and construction of the media products which is valuable for me as
this is some knowledge on what I will be using in university and later on in a
career.
Thursday, 21 February 2013
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Friday, 8 February 2013
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