Q3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

What I learned from my audience feedback is that my music video covers many conventions within the genre heavy metal, but the small use of effects makes it short of giving the feel of one from real media. I now know how vital effects are and will aim to improve the amount I use next time. I also learned that the use of props provided grabbing shots as the use of tape on the artists mouth was complimented by someone I questionned

Here's a link to the results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/gform?key=0Aj8dje6yi3WzdDlPaUVweDNJSm41ZWhiWWNhc2tYQWc&gridId=0#chart

Final Music Video

Final Ancillary Tasks

Q4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

At the research stage the main media technologies that I used where:

• Blogger - Blogger was a vital media technology as it was used to complete the required coursework, using it made access easy as it is accessable via the internet meaning that work could be done at any time, anywhere. Also the blogger interface makes it easy to upload images, embed video's and sound clips which all make it possible to make my courseowork more interactive and easier to show what I have learnt on the course, giving me a better chance at accessing higher grades.
• Screen Grabs - This media technology allowed me to get a direct copy of pictures, reviews, repsonses and still images within a video. This is a plus because it makes it easier to refer to direct evidence of something and to elaborate on particular shots in a researched video.
• Youtube - Youtube was used in various ways to help me find out information on bands and audience opinions, this influenced me to form certain genre specific questions as I knew I would get the most information from them. Also, it allowed me to create and post video's about answers to questions; on an online community that the whole world has access to, making my coursework more visual and nicer to look at.
• Google Docs - This was used to form a questionnaire in a quick and simple way as result could be put into charts and graphs automatically. Also using this gave me the ability to embed the questionnaire onto my blog where anyone could go on to and answer giving people easy access to it. It also gave me the ability to email the questionnaire around without having to contact the people again for their answers, saving time and making the audience research contactless as I didnt have to meet one person face to face.

At the Planning stage the main media technologies I used were:

• Animatic (iMovie) - The animatic was made using iMovie and it was basically a slide show of our storyboard in time with the song. This was good because I could manipulate the length of time each picture lasted for making it a very good visual representation of how the official music video would look. This was an effective way of my group seeing if the chosen shots were good or bad and helped us decide what to leave in and take out. Also, it was a good way of showing my understanding of how to use iMovie and how to upload various images, thus making the courseowork better.
• Still Camera - The still camera was used to go out and take pictures of various potential locations of the video shoot. Using this allowed all the images to be put in one place and compared on whether they were suitable or not.

At the Construction stage the main media technologies I used were:

• Da font - This was use to gather up approriate fonts for ad covers, album titles and artwork for my genre. It was good as the wide range of fonts meant we could use more than one, and search for almost any type.
• Photoshop - This was used to manipulate images so that they could look better and enhance the quality of the final media product.
• Tripods - This was used to give us perfect still, level shots whilst filming.
• Fig Rig - This allowed us to use video camera's in an unorthodox way where shots could be rotated and held without getting the effect of a hand shaking.
• Final Cut - This was used to edit the music video at a professional, intricate and detailed standard in order to get the best results when editing was completed. It allowed this as there were many unique transitions and effects exclusive to final cut.

At the Evaluation stage the main media technologies I used were:

• Facebook - This was used to gather feedback from peers and others as it gave me the ability to post my video on a social networking site and ask the people for opinions and answers to questions in an easy and efficient way.

Q2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

The combination of my main media product and ancillary texts are effective because the two compliment each other. The ancillary texts follow the themes of the media product using the same colours, being, red, black and grey. Also the text fonts used are conventional and will be recognised as stereotypical fonts for this genre. But I feel the way in which the two combine well is based on how the pictures in the ancillary section create a similar emotion to the main media product and develop conventions of my genre. This is done by one picture being the whole band standing together closely and we see Freddie glaring at what would be the audience. This glare creates a feeling of heart-break and anger which is what is portrayed in the main media product. But, whilst creating this emotion it is also developing a convention of heavy metal as many band pictures are similar, with the band standing close together with a stern look on their faces. But this simple glare changes the whole theme and feel of the product as it is giving the customers an insight into what the product could be about. I think this is effective because it will draw more customers in based on curiosity and intrigue. Our advert is the same image as the album cover, we decided to do this because we want the audience to be familiar with the artist’s look and this will make it easier to find the album when looking for it in stores as they will recognise the faces as they will have previously seen it in the ad. Also, in the ad there are ratings from Kerrang who are a popular rock magazine. Putting this is effective as it tells the audience that if a well established and influential magazine think the album is good then it must be worth buying, boosting the amount of people that look about buying a copy. On the ad there are also links to places where the album can be bought so it can be found efficiently without confusion. All this combined with the main media product is effective because releasing all at once will hit the public hard in the sense that ads and the video will be everywhere they go, getting the song in their heads and information on where to get it.

Q1. In what ways does your media product, use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

One way my media product uses conventions of my genre is by the video being structured in a stereotypically in relation to the genre; which is Heavy Metal. The video has a variety of locations but the main base of the video is set in a concert like hall where we see the band performing as if they would do to fans. This is a convention as most videos in this genre have some involvement of performance shots where we see the artists engaging with fans and “rocking out”, this is the effect we were trying to re-create. A way in which my media product develops conventions of my genre is by us using very symbolic but extreme cutaways. An example of this is when we see the main artist in the band, Freddie, with black tape over his mouth; this is to represent the lyrics, “Your silence is so haunting, your words relentless, burying in”, showing yet she’s so quiet her words are so powerful and this is the visual representation we came up with. It also challenges conventions of a music video as you cannot see the lip-synching which is what audiences expect. My media product challenges conventions of my genre as there are subtle uses of bright colours which are not seen in heavy metal videos which are almost always seen to use dark tones such as navy blue, black or purple. The use of bright colours in our video is to add intensity to the emotion of the music video where we see Freddie throw a bunch of bright red roses onto a fire. These red roses symbolise the love in the song between Freddie and his ex and represents the love burning away. Just the colour red intensifies this scene as red is the colour of pain, love and danger. Another convention of a music video that my video follows is the use of editing; in the video the shot cuts are in time with the beat, reflecting the tempo of the song through imagery. This helps to create the specific emotion that we’re trying portray on the audience which is good as it will mean that the video is effective at grabbing the audience.

teacher analysis 2nd draft - ad and CD cover

Teacher Assessment 11/11/11 TME

This is the assessment Mr Metcalfe took the time to write out for me. It is good to get feedback from teachers on our blogs because they know the exact specifications, strengths, weaknesses and what i need to be doing in order to hit the highest possible marks. This is as good as the peer assessment because aswell as working hard to impress fellow classmates we know the exact protocols we need to get good marks.

Location Permission Letter

I was in charge of contacting my dad who owns the bar we were looking to use, I am waiting on his reply to the email just outlining whether its okay or not to use the site.

Track Permission Letter

We have e-mailed the record label via their website and we are waiting a reply for confirmation and authorisation that we can use our chosen song choice. Usually they wont reply but sending the e-mail covers us in case they approach us and say that we never asked as we have visual evidence of doing so.

Initial Ideas

This is just a simple mind map showing the brainstormed ideas between the group. We discussed possible bands, song choice, performance, and costumes

Advert Designs

This is the kind of advert we are looking to put out and it is similar to the album cover. To create more meaning we have decided to make connotations between the album title and the props in the picture by dying some seaweed red and editing it to look as if each artist has red seaweed hands. This links to the title "Blood Red Ocean" where the red dye will represent the "blood red" and the seaweed linking to show that we have been in the "Ocean". We feel this will catch most peoples eye whether they listen to our genre or not, creating interest and enabling us as much publicity as we can. The picture is set in an urban background just to make sure that the links to sea isn't too strong and to ground the album that we are normal people building a relationship between the audience and us.

Concept

This is a video we put together to outline what concepts we were brainstorming as a group and links between ideas. We thought this would be a good visual way of showing this as it involves filming, writing, conversations, editing and the final uploading of the video to youtube.

Roles

When making a music video there are a number of jobs that need doing to make it go successfully, we are going to share these out between our group so we have all contributed equally, the allocations are as follows:

• Abbie- Filming, photographer.
• Luke- Filming, costume and props organiser.
• Daryl- Filming, location manager.
• Freddie- Filming, lead singer, technician.

As you can see we are all filming as we all have good filming techniques and know the basics and advanced skills needed to make effective shot. The other jobs were allocated based on each others strengths and weaknesses and we feel that having the roles will make the best out of what we can and cant do.

CD cover designs

As you can see we have gone for the conventional look with the front cover simply having the name of the album with some stereotypical colours to help build up rapor with the customers based on first glimpses of the cover. The back cover is just a star in a ring which is quite demonic and once again builds up the link between the band genre and the connotations associated. On the inside centre and left we have chosen to put a picture, a very random, obscure one as most genre related albums have this.

Talent Release Form

This is the talent release form which is a legal document we hand out to all actors involved in the making of the music video. It is required to cover us from there being prosecuted for unauthorised use of images, video clips on the internet and in public. Each person involved simply signs it if they comply and they are filed safe for future reference if needed.

Photo Shoot Plan

This is the photo shoot schedule once again just making it clear when, where and who's required eliminating confusion between people and allowing time for people to be organised for the shoot.

Peer Assessment

This is the peer assessment done by Luke Nolan. It is good for me to see what my peers think of my work as they are working t the same level as me so if they think it isn't of standard I know they are being honest to hep me achieve better. It is also good because I ca see what I need to work on and get to see what my work is like from another point of view.

Location Shots

This is a picture of a car park near my house, I feel this location could be a main contender to be chosen as i feel that it is an unusual place, inside is dark and quite empty automatically giving it a mood to a video and making it easy to film in without distractions and problems.

This is a picture underneath an overpass in Croydon. I think this place would be ideal simply because its isolated and clear, this would enable us to link lyrics to the location. But, the only problem here would be  actors concentration levels as cars are constantly driving round and this may cause a problem. But, we wouldnt need any permissions to use this place as its public property eliminating complications with permissions. 

This is an old picture of a bar that is run by my family, it has recently been refurbished meaning inside looks immaculate, and has a stage. This would be perfect for performance shots as the stage looks as if the band was performing at a gig which is what we intend on including in the video. Out of most of the locations I think this will be the most likely to be used as it has the potential to make our video stand out and look as professional as possible without all the expenses.

This is a picture tzken from google images of an abandoned warehouse, this would be a perfect location as it would immediately set the tone to the video and would be good just because its an unusual place and soo many things can be done inside it without problems, such as, throwing paint on walls etc. the main problem with here would just be safety and hygiene as it might be abandoned for safety reasons and being lef for soo long without being attened to would be hygiene wouldnt be good as there would be animal feces and ther potential diseases and infestations.

 

This is another picture I have taken from google images of inside fairfield halls as I couldnt get inside at the time to get a photo of one of the theatre rooms. This is the the room I was thinking of using clearly because of the performance oportuinities as shots of the gig could be done here as it has a big stage, but the only problem with this is getting permission to use it, clashes with booking dates, expenses to use it and its size. The location looks a little too big as we wouldnt be able to fill the whole theatre and wouldnt make the video look good with an half empty gig. 

Shooting Schedule

This is the shooting schedule as you can see it will be based over 4 separate days giving us time to prepare properly for each without being in a rush or pressed for tim. The shooting schedule makes it easier for everyone to understand when and where were shooting, what is needed and who is required. this makes it clear, organised eliminating any confusion or mistakes.

Lyric Annotation

List of props, costumes, make-up and equipment.

There are various props that we can use to add meaning, capturing visuals and lyric relation in order to make the music video as effective as possible in its portrayal to the audience. The most vital props that we will need will be:

• Band Equipment: Guitars, Drum kit, Microphone, Microphone Stand & 2-3 Amplifiers 
• Red Paint (Possibly watered down, as this is going to be thrown at someone or some thing)
• Candles
• Posters
• School Books & Stationary
• Digital Camera
• Mobile Phone
• Various Beauty Equipment: Make up, nail varnish etc

Storyboarding

This is a video showing my group making the storyboards. We had a set order of how things were done to make it easier and to keep organisation. We found talking about each shot as a group was better than each person being allocated a part of the video, this is because of continuity and the overall tone of the video.

This is an animatic showing the storyboard in a more visual way, and helps people see where, when and for how long each shot is going to be in relation the song track. This is a good way to show off the various skills we have learnt over the past two years as it combines image taking, track syncing and the use of imovie editing.

Image annotation

Based on the genre (rock) we would like the artist in the video to look very stereotypical of a rock band and this will mean following conventions of an artist. This will include:

• Black t-shirts with gothic graphics on it
• Skinny jeans, various colours
• Straightened hair, rough/jagged
• Vans (Canvas shoes)
• Tape (accessory) 
• Anti-Christ like jewellery
• Make-up, foundation, eyeliner, painted finger nails
• Tattoo's
• Dark hoodies
• Wooly hats/Tight baseball caps
• Piercings eg. Nose, ears, lips, eyebrows

This is what my group and I will encorporate in order to achieve the most realistic music video we can. Also, this will build up the relationship between the viewers and the artist as they will know the song is based on thier genre just from seeing how they dress.

Song Details

We have chosen the song "A single moment of sincerity" by Asking Alexandria because as a group we feel based on lyrics, guidelines and the chosen genre this song would be the best appropriate in order for us to create a video with enough quality to allow us to reach the highest possible marks. The genre is Heavy Metal which is a very passionate genre where the artist(s) usually record songs expressing feelings, experiences and views on people, things and situations. This is good for our group as it means that when story boarding we can come up with unusual ideas, make expressive connections between visual actions and lyrics, and, overall think outside the box.

Technical Tutorials

This is what we learned on photoshop, we learned how to import photos, edit them and add different effects to them to create different visuals, as you can see above we tried various techniques to exercise our understanding of how to use it.

This is a video using jung to show that me and a few other class mates understand how cut and edit videos using final cut.

Peer Assessment

This is the peer assessment of my blog that Luke Nolan filled out in order to give me constructive crticism and positive feedback. This is helpful because as it is one of my peers Im more likely to take what he says on board because as a young person you want to impress your friends so this idea was good as I now know what my peers expect and what i should expect of them aswell. As you can see my blog needs alot of improvement in order to get it to an A/B standard and i shall do this by doing work to the best standard that i can

Assessment TME 24/09/11

Daryl,

WWW - Considering that you had no entries when this was last formatively assessed, you have made some good progress. There is some good analysis, particularly of the pop videos and of the CD covers, particularly the Chilli Peppers one.


EBI - You need to include visual imagery with each post to illustrate your points. Particularly the post on the Conventions of a rock video (even through the written work on this is of a good standard).

There could be a little more explanation of the mood board.  Many of the artists have not got shirts on for instance - is this a convention? Why do you think so?


-Much more analysis of the low cost music videos (Although some good points about locations being easily accessible)

-Your entry on the RnB video "My Boo" is long-winded and has lots of waffle. Cinematography means the way in which the camera work is used to create meaning. What shot types have they used and why? Don't give a judgment like "effective" or "good" or "bad" when discussing the micro-elements, just explain what is there and how it creates meaning.

- Include the adverts you are analyzing, you need 3 and they need to be some detail: i.e. not bullet points.

- Complete your analysis of the Rock music videos.

- You have plagiarized your entries for the record label blog entry. You need to adjust this immediately! This also needs to be completed. Keep it simple. What is each of the labels focused on? Do they have one specific genre of music they deal with or are they more generalist? Would they be a good label for your artist?


Grade (Unfortunately) - PR

Genre Research: What are the conventions of rock music?

The one significant convention of rock music that I have picked up on whilst watching the various music videos is that instruments are a dominant fixture with dark colour schemes put across to portray a gothic feel. Other conventions include:

• Heavy guitar solo's throughout
• Fast pace shots linked to the tempo of music
• There is usually a narrative followed and clips from live performances
• The clothing is very dark, gothic and over the top
• Strange locations and settings
• The instruments seen usually have the bands logo on them, this could be for advertising the band and so that people have a visual memory of what the bands logo is when browsing stores or the internet.
• The lyrics in the songs are usually negative in some way

Genre research: How do rock artists like to be represented?

Based on these pictures you can see that the artist like to represented as gothic, dark people with a passion for music as instruments are involved in most pictures. Also there seems to be a liking for tattoos as that is the conventional look of the rock artist. Also, things to do with death and darkness are more conventions as you can see skulls above.