Evaluation Question - How did you use media technologies In the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

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

Media technology has been used through the creation of our media texts. the first point of which we used this type of technology was during the research for the creation of our music video. In order to gain a good understanding of other media texts then we used the internet or Web 2.0 to allow us to research other music videos and performances from bands of a similar genre. Once we had researched the different codes and conventions we were able to try and recreate these by using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. By doing this we were able to gain a good understanding of how to create such conventions and use them when we come to the creation of our own music video and ancillary texts. This process eventually ended up turning into our planning stage as we were able to take the codes and conventions gathered in our research and use them with our knowledge of Adobe Photoshop to create drafts and templates for our Ancillary texts such as our digi-pak.

We made the most use of media technologies during the construction stage of our task. The music video which we created was done entirely using the iMovie program. This allowed our group to edit the clips that we had recorded previously and put them together along with the audio clip of the song we chose to cover. The editing stage of our music video was vital as we had to ensure that the video and music ran in sync with one another to create the professional feel that we was looking for. This technology also allowed us to make changes to the clips we had already recorded to help further the feel that we were trying to create. iMovie allowed us to darken any clips by adding shadow that we felt were not yet "creepy" enough to fit in with the theme of our video. We also changed the contrast of the clip with the girl and the horse in to make it brighter and make the whites bolder and more vibrant. This emphasises the feeling and message we were trying to get across that there is good inside of everyone. 

Another part of our construction task which used media technologies was the construction of our ancillary texts. Our digi-pak and advertisement poster were made entirely on adobe photoshop. This allowed us to create a large range of effects and help to replicate the theme of our music video and put it into the form of our digi-pak. For example the exterior of our album cover contains the image of the wolf from our music video behind the bars from within the stables, this helps to maintain the theme of the music video and thus strengthen the brand image. Another way in which we linked our ancillary texts to our music video was by using the image of the girl and the white horse on the inside of the album cover, once again conveying the message that everyone has good inside of them. We were able to once again control the brightness through adjusting the contrast in Photoshop. By using Adobe Photoshop we were able to replicate the image of the lips and teeth used in the band setting of our music video, this also helped to emphasise the brand image of our media texts and make them more recognisable.

An example of how we used Photoshop in the creation of our ancillary texts 

We were also able to use media technologies to in the evaluation stage of our music video. In order to gain a good understanding of how well our music video has been created we had to compare it to the music videos created by other groups in our class. We were able to view other music videos using iMovie and compare techniques that were used such as shadows, contrasts and editing pace. We were also able to compare Photoshop techniques in relation to our ancillary texts as Photoshop was used for the creation of all of these texts

Evaluation Question - What have you learned from your audience feedback?

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

In order to gain a good level of audience feedback we compared our media product to those produced by other groups within our class. We all opened ip our work and slowly revolved around the class watching and reviewing the products made by each group. By doing this we were able to obtain an in depth level of audience feedback whilst being able to compare the codes and conventions from the range of different videos. Once completed we were then able to return to our own work and read through comments that other groups had left about our video, this gave us a good insight of what people thought about our video. All of the groups that reviewed our work commented on the way we had use codes and conventions to produce a horror theme throughout the video, this is a good sign as this was one of our main objectives when planning and filming the music video. Other group members also commented on the video saying that the choice of locations was effective in maintaining the theme throughout the video.

As well as a feedback sheet which other group members could fill in, we also had a class discussion where we talked about what we thought worked well with each video and what we thought could have been better. From this group discussion we noted down a a list of quotes in relation to our music video, these quotes are as follows:

• "The choice of different locations helped to maintain the theme of the video"
• "The use of lighting from scene to scene emphasises the creepy feel"
• "the editing in relation to the video and the music track is of a high standard"
• "Some parts of the video could of been filmed in higher quality"
• "When filming some scenes the camera could of been placed in a more steady position"

In order to gain more audience feedback we assembled one of the other groups from our class, we then interviewed them, asking them questions on what they thought about our video. We filmed this process so that we could watch it back and take note of some of their answers. 

Evaluation question - How effective is the combination of your main products and ancillary texts?

How effective is the combination of your main products and ancillary texts?

As well as producing a music video our group also had to produce a range of ancillary texts. These texts included a Digi-pak to hold our cd and a advertisement poster. In order for these to be successful, they had to fit in with the theme and genre of our main product which was the music video. I feel that we met this criteria well and created a recognisable brand image by taking the codes and conventions used within not only real media horror related texts but our own codes and conventions. We feel that by using the same techniques and themes through the main product as well as the ancillary text it creates a consistent theme which helps to make the texts more professional as they fit in with one another.

Here above is the front cover of the digi-pak which our group has designed and created, this process was performed in Adobe Photoshop, which allowed us to perform and range of different techniques which help us to create a similar theme/style as our main product the music video. As well as using techniques such as shadow, contrast and layering we also used elements from our music video to ensure that it created a brand image that our audience would easily be able to recognise. From the front cover you can see that we used both a scene from the music video of the performers inside of the cage location, and we took this and put a layer over the top of this image and illustrated an image of the lips used as the band banner within our music video. We done this because once again we felt that it would provide a relevant yet unique way of creating a professional brand imagine, reminding audiences of the music video. 

Above is the back cover of the digi-pak which our group designed, once again with the back cover we wanted to keep the theme and brand image consistent. In order to do this we used a illustration of the wolf character used within the actual music video. You can see below how the back cover of the digi-pak looks very similar to the image below taken from our music video. We felt that this would be effective in making our audience recognise the character and generate more brand awareness. In order to make the back cover more unique and eye catching to our audiences we used Adobe Photoshop to adjust the image and create cartoon affect. As well as making the image more eye catching we also feel it added to the creepy theme as the metal bars of the cage appear older and almost appear to have a rusted texture. Along with the image used on the back cover of the digi-pak we also chose the text to match the cartoon effect added through photoshop. We feel that this works well with the colours and theme of our digi-pak.

Above is the inside section of our digi-pak. We felt that it was necessary for our group to continue with the theme used throughout our music video in order to make our ancillary texts consistent and profesional. In our music video there is a section where the young girl is seen with the horse, we used imovie to change the contrast of this section in order to make it brighter, giving the impression that there is good inside of everyone. We wanted to use this idea and use the inside of the digi-pak to contain the same theme of the horse and the girl. We feel that this helped to strengthen the brand awareness as well as the storyline of the video. In order to create the same feel as the video we darkened the edges of this text and made the inner section bright/light.

Another aspect on the inside of our digi-pak which may not be apparent at first glance is the heads will roll logo/banner which we created to use throughout our media texts. We decided to change the contrast and transparency of the logo using Photoshop in order for it to blend in with the inner image of the disk holder. When done this so that when our audiences removes the disk from the digi-pak they are reminded of both the music video as well as the brand image.

 This image above shows the final section of the Digi-pak. This section will be placed inside the the digi-pak and will hold the disk. We felt that in order to keep a consistent theme going throughout our work we wanted to make it similar to the other inside page that we have. To do this we decided to use a simple design which could be seen around the disk and the use of light, bright colours helps to emphasise the message our group was trying to convey, that inside everyone is some good/purity.                                                                  

A prop and location which we used within our video 

One of the locations used within our video as well as the band banner 

You can see from the two images above how we implemented elements of our music video into our ancillary texts by using a mixture of the band location as well as the group manner which was made and used throughout our work. 

Evaluation question - In what ways does your media produce use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

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

I feel that our music video has used, as well as developed forms and conventions of other music videos of a similar genre. During our research we look at a range of different music videos, we mainly looked at videos from the indie rock genre, however we also looked at other music videos which had a similar "Horror" theme that we were eager to create, an example of this was the music video for "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. 

To help convey the horror theme we used a range of different techniques throughout our video. The first of which is the lighting that we used. For the majority of the video we used dark lighting methods, which only lit up the character or prop we wanted the audience to focus on. We feel that this helped to create a creepy feel is it helped to keep the audience in suspension of what may be in the background of the shot.

The second factor which helped us use the forms and conventions of real media texts was the locations used within the filming process. we tried to ensure that these locations were similar to the ones used in other videos of the same genre and theme. One of the locations used was the woods outside of Shelby's house. This provided an area with lots of space which was also dark. the addition of the trees and low lighting from the camera also helped to emphasis the theme we was trying to create. Another location which we feel fitted the theme of our video well was the horse stables. As well as providing a good location for the set up of the band and the performance part of the video it also had an array of metal bars, giving a jail cell effect. This helped to create a feeling for whatever is performing inside of this area is possibly dangerous.

The props and costumes used within the video were another way in which we helped to convey the forms and conventions of other music videos. We wanted the costumes to fit in with our theme however, during the performance section of the video we also wanted the costumes to look more professional. This could be seen as challenging the the forms and conventions of traditional horror based music videos. Although this might be the case we feel that this would help to appeal to our target audience more efficiently. One prop which we feel stood out was the large dolls head, we tried to implement this into the filming of our video as it would related to the title of the song as well as the lyrics "heads will roll". This prop allowed us to create a more literal section of our video which i feel adds to the horror feel represented by our video.

Our music video

Above is the final video which we created for the main task of our media project.

Planning ahead - storyboards

Planning ahead

Planning ahead was a key part in the production of our music video. it allowed us to plan and prepare our locations, this ment props could be put into place such as the band instruments and the decoration of the horse stables. An example of us planning ahead is when we research the permissions for filming activity such as our music video in a local cemetery. It turned out that we were unable to use this location unless we applied for permission, this however would take to long so we decided not to use this location.
Storyboards

By creating story boards we were able to plan out the performance and filming of our music video on paper as if it was a story. We were able to plot the main points of the video to ensure that we captured all what we originally planned to be in our story. By giving us a detailed outline of each part of the music video we were able to refer back to the storyboard after each section of filming had been completed. 

Editing Schedule

Editing Schedule

As well as having a filming schedule we will also have to have an editing schedule to ensure that the making of the music video is completed in time for our deadline date. To cut down the time scale which it took to edit the video we split the editing down into sections. One of the editing techniques we used was adjusting the contrast of the video clips to increase its brightness, this clip was of the girl in the white dress with the horse. My increasing the brightness of the clip it helped to emphasise the feeling we were trying to get across, that is the purity and goodness inside of everyone. I feel that we stuck to our editing schedule well which helped us understand what we was meant to be doing at what point of progress. This helped us keep track of our work.