I believe that my media product challenges and develops real media products in the research, planning and construction that was under-taken. The question of genre conventions in real media products is huge. For every genre in the industry now, there are expected forms and conventions that have been developed and formed over time. These define what genre the music falls in to, and everything shown in the video should allow it to fall into a particular category. Researching the conventions of a feel-good/indie video allowed me to match them, and further them by putting my own edge on the genre.
I feel my music video challenges real media products because it the scenes in it appear so natural and relaxed when they were mostly acted out and directed. The fact that i used young, youthful people also helps create a realistic and accessible video for my target audience. The natural, feel-good tone ensures it isn't intimidating to anyone as many videos can be today. For example, many RnB videos constantly show under-dressed, made up girls which are in danger of making girls feel like that is how you have to look to feel beautiful and gain attention. From the feedback i received, it seems my video generally put a smile on peoples faces, which i believe is a successful result for the genre i was trying to accomodate for.
These genre characteristics link to a theorists ideas we studied at the start of production, Goodwin. His theory is based on seven main principles which every music video is trying to acheive. With the exception of a couple, (voyeurism and notions of looking) i feel i have included aspects of them in my own video. For example, links between the music and visuals are shown through editing to the beat of the music, and certain movements appearing to match lyrics to the visuals also. As mentioned, i took note of genre characteristics and also focused on a mainly concept based music video.
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Evaluation : How did you use media technologies in your construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
Throughout this project, i used many different forms of technologies in every stage of my main product and anicillary texts.
During research, i used these technologies to understand and find out more information about the band Rusted Root and anything else that may be relevant. I first accessed the internet, looking at many sites including the bands official website, MTVs website, and wikipedia. I gained a large number of images from Google which helped me explain different genres, record labels and more. I used Google as my search method as i find it provides the most relevant information in a clear and accessible manner.
To edit certain pictures, i used the programme Paint as it quickly helped me format something into a Jpeg picture and crop and resize it as i wished.
When planning, i used my own camera to take location shots and also to take pictures of my storyboards etc, to then upload onto my computer. I used word programmes to type up ideas or information that may be helpful to my project. When carrying out my questionnaire, i used printing devices to produce mass copies for distributing them to different age groups.
When constructing my media product i used a video camera and tripod. The tripod enabled me to take still, angled shots if needed. I used Windows Movie Maker to edit my music video on my own computer. Although i found it easy and straight-forward to use, i did feel limited at times with the effects and editing choices i could add. Last year, i produced the product in a group and we used a group members Mac to access iMovie. I feel Windows is weaker in terms of its editing facilities, however i still found it gave me a positive result in the end once i got used to the new experience. For my digipack and poster i used photoshop, this allowed me to move images around easily, change light density, and also add text over the top.
In terms of evaluation, again the internet played a huge part in gaining my vital feedback. I used social networking sites such as Facebook to gather opinions on my work, and obviously used Youtube to get my video seen.
During research, i used these technologies to understand and find out more information about the band Rusted Root and anything else that may be relevant. I first accessed the internet, looking at many sites including the bands official website, MTVs website, and wikipedia. I gained a large number of images from Google which helped me explain different genres, record labels and more. I used Google as my search method as i find it provides the most relevant information in a clear and accessible manner.
To edit certain pictures, i used the programme Paint as it quickly helped me format something into a Jpeg picture and crop and resize it as i wished.
When planning, i used my own camera to take location shots and also to take pictures of my storyboards etc, to then upload onto my computer. I used word programmes to type up ideas or information that may be helpful to my project. When carrying out my questionnaire, i used printing devices to produce mass copies for distributing them to different age groups.
When constructing my media product i used a video camera and tripod. The tripod enabled me to take still, angled shots if needed. I used Windows Movie Maker to edit my music video on my own computer. Although i found it easy and straight-forward to use, i did feel limited at times with the effects and editing choices i could add. Last year, i produced the product in a group and we used a group members Mac to access iMovie. I feel Windows is weaker in terms of its editing facilities, however i still found it gave me a positive result in the end once i got used to the new experience. For my digipack and poster i used photoshop, this allowed me to move images around easily, change light density, and also add text over the top.
In terms of evaluation, again the internet played a huge part in gaining my vital feedback. I used social networking sites such as Facebook to gather opinions on my work, and obviously used Youtube to get my video seen.
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Evaluation : What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
Audience feedback was always an essential aspect of my project, and helped assist my decision and make small but effective changes when needed. Firstly, i posted a question on Yahoo answers to see what people generally thought about the lyrics of the song. I did this because everyone takes different meanings from the same lyrics, and i knew this would help me get an idea of what would be the mood and tone expected in the video.
Generally, the feedback i received were "it means moving on and going out into the world" and "they are talking about freedom and happiness". A especially helpful answer i received was as follows, "Their lyrics can mean different things to different people, but for me it was inspiration to reach for my goals, knowing my friends and family would be there to support me....or more simply, where ever life takes you, there will be friends and family -young and old -to support you through your life." I found this inspiring and it was similar to what i personally gained from the songs lyrics also.
I had to think carefully about who my target audience for the video would be to enable me to satisfy their expectations. I regularly showed my work to friends and family during the editing process and gathered helpful feedback and suggestions on how i could improve. For example, taking some of the slow motion out and cutting the shots along to the music a bit cleaner. I listened and acted on these views and it helped my final product become more appealing.
Since uploading my music video onto Youtube, i have recieved 47 views to date which was pleasing as a student project isn't one you'd usually search for, and people have taken the time to watch it in full. I believe i have learnt a lot from my audience feedback, and i think there would be few things i would change if i had the chance to do it again as the majority of feedback i received was positive.
I had to think carefully about who my target audience for the video would be to enable me to satisfy their expectations. I regularly showed my work to friends and family during the editing process and gathered helpful feedback and suggestions on how i could improve. For example, taking some of the slow motion out and cutting the shots along to the music a bit cleaner. I listened and acted on these views and it helped my final product become more appealing.
Since uploading my music video onto Youtube, i have recieved 47 views to date which was pleasing as a student project isn't one you'd usually search for, and people have taken the time to watch it in full. I believe i have learnt a lot from my audience feedback, and i think there would be few things i would change if i had the chance to do it again as the majority of feedback i received was positive.
Evaluation : How effective is the combination of your main product and your ancillary texts?
I believed it was very important that both my poster and my digipack had a clear link to my music video. This is because the audience will instantly make the connection between these intergrated products if the same themes are presented. I played around with different ideas and imagery that could be the common theme throughout the different products; for example whether to have a band shown, whether to use animation and also if an image from the shooting would fit best. It was important for me to think through the options carefully, bearing in mind always that audiences would connect all the products as one if done well. I researched other bands products, noticing straight away that they all had a link of some form between their products also.
After much consideration, I decided to use imagery for the common main theme in my main product and my ancillary texts. I knew it would have to be an image taken directly from my music video to ensure the connection between them was made. I decided on the image i did for the album cover and poster because it is shot shown quite regularly in the video, and also one that stands out and is memorable. This way it will be noticeable to not only loyal fans, but potential new fans aswell. The fact that the poster includes an image from the video will also help promote the album, even if fans have not yet seen the new video on television. Another reason i decided on taking this angle for the ancillary tasks was my research into Rusted Roots album covers. They go for very concept-based artistic covers, not ones that show themselves. This encouraged me even more so that imagery was the best option to take forward.
Overall i believe the combination between my main product and ancillary texts were successful. This is because i ensured there was a strong link between all three, as well as attempting to make it look as professional as i could.
After much consideration, I decided to use imagery for the common main theme in my main product and my ancillary texts. I knew it would have to be an image taken directly from my music video to ensure the connection between them was made. I decided on the image i did for the album cover and poster because it is shot shown quite regularly in the video, and also one that stands out and is memorable. This way it will be noticeable to not only loyal fans, but potential new fans aswell. The fact that the poster includes an image from the video will also help promote the album, even if fans have not yet seen the new video on television. Another reason i decided on taking this angle for the ancillary tasks was my research into Rusted Roots album covers. They go for very concept-based artistic covers, not ones that show themselves. This encouraged me even more so that imagery was the best option to take forward.
Overall i believe the combination between my main product and ancillary texts were successful. This is because i ensured there was a strong link between all three, as well as attempting to make it look as professional as i could.
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