Evaluation Question 4

The above presentation is for evaluation question 4:

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

Below is the more detailed script of the presentation.

Blogger:

Blogger was the main medium I used for the research, planning and presentation element of my production. I used this regularly for action plans and tutorials, my action plans would allow me to plan what I wanted to do throughout the weeks and I would often go and cross these off after I had completed them, I also kept track of tutorials given through members of staff so that I was on track for doing what I should have been doing. As well as this, my blog was used to create textual analysis’ of existing music videos, digipacks and magazine advertisements which allowed me to discover conventions of such as well as inspire my own work. I also analysed many lyrics from the videos I analysed to find conventions within lyric connotations as this  is something I also needed to consider in our own production. Blogger also allowed me to share updates, videos, plans and questionnaires that I had completed for audience research and feedback. We created numerous questionnaires and feedback videos which were then shared on the blog for others to see. I also shared a number of mood boards and used blogger to analyse a selection of narrative theories, these were important to show as it expressed my knowledge and interest in the conventions and theories along with adding diversity to the blog. As well as this, I published a selection of style profiles and character information so that our video was fully planned and we have taken everything into consideration. Blogger allowed us to edit fonts, arrangements, share a range of photo’s and also schedule our posts.

Another technology used was Final Cut Pro, this is the program we used to edit both the preliminary task, the final task and cut the music clips. We often used the blade tool and the cut tool on final cut pro to make clips the lengths that we wished them to be in time with the music and these are also the tools we used to cut the music clip. We also used tools on final cut pro such as the ‘change speed’ section which allowed us to set a percentage speed for the clip so it could be either sped up or slowed down. During our video, we used a selection of filters and transitions ot make the video more professional, for example we used lightening filters on clips such as Lee driving the car, or the kaleidoscope effect over the crowd scene. Along with this, I moved the angle of many scenes to either side or zoomed into the scenes such as the double effect clip of Bella lip syncing so that both scenes could be shown on top of each other without being mixed or blurry. We also layered many frames such as Bella singing on top of scenes and the kaleidoscope effect by layering one scene above the other and lowering the opacity of the upper clip so that it was faded into the bottom clip. Final cut pro allowed out productions to look more professional and allow us to experiment and become creative in our work. Although we struggled initially through G321, our skills were much more refined this year and we were able to sync our video in time to the music in terms of both lyrics and beat and all together make a more successful video.

Photoshop was another technology used within our production in terms of the ancillary tasks. I downloaded a selection of fonts and imported them through photoshop in order to use a chosen font consistently throughout my production pieces. I also used a variety of brushes in photoshop from the star brush, to the eyelash brush from the brush palette in photoshop to enhance sections of my images or add simply effects such as the 4/5 stars added as ratings on the CD covers. A selection of these can be shown in the print screens below. I also changed a lot of colour levels and effects to the images through tools such as ‘selective colour’ tool along with the ‘change colour levels’ and ‘black and white’ tool to edit colour levels to adjust sections such as the models skin tone which may have been slightly pink or yellowed. I also added a selection of layers in my production so that I could easily add or remove sections such as text or images such as a bar code. To allow me to do such things I downloaded a selection of online brushes such as eyelashes to enhance my production and I also changed the opacity's of a selection of brushes so that they were less or more strong, for example I altered the opacity of the burn tool to edit Bella’s eyeliner without making it look unrealistic. These brushes were used in my production to darken make-up features or lighten hair and facial sections.

Outside of online technologies, I used a selection of physical technologies also.For example, we used a Canon EOS 7D camera of extreme HD quality, we used this for around 90% of our entire production to ensure that our production looked as professional as possible and as clear as possible. Along with this, we took a Samsung Hd video camera as a back up camera and to ensure we could always gain footage, we also used this camera to film evidence of ourselves creating the production. At some points, such as the preliminary tasks and the scene of the crowd, we were unable to take either of the video camera therefore we used phone cameras such as a Samsung Andriod phone and an iPhone 4.

There were also a number of minor technologies we used within larger technologies such as Blogger. For example, we used a selection of online codes such as the code for a rollover image to add creativity to the images we were posting when analysiing questionnaire results. YouTube also played a large part in our productions as all of our videos, small or large, were uploaded to this site and then therefore shared, viewed by others or added to our blog. Our images however were all uploaded and shared via photobucket, this was also a way of safely saving all of our images in case they were lost or damaged within a post. Sites such as Wordle or Word-Hearts were used to share our information such as key words in audience feedback, this added creativity again to our blog rather than writing simply in prose. Finally, simple programmes such as Word were used to crop images or create mood boards to be uploaded to the blog.

Finally, are the technologies I used to create my evaluation. For question 1, I used Prezi, this allowed me to create a navigated presentation with text, videos and images in a stylish format. Prezi is also a professional looking website which can be easily used and has a wide range of designs to chose from. Along with this, for question 2 I decided to use the site PowToon, this is an animation website which allows you to create a unique presentation with music, transitions and unique templates or designs. I was able to use a variety of print screens from my own work in this program along with using the track  for my music video within this. Emaze was the site that I used for question 3 of the evaluation, this is a creative presentation website which allows a range or layouts, colour schemes and medias that can be inserted. This allowed me again to enter a range of videos, images and texts. Finally, for question 4 I used Flipsnack to share a selection of hand-made pages for the evaluation. This allowed me to express some creativity again and avoid long and boring amounts of writing as I believed another post similar to Emaze or Prezi would be too much words, not enough creativity.

Evaluation Question 3

The above presentation is for evaluation question 3:

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

The below text is the more detailed original script of the question:

Within all of our productions, we gained a selection of consistent audience feedback so that we were able to alter, improve or appreciate our work. We received an array of feedback throughout the process of research and planning and we used a range of ways to collect feedback, initially we created questionnaires to find our target audience and discover what is was that this audience was looking for.We found from this that our target audience would be young adults, that the narrative should have a structured storyline along with other things such as the theme being relationships. We took all of this into account when creating the plan and script for our music video. A second piece of research we conducted was an interview with a selection of people from school. Our feedback suggested that the song of choice for our video, reminded this of sun, summer, dancing, partied and crowds. These were again things we considered and therefore used and developed within our production.

We gained a range of feedback throughout the process of creating our music video, to begin with, we asked many people their opinions on the first draft of our production. Much of the feedback that we received helped us concentrate on where we were successful in our video as the kind of feedback we were receiving, which can be seen on our blog, included words such as ‘professional-looking, strong and impressive lighting, understandable narrative and stunning actors’. From this, we knew what to focus on with the rest of the video as we could straight away acknowledge what people were instantly liking and engaging with in the video therefore suggested this should all be further developed where possible.The most important part of this feedback received was that they thought the actors were believable, as we had only filmed part of our footage at this point, this means that we  had to strongly ensure that this was continuous with the second part of our footage otherwise we could lack positive feedback and potential marks in the final piece. Another piece of positive feedback we gained was about the location, many people commented on the commitment we put into the location as well as the flattering lighting. From this we knew that we were successful within our setting,e however it also applied the pressure to ensure that our ancillary tasks met the same level of success for both lighting and commitment.

We also discovered that much of the efforts which we included that we were not 100% confident with such as the kaleidoscope effects of some of the lyric shots eg. Singing into the car mirror, were claimed to be successful by many within our audience feedback for the final piece. This made us more confident for taking risks when it came to our ancillary tasks which is much of the reason we stuck to following the kaleidoscope theme into the album insert. When it came to feedback for the insert, the feedback we gained claimed that it was ‘nice and interesting and adds something different’ and all other feedback about this effect was positive. One of the main things we wanted to look most successful is the ending shot at the beach as it was the closing of the narrative and the key to explaining conflicts within the video. This was again something that we gained positive feedback for and it was described as ‘capturing everything’ and ‘emotional’ which is the exact response we were hoping to receive. Another important part of the video in terms of its success was to ensure that all scenes were in sync with the music, it was noted by many that not only did we match the lip syncing and beat of the song to what was seen/heard at the time, but we added smaller subtle details also which were noticed and praised such as the knocking on the door to the beat of the song.

From our blogs audience feedback through both tutorials with staff or general feedback we asked from people we knew, we gained knowledge on what was overall a success from our video. This was definitely the characters chemistry, our narrative, use of lighting, setting and syncing which is very positive as these are all things which will hopefully lead us to strong overall marks for our production. Our ancillary tasks also gained an array of feedback. Initially, our drafts received feedback such as ‘would buy, that it was diverse and that it was unique however these were only mocks therefore we could not take full credit for this and feel fully confident until we produced our final versions of these. However, when we did produce these, we gained just as good feedback as before if not much better. We were told that the quality of our images were just as high-quality and professional looking as what our video was described to be, this was something we were hoping to be successful within as we wanted fluidity between both productions. Our images were described as flattering and there were many complements given towards how glamorous our female actress appeared to be. There was also again positivity surrounding our kaleidoscope images, these were frequently noted as unique and creative. Overall within our ancillary tasks we seemed to succeed in terms of quality, lighting and actors and we gained confidence within the idea that if this was a real-life production, then it would be recognised and liked by our target audience of young people.

However there are also times in our feedback where we did not succeed. Within our music video, it was noted throughout our first drafts that much of the footage did not stick to the beat of the song, this is something that we had not noticed on our own therefore it was necessary that we kept gaining regular feedback to notice faults such as this which we did not notice, this is something that we did out best to correct within the final version of the music video.Along with the beat, much of our lip-syncing was also not in time with the song, this is something we were aware of however audience feedback allowed others to have input and suggest how we could overcome this or how we could edit the footage to make it appear less obvious in parts we were struggling to sync. This is again something that we tried our best to avoid within our final production. However, there were some negatives within our video that we were noted by others that we could unfortunately not avoid within our final production. It was noted that some of our shots were very shaky on the beach and also that the male actor is squinting. Unfortunately our actor was sensitive to light and the only way we could avoid this was through sunglasses however we decided against this as it hid much of the actors face which we needed to show in terms of his emotions to keep the narrative strong. Many also noticed that the quality was low within our final footage, this was an unpredicted fault of final cut pro and was something it was too late to correct by the time all of our footage was edited and this would involve replacing and re-editing all of the final clips.

There was also a selection of negative feedback given towards our first drafts of the ancillary tasks, our CD cover and poster mock were suggested to be of too poor quality from our peers and were far too blurry to be used in the final piece as they did not flow alongside the high quality and lighting shown within the video. As well as this, tutorials with peers and staff bought to attention that we had much slow progress with these tasks and were focusing too much on our music video. This allowed us to realise this also and therefore focus more attention onto our ancillary tasks, although we had done much research into these and were not behind on our =planning, we lacked as much time and effort into these as we did within the video. Therefore within our final ancillary productions we ensured that our images were of high quality and were much improved from our mocks as although they received some positive feedback, they lacked the specific quality necessary to secure a strong mark alongside our final video.

Overall, the feedback that we received within both our ancillary tasks and our video allowed us to develop what we were working well on, and change what we gained not as positive feedback on. We knew that we had to dramatically improve our performance from the G321 production and gaining regular feedback allowed us to do so and hold us with a much better chance of sustaining a product which looks professional and gaining an all round better mark. 

Evaluation Question 2

The above production is evaluation question 2: 

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

Below is the more detailed script of this video:

There are a number of successes within our music video which makes it successful, and much of this was established through audience feedback. Our location, lighting and mise en scene was strong in each shot as we always ensured there was strong, natural light and that we removed as many possible restrictions or interruptions in the background of the scenes. One of our most successful shots is the panning shot of Lee and Bella which is over the Brighton pier and the sunlight is directly central over the sea and there are many birds flying in the sky in the background of the scene. Adding to this, the quality of the camera we used was very high and the camera was professional therefore all of our shots looked more professional as they were able to pick up strong light along with avoid bad shadows and it also made the whole production and actors appear more pristine and their make-up and hair is appreciated. The fact that Bella is dressed in flattering and somewhat glamorous clothing is effective as not only does it conform to conventions of popular music videos, but it also makes her appear more like a real-actress rather than someone who is a friend and have not before been involved in a production. We ensured that her hair, make-up and clothing did not clash and looked professional and appropriate so that we could do as little editing as possible if necessary. The kaleidoscope effect was rated by many as effective and this is something that we agreed on, it was a creative and unique way of including lip syncing without repetition from the previous scenes and without it appearing boring or basic. Something else that was important in our video, was that our male character was involved, but did not overrule the female artists part in the production, we wished for her to be the main feature of both the video and the ancillary tasks as the artist in the actual song are female therefore this would avoid confusion in terms of who the artist actually is. Adding to this, the angles we used within the production were also very effective, we tried to ensure we had as much variety as possible in our shots and this is why more than one angle is used for many scenes such as the bed scene, or walking along the beach scene. This makes the video more technical and allows us to express our experience and creativity with filming.

Moving on from this analysis of how our video was successful, is how all of this relates to the effectiveness of our ancillary tasks. Firstly, we ensured that we used the same camera for both the filming and the photographs to ensure that the quality remained consistent and it appeared to be produced by the same company or franchise. We also ensured that the back drop (the white screen) was white and had bright lighting as this is a consistent theme within our video and this needed to be shown within both tasks so that our overall work would look effective and relative to one another. Again, we ensured that the artist was wearing flattering or glamorous clothing, we chose to chose a fur coat for these images as she is wearing fur in some shots of the video and as well as this, the coat she wears within the ancillary tasks is the coat she packs for the journey within the music video. This was effective as we continued themes from the video to the ancillary productions. This is shown again through the kaleidoscope effect, we used this in our music video to express creativity therefore we thought this would be sensible to continue through to our still productions. We used a range of kaleidoscope effects and I edited them into a range of colours, we decided to chose the red lips image for the image behind where the CD would be held and the two pink/purple images to be used within the insert to separate the black and white images and add a splash and creativity and uniqueness. Another way in which all productions are effective with each-other is the use of the male actor, we chose not to include him at all within the images as he is not in fact relevant to the artist and was only a feature in the video therefore if he was included in the artwork, people may suggest he is part of the band or industry. We also decided to take our images in a range of angles, from close up, straight on shots to mediums shots of the side of Bella. This is because much of our music video is taken from a variety of angles and we wanted to also express this creativity through our ancillary productions.

Our magazine advertisement was consistent and effective alongside our digipack as it was clearly from the same photoshoot and did not defer too much from the other images therefore it was easily recognisable that the two would be from the same company or production. This is important as if there is a lack of consistency within the advertisement and actual video then it is likely that people would not recognise that what tour is advertised, would be for the specific new album. It was also important for us to have the video consistent within our ancillary tasks so that we could use the music video as the promo single for the album as it includes elements from the tour poster and also from the entire album.

There are also some things we could have included in our video to make it totally effective that we did not use. For ultimate consistency, we could have shot both the ancillary tasks and the video on the beach location to keep the theme, however this is not such a negative as there are also shots outside of the beach in our video therefore we could argue that our shots are still effective. Also, we could have been consistent with the clothing between all productions so that the artist was clear and consistency could have been at its maximum, however this may have appeared then that the artwork was solely for the single released in the video rather than the entire album. Finally, we could have incorporated themes more than just the kaleidoscope effect, for example, romance, hand holding or outdoor scenery rather than a studio-like production.

Overall however I would suggest that our production is effective as not only does it hold consistency and quality, but our productions were all rated as professional and successful fro audience feedback. Our thorough research and planning allowed us to realise and apply conventions and recognise creativity and fluidity between productions and this is something we ensured to include throughout all 3 mediums created.

Evaluation Question 1

Audience Feedback

The below statements are quotes from people who have reviewed our ancillary productions:

• Definitely would buy
• Colourful
• Realistic
• High Quality
• Strong eye contact
• Like the kaleidoscope- creative and nice, unique
• Consistent with music video
• Creative
• Like the black and white
• Could be on the beach

Final Digipack

The above shows the complete edited digipack to acompany the magazine advertisement and music video. Here you can see (top row left to right) the front cover, spine, back cover, and image for the cd slot. You can also see on the bottom row, the insert images that have been edited, including the kaleidoscope images. I believe that the black and white images are creative and unique, and look professional and well done. The subtle colours in the kaleidoscope images not only reflect the alternative/dance genre, they also brighten the artwork and compliment the black and white tones. 

Final Magazine Advertisement

Editing by Savanna