Evaluation Q4

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


Throughout the filming process for our music video, our group used a variety of different technologies and software.

The technologies we used included two different cameras. We originally use the school camera although we didn’t think the quality was up to scratch so we moved onto using Ghanshyam’s camera which was much better quality although it didn’t automatically focus.
We started off also using a tripod which was supplied by the school however we felt it would look more natural and in general better to film completely handheld.

The group rotated when it came to filming however James filmed the majority with me an Ghanshyam doing more experimental shots that didn't necessarily get into the final product. Ghanshyam had the final say when it came to the direction of the music video as well as what looked best and what we should test out. We left this role to him due to him having the most experience through his own personal YouTube channel. Jacob was our actor so he was often have to follow instructions as well as having his own input when it came to what movements would look best as well as having a lag e part of influence when it came to location. My role was props and lighting, although most was shot outside I played a large part in the party scene where I helped setting up the scene as well as sorted out the lighting and smoke machine. I controlled what lighting would look best as well as controlling the smoke machine which made the party look more professional.

The software being used consisted of Adobe Photoshop and Final cut pro. Final Cut Pro was the software in which we used to edit our final music video. Involving the music video we used Photoshop to make the production label’s logo which we put into our music video during the opening shots.

With the digipak I only used Photoshop to construct the digipak as well as edit images and add text. I used DaFont to get the variety of fonts that I used for my digipak.

The blog that I have made has also used a variety of programs and technologies to help make it look better. With certain photos I uploaded to my blog I used my phone so that I have evidence of what I was talking about as well as making the blog look visually appealing.

The blog also has a variety of videos embedded in which I talk about; I used YouTube to achieve this. 

Evaluation Q3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Evaluation Q2

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

When it came to choosing a song to base a music video off we felt as a group that we did not only like and know the song well but also relate to it. We created a character that would fit well into the conventions of the genre and created a sad back story of him trying to escape a rough life. Audiences will be able to identify the conventions through the costume in which are artist is wearing, designer clothes, jewellery etc. As well as this locations are very conventional and suite the character well. one example is we include a shot of our character outside his estate which he is trying to leave and change for the better.

My digipak and poster fit well with the music video in general. With the digipak and poster I wanted to show off the scenery as well as photography as the quality of shots and scenery played a big part in the music video. The style is very simplistic and flows well which is conventional to RnB and rap as flow plays a big part to the lyrics so the music video should follow also.

I like the end product I produced as I feel that it shows of the conventions of a RnB video well. I do think there should have been changes such as more varieties of setting as well as doing more shots and having more cameras giving everyone a chance to film. Elements I do like is the party shots as there shot from a variety of different angles.

I also like the end result of the Digipak. I would have liked to play around with it a bit more and asked for advice more often however I feel for someone with very little experience with Photoshop it turned out okay. I like the simplistic nature of it and the fact that its very "cheap" and unpolished due to the fact that the artist is trying to build a live better for themselves.
         

Evaluation Q1

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

Evaluation media q1 from Thomas Sibley

Opinions on Final Digipak

I think overall the digipak has came out better than I anticipated. Originally I felt the design I was going for would only look good if I new more about the software I was using as it was to complicated and as a result being an amateur I made it look like a bit of a mess. I decided to completely re do which left me little time although considering I felt that I was able to pull it off o some extent. I like the simplistic nature as well as the new fonts that I found as I feel its very conventional.

Magazine Advert

This is the completed magazine advert. The magazine advert is made very simplistically, a lot like the digipak with minimalistic features but enough substance to where it doesn't look like its lacking. I changed the main digipak image so that instead of keeping the text I would just use the original picture and have the text elsewhere on the magazine.

Completed Digipak

This is what all the panels look like when they are formed into a complete digipak.

Spine 2

This is the second spine. This also carries on with the same design but also has the text for the digipak  "Born n Bred" in the centre.

Spine 1

This is the first spine for the digipak. This spine incudes only the simplistic design, I sued this design as it looks conventional too the genre as well as not being to overcomplicated where it would have a negative affect on the digipak as a whole

Digipak Photo 2

This is just a simple image used within the digipak. I originally had a panel with more information but felt that using just a edited image would look nicer.

Digipak Photo 1

This is the first image I use out of the two panels consisting of just images. Both this image and the second are edited and enhanced in similar ways so that it flows the best.

CD Tracklist

This is the panel which consists of the track list being featured on the CD. The image I have used here I feel is the best our group took as well as it having a lot of free space on the right side so I felt it could be the best image to have when it came to making a panel for the track list.

CD Front Cover

This is the front cover for the digipak. For the main image I felt that it would be good to use an image which has a nice background as well as being bright. I also chose this particular main image as it looks as if King J is celebrating and happy, although you can not see his face.

CD 2

This is the second CD within the digipak. This CD consists of the extras, once again I have just gone for an image which has been slightly edited as well as the text saying "extras", this looking a lot like the first CD.

CD 1

This is the first CD in the digipak which will hold all of the songs. The cd itself is a simple enhanced image with a black background. The text is the same font but two different sizes as I feel it looks better this way.

Digipack Planning 12

I have decided to go with a simplistic spine that has two sections, one with a simple design and the second with the continued design but also the album name. The colour scheme through out will be black and white as its simplistic but also stylish and pops enough where it would be eye catching at a store. I feel that at this point I have completed the digipak as the two panels which I previously had information will now be high quality and slight edited images so that the digipak flows better.

Final Edit Feedback

Opinions on Final Edit

I think overall the edit came out pretty good considering during filming we didn't have the best of hopes. The scenario was very similar to our first project involving Agent X were we felt our first draft was really bad especially comparing it to others but as we re filmed we added new ideas and almost completely changed it which overall made it better. The new shots we added to the music video suit the conventions and goes really well, although there are some shots I would have liked to re film such as the studio shots I feel it overall came out well.

Music Video Final Version

This is the final edit for our music video.

Digipak Planning 11

I have decided to include second font as well as change the design. Due to the lack of time I have decided to go for a simplistic design compared to my previous version so that I can concentrate on including all the necessary components of a digipak.

Digipak Planning 10

I have decided to almost start from scratch with my digipak due to the rushed nature of my first version of the digipak. To get more of an idea of the elements im missing i am looking at others for inspiration to see what they have that my prior version didnt have.

Feedback On First Draft

Digipak Feedback Sheets

Digipak feedback

The feedback was mostly negative due to the fact that the work was rushed and I often run into technical issues. The positives of the digipak were the photography which was a shared positive with the group thanks to Ghanshyam. Another positive was the font although most agreed, such as myself that I was over using it and I needed another font within my digipak. One negative of the digipak is the fact that the discs I used as my example are not perfect circles and look poorly cut out. On the extra CD they felt the image used Is poor as it looks like a mistake and the photographer has took a photo while Jacob is messing about. On the social network pop up the word 'social networks' should be taken out. Another thing brought up was that conventionally tour dates isn't put into a digipak so I may change it and instead fill it with just an image of the artist.

Filming 5

This is is the final filming session were we went around the welling area. We filmed outside of a large building with a metal gate, we did  not have a set location although the location we did film at looked good on camera.

Filming 4

For this filming session we went to Greenwich. We filmed at night so that we could have a contrast in shots, from day to night as its fitting with the song. The locations we used were both pitch black as well as well lit areas. Although both types of lighting looked good on camera the ones shot in less lit areas ending up being too dark and didn't look as good.

Filming 3

In the end we went to the top of the hill to film more shots. The shots involved mostly the camera going around our artists. We chose the location as the background looks nice while the artist is in the centre of the image. The shots went well were we got a variety from different angles and different movement patterns which adds variety. The reason behind the shots is so that we can have more shots that cut into our original video as some shots drag on and get boring, the booth shots.

Music Video First Draft Analysis

We have now completed the first draft of the music video and uploaded it to Youtube. After viewing it multiple times we noticed a few issues. One issue includes the fact that in certain shots we filmed during school resulting in us not being dressed in the proper attire. Another factor being the syncing which is off in certain areas, although this can easily be fixed by editing. The structure and flow is good for a first draft and we feel although its sub par, its a good starting point.