Evaluation

(I have had to split the video of my evaluation into three sections as the file size was too large to upload onto Blogger.)

Evaluation Part One

Evaluation Part Two

Evaluation Part Three

I have now finished editing my music video together and creating different additional features such as filters and transitions.

I am firstly going to discuss how I have used, developed and challenged the conventions of a music video. Before I started filming my music video, I looked into the conventional features of a music video. I also looked at aspects ranging from the camera shots to costume. The standard music video model includes a narrative, the singer or band playing, inserted images, and maybe even experimental arty film techniques. I have included a narrative and a performance music video, with the singer and band playing, and I have also experimented with different film techniques. This convention is very important when filming a music video as if this convention was broken, the public would not recognise my media work as a music video.

The three main conventional forms of a visual music video are performance, narrative and art clips. I chose to use a performance and narrative as I feel that many music videos use these forms, and so my music video would also look like a professional, industry standard music video. I also wanted to do these two forms as I felt that it would make my music video much more exciting to watch for the audience.

The performance clip in my music video is set in the woods, which is not conventional for music videos. I felt like I had to challenge this convention as I did not want the content of my music video to be similar to others as this would be dull for the audience, they would not want similar music videos being played one after the other on television. I also filmed a small section of the performance in a bedroom. This also challenges the conventions of a music video as this is not a typical setting for a music video. I chose this setting as it linked well to the start of the narrative section of the music video, and creating these links between narrative and performance makes the music video a lot more appealing to watch.

The three types of performance are: song performance; dance performance and instrumental performance. I chose to follow the convention which is a song performance as this is the typical performance in music videos. I chose to use this as I wanted the audience to understand the music video, and I wanted it to look like a real music video. I chose not to include an instrumental or dance performance as I felt that this would not link well to the genre of the band, which is alternative, rock and acoustic. I also feel that they could be classed as indie due to the band being unsigned, and some of their songs sound similar to bands such as arctic monkeys.

Another convention over a music video is the camera angles used. Music videos tend to include many long shots, close ups and mid shots. The uses of theses are to create emphasis on the band, setting and the emotions. As you can be by watching my music video, I have included many long shots to meet the conventions, especially in the performance side of the music video. I feel that by following essential conventions such as these, it makes my music video look a lot better and appeal to the audience. I feel that if certain conventions are not as well known or as important as others, it is not essential to follow them, which means I can challenge them or even break them thus making my music video different to the next.

Close ups are not only used to show emotion, but reflect the words of the song with the movement from the vocalists lips. I have used close ups in the performance section of the music video a lot more than the narrative. This is because I wanted to show the lip synchronization and clearly show I have created a song performance. I also feel like it shows how well I have matched the filming I have captured myself to the original track sang by The Costigans. I researched into the different genres that The Costigans fit to, and I also looked at the genre indie. Bands that fit with this genre like to show that they are very serious with their music, such as Green Day or Arctic Monkeys, and so the music videos these bands create are quite serious, they do not have any comical value. So, the facial expression I told the band to use was quite, strong, and serious, as this is the emotion and feeling that bands that are serious about their music create.

The music video I have created for the track ‘Sound the Angels’ by The Costigans. The mise-en-scene involves the narrative which includes a couple; I chose this narrative for a number of reasons which involves the lyrics. At the start of the song, the first verse is ‘You woke this morning darling’, couples wake up to each other in the morning, and using the phrase ‘darling’, makes me think these lyrics are directed towards a woman. I chose to film a couple in bed to link with the first verse of the song. The lyrics also refer to two people, because of the wording used such as ‘you, darling, we’ll and take my hand my darling’, these different phrases make me think that the vocalist is singing about their other half. This then makes my filming link well with the lyrics in ‘Sound the Angels’ as I have chosen a very typical, romantic narrative. I also made the characters in the filming wear very casual clothes, to show that they are very comfortable around each other, like a typical couple. The couple in the narrative laugh, kiss, play and act very close to each other, which helps the audience establish they are a couple.

Another convention of a music video is the editing; a conventional editing technique is the use of jump cuts. This allows a sudden change from one scene to another. I have used editing techniques such as these to cut from my narrative to my performance, as I wanted there to be a clear different between each model. I then used a transitional effect of fading, which is not as common as a simple jump cut. I used the fade transition each time my music video went from a narrative to the performance, to show the change in each music video model.

I also used the effect blurred edges on my narrative. In music videos on Television, to show that a part of the video was shot in the past, they used an effect such as frosty edges, blurred edges or lower the contrast. I wanted to show a clear definition between the past and present in the music video, so I chose to use the blurred edges effect in all of the narrative, except for the start in which the couple are in the bed as that is present. I feel that using this effect has made a clear distinction; the audience would understand the change in time due to the use of using this effect or similar effects in music videos now, which makes the use of this effect a convention that works very well in showing the change of time without telling the audience.

This means that I have challenged this convention, and to make a different and interesting music video you do have to take risks by challenging and breaking conventions. I chose to use the fade transition as I felt it fit best with my narrative, it is not a quick transition, and it is quite slow and soft due to it being the fade transition, which fits well to the tempo and the romantic narrative. If I used a very quick and bold transition, it would not fit well to my music video.

The use of colour in this music video is also relevant to the narrative, performance and genre of The Costigans. This video has a lot of bright colours in it; I have not edited the music video such as editing black and white, as this would create a dark, sad feeling to the music video, which is not what I want, as I want good, romantic, happy emotions.

I gained a lot of audience feedback once I had finished the editing of my music video, digipac and my poster. I gained a lot of positive feedback, ranging from how my media links well to the genre of The Costigans, to different effects and transitions I used in my music video.

The most common positive feedback I gained from friends and family was the design I drew myself, which was on the digipac and the poster. They liked how detailed and different it was to the typical look of a wing. They liked how smooth the shapes in the wing were, and I used Photoshop and Illustrator to do this. It makes me feel really good about my work gaining so much good feedback from friends and family. I feel that I have created very good work at a high standard.

I did not receive negative feedback from my poster and digipac, which makes me feel very good to know that many of my friends and family like the work I have created. The music video I have created on the other hand, received negative feedback. I feel that this is the product that would receive the negative feedback as it is a music video, and a lot of people would compare it to other music videos they have seen on Television. It also lasts a lot longer than looking at a digipac or a poster, and watching it more than once makes people think of the good and bad points about it.

‘I feel that in parts, the performance side of the video could look more upbeat to the change in the song’. This was my first piece of negative feedback, I stated in my rough cut of my music video that I needed to add in a few shots when the tempo of the music got faster. I did this; however, the individual thought that it needed more. I understand that people are different and want different things from music video, and are also into different genres of music. Gaining this feedback was significant as I found out what different people want from music videos, and that music videos do sometimes not meet people’s requirements.

Another piece of negative feedback that was significant to me was ‘I think the narrative should be a bit more colourful and brighter, as this would create a much better, happier mood and feel to the narrative’. I feel that this piece of feedback was very important as I did not realise this before whilst I was editing my music video. I feel that the mood that the music video is very important, as I would like the public to feel happy and also relate to the narrative. So, I should have raised the saturation and the contrast on the narrative to make it much brighter, giving a good, happy mood. I feel that I should have gained this feedback when I came to editing the rough cut of my music video, as it would have made a very good improvement. However, I still feel that my music video is a very high standard and the narrative makes the audience want to watch more of the music video.

Deb stated, ‘I feel like the music video could have been improved by perhaps using another location for the narrative, as I feel it is quite repetitive if you have seen the music video more than once’. I feel that this feedback is not as important or as significant to the music video as the other two piece of feedback I received. This is because I do not think it would improve my music video if I added another setting to the narrative. I feel that it would look too busy and confusing to the audience if there were more than two settings to the narrative. However, I am glad I have been given this feedback as I have learnt what the public likes in a music video and if I were to edit my music video further, I would take into account the feedback I have received.

To create my music video, digipac and poster, I used many different new media technology. To create my music video, I filmed my narrative and performance with a hand held camera, I also used a tripod to keep the camera steady, therefore creating a still camera shot. I then uploaded about 2 hours worth of filming onto the Mac, and I also uploaded the studio version of ‘Sound the Angels’ by The Costigans. I had to convert the file format for it to work properly on the movie editing program; I did this by opening it on ITunes and then saving it as a different format.

I wanted to research different genres of music and see how these genres create their music videos, I chose to look at different music videos and analyse them. By analysing the videos, (which are on my blog) it has helped me to see what different shots bands with similar genres to The Costigans, and gave me ideas on what shots I could use, such as close ups. I also captured photographs showing these different shots. By showing and doing my research in different ways, it is a lot more interesting to look at for the audience.

I then used the new technology Film Cut Pro to edit my music video together. I learnt how to take different shots from each of my sections of filming and put it together on the film timeline. I then learnt how to use the cut tool to cut sections of my filming on the timeline. Once I had finished the rough cut of my music video, I then went on to using transitions and effects such as fade and blurred edges. By learning how to do all of these different things on the program Film Cut Pro, it gives me a lot more knowledge about the industry standard programs they use to edit well known music videos together. I also added in writing at the start of the music video, which stated the band’s name, the track and the fact that I have directed the music video. Adding in little details such as these in my music video make makes it look and feel much more professional.

I feel that the combination of my music video, my digipac and poster create very effective media products. All three media products are linked well to each to each other in different ways. The lyrics in the music track include the phrase ‘angels’ and ‘fly’ which made me think of wings, as these phrases link would link well with the phrase ‘wings’. These phrases made me draw, in detail, a wing, and I used this detailed drawing on my digipac and my poster to link back to the music video. By doing this, it makes a clear connection between all of the media products I have produced. To link all three media products further, I have stated the band’s name and the title of the track, so it is obvious to the audience what band I am promoting.

I chose the design for my digipac as I felt that it linked well with the lyrics, tempo and genre of the band and the music video. Once I had finished editing my digipac usin

g Photoshop and Illustrator, I then moved on to creating my pos

ter design, which is my second ancillary task. I feel that my digipac is very effective due to many different aspects, such as how I have made the digipac eye catching. To make good promotional material you need the product to be eye catching and bright, a band would not be advertised well if the public did not want to look at their products.

I chose to use a background that I thought would fit to the genre of the band and also be eye catching to the public. I would have not used a colour such as neon green or blu

e, as this would not fit to the genres acoustic, rock, alternative or indie, it would fit a genre such as pop or hip hop. I chose to use a gradient background with shades such as brown, dark orange and yellow, as I feel this fits the genre of the band as this is a conventional colour which links to these genres. I feel that this background is very eye catching, as you can see, and the gradient creates a much more exciting digipac to look at.

To make the design I drew myself contrast against the background, I chose to enlarge sections and also have it a lot darker than the gradient background. I feel that it shows my drawing skills and also my Photoshop and Illustrator skills well. I then changed the opacity to 90%, as I felt that black is too harsh against the gradient background. These designs are very eye catching, and make the public want to look closer at the product, which then pushes them to buy it. By having an interesting digipac, it makes the public want to look closer, fulfilling the digipac’s job which shows it is a very effective product that I have created.

The text I included on the digipac has been edited white, as I felt this would contrast well against the gradient background and the dark black designs I drew. By having this contrast, it displays the band’s name, track and lyrics well, attracting the public’s eye. I feel that if I saw this digipac in a shop, the design would be the first thing to attract, as I feel that it is very detailed and striking. It would also catch my eye because of the contrast between the background and the design. I would then look at the band’s name, as this is always the second thing you do when you see a digipac that attracts you, thus making me buy it.

To create my music video, digipac and poster, I used many different new media technology. I drew my design for my digipac using pen and pencil, I then used a scanner to scan in my design, I had to change the levels once I did this as there were darker areas on the page, I also had to make the lines I have drawn a lot bolder and then reduce the midtones which take away the dirty grey patches on my design. I then opened the design up using Adobe Photoshop; I chose to use this new media technology as I have used it previously in my photography work. I re-arranged the design so it fit to the digipac template, and I also copied certain sections to fill up my digipac design, such as extra swirls and detailed shapes.

I felt that my digipac needed a lot smoother edges, I drew the design in much detail however, and you could still see that the shapes on areas such as the wing could be a lot smoother. So, I imported my design to Adobe Illustrator and then using the line trace function, I vectorised my design. This is something new I learnt to do and I chose to take this step as I feel that my digipac needs to look professional and eye catching, which is why I took my design further and use Adobe Illustrator. Another reason I did this is because the illustrations that were scanned in were saved as a BITMAP image, which are made up of many pixels (a map of bits). Viewed from a distance it looks fine however, if you enlarge or begin to manipulate it, you can very quickly start to look quality. A vector image is made up of coordinates which will alter the graphics to a sharp and smooth image. By vectorizing my designs and making them smooth, it then made my design clearer.

I then exported my design back to Photoshop to finish off my digipac design. I used Photoshop to add a gradient background, text, a barcode and the small print. I am very glad that I have learnt how to use both Photoshop and Illustrator better as it has made my work look ten times better than it did before I vectorised it. I also feel that these skills will help me when I go to university as I am going to be taking the subject Illustration.

I chose the design for my poster as I wanted to link back to the music videos lyrics, tempo and genre, but also because I wanted the digipac and poster to look similar, so the public would understand and recognise the band I have made the media product for. I did not have to draw out the wing for a second time for my poster design, as I had already drawn the wing for my digipac. So I simply copied and pasted the wing onto my new Photoshop document and then angled it on the models back to make it look very realistic.

I feel that my poster is very effect, especially combined with my music video and digipac as they all link well, and they are all very eye catching. To make good promotional material you need the product to be eye catching and bold, a band would not be advertised well if the poster was dull with a boring design on it, if I did this I would not be fulfilling my ancillary task well.

I chose to use a very similar background to the digipac on my poster as I wanted there to be a link between the media products, thus creating an effective combination of media. I knew it would look good and fit well to the genre of the band whilst still being eye catching as I have used this gradient background on my digipac. It was still complicated when it came to editing my poster design together as it took a very long time to edit the model onto my poster design. I chose to use a different coloured gradient as I wanted the poster to be quite bright, and so I used a very light white to a light orange colour, instead of the orange and brown colours used on my digipac. These colours still fit with the genre of the band as they are very conventional colours used. I feel that this background is very eye catching, as you can see, and the gradient creates a much more exciting poster to look at, and is also dissimilar to any other poster I have seen.

I then made the wing and model contrast against the background by firstly making them a lot larger, I also used a dark fill as I felt there would be a greater contrast between the background and design. I feel that it shows my drawing and photography skills and also my Photoshop and Illustrator skills well. I did not change the opacity on the wings like I did on my digipac as I feel that a poster needs to be a lot more striking and eye catching to the public, and by keeping the opacity at 100%, it makes them bold. This is one of the small changes I have made in comparison to the digipac, making the poster a lot bolder than the digipac is a good thing as this is the material that promotes both the digipac and the music video. If this media product was not eye catching, it would not advertise and sell the digipac and band well. These designs are very eye catching, and make the public want to look closer at the product, which then pushes them to look the band up or even buy the digipac. The public would then recognise the digipac due to certain aspects being similar, so this poster fulfils its duty.

I also chose to edit the colour of the text to black instead of white on the poster, as I felt it would be a lot bolder and eye catching due to the colour I used being striking. By having this contrast, it displays the band’s name, single release and the review from a well known magazine, attracting the public’s eye.

I feel that I would definitely look up this band or recognise the digipac from seeing the poster because of the links between both media products. So, overall, the effectiveness of my music video, digipac and poster is very good. They are all very eye catching, I made the poster especially bolder and so more eye catching than the other products, as it basically sells the other products. Without a bold poster, there would be no music video and digipac.

To create my music video, digipac and poster, I used many different new media technology. I did not have to draw another design for my poster as I had already drawn the wing I am going to be using for my digipac. I chose to open my design up on Photoshop and I then copied and pasted the wing again, so there was a wing on my design and the model on my computer screen. I then rotated the wing so it would fit on the models back. I opened the vectorised wing up onto Photoshop as this means that I did not have to go through the process of opening the design up on Illustrator and using the line trace function to vectorize my design.

I am very glad I learnt how to vectorize designs as I need to learn these skills for when I study Illustration at university, and it also makes my designs look a lot better and professional.

I then added text to the poster which made the poster a lot more eye catching. The background was created using the gradient tool, which give a lot more detail and contrast between the design, text and the background.

Creating both my digipac and my poster took a very long time. There were many things I had to do such as scanning, vectorizing, creating a good gradient background and choosing the perfect font to fit with the track name and the genre of the band. I feel very glad that I have learnt a lot more on how to use Photoshop and Illustrator, it has made my work look so much better than I first thought and it also give shows that I can produce a high quality, professional piece of work.

Changes made to my final music video

I have previously spoke about the rough cut of my music video and the improvements I needed to make to my music video to make it a lot better.

The first thing I needed to improve was making the music video fade in at the start, and also include text saying the name of the band and the track name, and also stating that I am the director, this is a very important section on my music video as it informs the audience. I did this by using the effects tool on Film Cut Pro and also using the text tool. By doing this small improvement it makes my video look much more professional and industry standard, which is what I want for my music video.

The second improvement I chose to do was that I had to show the change in time clearer than I had already done. I chose to use the effect of fade, to show the clear difference and change in time. I used fade when the performance changed to the narrative, vice versa. I also used blurred edges on the narrative, as I feel that the audience would understand the clear change in time. The audience would have seen these transitions and effects in other music videos which is why I did not worry about using these transitions and effects.

I also added a few extra shots nearer the end of the music video to show the change in tempo. By doing this, it makes the music video link a lot better to the track. Another reason to add in a few shots is that it makes the music video look a lot more exciting with the music track.

I now feel that my music video is finished as I have added in the extra things I learnt from the rough cut of my music video. I also gained feedback from a number of people who really liked the outcome of my music video, one being my teacher, so I feel that my music video is great to watch and therefore finished.

Media Diary Post

I have just posted the information of the audience feedback I was given from people I know. I asked them to type what their thoughts and feelings that my music video, digipac and poster gave them, I also asked them to think of any things that I should of done which they thought would improve the music video, digipac and poster. It was strange being given positive and negative feedback from my work as it is strange for your work to be seen and commented on by so many people you have not shared your work with before.

As I have not really shared my work before I created my music video, digipac and poster, I did not know what it felt like to be given negative feedback. I am very proud of the work I have created as I have put so much time into making it better each time I have gone back to it. So, by still getting negative feedback I feel like I still have things to improve on it. But, I created the music video, I feel , to a very high standard, I put many hours of my time into it.

Rough cut of my music video feedback

I have shown my music video to my teacher and we have both thought of what improvements I can make and what other features I could include, and also what other conventions I could follow, develop or challenge.

The improvements I feel I need to make on my music video are:

• I need to make the video fade in at the start, like a real music video, as this is a conventional feature of the start of a music video.

• I need to include a small paragraph at the start of the video, naming the band and the song, and also saying that I have directed this music video. This is a must as it informs the audience and it also looks like the opening of a video that you would see on Television. Little additions such as these make the music video look much more professional and industry standard.

• I also need to show the change in time, as my music video only uses jump cuts from the narrative to the performance. By using something such as fade or even blurring the edges of the narrative, it shows the change in time. These effects and transition are a conventional feature, (the use of fading more than blurring edges) which means the use of these are seen in many music videos, meaning that the audience would understand the change in time if I used them. So, adding these effects and transitions would not confuse the audience, which was my initial worry.

• I need to add a couple of extra shots in the music video. Only because of the change in tempo nearer the end of the music video. By adding a couple more shots, it then fits better to the change in tempo and the exhilarating section of instrumental.

I am definitely going to take all of these points into consideration when editing my music video further, as I feel that either using or experimenting with these ideas means that I will create a better music video, which is my main aim. I am glad I discussed my rough cut of the music video I have created as otherwise, I would not be able to improve my music video.

Audience feedback for my music video, digipac and poster

Here is all of the feedback I have received from my music video, digipac and my poster. I put it all together on this blog post as I feel that it shows the outcome and the overall view of my media work.
Sian: I like the drawings on the digipac. The design is very eye catching because of the black and white contrasts against the gradient background. It’s a good idea to put the lyrics on the digipac as people can then get more involved and sing along to the song. I then saw the music video she has created, and it is so lovely and romantic, the narrative fits the song perfectly. I feel that in parts, the performance side of the music video could look more upbeat to the change in tempo later in the song. But other than that, it's a good watch!

Moir: The digipac design links with the calm vibe of the song; I would be questioning the design if the song was the genre heavy metal. I also like the use of the gradient as a background as it gives the digipac a lot more detail.

Ashley: The digipac has all of the details that a normal digipac has as it includes a barcode and also the small print at the bottom back section of the digipac. Having all these details makes the digipac look realistic. The music video is weird to watch as I am watching my friends in it! It looks like Sophie really knows how to edit a music video together due to the transitions and the blurred effect she has created on her narrative. I have seen this before to show the change in time so the narrative could be set in the past, at least before the narrative at the start of the music video. I think the narrative should be a bit more colourful and brighter, as this would create a much better, happier mood and feel to the narrative.

Ben: I like the colour of the gradient background; it is not too bold so the detailed drawings are eye catching. I also think it was a good idea to change the colour of the writing to white as black would not be as bold against the drawings and the background. I would like to see the digipac printed and then put together to see what it physically looks like. I bet it's good. I have already given feedback on the digipac you created before, and so I know that you want a clear link between the digipac and poster. You have clearly made this link and it is easy to see that the poster and digipac belongs to The Costigans. I also really like how you have included a magazines rating of the band and their song, making it look much more realistic.

Deb: The best thing about this poster is the large wing on the model’s back, it looks so detailed and there are so many things to look at it. I also like the font you have used on the poster. The use of the wings, font, background and colour makes a clear link between the digipac and the poster. This looks very good as then the public would recognise an advert of The Costigans when they see it due to the features like the wings and the font. I have also seen the music video that she has filmed and edited together. I do like the music video; I like how well the filming is in sync with the music track. I also like the transitions and effects used on the music video to show different settings and a change in time. I feel that this music video could have been improved by perhaps using another location for the narrative, as I feel it is quite repetitive if you have seen the music video more than once.

Tim: I personally like the small details that are included on this poster such as the use of adding a 'remix' and also the review from a well known magazine, making the band look much better. I also like how bold the writing and the drawings are, making them eye catching, like a poster should be.

Media Diary Post

I have just finished creating my digipac and my poster for the band The Costigans who sang the track sound the Angels. I also gained audience feedback for both of these designs which were very good. I enjoyed creating these as it has helped me to learn how to use applications better such as Photoshop and Illustrator., which will help me when I go to university. Next, I am going to put all of my audience feedback for my video, digipac and poster and compare all of my reviews. I am then going to evaluate the music video I created.

Finished poster and audience feedback

This is my finished poster. A lot of work went in to creating this poster, especially when it came to editing the poster together as I had to put a filter on a photograph and then transfer it onto a separate file which had the gradient background. This took a lot of time as there were many white patches around the photograph of the model. Making my digipac before my poster meant that I had already got the wing design, so all I did was copy and paste this wing design onto my poster design. I chose to follow small rules when it came to designing my poster which was: using similar backgrounds and colours; include the wing and use the same font. These aspects would help the audience relate the digipac to the poster, without each piece of illustration looking too similar or even looking like I have simply copied one design to the next. I have also gained audience feedback for my poster to see what they think of my design and anything I should have done to improve my work.

Audience Feedback

Ben: I have already given feedback on the digipac you created before, and so I know that you want a link between the digipac and poster, but you don’t want them to look the same. You have clearly made this link and it is easy to see that the poster and digipac belongs to The Costigans. I also really like how you have included a magazines rating of the band and their song, making it look much more realistic.

Deb: The best thing about this poster is the large, detailed wing on the back of the model, it is very detailed and there are so many things in it. I also like the font you have used on the poster. The use of the wing, font, background and colour makes a clear link between the digipac and the poster, but by having the model in the design and a different composition, it is also interesting to look at and different. This looks very good as then the public would recognise an advert of The Costigans when they see it due to the features like the wings and the font.

Tim: I personally like the small details that are included on this poster such as the use of adding a 'remix' and also the review from a well known magazine especially with the wings instead of star ratings, making the band look much better. I also like how bold the writing and the drawings are, making them eye catching, like a poster should be.