Evaluation Qu 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

Scene From Music Video

Album Cover

Music Poster

In order for my products to look successful together, i needed to create a particular 'house style' to ensure my audience was aware that my three products were linked and advertising the same product.

FONTS: 

I used the same font type for both my music poster and album cover:

Font type that i used for my products

As you can see, both are white and all capital letters. This ensures it is clear, simple and eye-catching. As i didn't want the text to be lost amongst all of the colour used as the background.

I also used, for my introductory scene to my music video, a similar white text on black background. As the contrast of colours appear almost 'electronic' and cartoon-like, which helps to connote my genre of 'electronic/funk'. As this text was shown in a quick-paced stop-motion animation scene, i therefore felt it was vital to ensure that it was a clear. simple and bold font such as the one i have used here.

COLOURS:

Throughout all three products i made very sure to include a huge amount of strong, bright colours. This was to help give the connotations of my music genre, as the colours i included are all positive and happy colours and therefore, reflect the energetic, exciting song i chose and moreover, the genre of my music video. I therefore, made certain to avoid any dark negative colours- with the exception of the black background used for the three products, as this was only so that the colours and white font could be accentuated and clear. 

These bright colours can be seen in the collage of patterns used on my poster and cover and through the costume, makeup, lighting, scenery and special effects that i used throughout my music video. Furthermore, the use of bright colours also reiterated to my audience that my genre is to uplift and ignite positive emotions.

Screen Shots of the 'collage-like' lighting effects I included in my video:

 'LIPS' MOTIF:

The image of the lips was of particular importance throughout my three products. This reoccurring motif/image helped me to bring a certain link between the three products. Corresponding with the theme of my music video, as a main feature of the production was the lip-synching of the lyrics and the collaboration of extreme-close up shots of the lips.

Here is a quick section of my music video that I selected using, http://www.tubechop.com/. It shows the repetition of the extreme-close-up shots of the lips that I compiled together. This links with my main focal point in the centre of my album cover and the centre of my music poster.

Evaluation Qu 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of a real media product?

Some More Audience Feedback:

As I had completed all three of my products, i felt it would be most interesting for me to show my music video to a group of younger children that would have been found in my target audience. As I was keen to know whether it would appeal to this age group (male and females 13-16) as well as the older group of students I showed it to previously.

I asked the audience to write down anonymously (to ensure that they would not be biased and were entirely honest in their opinions) with their gender and age noted. I also said to "feel free to mention anything you didn't like about my video" as I wanted to know what I could have improved on.

From the 25 opinions that I received  I got quite a mixture of responses. Although, a few were negative, a majority of them were positive. A few examples include;

"A nice feel-good video. Thank-you" (M/14)

""The build up to the jumpy bit was good, as it surprises people. Also a great interesting storyline = I liked it a lot" (M/16)

"it was good but wasn't sure if I liked the whole feet thing"(M/13)

"It was alright, very creative, but not reallllly my sort of thing" (M/16)

"Loved the ending loads. Lip syncing was good too. Nice one." (F/14)

"It was good but was too many mouth's and face's" (F/13)

The class of children watching my video on a projector:

The 25 responses that I received were very helpful!

Audience Feedback (final music video):

In completion of my music video, i have decided to get some final feedback from my target audience. This would then allow me to make any quick adjustments to my product before i upload it onto my blog and publish it.

I showed it to a group of students that would have been found within my specified target audience. (Boys and Girls between the ages of 14-16)

This was their response:

- "Ending, with the fairy lighting is so cool!"

- "I love the parts where the footage has been reversed"

-"The  extreme close-up shots of the feet and lip-syncing are really effective"

-"The connotations are positive and very happy!!"

I then screened my final product to another group of students that would have also been found from within my target audience (Boys and girls aged 17-19) 

This was their response:

- "lots of different locations"

-"reverse shots are very effective"

-"Overlapped editing and extreme contrast is very cool!"

-"it's really creative and quirky"

-"Appeals to both genders and all ages"

- "enthusiastic actors...really good energy"

-"great use of representation: varied age group, use of different ethnicities, boys and girls"

-"editing on the beat"

From this, i got absolutely no negative feedback and as i watched the viewers faces for a response i saw only smiles! A few people were even bobbing to the beat of the song, which was exactly my initial intention. Therefore, i am very pleased with my final product and have no need to re-edit any sections.

FINAL Music Video:

Final Digipak/Album Cover:

I made the quick decision to create a digipak, as it did not occur to me when creating my original cover, that the product i was looking to create usually, at a professional level, include a spine, song list, back and front. Therefore, i added on these sections onto my original album cover. I used the Jackson Pollock website to design my own piece of 'drip-art' and applied this to the main background of the back and for the song list. I really liked this effect as it is still bright and full of colour; therefore still connotes my genre of 'electronic/funk'. I ensured to include the same font-type (bold, white, all-capitals)  as used for all three of my products to give the sens that they were all linked- this is also apart of my 'house style'. Overall, i feel this is a much more professional-like album cover and i am pleased with the way that it has turned out.

Online Pollock Inspired Art!

To my luck, i have come across this online tool that allows you to create a Jackson Pollock inspired artwork. By using these simple instructions, all i was needing to do was:

- Press any key to get a different background colour
- Press SPACE to erase
- Press ALT and any key to change the colour of the drip
- numbers 1-0 also change the background/drip colour as well as right-left arrow and up and down arrow

I then print screened my creations and now plan to choose my favourite design, to include in my digipak (possible for the 'inner case' of the CD.

(http://jacksonpollock.org/)

MY pollock Inspired Art from aprilmccullin

Advice From The Exam Board:

The candidate is expected to demonstrate excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

 awareness of conventions of layout and page design

 awareness of the need for variety in fonts and text size

 accurate use of language and register

 the appropriate use of ICT for the task set

 appropriate integration of illustration and text

 framing a shot, using a variety of shot distances as appropriate

 shooting material appropriate to the task set; selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting

 manipulating photographs as appropriate, including cropping and resizing.

(Source: mrsmithsa2musicvideo.blogspot.com)

Jackson Pollock:

I have decided to be experimental and unique with my digipak, as i would like to bring in some abstract expressionism to the design. Whilst i was looking through a book about the 'abstract expressionist movement' i came across a really interesting piece by the artist 'Jackson Pollock'.

Wikipedia,

"Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was well known for his uniquely defined style of drip painting."

My reason for taking such interest in his work is that it is so colourful, unique and fun! This therefore, if i was to include this particular style of art into my digipak design, would help to connote my chosen genre of 'Electronic Funk'. Moreover, it would look well suited and appropriate and at the same time will help to draw the attention of my targeted audience.

Here are some examples of Pollock's work;

Deciding to create a "Digipak":

On completion of my album cover, i have done some research into the difference between a 'digipak' and a CD cover. According to Wikipedia, a digipak contains four or six frames. Essentially offering the audience a lot more in terms of content, rather than a regular Cd cover would. These usually inclde some (or all) of these aspects:

Front
Spine
Back
Membership postcard/flier
Lyric section
Disk impression
Band info section/booklet
Free image/poster

I then went and did some further research into some real media products in shops such as 'HMV' and viewed some of the Level 4 products created by previous students, via 'mrsmithsa2musicvideo.blogspot.com'.

These examples allowed me to get a muc better understanding of what would be expected from a professional quality digipak, and the things i will need to consider whilst planning for the creation of my own.


Here are just a few examples of some professional digpak's:

Media Terminology:

As it is coming up to writing my evaluation, i have decided to remind myself of the important media terminology that i would have to include in this written piece. Therefore put together a word 'cloud' of these:

Why I haven't included clips of the original artist:

Norman Cook (also known as, Fatboy Slim)

I have chosen not to include the original artist, Norman Cook, as I wanted to represent and include a variety of different age, ethnicities and gender's. This would then ensure that my music video would appeal to a much broader age group. I also wanted to use only the footage that I conducted by myself, and not re-used footage from original music videos that included the artist, 'FatBoy Slim'.