Wednesday, 4 March 2015
Monday, 23 February 2015
Question 4
(CANT GET ONTO PREZZI AT HOME WILL TRANSFER TOMORROW)
Whilst I was creating my
products, I used many different technologies in order to help myself research,
plan, construct and evaluate my project. My brief was to create a three to five
minute long music video as well as creating the ancillary texts of a magazine
advert and digipak to accompany the music video.
The first process that I
took in to creating my project was to research into music videos in order to
gain ispriations into what genre I
could chose to base my products on. In order to do this, I used a Mac Computer
in order to go onto the website YouTube in order to watch and analyse music
videos. This technology device was important for me as I could then decide on
what genre and artist to go with in which I decided to go with the indie genre
with Ellie Goulding’s ‘Burn’ I chose this genre as from my research, I found it
would be the most entertaining and succeful genre to pursue. Whilst I was using
the Mac Computers, I also used the internet to research about chosen artist,
Ellie Goulding, in order to find out more about her. Using the internet was a
strength for my group and I as we were able to receive all the information
needed in order to create convention indie music video products. However, the
internet also proposed some weaknesses as sometimes the interent would be down,
meaning the Mac Computers were not in use, setting us back in our research
delaying our project. We over came this by using our mobile phones for internet
and researching what we needed to on them. I also used a site called
Blogger.com. This is where I was able to record the progress my group and I
were making and I could also keep updated on what we had research and what i had
found for example. Blogger was useful as it was easy for me at any point along
the process of creating my music video to go back and check anything I was
unsure about or needed help with. However, because Blogger was on the internet,
sometimes, it was a difficult task to access it and get the correct information
I needed.
When planning for my music video, i again used merely
the same technologies as the research stage. However, the only thing that had
changed was the websites that I used. I used different websites in order to get
the lyrics of my song to make the planning process much quicker and more
efficient. With the research and background knowledge that I already had about
the indie genre, technologies such as the internet and my mobile phone were not
needed as much. Yet, came useful when wanting to know something quickly.
Once the planning process of our project was
completed, the creation of the ancillary texts began. The ancillary texts
included a magazine advert and a 6 sided digipak. To create these texts, I used
a laptop which had the Photoshop software on it. I had never used Photoshop before
therefore I found this a weakness and a difficult task to complete as the
software was new to me. As this was a first experience for myeslf, I found it
challenging to get to know how to use it, however, after practise and teaching,
I was then able to create my ancillary texts successfully. Strengths using
photoshop were that it allowed me to add colours and filters over existing
images. For example, the use of darkening images to make it more suitable for
theme and to create low key lighting which creates a night time effect which
then makes the audience understand the rebllious side to the artists
personality. This is seen throught all of the images seen in my ancillary texts
as I wanted to create a theme of rebellion and mystery in which would captivate
the audience. However, some weaknesses using photoshop were the cropping of the
images. For example, the lasso tool which allowed me to crop an image for the
back page of the digipak was a difficult task. The image was hard to crop
precisely which meant for it to take a longer time than expected. This is
because the image seen is a ripped piece of paper and for it to be successful;
the cropping had to be precise. However, I overcame this by taking my time with
it and therefore the end result was successful.
The next process was for the music video to be
created. The equiptment I used to film my clips were a camera and a tripod. The
tripod came very useful for my group and I whilst filming as it enabled us to
make the shots steady and clear, creating a professional and serious look for
the video, meaning the audience can see what is clearly going on and make it
more serious for them. The camera was very efficient for my group and I as it
enabled for the image quality to be of a high definition, which again enhances
its professional look. These equipment also had weaknesses, this is because of
the settings that mt group and I filmed in. We filmed in Camden which caused a
problem with the tripod as it was in the way and highly inconvienient as this
restricted us getting more naturalistic shots as we would have to stop and set
it up when we needed it. Whilst filming, my group and I used two HD cameras. We
did this as we wanted to fully capture naturally the emotions that are shown in
the video. This is seen when the artist is outside drinking alcohol. By using
two cameras here, the distressed emotions of the artist are captured fully with
a wide range of camera sots making the audience engage in the scene more. This
was a strength in the video as it allowed for it to become much more professional
looking, therefore creating a wider audience. However, it became a weakness as
the two cameras became difficult to handle with. It was a difficult task to
accurately set up the cameras in a position that would capture the body
language and feelings of the artist. We overcame this however by filming
certain clips and watching them back to see if they looked successful, if we
wasn’t happy with these shots, we would re film them.
Once the filming process had finished, I then imported
my footage onto Final Cut Pro X and then began to edit my clips. Using Final
Cut Pro X allowed me to be creative with the filters and transitions that I
wanted to use. As I had used this editing software previuosly, I was able to
efficiently edit my video allowing for a smoohtly running process. However,
because of the genre of my video, this required me to add certain colours to my
video such as yellows, blues and greens to enhance a naturalistic and
stereotypically indie video. This became difficult as I had to make sure the
colours I were adding looked professional and only subtly meaning that it took
me longer to do this than expected.
Lastly, for the evaluation of my project, I used a
variety of new media technologies. I had to use a range of new technologies in
order to portray my understanding of the wide range od technologuies and
accessible today. These included, digital video, Blogger and a website named
Prezi. Firstly, I used a word document to construct my evaluation and to make
it to the best of my abilty before beginning to add each question into its certain
format. Blogger allows for my examiners and teachers to view my work and easily
accessible for them to see. For another part of my evaulation, I had to film
myself answering a question. This was a downfall in myu evaluation as this made
all of my work into sepeate sections making it less easily accessible for my
examiners and teachers.
Question 2
(I CANT GET ONTO PREZZI AT HOME I WILL TRANSFER IT TOMORROW)
During the creation of my groups and I final product, I created ancillary texts to accompany my music video. I created a magazine advert and a digipak in order to promote and sell my artist to my intended audience. The magazine advert allows for the artist to be promoted to a wider audience, creating for a larger fan base to be created, as well as targeting the niche indie audience. The digipak however, was created for existing fans of the artist in whom want extra information about the artist and want more of an insight of her lifestyle which they will receive through the images and personal message seen. The theme that I decided to follow within both of my texts was the theme of nature and earth in which I believed would be successful in promoting the natural approach of the artist and also makes the audience believe that she is down-to-earth. I created this effect by using specific colours and settings which relate to the naturalistic theme such as greens and browns. I gained my inspirations for my ancillary texts through watching and analysing existing indie ancillary texts.
Before creating my magazine advert, I analysed Ellie
Goulding’s magazine advert in that I noticed the theme of nature due to the
colours and settings used. This inspired me to then replicate this theme within
my own magazine advert as I believed it would create a realistic approach that
the audience can then relate to and connect with her more due to the fact she
is being represented as down-to-earth. The magazine advert was created on
photoshop that allowed for many editing techniques to be used in order to
make a successful advert. Photoshop allowed me to manipulate my images to make
them to how I wanted by adding filters, text and resizing the image. One of the
main tools I used whilst editing my magazine advert was the use of the lasso
tool where I was able to crop and resize my image to make it fit the screen,
making the artist the most dominant feature of the advert, drawing the
audiences attention towards her. The positioning of the artist was key in
attracting the audience as it allowed for the audience to see whom she is and
makes the audience interegued and want to know more. Also, another key feature
was the use of eye contact. The artist is looking directly into the camera in
which makes it seem for the audience that she is looking at them. This creates
a more personal feel for the audience as they feel she is directing her
attention at them, making them feel more involved in the advert, being drawn to
buy it.
The magazine advert supports the indie genre with the
codes and conventions of the media genre being portrayed throughout. From my
research, I found that the use of iconography would be successful in portraying
the artists personality. I found that a guitar was stereotypically conventional
of the indie genre and therefore this inspired me to include this in my own
text. I used a guitar on the advert in order to portay the talents in which she
has. This makes the audience believe that she is multi-talented and are persuaded
into buying her album in order to gain more of an insight to her. The colours
used within the advert are greens, browns, and yellows enhancing the natural
theme that I wanted to portray. This is conventional of the indie genre as it
presents artists as relaxed and easy going which the audience may find
attractive and want to buy her album as they feel they could relate to her. The
yellow within the advert are supportive of the song title ‘Burn’ which is a
reaccuring colour used within all of my products in order to keep the song
alive and make the song title stick into the audience’s mind. The clothing also
makes a successful link within my products as all clothing seen is the same.
This makes the audience understand more about her lifestyle and her easy going
nature.
In order to make the magazine advert, my group and I
had to discuss which features that we wanted to include in order to come to a
mutual agreement on what we believed would look successful. Me and my other
group member, Heather Everingham, made our own individual digipak within the
planning process. Once these had been completed, we then looked at eachothers
and discussed which features we would include on our final product. For
example, Heather’s magazine advert showed the use of the yellow title which we
then transferred to our final production as we believe this would stick in the
audiences mind. Another idea that Heather’s magazine advert had which we
incorporated within our final magazine advert was the use of high key lighting.
We decided to use this element in our final text in order to make the artist
stand out from the darker background. Another reason in why we used high key
lighting was to present the artists emotions clearly. The high key lighting
makes the audience understand that she is happy and postitve. We wanted to make
the artist seem happy for the audience so that they are attracted to her and
can connect with her easily.
The next to be made was the digipak which was also
created on photoshop. I wanted to carry on the naturalistic theme within the
digipak in order for the audience to get a better understanding of the artists personality and lifestyle.
However, before creating my digipak, I researched into existing digipaks in
order to get a wider insight as to what elements I could include to make a
successful digipak. I took my inspirations from Ellie Goulding’s digipak in
which I noticed iconography and body language. Her body language seemed to be
upright and confident in which I then incorporated in my final production.
Throughout my digipak my artist is seen to be looking into the camera or
standing upstraight. This was important as it made her seem confident in
herself. This makes it seem that she is proud of herself and wants to present
her music to her fans. This makes the audience understand more about her
personality. I also wanted to challenge the genres conventions in order to
captivate the audiences attention. I did this by creating a mysterious feel to
the digipak by including the element of low key lighting. By doing this, it
makes the artist seem suspicious and mysterious. I believed this was successful
as then the audience would want to buy the album in order to find out more.
Because this subverts the stereotypical conventions, the artist then sticks into
the audiences mind, creating for a wider audience to be captivated rather than
the niche audience. With regards to the music video, the digipak allows for a
more rebellious side of the artist to be portrayed. The audience can then buy
into this more adventourous, risky look and get an insight to the artists wider
personality rather than the snippet that they receive in the narrative of the
music video.
Because the digiapk was also created on photoshop.
This allowed for each photo seen to be manipulated and created to how we wanted
it. As we were subverting the genre, we darkened each picture by using the
brighten tool, decreasing the darkeness by 25% on each in order for the
mysterious feel to become evident. In order to keep the name of the song alive,
we also used yellow writing on the personal message to enhance the ‘burn’
theme. The naturalistic theme is also evident in my digipak through the use of
setting. The setting is seen to be outside in an alley way. This is
conventional of the indie genre as it presents the artist to be easy going and
down-to-earth not worrying about her surroundings, only her music. Because she
is seen to be outside, this enhances the nature theme as it makes it seem to
the audience she enjoys being outside.
In order to create our final digipak, we looked and
analysed eachothers individual digipaks in order to take inspirations from each
in order to create a successful digipak in which promotes the artist to how we
wanted. We looked at mine and Heather Everingham’s and discussed which elements
from each we would gather and use. The first thing we discussed was the use of
my back page. My back page was seen to be her with a piece of ripped paper with
the song names from her album on there. We believed this would be successful in
our final text as it would enhance the easy-going-nature. The ripped paper
suggests to the audience that she is down to earth as she didn’t want anything
fancy to give the song names, just a piece of paper. The audience can connect
with this as they believe she is well grounded and takes her fame position
seriously yet tries to keep well grounded. Another element we used was the use
of direct eye contact which we took from Heather Everingham’s individual
digipak. We decided to make the front page a close up of the artist looking
directly into the camera. We did this because we believed that this would
create a more personal feek for the audience as the artist is seen to be
looking directly at them, engaging them to the album.
Overall, the combination of the ancillary texts and
the music video is highly effective in promoting and sharing the artists
lifestyle. For example, the same clothing is seen throughout all texts making
the audience feel more connected to her and her lifestyle. Each text conforms
to the indie genre through their codes and conventions. They are all highly
noticeable of the indie genre that means the niche audience will be targeted
successfully.
Sunday, 22 February 2015
Question 1
The task that I have received for my advanced
portfolio was to create a music video, which had to fit the duration of three
to five minutes. A music video is a video put together with many differing and
angles and shots which allows for the artist to showcase their song to their
audience and also allows for their artist to portray themselves in the way that
they want to be perceived by the audience. A music video allows for an artists
life and everyday living to be represented, enhancing the relationships between
the consumer and the artist as they are able to connect and relate to the
scenes being shown to them.

The second convention that I used also
conforms and enhances the indie genre. I used the micro-element of setting. The
setting of a music video is important to consider as it allows for the audience
to have more of an understanding of the artists life. Through the setting the
audience are able to connect with the artist more as they get an insight of
where she spends most of her time and therefore the audience can connect with
her more as the setting will reflect her personality traits. For example,
within my music video, I use the setting of inside the home. I decided to use
this as I believed it would create a relaxed feel, creating the representation
that the artist is laid back and down to earth. The setting of in the home is
conventional to the indie genre as it allows portrays the idea that the artist
is an everyday person just like everyone else, making the audience connect with
her more as they believe that she is a normal person. To gain more inspiration
on setting, I researched into the indie genre to get an understanding of
successful locations that I could include in my production. Through
researching, I found that I could use bust market places and secluded places to fully capture the artist’s emotions. I then
decided to use Camden Lock as another location in order to present the
relationship within the video. By using this location, I was able to represent
the relationship as loving and relaxed. The audience are led to believe that their love is natural and
innocent as it doesn’t matter where they are as long as they are together which
is conventional of the indie genre. Another location that I used was a dark,
hidden away alleyway which represents the artists emotions as being sad and
unhappy. This makes the audience feel emotion towards the artist as they begin
to feel sorry for her and begin to sympathise with her. This is conventional of
the indie genre as it leads the audience to feel some kind of emotion.


An element that I
decided on subverting was the use of make-up. Whilst analyzing music videos for
inspirations for my own production, I noticed that indie artists wear very
minimal make-up in order for them to be natural. Although I wanted to make my
artist natural and appealing to its audience, I believed it would be a
successful element for my artist to wear heavy eye make-up. I did this because
it gives the artist more of a grunge look. It also makes the audience be drawn
automatically to her eyes. This is successful because whilst she is performing,
the audience have immeadiate eye contact with her. This makes the audience more
connected to the artist as they receive a more personal feel and feel more
connected to her as they believe she is singing directly to her.
Overall, my research into the indie genre helped me to understand more into the codes and conventions used and enabled me to create a succesful music video. It also uses real life elements in portraying the artist and her relationship. Codes and conventions were thought about excessively during the planning process and as I wanted to make sure that my final product conformed to its genre and appealed to my target audience of people aged 16-25.Wednesday, 4 February 2015
Monday, 5 January 2015
Group Digipak- Miss Miller
As a group, we have created a group digipak in order to promote our artist. We looked in depth to what elements to included within the digipak to promote the indie genre successfully and what would be key in to promoting the artists personality traits. We researched into various other indie genre digipaks in order to get the best idea of what needs to be included to convey the indie genre successfully and also which promotes the artist well. The stereotypical elements used enables for the niche audience to be able to connect with the artist as it makes them more attracted to the audience. We looked at each group members individual digipaks and decided as a group what we liked from each and then put these ideas together to create our final, group digipak.

We have looked at every members digipaks and have looked closely at the micro-elements to decide which elements put together would look most effective and would promote the artist and the genre best. The first micro-element that we looked at was colour. When researching into many other different digipaks from the same genre, we came across that the majority of the colours used were natural and light. The typical colours that were seen were yellows, greens, blues, and browns, all conforming to the topic of nature. We wanted to reinforce the stereotypes of the indie genre as well as promoting the artist successfully. We did this by using colours such as yellow to write the artists name 'Lola Starr' to associate her with being a star, and someone who is seen to be successful. We think this would be successful in the branding of the artist as the audience are able to have a better idea of who she is and the audience will be able to remember her more successfully. We also had the use of darker colours such as browns and greens, we used these colours to present the artist as being mysterious and intriguing. The photos were taken at night time so therefore the lighting is extremely low key, the pictures fade into darkeness around her which make the audience think she is mysterious and hiding aspects of her personality from the audience. It also gives the audience an idea as to what type of songs will be included in the album, the dark colours represent sadness and mystery, allowing the audience to believe that her album will include such songs related to the topic of sadness, for example. This is effective as it makes the audience want to know more about her and will buy the album to find out what the songs are about.
When we had looked at the different digipaks from the indie genre, we believed it was highly important to use conventions of the indie genre within our group digipak, we took these conventions from each of our own digipaks. One of the main conventions used throughout the digipak was the mise-en-scene elements, clothing, iconography and body language. On the front of our digipak we have used a close up of the artists face, she is looking directly into the camera which makes it seem as if she is looking directly at the audience, building the relationship between the audience and artist as the audience feel as if they are being targetted by the artist. This is conventional to the indie genre as the audience are then able to see her features, the makeup in which the artist is wearing is shown effectively as the close up allows this. This is effective as it conforms to the indie genre and allows for the artist to show to the audience who she is. However, because she is not wearing a lot of face makeup, this conveys a message to the audience that in order to be successful and well known, you do not have to change who you are, and change your image. The clothing is also extremely conventional to the indie genre, the baggy denim jacket, the red bandana and the tight, leather leggings portrays successfully an indie artist. This clothing makes the artist seem more realistic and relateable which is the effect my group and I wanted to achieve, allowing for the audience to connect to the artist more knowing she is just an everyday girl. Another convention we have used is the iconography. We took this from Leandra's individual digipak where she had made a collage of the artist to show the iconography more specifically. We have used the iconography of a guitar in order to show off the artists talents to the audience. We believed that this would promote the artist effectively as it shows that she is a good musician in which the audience would be attracted to and want to buy the album to hear her talents.
The images that we have used within the group digipak promotes the artist effectively as an artist who conforms to the genres stereotypes. One image on the front cover we have used shows a close up of the artist having peace signs over her eyes. The lighting used here is high key, making her eyes the most noticeable feature, this allows for better eye contact to be made with the audience as the audience are automatically drawn to her eyes. We have used this image specifically so the audience feel a connection with the artist and see her more close up than you usually would. This enhances the audience and artist relationship as it shows the naturalness of the artist and how she isn't fake and superficial, this makes the audience believe that she is somebody who is true to herself and has become successful off of her own efforts and hard work. It promotes the artist well as it makes her look like someone who is relateable to her target audience and someone who they can easily connect to. Another image that is included in our group digipak is the artist sitting on the floor in the natural envoirnment she is in with her guitar smoking a cigarette. We used this image as the back cover of the digipak where the song titles are. We placed this here as we wanted to make it look as if the artist is at one with her music and she loves what she does.
The layout is the stereotypical layout of a digipak. It includes 6 sections, all of which contain images of the artist, promoting her and making her seem more appealing to her target audience. We have included a personal message from the artist to the audience so that the audience feel more connected with the artist and that they feel the artist is speaking directly to them. This creates a much better relationship between the audience and the artist as the audience believe that the artist has taken the time out to talk to her fans and this ultimately makes her seem down to earth and thoughtful. The layout of the digipak is very simple to make it more accessible for the audience, this easy layout is reinforcing the stereotype of the genre as it creates a more mellow and easy going feel rather than flashy and bright.
The typography that my group and I decided on using for the digipak was flowing and bubbly font in which is easily readable for all audiences but also, making it conform to the conventions of the genre. The colour thats used for the font for her name was in yellow. We used this in order to make her name stand out against the dark background, making it aware to the audience she is a bold, stand out, artist. I also wanted to use a bright font to reinforce her name to the audience, with her name being Lola Starr, the bright colour enhances the idea of a star being bright. I believe this is successful as it allows for the audience to make the connection between her name and her artist image. The language that I used within the digipak is also very simple. I wanted the digipak to be accessable to audiences and to do this I had to use simple language that all audiences could read. The simple language however makes the digipak more relatable for the audience.
The back page of the digipak was created by myself, with ideas and suggestions put forward by my team members. I had some difficulties when creating this image as it was difficult to create the ripped paper effect. I found an image of ripped paper on Google and placed into photoshop, I had to try and cut around the edges and still create a ripped paper effect. This took a lot of time as I tried to make it as realistic looking as possible. However, I overcame this by using the blur tool to fade out bits that didnt look effective. One of my strengths whilst using Photoshop however was the use of the lasso magnetic tool. The use of this enabled me to use the whole image on the side of the digipak but crop out bits that I didn't want. Another strength of mine was being able to add effects onto the image. I enhanced the brightness on the picture and also made the edges darker, this worked well as I was able to make the artist be the centre of attention and be the main focus. This created a more successful promotion tool as the image is now focused fully on the artist, making her the centre of attention.
I believe that our final digipak conforms to the genres conventions, giving the audience a high indication of the indie genre. The conventions are portrayed through the mise-en-scene elements of clothing, body language and iconography. The use of these enabled us to promote the indie genre well and make it much more relatable to the audience. My group and I believe that the digipak will appeal to the target audience as it follows the typical conventions of the indie genre,making fans more interested and want to know more.

We have looked at every members digipaks and have looked closely at the micro-elements to decide which elements put together would look most effective and would promote the artist and the genre best. The first micro-element that we looked at was colour. When researching into many other different digipaks from the same genre, we came across that the majority of the colours used were natural and light. The typical colours that were seen were yellows, greens, blues, and browns, all conforming to the topic of nature. We wanted to reinforce the stereotypes of the indie genre as well as promoting the artist successfully. We did this by using colours such as yellow to write the artists name 'Lola Starr' to associate her with being a star, and someone who is seen to be successful. We think this would be successful in the branding of the artist as the audience are able to have a better idea of who she is and the audience will be able to remember her more successfully. We also had the use of darker colours such as browns and greens, we used these colours to present the artist as being mysterious and intriguing. The photos were taken at night time so therefore the lighting is extremely low key, the pictures fade into darkeness around her which make the audience think she is mysterious and hiding aspects of her personality from the audience. It also gives the audience an idea as to what type of songs will be included in the album, the dark colours represent sadness and mystery, allowing the audience to believe that her album will include such songs related to the topic of sadness, for example. This is effective as it makes the audience want to know more about her and will buy the album to find out what the songs are about.
When we had looked at the different digipaks from the indie genre, we believed it was highly important to use conventions of the indie genre within our group digipak, we took these conventions from each of our own digipaks. One of the main conventions used throughout the digipak was the mise-en-scene elements, clothing, iconography and body language. On the front of our digipak we have used a close up of the artists face, she is looking directly into the camera which makes it seem as if she is looking directly at the audience, building the relationship between the audience and artist as the audience feel as if they are being targetted by the artist. This is conventional to the indie genre as the audience are then able to see her features, the makeup in which the artist is wearing is shown effectively as the close up allows this. This is effective as it conforms to the indie genre and allows for the artist to show to the audience who she is. However, because she is not wearing a lot of face makeup, this conveys a message to the audience that in order to be successful and well known, you do not have to change who you are, and change your image. The clothing is also extremely conventional to the indie genre, the baggy denim jacket, the red bandana and the tight, leather leggings portrays successfully an indie artist. This clothing makes the artist seem more realistic and relateable which is the effect my group and I wanted to achieve, allowing for the audience to connect to the artist more knowing she is just an everyday girl. Another convention we have used is the iconography. We took this from Leandra's individual digipak where she had made a collage of the artist to show the iconography more specifically. We have used the iconography of a guitar in order to show off the artists talents to the audience. We believed that this would promote the artist effectively as it shows that she is a good musician in which the audience would be attracted to and want to buy the album to hear her talents.
The images that we have used within the group digipak promotes the artist effectively as an artist who conforms to the genres stereotypes. One image on the front cover we have used shows a close up of the artist having peace signs over her eyes. The lighting used here is high key, making her eyes the most noticeable feature, this allows for better eye contact to be made with the audience as the audience are automatically drawn to her eyes. We have used this image specifically so the audience feel a connection with the artist and see her more close up than you usually would. This enhances the audience and artist relationship as it shows the naturalness of the artist and how she isn't fake and superficial, this makes the audience believe that she is somebody who is true to herself and has become successful off of her own efforts and hard work. It promotes the artist well as it makes her look like someone who is relateable to her target audience and someone who they can easily connect to. Another image that is included in our group digipak is the artist sitting on the floor in the natural envoirnment she is in with her guitar smoking a cigarette. We used this image as the back cover of the digipak where the song titles are. We placed this here as we wanted to make it look as if the artist is at one with her music and she loves what she does.
The layout is the stereotypical layout of a digipak. It includes 6 sections, all of which contain images of the artist, promoting her and making her seem more appealing to her target audience. We have included a personal message from the artist to the audience so that the audience feel more connected with the artist and that they feel the artist is speaking directly to them. This creates a much better relationship between the audience and the artist as the audience believe that the artist has taken the time out to talk to her fans and this ultimately makes her seem down to earth and thoughtful. The layout of the digipak is very simple to make it more accessible for the audience, this easy layout is reinforcing the stereotype of the genre as it creates a more mellow and easy going feel rather than flashy and bright.
The typography that my group and I decided on using for the digipak was flowing and bubbly font in which is easily readable for all audiences but also, making it conform to the conventions of the genre. The colour thats used for the font for her name was in yellow. We used this in order to make her name stand out against the dark background, making it aware to the audience she is a bold, stand out, artist. I also wanted to use a bright font to reinforce her name to the audience, with her name being Lola Starr, the bright colour enhances the idea of a star being bright. I believe this is successful as it allows for the audience to make the connection between her name and her artist image. The language that I used within the digipak is also very simple. I wanted the digipak to be accessable to audiences and to do this I had to use simple language that all audiences could read. The simple language however makes the digipak more relatable for the audience.
The back page of the digipak was created by myself, with ideas and suggestions put forward by my team members. I had some difficulties when creating this image as it was difficult to create the ripped paper effect. I found an image of ripped paper on Google and placed into photoshop, I had to try and cut around the edges and still create a ripped paper effect. This took a lot of time as I tried to make it as realistic looking as possible. However, I overcame this by using the blur tool to fade out bits that didnt look effective. One of my strengths whilst using Photoshop however was the use of the lasso magnetic tool. The use of this enabled me to use the whole image on the side of the digipak but crop out bits that I didn't want. Another strength of mine was being able to add effects onto the image. I enhanced the brightness on the picture and also made the edges darker, this worked well as I was able to make the artist be the centre of attention and be the main focus. This created a more successful promotion tool as the image is now focused fully on the artist, making her the centre of attention.
I believe that our final digipak conforms to the genres conventions, giving the audience a high indication of the indie genre. The conventions are portrayed through the mise-en-scene elements of clothing, body language and iconography. The use of these enabled us to promote the indie genre well and make it much more relatable to the audience. My group and I believe that the digipak will appeal to the target audience as it follows the typical conventions of the indie genre,making fans more interested and want to know more.
Sunday, 4 January 2015
Rough Cut- Miss Georgiou
When creating our music video, we also created a rough cut. A rough cut is essential to carry out when creating a final production as it allowed for constructive criticism to be made by peers, teachers, family and friends. Audience feedback is highly important at this point as we are then able to change and edit things differently in which the targeted audience may not like, also, we are able to see if our music video represents the artist image successfully by what the audience tells us. The feedback we get will allow us to make improvements or amendments to our video to create a successful indie music video. A rough cut is important for my group and I to carry out as it allows for the audience to see what we have put together, and to get feedback to make the final product successful.
We received audience feedback by screening our production to fellow peers within out media group. By doing this, the other group were able to pick out points that needed improving and things that were successful. They did this by writing on a sheet of paper, giving us 3 things to improve and 3 things that worked effectively. This is helpful to us as the intended audience were for people of their age, so this therefore tells us what the audience would like to see, enabling us to make changes and improvements to create a successful indie genre music video. They gave their feedback on a sheet of paper, giving their feedback in a style of a questionnaire. They told us what was good about our production and what they thought the final product should include. One of the ways in which the audience said we could improve our video was to change certain cinematography elements and some of the camera angles that we decided on using. The group said that some of the shots were shaky and looked unprofessional and rather amateur. We also agreed with this and believed it would be a good idea to re-film such elements by using the equipment such as the tripod to create a more steady piece of footage, to make the video more professional. Another way we got feedback from our audience was by putting the rough cut onto YouTube as well, we were able to get feedback from a much larger audience, rather than just our intended audience. We were also able get feedback from friends and family this way. People were able to comment on the video telling us what they thought was successful, what they liked and what the disliked. This let a wider audience have a view of our video, it would also benefit my group and I within the music industry as what the wider audience said to improve, we would do in order for our video to target much wider audiences and achieve globalization, making the artist more well known. The feedback then benefits the music industry as they are able to know what to include to make a video to attract as many people as possible, as well as targetting the intended audience.
The feedback that we received we took all into consideration. By following their feedback from what the audience would like to see benefits our production in many ways. As well as receiving constructive criticism, collectively, the audience gave us three points in which they thought were good within the video. The first point which the audience thought was successful was the fact that the relationship portrayed within the video was highly realistic and relatable. This comment was added on YouTube and it also stated that the footage was natural and would therefore let the audience know and people watching that it was a real relationship. My group and I also agreed with this statement. The natural relationship was shown through the use of mise-en-scene elements such as body language between them both. It gave off a positive vibe to the audience as it looked like a real and true relationship, showing to the audience that were truly in love. This is effective for the video as it makes the audience connect to it more, and get more of an insight of the artists lifestyle. It was shown to be realistic and natural through the use of cinematography elements we chose. For example, POV (point of view) allowed for the relationship to be seen through the artists eyes and captured the naturalness between the couple which made the audience relate to it more as they feel more involved with the scenario which creates a better relationship between the audience and the artist.
Another positive comment we received was the range and good use of the cinematography elements that we used within our production. The range of angles we used was good as it showed off the artists relationship, performance and emotions extremely well. This is effective in many ways as the audience are able to connect with the emotions that she is feeling, making the bond between the artist and the audience tighter as the audience have may been in the same situation and felt the same emotion. It is also effective in the way that the music industry are able to show different sides of the artist through the different camera angles , therefore, being able to show more of her off to the audience, and the relationship she has with her partner. The wide range of camera angles portrays relatability which the audience can connect to.
Another element of the music video which received positive feedback was the use of performance from the artist herself. Within the performance scenes there were many close ups of the artist. We included this in order to make it easier for the artist to connect with the audience more. The audience are able to have eye contact with the artist, allowing for the song to have a more personal feel and make the song more connected to the audience. By using close ups within the performance it allows for the bond between the artist and the audience to build, it lets the audience see the artists face and connect fully with her, being able to understand the emotions that she is feeling. This creates a better relationship between the audience and the artist as they feel as if the artist is singing to them, this is the feedback we received from our peers.
Apart from recieiving the positive feedback, we also was given various constructive comments which were made about the video. One of the main points in which repeated itself was the various different people being within the shots in different scenes of the video. We tried to make our video as natural as we could by filming the video in typical everyday settings in order to make the artist seem relatable and realistic and ultimately to portray the relationship between the couple. The feedback that we recieved about this confirmed that the background people made the clips within the video look unprofessional and unorganized. We discussed this point as a group and ultimately decided that cropping the clip would be successful as we want to make the video as proffesional as we can. Cropping the clip we believed would be easiest rather than re-filming it, and taking the clip out of the video was not an option as we believed it portrays the natural relationship we intended. Cropping out the extra people also meant that the audience are able to focus more on the relationship without the distraction from other people, enhancing the bond between the artist and the audience as the audience are only able to see them and therefore fully focus on them, which the audience may have experienced before. This makes the artist seem fully relatable and a down to earth, everyday person. This is successful for the music industry as it makes for a wider audience as she seems highly relatable for the audience. This will increase the views of the video and therefore resulting in the increase of sales of the song.
Another comment made about the video in which the audience believed wasn't successful was that some of the filming was shaky. This could be due to the fact that some of the footage we filmed was not filmed with a tripod therefore leading to a more shaky effect. We also had trouble with the use of the tripod due to the weather occasions. The wind led for the tripod to shake and therefore create shaky footage. This feedback was easily fixable for us as we could re-film the certain footage that wasn't good. However, if we wanted to keep the certain clips, we could edit it to make it less shaky. We would use elements on Final Cut Pro to balance out the shakiness of the footage. However, we agreed with this feedback and believed that re filming the footage would be the best thing to do in order to create it to become a better music video and much more professional.
Another constructive criticism we had been given was the use of shots being repeated. We also had noticed this ourselves and is something that we will work on to improve. As for the rough cut, we did not have enough footage to use for the entire song so therefore the only thing necessary was to put in shots that already had been used. We have already overcome this a group by filming some more footage to include within the video. We also plan to include more performance of the artist so the audience can connect to her more.
Overall, from the feedback we got and how we feel about our production, there are many different changes that we are going to be making to our music video. The first change that we plan on making to the music video is the shakiness of some shots. We believe that the shakiness makes the video much more unprofessional and unappealing to the audience, so therefore re filming certain elements will make it more attractive for the audience and make the audience feel more intrigued towards the music video.
We also are going to make sure we use the tripod better as we could refilm the certain elements of possibly not use them or try to balance them out by editing them using the ProX element we used to edit our footage and if not check the weather before we go to film and just refilm small elements.
To therefore overcome the comment on repetitive footage we have already filmed some more footage to put into our music video and this should hopefully connect better with the audience due to the wide range of footage we will now how. We plan to have more performance as well so that you can see the artists talent.
We received audience feedback by screening our production to fellow peers within out media group. By doing this, the other group were able to pick out points that needed improving and things that were successful. They did this by writing on a sheet of paper, giving us 3 things to improve and 3 things that worked effectively. This is helpful to us as the intended audience were for people of their age, so this therefore tells us what the audience would like to see, enabling us to make changes and improvements to create a successful indie genre music video. They gave their feedback on a sheet of paper, giving their feedback in a style of a questionnaire. They told us what was good about our production and what they thought the final product should include. One of the ways in which the audience said we could improve our video was to change certain cinematography elements and some of the camera angles that we decided on using. The group said that some of the shots were shaky and looked unprofessional and rather amateur. We also agreed with this and believed it would be a good idea to re-film such elements by using the equipment such as the tripod to create a more steady piece of footage, to make the video more professional. Another way we got feedback from our audience was by putting the rough cut onto YouTube as well, we were able to get feedback from a much larger audience, rather than just our intended audience. We were also able get feedback from friends and family this way. People were able to comment on the video telling us what they thought was successful, what they liked and what the disliked. This let a wider audience have a view of our video, it would also benefit my group and I within the music industry as what the wider audience said to improve, we would do in order for our video to target much wider audiences and achieve globalization, making the artist more well known. The feedback then benefits the music industry as they are able to know what to include to make a video to attract as many people as possible, as well as targetting the intended audience.
The feedback that we received we took all into consideration. By following their feedback from what the audience would like to see benefits our production in many ways. As well as receiving constructive criticism, collectively, the audience gave us three points in which they thought were good within the video. The first point which the audience thought was successful was the fact that the relationship portrayed within the video was highly realistic and relatable. This comment was added on YouTube and it also stated that the footage was natural and would therefore let the audience know and people watching that it was a real relationship. My group and I also agreed with this statement. The natural relationship was shown through the use of mise-en-scene elements such as body language between them both. It gave off a positive vibe to the audience as it looked like a real and true relationship, showing to the audience that were truly in love. This is effective for the video as it makes the audience connect to it more, and get more of an insight of the artists lifestyle. It was shown to be realistic and natural through the use of cinematography elements we chose. For example, POV (point of view) allowed for the relationship to be seen through the artists eyes and captured the naturalness between the couple which made the audience relate to it more as they feel more involved with the scenario which creates a better relationship between the audience and the artist.
Another positive comment we received was the range and good use of the cinematography elements that we used within our production. The range of angles we used was good as it showed off the artists relationship, performance and emotions extremely well. This is effective in many ways as the audience are able to connect with the emotions that she is feeling, making the bond between the artist and the audience tighter as the audience have may been in the same situation and felt the same emotion. It is also effective in the way that the music industry are able to show different sides of the artist through the different camera angles , therefore, being able to show more of her off to the audience, and the relationship she has with her partner. The wide range of camera angles portrays relatability which the audience can connect to.
Another element of the music video which received positive feedback was the use of performance from the artist herself. Within the performance scenes there were many close ups of the artist. We included this in order to make it easier for the artist to connect with the audience more. The audience are able to have eye contact with the artist, allowing for the song to have a more personal feel and make the song more connected to the audience. By using close ups within the performance it allows for the bond between the artist and the audience to build, it lets the audience see the artists face and connect fully with her, being able to understand the emotions that she is feeling. This creates a better relationship between the audience and the artist as they feel as if the artist is singing to them, this is the feedback we received from our peers.
Apart from recieiving the positive feedback, we also was given various constructive comments which were made about the video. One of the main points in which repeated itself was the various different people being within the shots in different scenes of the video. We tried to make our video as natural as we could by filming the video in typical everyday settings in order to make the artist seem relatable and realistic and ultimately to portray the relationship between the couple. The feedback that we recieved about this confirmed that the background people made the clips within the video look unprofessional and unorganized. We discussed this point as a group and ultimately decided that cropping the clip would be successful as we want to make the video as proffesional as we can. Cropping the clip we believed would be easiest rather than re-filming it, and taking the clip out of the video was not an option as we believed it portrays the natural relationship we intended. Cropping out the extra people also meant that the audience are able to focus more on the relationship without the distraction from other people, enhancing the bond between the artist and the audience as the audience are only able to see them and therefore fully focus on them, which the audience may have experienced before. This makes the artist seem fully relatable and a down to earth, everyday person. This is successful for the music industry as it makes for a wider audience as she seems highly relatable for the audience. This will increase the views of the video and therefore resulting in the increase of sales of the song.
Another comment made about the video in which the audience believed wasn't successful was that some of the filming was shaky. This could be due to the fact that some of the footage we filmed was not filmed with a tripod therefore leading to a more shaky effect. We also had trouble with the use of the tripod due to the weather occasions. The wind led for the tripod to shake and therefore create shaky footage. This feedback was easily fixable for us as we could re-film the certain footage that wasn't good. However, if we wanted to keep the certain clips, we could edit it to make it less shaky. We would use elements on Final Cut Pro to balance out the shakiness of the footage. However, we agreed with this feedback and believed that re filming the footage would be the best thing to do in order to create it to become a better music video and much more professional.
Another constructive criticism we had been given was the use of shots being repeated. We also had noticed this ourselves and is something that we will work on to improve. As for the rough cut, we did not have enough footage to use for the entire song so therefore the only thing necessary was to put in shots that already had been used. We have already overcome this a group by filming some more footage to include within the video. We also plan to include more performance of the artist so the audience can connect to her more.
Overall, from the feedback we got and how we feel about our production, there are many different changes that we are going to be making to our music video. The first change that we plan on making to the music video is the shakiness of some shots. We believe that the shakiness makes the video much more unprofessional and unappealing to the audience, so therefore re filming certain elements will make it more attractive for the audience and make the audience feel more intrigued towards the music video.
We also are going to make sure we use the tripod better as we could refilm the certain elements of possibly not use them or try to balance them out by editing them using the ProX element we used to edit our footage and if not check the weather before we go to film and just refilm small elements.
To therefore overcome the comment on repetitive footage we have already filmed some more footage to put into our music video and this should hopefully connect better with the audience due to the wide range of footage we will now how. We plan to have more performance as well so that you can see the artists talent.
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