Final music video promo

Audience feedback

I invited 4 people to watch my overall final product, my music video promo. I asked them for their honest opinion and this is what they said.
Tim Anderson (media teacher)
Overall Emily i think your video is very effective, it is all narrative based which could look boring but it doesn’t. The end sequence is very artistic and you’ve edited it well with the beat. The colour effects are very good as well. If you were to do it again i would suggest varying your techniques and contrasting the narrative base to also including performance base so you had a variety of techniques and wasn’t as draining to watch. The acting works well, the characters are suitable and the footage is very good.
Beth Mcbride (friend and also media student)
I think its good. The action is linked with the beat very well, it is cleverly edited. The narrative is funny and enjoyable and with me being a 18 year old girl in relationship i can relate with the narrative. The song is very catchy and the narrative you have chosen works well with it, you’ve used some clever editing techniques, i really like the way you’ve overlapped the letter and you in the background it works well.
Jonny Kelly (a2 media student)
The overall video is good. I know both the characters in the video so feel i am being slightly biases, it can get a little boring at some points because it is all narrative based but the editing techniques you have used are good, and you have made sure the action goes in time with the beat which is clever and consistent. I don’t like the end though, it seems strangely to slow and the camera is a little shaky.
Steve Brown (family friend62 years of age)
I like the video, the song is very jolly, and the action links with it. Both good actors and would have looked silly with anyone else in it. I find it easy to watch as its very smooth editing. Felt a little uncomfortable with some of the shots (the kissing) but apart from that its enjoyable.
^that quote shows the advantages and disadvantages of voyeuristic pleasure.

Audience Questionnaire

I also produced a questionaire, and handed it out to 6 students, 3 girls and 3 boys to make it fair.

Q1. What genre would you say my music video comes under?

Rock

R&B

Indie

Pop


Q2. Identify what target audience you think my video was aimed at.

………………………………………

Q3. What features appealed to you in my video?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q4. If I were to change anything about my video what would you suggest?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q5. Do you think my music video successful in covering a variety of conventions?

YES

NO

Q6. Does the lyrics and beat of the song, reflect the narrative and performance structure do you think?

YES

NO


Answer:
Q1. Boy 1= indie boy 2= pop boy 3= indie
girl 1= indie girl 2=indie girl 3=indie

Q2. 5 said = 16-20 1 said = 13-16

Q3. "the effect at the end with the letter overlapping the girl."
"the way the action is in fast forward so it blends in with the beat of the song."
"i really liked the bit when the girl is laid on top of the boys feet and they are spinning round, the effect looks really good"
" i like the way you put a recording button and a date on the screen for the entire video to make it look more realistic as though it was a hand held documentry tape"
"the photograph flashes at the end were really creative"
" I liked the way the colouring was really contrasted, it stood out and didnt make the video look dull and plain."

Q4. all said =" i would have had some performance element in so the video wasnt too tedious."

Q5. YES

Q6. YES

Evaluation

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

I believe I used many conventions in my music video. The overall video is a narrative performance. There are no performance elements in it. I decided to conduct my video in this way because the music is very fast pace and the narrative fits really well with it. I wanted to do something different for my music video and not make it look like every stereo-typical music video. To do this I used ambiguous techniques to make the video stand out. My personal aim was not to get the genre of the music across through the video as I believe the song does this within itself but I wanted to entertain the spectators by including elements that they can relate to, that’s where the theme ‘relationships’ came from, as the majority of my target audience for my video/song can relate to this theme.
A convention I used in my video was direct audience address. This is where the character looks directly at the camera aiming something towards the audience. This can be singing, miming, talking, or simply looking. Throughout my video Thomas and myself both look directly at the camera, Thomas just looks or poses on the word ‘model’ his actions link with the word, this repeats throughout the video every time that specific word is said, this shows continuity. I look at the character laughing and miming talking, this looks as though the spectator in the audience is playing the part of Thomas, as the effect makes it feel as though I am speaking to you individually. This involves the audience and automatically involves them. This effect also differentiates the characters within the videos fantasy and our reality.
Another convention I used was the idea of the audience indulging in voyeurism. This is where the audience at home is watching something that is slightly awkward and the characters involved on screen are unaware of anyone watching them. My entire video is in the idea of a document home made video. With the characters been boyfriend and girlfriend, holding hands, kissing and been generally intimate this is uncomfortable for the people at home but also, they cant help but watch and enjoy. Also there is a shot when a love letter is apparent, this is a personal aspect between the couple but the audiences are able to slightly read it.
I edited my footage in time with the beat which makes the video easier to watch as each action likes with the beat of the song. With my video been completely narrative based this technique kept the narrative flowing.
I also made sure the characters in the video were dressed accordingly to the genre of music. The image they portrayed was teenagers experiencing a lifestyle stereo-typical teenager’s experience. They wore casual clothing, jeans, t-shirts and hoodies to show their street awareness and urban like ways.
I did not use miming within my video as I felt it was extremely difficult to get the miming exact and if it was slightly out of place it would have looked armature. The narrative of the story doesn’t have a specific story line it is just clips of the couple together having a good time, and with the idea of having a recording button a the top of the screen and a date at the bottom this shows that the video is being recorded like a documentary which adds realism and makes the idea more understandable for the audience. The narrative doesn’t have an exact beginning and end but both clips are exactly the same apart from the end shot is slowed down with the speed and duration button to make it seems as though the narrative is coming to an end. I then ended the full video with a white brick wall fading into black, this links with my digipack ideas. The beginning and end shots both fade in and fade out, I think this gives the idea f opening the footage then closing it, a definite beginning and end. The entire footage is ambiguous as the audience doesn’t fully understand what the idea behind the video is and also leaves their imagination running when it comes to the ending. It could suggest is this couple happy? Is it al a flashback or current times? Do they break up?
For my CD front and back cover I used typical conventions of what other cd’s covered. I made the artists name bigger than the song name which is an element that was shown on other cd front covers I analysed. My cd front cover is very simple, it only has the artist name, the album name and a film rail. I chose this idea to make sure that album if it was to sell was only sold by people interested in the music, the song rather than the band and their image. The band themselves are pretty popular to their fans who enjoy the genre but to people who are interested in other genres such as r&b and pop music they would probably not have heard of this band before. So not having the band on the front, or the characters involved in the video I think this would be more beneficial for the audience only interested in their music. The film rail idea I think is very artistic as it links with the idea ‘photobooth’ which is the name of the song but also if you look closely it has small pictures of the characters in the music video on the film rail. This would advertise the video and the browser could relate and recognize the song more if they then see the characters in the video on the front of the cd. The pictures in the film rail include the theme scopophilia slightly as the characters are kissing and being intimate. This is also voyeuristic as the characters are unaware that the audience is looking at them being so close. I think this also links with their target audience and is more enjoyable for them as they can relate.
The back cover of my cd album continues with the front, showing continuity. It has the same background, the white brick wall which appears on my cd, my poster and my video. It has the same fonts as the front page and the poster which also shows continuity and gives the overall image a rebellious, urban looking effect which links with the genre of the band and music. The back cover has a picture of a camera flashing in a Polaroid which suggests the ideas behind the title of the song photobooth, the idea that the couples are taking photos together to create memories. I wrote the song titles out in numeric order which is a convention of cd back covers and makes it easier to be able to click on the number and listen to the song shown on the back.
Other conventions I included on my cd back cover was the barcode, the producers name and copyright laws. These appear on all cd covers, the barcode is there so the spectator can buy the cd. The producers name is their to advertise and inform the audience who the band are made by, and the copyright laws are there to warn the audience that each song is individual and signed up to copyright so if anyone was too record or steal their music and make them their own, serious allegations will be made. This also makes the band look more important and professional as they are an actual signed band.
I then had to produce a magazine advertisement poster. A poster that would appear in a magazine advertising my artist’s new album/song. My poster is yet again similar to my cd cover. It has th same background, fonts and film rail, but also included a focus point image. The band title and album name is at the top of the page which is another convention of posters. It also borders the image and is a focu point but doesn’t distract from the main image. Thomas, the character which appears I the video and on the film rail. This would advertise the poster well as it will introduce the characters from the video on to a poster. The overall poster suggests the genre of the music as the look is edgy and rebellious again because of the off colored brick wall, Thomas’s laid back, casual look, he is not looking towards the camera which suggests rebellion. The title and album name are the same. The film rail is at the right hand side of the page, suggesting a border type look.
Information added is the date it is released, other song names on the album which is a ‘lure’ by including this it makes the audience remember other songs the artist has produced. 5 * which suggest the album is very good. A convention of posters is *’s to represent other peoples opinions, usually other artists opinions or music critics, and if their id 5* the songs look promising, advertising the album further and hopefully making it more appealing to buy.
Another convention I used was product placement, the HMV logo is this. It is informing the audience of where they can buy the alum from. I chose HMV as it is known all over the world and makes the album look promising and professional. It gains strong iconography.

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

I think that both my main product and ancillary texts relate to each other well. They have the same theme and the same stylistic features. They all looks lightly rebellious, urban looking and edgy, which links with the genre of music, been indie/electro. The images look artistic, but grungy looking as they are all in black and white. The fonts look sharp, bold and graffiti like. For all three products they all somewhere on the page include the name of the artist and the song and a film rail which links with the song. The lyrics are all to do with the theme ‘relationships and young love’ The white brick wall appears on all of my products. This shows continuity and ambiguity as the audience don’t understand what the brick wall represents, on my ancillary products it shows rebellious, casual urban look, but on my video it appears at the very end, this could suggest the relationship has come to an end, it uses the cliché ‘come to a brick wall’ which suggests the relationship has hit rock bottom. It could also be representing a full stop, the end of the video.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Overall the amount of people who have sen my final production i cannot count, but the specific people i have asked to watch it have all said that the video is enjoyable to wach as it is so fast paced and the narrative links with it. The narrative is sweet and relevent to society today. The editing is cleverly done as their have been many techniques used. he video creatd continuity all the way through which makes it easy to watch.
If i was to do it again though i would include performance techniques aswell, miming or choreography, just so the footage doesnt get to tedious.

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

For my research I watched many different music videos and analysed them and tried to come up with any ideas or suggestions from the other music videos which could take on board and interpreted my own ideas with. I watched videos from all different genres including the genre I am also doing. I looked at the way the music video was performed, if it was performance or narrative based. The costumes included the ideology behind the video, the cinematography and editing used, the use of different lighting and camera angles. After viewing these and analyzing them I then began to think of what my video would consist and how I would construct it. I used the internet to do all this, watched the videos on YouTube, I also watched music videos on sky tv channels such as Kerrang and TMF to get a variety.
I then chose my song after long consideration and listening to many different songs, I chose my final idea, Friendly Fires Photobooth because it was fast pace and easy listening, I also found that when I listened to this I had many ideas, so the more ideas I had the more I could experiment.
I then analysed the lyrics to really come to terms with what my video would have to suggest. That’s when I then came up with idea ‘relationships’ and ‘young love’ After realizing this it narrowed my ideas down slightly. I then analysed 3 music videos. I looked and talked about the structure, the cinematography, lighting, editing, m.e.s and sound. After doing this for all three videos I then came up with a final idea of my own, including some aspects from these videos.
I then began my planning. I designed a storyboard, one of many, to put my ideas into place. I considered the timings, the shots, the angles, the characters involved and the exactly lyrics the action would be shot on. I also did a short synopsis and a list of ideas, shot structure and order to really put my ideas across and gather them all up to get a final definite idea.
I then shot my footage on a mini DV motion JPEG camera. I experimented with many different angles, so I shot my footage over an over again from all different angles, so I would have more of a selection to choose from and edit with. I then uploaded my footage onto Adobe premier pro 1.5 editing suite on a PC computer, this was a software I had never used before so I found it very challenging at first. Once my footage was uploaded I was then ready to edit.
For my music video promo, when I first uploaded my footage I was not happy a it all looked simple, boring and very un-professional but as soon I got the hang of editing my footage completely took a turn for the best I feel and looked like a completely different video, This showed me that the making and art of constructing a video is all in the editing.
I used tools on Adobe Premier such as: the fade in and fade out tool. This was were I would click on the section of the clip I would like to work with and I would drag it until the fade in or fade out was how I wanted it. I used this tool on nearly every clip to make the video flow better. I used the speed/duration button frequently as the footage I originally shot was slow, and because my song was fast paced the footage did not look right, so I made all my footage from 100.00 to around 15000-200.00 and some clips even faster. I used the reverse key which is also selected on the speed duration setting, cropped some footage then right clicked and chose the reverse button this would reverse the clip I had chosen. For all my clips I manipulated the color to make the footage look more contrasted and brighter, this added realism and made the video clearer. I did this by clicking on the clip then effects, then the matrox color key, then I altered the balance until I was satisfied. At first I copied each effect and pasted the attributed but I found, doing this each clip sill looked different because of the original lighting the footage was set in. So therefore I had to manipulate the colors of each clip separately until I was happy. For some of my clips I overlapped two clips on top of one another. I then altered the top clip so the image was slightly invisible, then I would have the clip underneath in full contrast, this would make the clip on top faded but the clip underneath strong, this creates a nice effect as there are two clips showing on top of each other. I did this quite often with the tree clips, so the trees would be spinning then would carry on spinning over another clip, it showed continuity and also time passing. I also used this effect towards the end when the letter footage is over the top of me talking to the camera. This looks good as you can read the letter, but also have my face underneath, which makes the image overall look effective and exciting to watch. For two clips in my video, the ones were Tom and I are laid down on the floor looking at each other, I vertically flipped on of these so it looked different the second time you saw the same image. I really enjoyed editing the section at the end when 5 different photographs are shown on the screen, the sound of a camera flashing and an actual flash appearing on the screen. I did this my videoing photos, uploading them, changing the size of them, and then creating a white background and making it last a minimum of 0.5 seconds. This would make the image flash very quickly. I then found a camera click sound on the computer, so I added this where the white background image was then added the photographs after each click. This made it look as though the picture was being taken. I then used the matrox advanced DVE button to create a slideshow of the photographs. In the last sequence I cropped the images, froze the screen, then pasted the image to make it look like the photo is being taken, then the footage would carry on playing, then it would repeat every time the word ‘photobooth’ was sung.
I made my ancillary texts on Adobe Photoshop which is a program designed to manipulate photos. For my cd front and back cover I took photos of my own digital camera then uploaded them, and edited them until I was happy. For my front cd cover I took 5 pictures of Tom and I together, then uploaded them on top of a film rail picture I got off the internet then edited the full thing until I was happy. I made them black and white by changing the saturation key on Photoshop. I used the adjustment key and warped the image until it looked like it was hanging off the page. I also used the razor key on the left hand side panel to get rid of any unnecessary images or bits of the picture I didn’t want, I used the magic wand tool also to do this for the writing. For my poster I also used Photoshop. I made all the images black and white, and heightened the contrast and brightness to make the images look sharper and bolder. I got my fonts off the internet on a specific website designed for fonts. I then found a few I liked but decided on this one as it looks urban like.