Friday, 18 March 2016
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Thursday, 11 February 2016
Evaluation Question 1
1. My media products were a music video and ancillary texts which were a
digipak and a magazine advert. I had to create my own made up artist for all of
these products and design products that would not only suit my target audience
but also support chosen genre conventions. There are a few purposes of creating
these products, which include promoting the artist, if the artist has new
content, he will want it to be recognised, and magazine adverts, music videos
and digipaks help build hype to lead on to something else from the artist.
These are also created to show a representation of the artist, the artist wants
to get their image out there and wants people to know what they are about and
what they believe in and adverts, videos and digipaks are effective ways of
doing this. The genre that I chose was the indie genre and I decided to make a
music video based on the song "Two fingers" by Jake Bugg. There are
many conventions to note when it comes to the indie genre, for example, artists
are always usually seen with a guitar, it is the main instrument of the indie
genre and you would more than likely see them playing it on an album cover or
in a music video. It appears in my own video many times, as my artist is seen playing many times, which shows he has a passion for his music and builds a connection with his fans as they will see him dedicated and devoted towards his passion. This is appealing as conventions are being followed, the fans are being given what they expect to see and therefore this satisfies them.
Indie artists also like to come across as relatable and down to earth characters, they tell emotional stories through their songs that fans feel they can relate to, and they also pour their hearts out to establish a connection with their audience, as the audience may feel sympathy for the artists, thus showing feelings towards him. My artists emotions are shown throughout my production, mainly with close ups, not only to give a personal feel, but also build a relationship with the audience, as seeing him sad and down will make them feel sympathy towards him. One specific scene where this is shown is in the taxi, shortly after he has all his money stolen and is alone, it shows the audience his true sadness, which is conventional to the genre as the artist is pouring the heart out to the audience with a personal situation, the audience therefore feel sorry for him, they feel sympathy for my artist as he is in a troubling time and the audience can see how badly he is feeling, which shows a connection has been established.
It is also conventional for an indie artist to wear black clothing, this has been seen on many indie artists, such as Jake Bugg, Liam Gallagher and Liam Fray. It is another way of displaying depressed artist emotions and it is also seen in my own music video, as my artist is in black clothing the whole time. This is seen in my own production throughout, as the artist appears in this clothing to show his dark emotions, which is conventional as the artist is being open and showing his emotions to the audience, as artists of the indie genre are known to share sad stories to draw the listener into the music, this establishes a connection as the audience can emphasise with my artist through his own story, a dark one seen by his clothing choice. This is mirrored through how he is unsuccessful and how his money is stolen and how he is envious of the successful artist, Tyler. Conventions are also further shown through the presence of a micro-element with the all black clothing, fans will therefore find the video more appealing if conventions are stuck to as they are getting what they expect to see.
Another convention present is the urban setting across the video. Urban settings are typical in indie music videos, as it is seen as a personal way of an artist connecting with the audience, the artist is giving fans a piece of themselves as they are showing where they come from and their background, these locations are conventional as it is expected for an indie video to be out in the open and more natural, which helps to build a relationship with the audience as it is relatable. This can be seen in my music video specifically when the artist is going through a train station, this shows fans can relate to him as this is a journey that many people make every day and is not an extravagant location like a mansion for instance that you would expect to see in a hip-hop video, not indie. The urban areas he's in are highly populated, which shows that the artist is not afraid of exposing himself to the public in order to gain attention, he performs in front of large audiences in order to desperately try and gain some form of recognition and for people to think that he is a good musician.
One way in which conventions were subverted was in the digipak, there is an image which is edited in a slightly green colour, something you would not often see in the indie genre, however I wanted to give my fans something new and unique and not just constantly use plain and bland images, as this would likely bore them and they wouldn't be entertained by my content, meaning it would not be successful. A different effect can make my product more appealing and also create more meanings and emotions, giving the digipak a diverse and overall interesting effect.
The main product and ancillary text all showed clear conventions and what the artist is all about, it showed convetions such as black clothing, the guitar and artists emotions towards the audience, but they all tell you the artists story and it enables you to see his life. It is clear that my production is indie and it appeals to the target audience by clearing displaying conventions as well as relevant themes.
Indie artists also like to come across as relatable and down to earth characters, they tell emotional stories through their songs that fans feel they can relate to, and they also pour their hearts out to establish a connection with their audience, as the audience may feel sympathy for the artists, thus showing feelings towards him. My artists emotions are shown throughout my production, mainly with close ups, not only to give a personal feel, but also build a relationship with the audience, as seeing him sad and down will make them feel sympathy towards him. One specific scene where this is shown is in the taxi, shortly after he has all his money stolen and is alone, it shows the audience his true sadness, which is conventional to the genre as the artist is pouring the heart out to the audience with a personal situation, the audience therefore feel sorry for him, they feel sympathy for my artist as he is in a troubling time and the audience can see how badly he is feeling, which shows a connection has been established.
It is also conventional for an indie artist to wear black clothing, this has been seen on many indie artists, such as Jake Bugg, Liam Gallagher and Liam Fray. It is another way of displaying depressed artist emotions and it is also seen in my own music video, as my artist is in black clothing the whole time. This is seen in my own production throughout, as the artist appears in this clothing to show his dark emotions, which is conventional as the artist is being open and showing his emotions to the audience, as artists of the indie genre are known to share sad stories to draw the listener into the music, this establishes a connection as the audience can emphasise with my artist through his own story, a dark one seen by his clothing choice. This is mirrored through how he is unsuccessful and how his money is stolen and how he is envious of the successful artist, Tyler. Conventions are also further shown through the presence of a micro-element with the all black clothing, fans will therefore find the video more appealing if conventions are stuck to as they are getting what they expect to see.
Another convention present is the urban setting across the video. Urban settings are typical in indie music videos, as it is seen as a personal way of an artist connecting with the audience, the artist is giving fans a piece of themselves as they are showing where they come from and their background, these locations are conventional as it is expected for an indie video to be out in the open and more natural, which helps to build a relationship with the audience as it is relatable. This can be seen in my music video specifically when the artist is going through a train station, this shows fans can relate to him as this is a journey that many people make every day and is not an extravagant location like a mansion for instance that you would expect to see in a hip-hop video, not indie. The urban areas he's in are highly populated, which shows that the artist is not afraid of exposing himself to the public in order to gain attention, he performs in front of large audiences in order to desperately try and gain some form of recognition and for people to think that he is a good musician.
Another convention shown was the presence of a narrative in my music video. Narratives are very popular amongst the indie genre, as indie songs usually always have a story and meaning behind them and the story is what draws fans into the music video. It is usually an emotional story from the artist themselves, which is seen in my own video, as various elements of my narrative are conventional and can gain audience reaction, one specific example can be when my artist has his money stolen. He is now in a bad situation as has no money, this is conventional as a deep and sad narrative which is a personal story from the artist is being shown, which helps to establish an audience connection as they will feel sympathy for him in his tough situation and some may be able to relate as they may have been very low on money before or had something stolen from them. The sad and dark nature of the video overall is conventional to indie as it is a sad personal story from the artist, he wants to be successful, have money and get noticed, but fails and is left penniless, homeless and cannot find any success.
One other convention of an indie genre is low key lighting used to set the emotional tone for a scene and show how he has no hope and is unsuccessful. It sets an overall deep and sad mood and draws the audience in to feel sympathy for who is in the dark and troubling situation. This is seen specifically in my own production when the artist is getting his money stolen. This is a dark and upsetting scene as the artist is being mugged and we can see his sadness from the reaction shot that follows after the screenshot. This again shows further conventions as the artist is sharing his emotions with the audience, who are drawn into the music video by his distressed facial expressions and the events which have just occurred, which make them feel sympathy for him, therefore showing that an emotional connection between the artist and audience has been established. The dark effect was established by changing the lighting down from 100% to 77% in selected scenes where I wanted the low key lighting affect to fit, which was based on the preset final cut pro x filter of "faded sun".
One way in which conventions were subverted was in the digipak, there is an image which is edited in a slightly green colour, something you would not often see in the indie genre, however I wanted to give my fans something new and unique and not just constantly use plain and bland images, as this would likely bore them and they wouldn't be entertained by my content, meaning it would not be successful. A different effect can make my product more appealing and also create more meanings and emotions, giving the digipak a diverse and overall interesting effect.
The main product and ancillary text all showed clear conventions and what the artist is all about, it showed convetions such as black clothing, the guitar and artists emotions towards the audience, but they all tell you the artists story and it enables you to see his life. It is clear that my production is indie and it appeals to the target audience by clearing displaying conventions as well as relevant themes.
Monday, 8 February 2016
Friday, 8 January 2016
Rough cut
When it comes to having a rough cut, it is important to receive different kinds of feedback from various people. It is important for a number of reasons. A rough cut is not a finalised version and opinions are needed in order to find out what you need to improve and what you missed. This feedback is crucial when it comes to production, as viewers can give useful and also effective comments for the music video producers to take note of and make changes in areas of the video that may be lacking in some aspects or what needs to be added further. The viewers give a good indication of what should be kept in the music video from watching it and also the things they enjoyed about the video, this means the producers will bear this in mind and make sure they do not make many changes to this part of the music video, as it already has good reviews. Rough cuts are a vital part of making a music video, because these rough cuts are considered drafts and are not the final end product, which means when something to improve on has been mentioned by a viewer of the rough cut, the producers are then able to work on these specific parts in order to improve the video so that the opinion on the video betters and overall the audience end up being happy with the final version.
Me and my group were given feedback from a number of people, one way we did this was using the internet social media site, youtube, which is also where we uploaded the rough cut and it meant that by using youtube, our audience could leave their comments in the comment section below the video. Another method we used was to show the actual product to our whole class so that me and my group could listen and gain some good opinions and views as well some improvements needed from the students and teachers in the room. I also showed my video to members of my family at home to gather their opinions and also gain more feedback. From our questionnaire results, we can note that the indie genre has a large audience age range, and me and my group asked people of many ages to give us feedback on our indie video, teachers, parents, students the same age and maybe younger or older siblings.
Me and my group made our rough cut with the intention to gain some constructive comments and also things we did well. Me and my group created a rough cut before making the video final so that when our group had all of our comments and feedback received, we could then use this to imrprove our final product. If all of these improvements are made it will then lead to the video looking better and it will feel like a real music video, as when it comes to our rough cut, there are improvements that need to be made and things changed and we will need our audience to point out the points of issue and errors we made. The comments on youtube about our rough cut gave myself and my group an insight into what we needed to better and change and also at the same time what we had done well, if all the improvements mentioned get added to our existing rough cut video, then we will complete our group task of producing a music video that appeals to our selected target audience. The rough cut we produced and how we took on board the viewers comments will benefit the music industry, as all audiences will feel appreciated for the fact that they are listened too and their comments have been taken on board and that they will be included and adjusted in order for them to have the most enjoyable experience that they possibly can when they are watching music videos.
One comment that we received on youtube in the comment section about our video which shows that we included something a viewer liked and enjoyed was that there was a good use of a narrative, which may mean that the story put together and thought of well or it was simple to follow or the fact that the narrative and story of the artist himself was portrayed in a way that the viewer was able to empathize with him, thus establishing a connection with the audience, which is a convention of the indie genre. The next part of this comment says that another thing we used well was locations. I agree with the viewer on saying that we used good and a different range of locations, as me and my group took a lot of time trying to choose locations that would look different but at the same time, still get across the same ideas as we had before, for example, me and my group used Loughton high road when filming to try and show that it was a different part of Central London.
Another positive comment that we received was from another student saying that the artist had a very clear representation throughout our video, and also that the way he is portrayed with struggling to make it in the big world and be a successful musician is clearly shown throughout and easy to grasp. I believe our group did indeed convey this well when we made our music video, as there are many scenes that show he literally has hit "rock bottom", our album title cover, for instance, when the camera suddenly cuts to an extreme close up of the artist's money pot and there is very little money inside showing that the artist is not really getting any money or doing well at all, which then goes on to relate with the scene where he has to run away from the taxi, because he didn't even make enough money to pay the fare.
A final positive comment our group received came from our teachers stating that we used a wide range of diverse camera angles as well as techniques throughout the whole video wherever it was possible or needed. Our group agreed with this comment because we were always making sure that the shots were not too repetitive whilst filming in London as well as Loughton and Buckhurst Hill. All of these shots were used so that our viewers would enjoy the amount of diverse camera techniques we used and a few shots we used that helped create certain ideas coming from the audience, for example, when the artist is turning the sky to try and get back into his home near the end of the video and the shot in this frame is high angle, to show that he is in danger and vulnerable, we know he is in danger as he is about to face homelessness.
The first constructive comment me and my group received was from our teachers after showing them the video was that the lens on the camera wasn't adjusted properly and as a result certain shots are showing the artist out of focus. This is extremely noticeable when watching the video a second time an me and my group are very thankful for this constructive comment. However re filming the shots would be problematic because the filming location would be very difficult to get to again so that it's still bright and sunny as we are in the middle of winter, and the distance was very far for re filming all the way in liverpool street, this is also the reason why the second location is Loughton because it's busy as well as close by so me and my group thought that it would work there. Me and my group just need to focus on how to clear up the camera shots so that it doesn't look as if they are out of focus.
Another constructive comment made was that we need to use filters a lot more in our video so that it can look more professional as stated in the youtube comment we received. Me and my group have taken this comment on board and think that we could use a grainy filter to take some of the colour out of the video so that it looks a bit more depressing this makes it more conventional for the audience which will make it more professional as it will look like a realistic music video for the indie genre.
The last constructive comment made about our video was that one of the characters in the video, who is a successful individual and signs an autograph at one point, doesn't look as though he is a successful music artist. This is a very good comment that was made because though me and my group knew what he was, the audience would struggle understanding his purpose in the video, me and my group know he is a direct opposite from our artist but because the successful person isn't given much of an identity and it's difficult to see if he is even a music artist whatsoever. Me and my group planned on re filming these scenes so that he was listening to an Ipod so a connection could be hinted at, but in relation to the camera shot that should follow this one, he isn't seen at all with the with the ipod or even headphones, so this was a problematic constructive point but we still haven't corrected.
To help us gain even further feedback on our rough cut, a real grime artist "Lay-z" and his manager visited our class and watched each of our music videos to see what we could improve on. This was massively beneficial, as we were fortunate enough to gain advice from actual professionals inside the industry, which is something not many media classes would have the chance to receive, so this advice was vital, Lay-z knew what it took to create a successful video and also showed us some examples of his own, to give us some inspiration and to also show us what had been previously popular. When he watched our video, he told us that he really liked our narrative, he could tell what was going on and could feel the struggle of the artist and he believed it involved the audience well by using emotions, however he thought that some parts were a bit bland and needed filters to show even more emotions and also keep the video is interesting, as if it is constantly bland, then this might turn off people as they may find it boring. We took Lay-z's comments on board and included filters, for example adding faded sun before the artist begins his journey, to connote that things are about to take a turn for the worse.
Me and my group will start improving the video by adding several filters throughout, one idea me and my group have had is to use a filter that takes away a lot of the colour from the shots our artist is in so that it looks as though it is a depressing story. Me and my group then had the idea of adding colour back into the video when our artist is playing the guitar and when the successful artist is on screen because the colour would show success for the successful artist and would show hope for our artist. One last correction me and my group will be making is that there is a focus filter we can use to blur the edges of a shot so that the artist doesn't look out of focus as much anymore, he'll still be blurry but the background will be a lot more blurry so that our artist stands out.
Me and my group were given feedback from a number of people, one way we did this was using the internet social media site, youtube, which is also where we uploaded the rough cut and it meant that by using youtube, our audience could leave their comments in the comment section below the video. Another method we used was to show the actual product to our whole class so that me and my group could listen and gain some good opinions and views as well some improvements needed from the students and teachers in the room. I also showed my video to members of my family at home to gather their opinions and also gain more feedback. From our questionnaire results, we can note that the indie genre has a large audience age range, and me and my group asked people of many ages to give us feedback on our indie video, teachers, parents, students the same age and maybe younger or older siblings.
Me and my group made our rough cut with the intention to gain some constructive comments and also things we did well. Me and my group created a rough cut before making the video final so that when our group had all of our comments and feedback received, we could then use this to imrprove our final product. If all of these improvements are made it will then lead to the video looking better and it will feel like a real music video, as when it comes to our rough cut, there are improvements that need to be made and things changed and we will need our audience to point out the points of issue and errors we made. The comments on youtube about our rough cut gave myself and my group an insight into what we needed to better and change and also at the same time what we had done well, if all the improvements mentioned get added to our existing rough cut video, then we will complete our group task of producing a music video that appeals to our selected target audience. The rough cut we produced and how we took on board the viewers comments will benefit the music industry, as all audiences will feel appreciated for the fact that they are listened too and their comments have been taken on board and that they will be included and adjusted in order for them to have the most enjoyable experience that they possibly can when they are watching music videos.
One comment that we received on youtube in the comment section about our video which shows that we included something a viewer liked and enjoyed was that there was a good use of a narrative, which may mean that the story put together and thought of well or it was simple to follow or the fact that the narrative and story of the artist himself was portrayed in a way that the viewer was able to empathize with him, thus establishing a connection with the audience, which is a convention of the indie genre. The next part of this comment says that another thing we used well was locations. I agree with the viewer on saying that we used good and a different range of locations, as me and my group took a lot of time trying to choose locations that would look different but at the same time, still get across the same ideas as we had before, for example, me and my group used Loughton high road when filming to try and show that it was a different part of Central London.
Another positive comment that we received was from another student saying that the artist had a very clear representation throughout our video, and also that the way he is portrayed with struggling to make it in the big world and be a successful musician is clearly shown throughout and easy to grasp. I believe our group did indeed convey this well when we made our music video, as there are many scenes that show he literally has hit "rock bottom", our album title cover, for instance, when the camera suddenly cuts to an extreme close up of the artist's money pot and there is very little money inside showing that the artist is not really getting any money or doing well at all, which then goes on to relate with the scene where he has to run away from the taxi, because he didn't even make enough money to pay the fare.
A final positive comment our group received came from our teachers stating that we used a wide range of diverse camera angles as well as techniques throughout the whole video wherever it was possible or needed. Our group agreed with this comment because we were always making sure that the shots were not too repetitive whilst filming in London as well as Loughton and Buckhurst Hill. All of these shots were used so that our viewers would enjoy the amount of diverse camera techniques we used and a few shots we used that helped create certain ideas coming from the audience, for example, when the artist is turning the sky to try and get back into his home near the end of the video and the shot in this frame is high angle, to show that he is in danger and vulnerable, we know he is in danger as he is about to face homelessness.
The first constructive comment me and my group received was from our teachers after showing them the video was that the lens on the camera wasn't adjusted properly and as a result certain shots are showing the artist out of focus. This is extremely noticeable when watching the video a second time an me and my group are very thankful for this constructive comment. However re filming the shots would be problematic because the filming location would be very difficult to get to again so that it's still bright and sunny as we are in the middle of winter, and the distance was very far for re filming all the way in liverpool street, this is also the reason why the second location is Loughton because it's busy as well as close by so me and my group thought that it would work there. Me and my group just need to focus on how to clear up the camera shots so that it doesn't look as if they are out of focus.
Another constructive comment made was that we need to use filters a lot more in our video so that it can look more professional as stated in the youtube comment we received. Me and my group have taken this comment on board and think that we could use a grainy filter to take some of the colour out of the video so that it looks a bit more depressing this makes it more conventional for the audience which will make it more professional as it will look like a realistic music video for the indie genre.
The last constructive comment made about our video was that one of the characters in the video, who is a successful individual and signs an autograph at one point, doesn't look as though he is a successful music artist. This is a very good comment that was made because though me and my group knew what he was, the audience would struggle understanding his purpose in the video, me and my group know he is a direct opposite from our artist but because the successful person isn't given much of an identity and it's difficult to see if he is even a music artist whatsoever. Me and my group planned on re filming these scenes so that he was listening to an Ipod so a connection could be hinted at, but in relation to the camera shot that should follow this one, he isn't seen at all with the with the ipod or even headphones, so this was a problematic constructive point but we still haven't corrected.
To help us gain even further feedback on our rough cut, a real grime artist "Lay-z" and his manager visited our class and watched each of our music videos to see what we could improve on. This was massively beneficial, as we were fortunate enough to gain advice from actual professionals inside the industry, which is something not many media classes would have the chance to receive, so this advice was vital, Lay-z knew what it took to create a successful video and also showed us some examples of his own, to give us some inspiration and to also show us what had been previously popular. When he watched our video, he told us that he really liked our narrative, he could tell what was going on and could feel the struggle of the artist and he believed it involved the audience well by using emotions, however he thought that some parts were a bit bland and needed filters to show even more emotions and also keep the video is interesting, as if it is constantly bland, then this might turn off people as they may find it boring. We took Lay-z's comments on board and included filters, for example adding faded sun before the artist begins his journey, to connote that things are about to take a turn for the worse.
Me and my group will start improving the video by adding several filters throughout, one idea me and my group have had is to use a filter that takes away a lot of the colour from the shots our artist is in so that it looks as though it is a depressing story. Me and my group then had the idea of adding colour back into the video when our artist is playing the guitar and when the successful artist is on screen because the colour would show success for the successful artist and would show hope for our artist. One last correction me and my group will be making is that there is a focus filter we can use to blur the edges of a shot so that the artist doesn't look out of focus as much anymore, he'll still be blurry but the background will be a lot more blurry so that our artist stands out.
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