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.

Digipak

A digipak is a form of media that usually includes 6 slides, the front and back cover, artwork, sometimes a note from the artist themselves or a lyric sheet and of course the CD itself, the main content the artist is providing. Digipaks are usually used as promotion for a new album from an artist. It can seem appealing with artwork or by including hit songs which will attract people to buy it, but also people argue that a digipak has a more personal feel than just a standard Jewel Case CD, as the artist has clearly gone a long way with a digipak and taken time to give his fans more material and things such as a personal note can make it heartfelt and give the artist a good reputation, showing that he cares about his fans.

To create our digipaks, we used a software called Photoshop CS6, I used it to edit photos that were taken of our artist (myself) around lakes, side streets and walls. Photoshop is a very efficient tool, it allowed me to do things such as remove unwanted background, add colour effects to photos such as saturation, increase image quality and also add text on them. It is a very effective and high quality editing app, which made my digipak images stand out very well and made my digipak appealing, if I used a lower quality editing software then the images would not have been as good and the digipak itself would have been low quality and unappealing, and if the digipak seemed poor quality to fans, then they would think the same about the music on the CD inside, meaning that potential customers would have been driven away and the artist wouldn't make much money from the digipak. A poor quality digipak may give the artist bad rep, it could show that they are lazy and aren't too bothered about the quality of the content they're giving their fans, showing that maybe the artist doesn't even care about his fans as they won't go the extra length for them.

The ideas for my digipak came from research on Indie artists and albums they have released. One in particular was Gabrielle Aplin, she had a well presented and appealing digipak that did see some chart success. I noted how she used a lot of rural background, which is something that inspired me as this was the main environment of my digipak images.

My digipak consisted of 6 pieces of content, a front cover, a back cover with song titles on, a personal note from the artist, the CD and some artwork.

The front cover shows the artist sitting beside a lake dressed in all black with his guitar in hand. The font used is also black and is placed on the lake to help it best stand out. I downloaded a special font from a website called "dafont" which I believe is really conventional and effective. The words are the album title, Rock Bottom and the artists name John Spencer. This is vital information I have to provide as it tells the fans specifically who made the album and what it is called, something they will need to know if they are interested in purchasing the actual digipak. I choose to colour the font black as it displays the general theme of the album, dark and quite emotional, I wanted to show that the artist was in troubled times and didn't want the font to be flashy and colourful. The design of the font is veritcally aranged, making it easy for fans to navigate, which is helpful as they would not want to buy the digipak if it was too confusing. The font in John Spencer was designed so that both words merge and share one "N", creating a different affect that was used because some people may find it interesting and because of the fact I was using black font which may seem boring, I wanted to add a twist.

I use natural colours from the image in this slide, with slight dark saturation to set the tone of a dark themed album, however the editing is not adverse and is pretty straight forward, natural colours from the rural setting with black font used for conventional purposes. The artist himself is wearing black, black is a colour many indie artists wear, mainly to show emotional pain and that they're going through a rough time. From our music video narrative we can see the struggles my artist goes through, he is wearing similar clothing to the video, still all black to show his pain and this is effective as it also links in with the black font on the cover.

The image itself is of the artist sat down gazing over a lake whilst playing his guitar. When people are seen looking over lakes, it is thought that they are reflecting on things, which is what my album would be about, the artist reflecting on old times and singing about them. It may also show the artist has literally hit "Rock Bottom" and he has fled to the lake, which many people find peaceful and he is with his one love, his guitar, he has nothing else. Here the artist can be away from his struggles and reflect by using his passion, music. We can see in the image the artist is also wearing dark colouring, which is conventional as indie artists are widely seen wearing this, such as Ed Sheeran. It is also purposely on my artist to show the audience his emotions,

In terms of language on the front cover, there is none used other than the vital information of album title and artist name. I wanted more focus to be on the actual image itself, as this sets the tone and is more informative than the language on the cover.

The main conventions featured in this slide are the rural background included, seen in many indie videos such as "Hozier- Take me to church" and "Ed Sheeran - A team". It gives a feel thats true to the artist and shows their fans where they come from and it gives the fans a piece of the artist. Also conventional is the black clothes I am wearing, seen across many indie music videos, sch as "Oasis- Wonderwall" and "Courteeners- Are you in love with a notion?". It is used to show the artists emotion and overall to convey the general tone of the album.

My next slide is of a personal note from the artist written to the fans who bought the digipak. The language and typography is white font and it thanks fans for making the artist what he is, he shows true appreciation and also leaves a personal signature below, giving the fan a collectors piece and something personal. The audience will take great note of the words on the side and feel like they're connecting with the artist creating a relationship, which is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists are often seen as down to earth characters. The fan really feels appreciated by reading the note and will admire the artist for taking the time to reach out to his fans personally by wording the note himself.

The colours in here are natural like many of the digipaks slides. The background is natural and isnt edited, coloured or airbrushed, the picture is what it is and the artist wants to show he is who he is, not using any fake editing and just having himself there behind the note, naturally. The font used is white, not only because this was best to use as it stands out most, but white connotes innocence and it could show that deep down after all of his struggles, the artist is just a genuine nice guy. the colour white is also associated with purity, and the artist is being pure and true, speaking his mind about the fans and showing who he really is behind all the music. He is still wearing black clothing, but it is positioned so that the black is behind the white, which could connote that the bad times are behind him and he is only looking forward, just like he is in the picture.

The image is of the artist with his guitar staring at the camera showing a direct mode of address. This gives a personal feel, the artist is directing himself towards the audience and they can see him face to face for who he is. This again shows the artist is a down to earth character, he is calm and wants to connect with his audience and build a relationship with them, which is conventional to the indie genre as it's artist are usually relatable characters.With him is his guitar, which is conventional as indie artists are always seen playing mainly guitars in their music videos and on album covers. It tells the audience a lot about the artist, that this is his one true passion and he takes it everywhere he goes, again linking with the convention of connecting with the artist. The main purpose of the image is to support his message that it is genuine and try and connect with his fans, not only by the personal note, but also the direct mode of address.

The indie conventions present are the dark clothing, which shows the artists emotions and also the fact he is with his guitar, something that many indie artists are seen playing as it is the main instrument of the genre. The down to earth feel with the personal note and the actual image also supports indie conventions, as like many other artists, my artist is trying to reach out to his fans.

The slide is designed so that the font appears infront of the artist, the note is the most important thing and the main point of this slide, the artist wants to get across his feelings to the fan. The image is placed behind the text as it is less important and not the main purpose.

The next slide is of some digipak artwork, a guitar rested on a brick wall which has been saturated to a green colour.

The image itself is conventional, the guitar is the main instrument of the indie genre and is present here. The brick wall shows where the artist comes from, which is again conventional as indie artists like to show their fans what they're about and where they come from, as mine does here. 

The colour used is a dark green filter, although it may seem conventional, other Indie genre artists have done similar things, such as Ed Sheerans "X" album cover, similarly coloured to this slide. Green is not tied to a specific genre, a bright red or blue could be associated with dance, but green brings a since of misteriority, and makes fans wonder what the artists songs will be about. A plainly coloured picture may seem boring to some and that is used quite frequently throughout the digipak, and it's important that fans aren't bored and that they get entertained by the content, adding colour adds a new twist and it's an effect that they may find peculiar in a good way and enjoy. 

There is no typography or language to not in this slide, as usually artwork would not contain this, the image speaks for itself and is the main purpose of the slide and the main and also one and only feature to entertain the audience. 

This slide is conventional in a few ways, the guitar, the main instrument of the indie genre is present and shows fans what the album will mainly sound like. Also the artist is showing where he comes from and therefore connecting with his fans by giving a piece of him to them, which is conventional as indie artists are considered down to earth and usually relate to their fans. 

The next slide is another featured artwork, but this time it actually features the artist, and he is playing his guitar against a brick wall. 

The colours used in this slide are mainly a faded black on the actual image, it adds a diverse effect and is used for the purpose of showing the artists emotions, that he is fading away and can't take the pain he deals with any more. Although black may seem a boring colour, it adds a different effect to the slide which makes it more interesting, and it has a purpose, it shows the artists emotions. The artist is also wearing all black like he is in all images, this is used to portray his emotions to the audience, which links in with indie genre conventions.  

Again here there is no typography or language to note, mainly because this is an artwork slide and you wouldn't really expect any words in it. The image is the main focus and the artwork pages do not provide vital information. 

The main conventions in this slide are the artists guitar, as many indie artists are seen playing their guitars in music videos or on album covers and also the fact that the guitar is the main instrument of the indie genre. It is argued that the effect use may go against indie conventions, however the colour black is conventional to the indie genre and it is used to show emotion, like many other indie artists like to show emotion to their fans, it's a way of connecting with them, which my artist attempts here, therefore making it conventional. The artist wears black clothes to show his fans that he is unhappy and going through dark times and that the colour black sums up his emotions, dark. This again shows the artist connecting with his fans, which is conventional as indie artists are always seen in their songs telling stories that fans can relate to, or pouring their hearts out to them. 

 The next slide is the back cover of the digipak, which contains all of the tracks on the album. This is vital information and is needed to provide to the audience, as they would not want to buy the album if they had no idea what is actually featured on it.

The image on the back cover is of the artist's guitar rested on a black bench, with the artist seen in the background walking off. This has many connotations, first off being conventional to the indie genre, as once again the main instrument, a guitar is present and the artist is still in his all black clothing. The presence of the guitar could show the fans that this is what the songs will mainly contain, so that they can briefly imagine in their head what they would sound like. In the image, the artist is seen walking away from the camera, leaving his instrument behind. This is to show that he is walking away from his troubles and giving the fans his music, maybe even quitting music for a while. This subverts conventions as indie artists are expected to be upfront with their fans and relate to them instead of just walk away, but the main purpose of this was to support a background narrative rather than the conventions.

The language shows the titles of the songs, such as "Rock Bottom" and "Broken". This gives a general idea to a fan reading this about how dark themed the songs will be, it is clearly emotional and a song called Rock Bottom will not exactly be upbeat and cheerful. This is conventnional to the indie genre as many songs of the genre tell a sad story. Further on, a vital element of the language present is that it shows to contain clear forms of a digipak, which are the two bonus songs, an acoustic song and a live version at wembley. This is considered bonus content and would not be provided in a standard Jewel Case, showing the added value that fans who purchase the digipak can recieve.

This slide is designed so that the tracks appear above the image, as it would be confusing if they were hardly visible and would be overall poor quality, something a fan would not want to invest in. The tracks are laid out in horizontal order and cross the page, it is easy to understand and navigate, it looks professional and it is also made clear to the fan which songs are the bonus tracks from the original ones. A fan may respect that it has been well presented and organised, which shows them the artist took time on it and cared about the work he gave his fans, not wanting it to be messy.

The next slide of the digipak is of the actual CD and the main content of the digipak itself. The image is another direct mode of address view of the artist and also holding his guitar again, but with grass an trees in the background instead of a brick wall. The main 3 elements of the image, rural background, the artist and also his music connote what the album will be about, singing about himself and his love for music and also where he comes from, staying true to himself, which is conventional as indie artists are usually seen in rural backgrounds in their videos and like to sing about where they come from, for example "Stone Roses- Daybreak".

Again, not many colours are used in this slide, the colour is natural and has not been edited, it is the normal photo just shaped to a CD. This could show that the artist is not hiding behind a fake persona by using uneeded special effects, this is also further supported by the direct mode of address he shows. This is conventional as indie artists are always seen as being down to earth and relatable characters and the artist shows this himself by being up front and personal. The artist is seen wearing black, which is conventional as this is used to show his emotions and indie artists are considered emotional characters who sing about their own experiences, my artist is showing that his experiences have been bad.

The main conventions of this slide is that like many other indie artists, my artist gets down to the audiences level and appears relatable. Also the fact that he is wearing black to show his emotion is conventional as many indie artists sing about their emotional experiences.

There are no words to note on this slide which means there is no real presence of typography or language. It is unusual for a CD to have writing over it, usually only a picture is needed as all information that is important is already provided across other parts of the digipak.

Using photoshop to edit and create my digipak had many ups, but also some downs and faults too. First of all, I did find photoshop to be a very efficient tool as a whole.

Overall, I feel that this digipak conforms the indie genre conventions in a number of ways. The artist is shown as a relatable character through the use of a rural background, showing his emotions and also showing a direct mode of address in two slides. Also, we can see he carries his guitar a lot and indie artists are always seen with their guitar in either videos or on album covers, one in  particular, Jake Bugg in his album magazine advert, an artist we took great inspiration from when creating our work. Through the constant showing of black clothing on the artist, it shows that he is dull and going through depressing times, which helps support the convention of indie artists telling emotional and personal stories, it's a way of connecting with their fans, what many indie artists do as well as mine seen in this digipak.

I believe that this digipak does appeal to our target audience, the artist himself is their age, so it makes it easier for the target audience to relate to him and also younger people are considered to have more hectic lives and may have been through some of the things my artist has, e.g homelessness, as shown in my music video.

Creating a digipak secures a relationship between the artist and their fans in a number of ways. Fans see an artist creating a digipak as giving them extra content, which they will admire the artist for going extra lengths. Digipaks are also something that the fan can hold on to that have a personal feel, as notes from the artist are usually included, which is something a fan would greatly appreciate. It shows that the artist is going the distance to connect with their fans, which will gain them respect as it shows that they care about them and want to give back and if more people knew that the artist was giving and cared about their fans, they'd be more tempted to buy their content, meaning the artist could make more money. It also gives the fan a piece of the artist other than music, it provides a unique experience, notes, artwork and other interesting features rather than keeping it bland by just providing music, like a Jewel Case. Note- BETTER IMAGES WILL BE PROVIDED, DIDNT SCREENSHOT BEFORE WE BROKE UP AND WASN'T IN SCHOOL THE MONDAY WE GOT BACK