2. In what ways does your media product use , develop or challenge forms of conventions of real media products? We wanted to be different as many videos today represent either love, heartbreak or have issues such as drink and drugs within them. However in relation to our genre and theme we decided we wanted to create a different element of video where its all about feeling happy and relating to an important topic which is friends and living your life the way you want it. In relation to real media products I have ensured that every element I used conveys the correct image and I aimed to develop my skills as I went on . In the process of creating my media product I had many influences , one of these was the famous Elton john’s song ‘your song’ which is a beautiful song and is not stereotypically like every other music video being producedit does not convey drugs or sex but is a song that I believe inspired me to produce a video with the song ‘Live it’ . I wanted to show throughout my video the conventions of friendship and growing up as there is a stereotypical view that teenagers are ‘troublemakers’ and do not have any worries , where as this is not the case and I wanted to share the bands journey with the audience and develop this idea until the end of the video .
3. How effective is the combination of your main products and your ancillary task ? Throughout this whole process I have planned efficiently and precisely to ensure the combination of my main product and ancillary tasks are most effective. In the planning process I produced a cd cover, making sure I took all the images ourselves and made sure it fitted the genre of music video and supported the message I wanted the target audience to understand. I also produced a digi pack to demonstrate the use of different shots I wanted to get and also support the main task. As Part of our ancillary task I also created a poster to add towards the advertising, as this is also an effective way to combine the two products. The use of advertising and precise planning is extremely important as it helps the main product to become more successful and more popular. As part of the creation process throughout the ancillary task , everything that I used was in order to help both products combine. The way I set out the band for the photos and costumes were all for a reason as I wanted them all to look like a very professional and successful band . I also wanted the audience to be captivated by the album cover as I used a different style than usual and made it look almost like the band were hiding to create a sense of ‘ mystery’ . By using this technique the message I wanted to convey would be a little easier, I wanted the audience to understand that the band are good role models and are letting others know you should not hide away from your fears . In relation to my main product I ensured that this idea was conveyed all the way from my ancillary task to the main product so the theme of effectiveness I seen at all times. I believe that the process of the ancillary task helped me make my music video send out important messages for the audience to relate to .
4. The setting I used or my ancillary task was simple but effective. I placed the band against a brick wall for the photoshoot but placed them all in different positions , as for the costumes they were extremely realistic and I wanted them just to wear casual clothes as this is the main thing that teenagers wear . These elements link into my main task as the setting was not in an extravagant place but a place where is very familiar to many teenagers, college as this fitted in perfectly with the whole idea of the song . The costume also stayed casual throughout as I didn’t want anything to look out of place. As my album cover is black and white I wanted to link this to something which is part of my product. I used the idea that black and white is always referred to the olden days and going back in time , and in relation one of the songs on the back of the album are named ‘memories’’ . I also used this element in my main product as in my music video I have used both black and white and colour , black and white for the performance parts and colour when I was portraying the narrative. o I also named the album ‘ Steeping out of the darkness’ this I because I wanted to match it with the image .I wanted to show that the band are growing up and are not afraid anymore and their friends are a very important part throughout life and you should live your life the way you want it , I hope that my audience will see the link clearly from the album cover and music video and its very much effective.
5. What have you learnt from your audience feedback? From the audience feedback that I received I have been able to understand how others have viewed and analysed my music video . Firstly they said that they like the fact that the video combines both performance and narrative all throughout the video and that its good to let the audience see both parts one being professional and on the other hand the band having fun and being themselves. I also picked up on the idea that lots of people really enjoyed the ending where I tried to do something different and add in all the extra parts which showed the band being natural . By adding ‘outtakes’ I believe it takes the serious element out the song for a moment and lets the audience enjoy the video and hopefully laugh along . The audience also picked up on the idea at the start and said that they thought the first five seconds of no music and just the image on the screen was an interesting start to the music video and it made some feel like they wanted to know what else was going to happen throughout the music video . Another point that my audience said back to me was that they could clearly see that they were a close band as we introduced them at the start and we can see them together or on their own throughout the clip . The audience said they believed it seemed very genuine from the start and especially at the end as they was not putting on any kind of act and just being the way they want to be. Lastly the audience also liked the setting for example , the recording studio as it looked professional when they were recording and singing the song. Overall I have learnt many things from my audiences feedback . I have learnt that the audience like to feel part of the video and that they want a video to seem realistic and genuine and not false and staged. I have also learnt that if you try and combine narrative and performance more people will enjoy as it will suit more than one set of people and I have learnt this in the process.
6. How did you use new media technology in the construction, research, planning and evaluation? During the construction process I used one camera to record all the footage which I needed. I was able to use the camera to get a lot of different shots of the band and the setting and use the camera to zoom in and out. The technology I used was extremely useful and important as I used my mobile phone to get in touch with everybody so we could meet and arrange times for us to film . I also used the internet for research , to email the band and ask the singer Myk Gorse for permission to use his song and I also used You tube to upload my music video for people to see. To help put my music video together I used editing software called Adobe premier element 8 which I used to cut footage put together and create the music video. I also used Microsoft PowerPoint as most of my evaluations and writing was produced on this application as I believe it looks more professional. I also used other application such as word to explain why I didn’t use my drafts and also Microsoft excel to produce graphs for my audience feedback on both album cover and Music video. In order for our work to be seen we all created a blog which allowed others and myself to present our work in an electronic format. I also used a Dictaphone for my directors commentary as this is a more technological way to display information. Throughout the research , planning and evaluation process I believe that by using technology has helped me out extremely to make my product as successful as it can be .
7. Overall Evaluation Overall I am very happy with my media product as I tried to make it as real and successful as possible. I also enjoyed the experience to create a music video very much and I believe it has given me more confidence to go ahead with my ideas in the future. Looking back on my product I am very pleased but if I listen to my audience from the feedback they gave me and from my own analysis I would focus more on the planning . I researched many things such as different kinds of music networks and also prepared two different questionnaires and then presented them in a electronic format. However sometimes I did not stick to my production schedule and if I had chance to do something like this in the future I would definitely stick to the schedule throughout the course . Even though sometimes there was some minor mistakes I am particular happy with the editing process including the lip sync process which was very hard at first but in the end it added more to the music video.
