A2 Media

1. What technologies have I used in the construction of my research, planning, production and evaluation?
What technology did I use in my production?
Pre-Production
During the research and planning process of my production I used technologies that assisted my development of initial concepts
for my music video.
Picking a Song: During the first stages of planning I reviewed
certain unsigned British artists to use for my music video.
For this I used two websites. The first website I used was ‘Best of
British Unsigned’ which produces frequent podcasts made up of a
variety of unsigned British artists. From here I noted some songs
and artist to further research.
I then took these artists and used the
platform ‘Sound Cloud’, a free music
sharing platform often utilised by
unsigned artists due to the available
exposure. From here I picked three
songs which I then profiled and
evaluated until I confirmed my choices
for the music video.
‘Sound Cloud’ also provided a Facebook link in which I
was able to contact the band in order to ask for
permission to use their song. The website also
provided some artwork from the band which gave me a
sense of the aesthetic which the band wishes to create,
helping me in both my video and my print productions.
Presenting my Planning: In order to organise and present my
research and planning affectively I used ‘Blog Spot’ to create a blog
in which I regularly update when progressing my music video and
print productions. I also used document sharing platforms such as
‘issuu’, ‘prezi’ and ‘slideshare’. All of which I used in order to
develop skills with different platforms, enabling me to use the
programme which suited the subject matter best.
Research into target audience:
Firstly, I identified influences for the
band through the website ‘Hotvox’
which presented signed artists that
the band use to create their own
style. I then used this information to
research the characteristics of my
target audience by using the website
‘YouGov’ in which they produce a
profile of audiences of certain bands.
I then used the bands influences and
took note of important information
from the website to create my own
audience profile.

2. Production
Filming: For filming my music video I originally used a DSLR, however,
the camera would not capture a wide shot which was needed to
capture the different aspects of my initial concept. To solve this
problem I decided to adapt my idea to suit my new timescale and set
out to find an appropriate camera for my new concept. I decided to
you a gopro for a few main reasons. One reason being that it
captured a wide shot which was helpful in shots such as the canteen
as different background elements were involved. Another benefit
was the manoeuvrability available with the design of the camera. I
was able to capture various angles of the drums due to the small and
light devise. The last reason was that the gopro camera had an easily
changeable feature allowing me to chose the frames per second
which was vital as I could manipulate this aspect in post production
when changing the speed of a clip to make it look more amateur, as
many videos of the genre have a similar ‘home made’ aesthetic.
Print Productions: When researching characteristics
of print productions from my genre I used ‘Colour
Code Picker’ which will isolate the main colours of
any image uploaded. I then did this for a selection of
digipaks from my genre in order to identify the most
repeated colours to use in my own print production.
To create my print production images I hand illustrated the artwork. I opted for this method
as the unique texture it creates, giving it an organic amateur look which connects to the
aesthetic of my own brand and the wider genre. To create a digital copy I scanned each
image into photoshop in order to add certain aspects on this platform. This allowed me to
take repeating images such as the stripes and manipulate them to be reused for my poster
which helped to create a brand.
Another benefit of using both illustration and digital detailing is the
contrast I was able to create between the wording and background. This
can be seen particularly in the back cover and poster. Similar to the Neck
Deep digiak evaluated, the band name is incorporated into the artwork
on the front which emphasises the contrast from digital words used
throughout my print productions. This allows the wording to stand out
and become almost 3D, enticing the audience to read.
To select the perfect font I used the website ‘dafont’ which holds an archive of many different fonts. I selected certain fonts and stated mocking up my print
productions until deciding on the best fonts to suit my purpose. I decided to use the font for the name of the band as the ironic link to horror films is often used within
the genre. I also used the bold text for the body in both the poster and the back cover to connect the two and also contrast with the stylised band name, also making
it clear and easy to read.

3. Post Production
Editing: Once I had filmed all shots needed I set about editing my footage on the
programme PremierePro, an industry standard programme which allows a variety of
advantages when editing my footage into a music video.
One of the tools particularly useful to my
editing process was the razor tool. I first
marked the timestamp on the sequence to a
particular beat of the song. I then used the
razor tool to cut the clip to this beat. This
technique is often used in music videos,
creating a build of tension as the cutting
becomes more rapid to fit the build of the
song. This connects the song to the action
and also keeps the audience engaged,
emphasised with the relationship between
beat and action.
I also wanted to repeat certain clips
from my video so I used the cloning
tool to duplicate a clip and place it
more than once in my sequence. I
did this to create a sense of memory
or looking through the protagonists
thoughts as he replace certain
scenarios in his head.
As stated before, I also new I wanted to create a
slowed clip to build tension and anticipation. I
did this by manipulating the frames per second
in order to achieve my desired speed. This effect
gave the sequence the desired build of tension
and also created the ‘home video’ aesthetic I
wished to create.
Audience Feedback: in order to evaluate how affective my video and print
productions were in meeting my objectives I set about getting audience
feedback.
I comprised a questionnaire using the platform Google Forms. I decided on this
platform as it gave me the option to create different styles of questions
needed to produce effective results, the website also allowed to include videos
and pictures which was convenient when including all my productions in one
place. I also had an account with the platform which made it easy to create
and share my questions. The website also collected the data found into graphs
and tables which made the analysis of my findings easy to read and assess.
Questions
Answers
Using a digital editing none-
linear software like PremierePro
allowed me to review and
prefect all aspects of my video
at any time, opposed to the
earlier use of linear, tape to tape
editing used before the 90s
which would have been a far
greater time consuming
endeavour.

4. How are new media technologies enhancing the film industry for young people?
The great innovation and expanse in media technologies in recent years has have positive affect on young people’s ability to consumer and interact with the film
industry. The age of ‘digital citizenship’ has created a society where all young people need to create or consumer media content, is in their back pocket on a paper thin
mobile phone. This therefore creates a widespread digital literacy in which virtually young people are constantly collaborating and consuming different ways to
interact with the industry. The growing use of instant video sharing platforms such as YouTube has had an exponential affect of which little was predicted. Companies
such as BuzzFeed and Good Mythical Morning are now pumping millions into video content created and consumed by young people. Young people have also changed
the way media is created with new platforms such as Vine in which 6 second videos are shared numerous times across the globe, creating a need for short and snappy
videos in which will affect how the wide film industry will engage with younger viewers in the future.
Digital cameras such as the GoPro, as used in my video, has also greatly impacted the media of young people. The unique style and performance the device provides
creates a niche group of content creators of which are distinguishable just by their use of camera. Therefore, the digital age and technologies of the time has indeed
empowered the creative medias for young people.