Charlie Donohoe A2 Media Evaluation

1. G324 Coursework
Evaluation
Charlie Donohoe

2. G324
Main Product Ancillaries

3. 1
In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media
products?

4. Early stages
At the very start of my G324 project I started researching into similar
products to discover common conventions used in existing music
videos.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2017/10/research-into-similar-products.html
Soon after researching I decided that I preferred music videos from the
pop genre in particular. This lead me to my song ‘Misbehavin’ by
Pentatonix.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2017/09/drafting-and-planning-song-choice.html

5. Pop Genre Conventions
Pop videos have a lot of popular generic conventions in them. Videos are
edited to the pace and rhythm of the song and there is often a lack of
diegetic or ambient sound. There is usually an element of performance in
the video with the artist present themselves. Pop videos commonly have a
connection between the story and themes of the video and the lyrics of
the song.
Props are used to accentuate the themes of the song with bright lighting
to help convey the genre. Vibrant colours through mise-en-scene are used
to make the video attractive for the audience and gain interest whilst
portraying the genre.
Pop music videos very often have an element of love in their narratives
with the actors often being young to attract the demographic target
audience
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-codes-and-conventions-of-pop-music.html

6. Music video influences – Sorry not sorry
Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato was very
influential to me for my music video. The
mise-en-scene was really attractive to me
which I believe took a lot of influence from in
my own video. I used bright colours in my
video in the costumes and props used in my
video. The fast paced editing in the video is
something that I also implemented into mine.
I edited really quick clips together to jump cut
between shots of the props during the time
where there was no lyrics in the song.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2017/07/research-into-similar-products_28.html

7. Music video influences – All Night
All Night by Kirstin™ influenced me highly due
to the fact that it was all filmed in one room.
I liked this idea as it conveyed the lyrics and
storyline into what was happening in the
room alone. I liked this idea so I took
influence into my own video by only
showing the party scenes taking part in one
room. This really put a magnifying glass onto
the main character and helped me to convey
my narrative successfully.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2017/07/kirstin-all-night-official-video.html

8. Music video influences – How You
Feeling?
‘How you feeling?’ by Superfruit is another
big influence to my video as it also takes
place in a party setting. I got ideas for the
mise-en-scene in my video from this one.
Also, the use of drugs and alcohol were
shown in this video, so I took influence
from these ‘naughty’ influences in my
‘Misbehavin’ video. This video helped me
to create my narrative for my video and
transfer it from storyboards to visual
moving image.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2017/09/research-into-similar-products.html

9. Music video influences – Sad song
Sad Song by Scotty Sire is perhaps the
most recognisable influence when you
look at my video. I took a lot of
inspiration from the way that the main
character was potrayed. The main
character was shown to be sitting
staring into space on the sofa during
the whole video. This video also takes
place in a party setting so it highly
influenced my characterisation in my
main character.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2017/09/research-into-similar-products_9.html

10. Digipak influences - Illuminate
I took a lot of influence from Shawn
Mendes’ Illuminate album when creating my
digipak. I liked the idea of having the main
person looking away from the camera. I
liked the way that the wide shot allowed us
to see what else was in frame including his
guitar and chair. When taking my own
photography for my digipak. I decided that I
didn't want my person to look too far to the
side, so I positioned him facing just out of
the shot.
I chose to name the album ‘glitch’ after the
meaning in the music video as it shows a
glitch in the relationship and it is also the
name of a song on the album.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2018/02/research-into-similar-products-digipak.html

11. Digipak conventions /
InfluencesAfter looking at a lot of Pop digipaks, I learnt a lot of the
very common features used in them. Almost all albums
feature the main artist being the main attraction. I had
this in mind when creating my own and used the main
character in my video as the main image in my digipak.
Also, existing digipaks have the artists name and the
album title written on the front cover. I implemented
this in my own front cover at the top of the page. The
covers were also colourful and conveyed the pop genre
with colour and trendy costume, hair and makeup. I
believe I have conveyed the pop genre nicely with the
colours I have used and I have used an on trend outfit
on the cover artist.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2017/12/research-into-similar-products-common.html

12. Advertisement Influence
In my advertisement, I took a lot of my
inspiration from Lana Del Reys ‘BORN TO DIE’
advert. Like Lana, I have used the same image
as the album cover onto my advertisement. I
have also placed the artists name at the top of
the page where it is the main text attraction to
catch the eye. I have also took influence from
‘BORN TO DIE’ by having tracks that are on the
album written on the advertisement as well. I
also have record label and website details for
the audiences as well as Lana.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2018/01/research-into-similar-products_40.html

13. Representation
I chose to have my main protagonist as a male character
to challenge the stereotype that the ‘males are always
the people who are unfaithful in the relationship’. So in
my video, the female is the antagonist who is shown to
be cheating on the male. I did this as I believe that it is
important to show that men can be victims to no matter
what situation they are in.
Down to characterisation, I wanted the female to be
shown as the person who encourages the boy to do the
naughty things in the video. So I made sure that she was
shown to be doing them before the boy did. There is a
big stereotype for the men to be the ‘badboys’ in a
relationship but I represented the female as the bad
person to counter the stereotype.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2017/11/drafting-and-planning-characterisation.html

14. 2
How effective is the
combination of your main
product and ancillary texts?

15. Branding
There is a clear consistency between my main product and my two ancillaries, as the main
character in my video is the central focus of my other products and is shown wearing the same
outfit as he is wearing in the video. The inside of my digipak shows an aerial shot of the room that
the party was filmed in and the cd is designed to look the same as the spin the bottle board used
in the video. This creates synergy between the products.
Also the same image that is used on the front of the digipak is also
used as the main image for my advert. This gives it a sense of
branding and helps the audience find the products that
belong to the same artist.

16. Targeting an Audience
There is a constant use of direct address used in my music video which
connotes the idea that the character is reaching out to the audience
personally. This links to the uses and gratifications theory as the
audience is left to interpret the messages in the video in whatever way
they want.
The pop genre is stereotypically aimed at a younger audience, so it was
important for me to make sure that the video appeals to younger
audiences whilst still conveying the pop genre.
My video is aimed at older teenagers due to the themes shown within
the video such as drug use, alcohol consumption and smoking.

17. Applying Theory
Throughout my product, I have included theory including the uses and gratifications as
the audience has a choice on how they view the characters and the message in my video.
People that watch music videos are most likely using the video for their own
entertainment. Audiences are in control and can choose to be active or passive on how
they receive it. The storyline of my video can teach people that its not always the males in
a relationship that are unfaithful. This means that the audience can be more educated
and understand issues and problems that face relationships.
Active audiences would be able to understand the narrative in the video and relate to the
message inside. As everyone has been in a relationship that hasn’t worked out and
everyone has battles with their conscience in day to day life. There is use of drugs, alcohol
and smoking in my video which means that the video would ideally be aimed at older
teenagers around 16+. However, children as young as 8 years old are being taught about
drugs, alcohol and smoking in school, so maybe my video could be aimed at audiences
that are younger than 16 because my video isn’t sharing a positive side to these harmful
substances.

18. Successes
I believe that my main product and ancillaries are successful due to the bond and cohesiveness
between all three products. I have achieved creating a family of different products by using the
same main character as the main attraction of the products, wearing the same outfit in all
products. Another obvious link is the same fonts used on the ancillary products. The synergy
between the three products helps audiences easily recognise that they are from the same artist. I
am also very happy with how my products reflect the pop genre and use the common pop genre
conventions that are used in these products.

19. 3
What have you learned from your
audience feedback?

20. Audience feedback –
Music video First Draft
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2018/02/research-into-potential-target-audience.html
After finishing my first draft of my music video I created a group chat
on the social media site ‘Instagram’ to get instant and valuable
feedback about what they liked and disliked fro the video they saw.
The feedback was very encouraging and also helpful as it contained
positive and negative feedback to help me further improve my
product.
My main criticism was that the introduction to the story was way too
long. After receiving this feedback I quickly changed it from taking
over 30 seconds, to less than 5.

21. Audience feedback - Advertisement
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2018/03/research-into-target-audience-audience.html
After creating a first draft of my advertisement, I took to the social media
site ‘snapchat’ to ask my demographic what they thought of my product. I
wanted them to tell me some positive and negative feedback so I knew
what I was doing right and I knew how I could improve it.
My main feedback was that the white text wasn’t clear enough. So I
coloured the text to help portray the pop genre better and bring the page
to life a bit more.
The positive feedback mentioned that the glitch effect looked nice and
helped to connect with the title of the album.
This feedback helped me to improve my product further so it was ready
for the final hand in.

22. Music video and Ancillary feedback
After completing my music video, advert and digipak, I went back to
Instagram to ask my demographic what they thought of my completed
products.
I sent them the completed music video, advert and digipak and asked
for their opinions.
The feedback was very positive with them commenting on how well
the genre was displayed, the use of originality and making the three
products have a strong sense of branding.
This feedback gave me extra confidence in my products as the
feedback came from my target demographic themselves.

23. 4
How did you use media technologies
in the construction and research,
planning and evaluation stages?

24. Technologies used in
research and planning
Throughout the whole project I have used a blogging site called ‘Blogger’
which allowed me to upload my research and planning with a multi media
approach. The website allowed me to upload links to videos, upload images,
gifs and other links. I was also allowed to write and explain my research and
ideas and edit the text to design it how I liked.
Blogger allowed me to post in a chronological order to present my progress
over the whole project. I was also allowed to save drafts and schedule posts
to be uploaded at any time I would like.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.co.uk/

25. Construction of Video
For my music video, I used a digital camera with a flip
screen which allowed me to view my film as I was filming
it. The camera allowed me to attach it to a tripod and
shoot focused shots. The camera came with a hand strap
so I could get some handheld shots as well.
To edit my video I used a software called Serif Movie Plus
which allowed me to edit in sections and leave gaps which
allowed me to fill in later. This helped me a lot as I was
able to work in sections. I also completed early tasks with
the software so I was already comfortable with the
software.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2017/09/drafting-and-planning-re-
editing-short.html
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2017/12/organisation-editing-
software.html

26. Construction of digipak and
advert
For my ancillary products I used my digital camera to
take the photography as it produced instant high quality
pictures that I could quickly upload to my laptop.
I used a software called Serif Page Plus 7 to edit the
advert and digipak together. The software allowed me
to scale the images, crop them, retouch and colour
them. I was also able to add text, shapes and templates
to make my products look as realistic as possible. I used
Page Plus in my AS project so I was very familiar with
the software which was a benefit for me in this project.

27. Construction of digipak and
advert
For my ‘glitch’ effect on my digipak cover and
advertisement I used Adobe Photoshop to make it effective.
I edited the original image using Adobe Photoshop by
cutting out strips of the clothing and putting them in
different layers. Then I individually moved the strips left
and right to give the image a glitch effect. I really like this
effect and I think it looks quite interesting from an
audience's point of view. The advertisement is supposed to
be captivating and interesting so that it draws peoples
attention. I believe that this image does so. It also helps to
link more to the title of the album and create a sense of
continuity and connection on the products.
https://charliedonohoea2blog.blogspot.com/2018/03/editi
ng-images-advertisement.html

28. Evaluation
For my evaluation I have used Microsoft PowerPoint to
create this presentation and Slide Share to upload and
present this presentation.
Microsoft PowerPoint allows me to use as many slides as I
want whilst being able to use unlimited shapes, text, fonts
and images as possible. This means that I was able to
personalise this and make it exactly how I wanted it.

29. Progress from AS to A2
I have progressed from AS to A2 in a variety of ways. In AS, I created the front page,
contents and double page spread of a pop music magazine. I used Serif Page Plus and
Microsoft publisher to help me to create this end product but at the time, I had a very basic
understanding of the software. At AS I didn’t choose to edit any of my images and I didn’t
really put much thought into conveying the genre and message into the product. In A2, I
used the same software's however I opened myself to looking at others such as Adobe
Photoshop. This allowed me to further enhance my work and edit my images to bring them
to a higher standard and visual look. In A2, I have put a lot more thought into my work and
used my knowledge of the software's to my advantage.
A2 is also a development from AS because in AS, I only had to create one whole product. In
A2 I had to create one main product (the music video) as well as two ancillary products (the
digipak and advertisement).