A2 Media Coursework Evaluation- Draft

1. Question 1- In whatwaysdoesyour mediaproductuse, develop orchallenge forms andconventions
of real mediaproducts?
For my A2 coursework Iwas required tocreate a musicvideowhichIdecided tomake tothe song
‘Hyde’ byindie popsingerAstridS. Alongside thismaintask, I hadto create two ancillary taskswhich
were an advertanda digipak. Mythree products bothadhere andchallenge totypical conventions
of real mediaproducts sothat they are recognisablebymytargetaudience butalsofeature lotsof
originality togive themthatexcitement. Ifound itrathereasy to meetconventions of mychosen
genre because it’ssuchan opengenre withlotsof differentinterpretations of itfromreal media
products especially withthe simplisticmise-en-scene thatindie popartistsfeature intheirvideos.
I foundthat the camera shotsandmovementwere vital toportray mynarrative message tomy
audience andevoke the correctemotions fromthemtoachieve the tone of myvideothatI was
aimingfor. Althoughindiepopvideos usually consistmainly of close-upsIdecided touse asmuch
varietyaspossible toensure myaudience didn’tgetboredwhilstwatchingit.Tomake sure that my
productwouldsucceed andturn outthe wayI wanteditto, I pre planned the shotsI wantedtouse
and whichorderI wantedthemin. Ialso hadto determine the pace of some of mycamera
movements sothatthey would fitintime withthe specificsections of mysongmakingitlook
professional. Close-upsare essential tocreate astrongconnection withmyperformertomy
audience andthey can feel sympathetictowards hersituation. Togive evenmore emphasis onmy
protagonistI useda lot of focuspullsonher face to highlightthatthe mainfocusshould be onher
and the audience shouldview the story fromherpointof view ratherthanthe male performers. To
highlightthe differentlocations myperformers were inIdecided touse a few longshotsandeven
scenicshotsto breakup the narrative. I usedlotsof back to back shotsof my twoperformers that
were oppositional like apanup of my female performerfollowed directly byapan down of my male
performerwhichIfeel strengthened mynarrative furtherandgave the audience anunderstanding
of theirconnection. Myshottypes range fromclose upsto longshotsto track shotsto focus pulls
givingmyvideothatelementof originality fromotherindiepopvideos thattendtonotuse as wide
of a range. In the instrumental sectionatthe start of my videoIused3 establishingshotstogo in
time withthe beatof my song. The firstwasa pandownof a graffiti wall withabirdon itfollowed
by a closeup of a pink rose thena shot of my performersaton the traingazingout the window. I
thinkthese three shotssuitedmytheme well asthey informed the audience of the nature theme
that wouldbe presentthroughoutthe videoandintroduced mymainprotagonistbefore any lyrics
had started. Inmy opinion fora videotosucceed andbe enjoyed bythe consumerithasto consist
of powerful establishingshotsthatgrasptheirattention fromthe secondthe videoisturned on. My
chosensongdidn'tfeature many lyricswhichiswhy I chose to create a narrative videotomatch it
therefore Icouldn’tmake astrongconnection of the visualstothe lyricswithouthavingtobe very
specificorfussy withwhatcontentI wasfilming.
For editingwithinmyvideothe mainconventions forindie popmusiciswithcolouringandsticking
to natural colouringtoreflectthe normality of the artists. Regardingthe transitions fromone shotto
anotherthere aren’treally conventionalformatstostickto withmygenre seeingasevery artistdoes
thisindifferentwaystothe other. Ichose to stick to fadesorjumpcuts to meetthe change inthe
beatof mysong whichI found easy todo whenusingAdobe Premiere Pro. Fadeswere usefulto
make sure that two consecutive shotsflowedwell intoone anotherratherthanlookingtoorandom
especially whenIwentfromalightshotto a dark shotit didn’tsuitmysongand meantthat itwould
be aesthetically pleasingformyconsumertowatch. The mainsection of myvideowhere Iused
fadesandeditingwasthe three shotsof a sunsetthat flow intoone anotherduringone of the
choruses of my song. I colourgradedthese ineye catchingwaysto contrast themfromone another

2. and add an elementof colourtothe videowhilstfadingthemintoeachothertomake themflow
well. One unconventional sectionof editingIincluded wasthe endingshotthatI alteredtobe
sloweddown andinblack and white todevelop the narrative aspectthatmyvideohas. These shots
were very obvious contrastsfromthe restof my videohighlightingthatthe audience should value
themas theirimportanttoproperly understand mynarrative. Forsome of myshotsI didnaturally
colourgrade byslightly brighteningthemorgivingthemawarm undertone whichmeets
conventions of indiepopvideos. Ibelieve thatmyuse of editingformymusicvideoadheres to
codesand conventions of real indiepopmusicvideosbecause I’ve stucktomainly natural colour
gradingand transitions tokeepthe visualspleasingformyaudience.
Regardingmise-en-scene there isnosetconventions forindie popmusicvideos becausethey all
vary dependingonthe style the artisthas. Howeverthere tendstobe a simple theme withno
extravagance withincolours, makeuporclothingtostick withthe softbeatsthatthe genre conveys.
Oftenindie popartistslike tofeature theirinstruments orsome formof musical propwithin their
videotoshow off theirtalentsandtheirdedication toperforming. Mymale performerwithinmy
videohada guitar withhimas thiswashispassion andmy way of highlighthismusical personality.
Alongside this, Idecided togive myfemale protagonistacamerato portray her as a photographer
withthe deepermeaningof theirartistic/creative interestsare whatboughtthemtogetherand
made themfall inlove inthe firstplace. I keptthe mise-en-sceneof myperformers consistent
throughoutincludingnatural hairandmakeuponmyfemale performertoensure thatshe was
portrayingnatural beauty justlike the majority of female, indie popartistsatthe momentincluding
AstridS. For the outfitsof myperformers Itriedtostick withquite Autumn themedclothingtolink
withmychosenlocations like myfemale performerwearingscarvesanda beanie hat.Ithink by
stickingwithsimilaroutfitsformytwoperformers itallowsthe videotoflow betteranddoesn’tlook
unnatural. A commonconvention withinindiemusicvideosare the low budgetlocations whichmy
videometasI filmedatBlack Parkand inEastcote house gardens whichare bothquiet, local
locations thatdidn’tcostany money toget to or use.
The indie genre tendtofollow the performance style of musicvideowiththe sole focus beingonthe
singer/band highlighttheirtrue dedication totheirmusic. Ibroke away fromthiscompletely asI
decided thatI didn’tlike the wayvideos look withaperformerunlessthe singer/artistisa
professionalbecause itcomesacrossasfake. Insteadof creatinga performance videoIchose tostick
to the narrative ideaandcome upwitha message behind the visualstomystory. Aftera lot of time
and effortIcame upwiththe ideaof a formof memory of two loversfromthe girlsperspective with
herrememberingthe goodtimesbefore herex fades outof herlife forgoodwhichIportrayed inthe
camera shotsand editing. Ichose touse lotsof consecutive shotsof myperformers alongwithmany
twoshots of themto suggesthow strongtheirconnection istothe consumertooevoke evenmore
sadness fromthemwhen the endingcomesabout. Toslightly meetthe conventions of indiepop
videosIdidinclude aguitarwithmy male performertodraw attention tohispassion formusicbut I
chose not to include thisasthe mainpurpose withnotmuchperformance. Ithinkthatby not
includingany singingperformance aspectstomyvideoitgivesitmore originality thatmostother
indie popvideos wouldnothave. Additionally, I thinkthatmynarrative isclear andallows my
audience toemotionally connectwithitdependingontheirpastexperience withlove. Thislinksto
Stuart Hall’sencodinganddecodingtheory whichstatesthat:a mediaproductis‘coded’ bythe
producerwhichleaves the audience to‘decode’ it.The producercanhave an desired messagefor
theiraudience butthey canhave theirownopinion basedupontheirpersonal experience withthe
subject. Moreover, every audience memberof myvideowill be totally different intermsof age
range and gendertherefore the reactions andinterpretations of mynarrative will be completely
differentfromone another.

3. My narrative breaksaway fromsome narrative theorists viewssuchasVladamirPropp. He thought
that all videonarrative featuredthe same forms of characters in themwhoall carriedout similar
actionsbut were represented inawayto suitthe product. These characters are:the hero, the false
hero, the villain, the helper, the father, the princess, the donorandthe dispatcher. Ithinkthatmy
narrative completely movesawayfromthistheory asitincludes twolovers onequal levelswithone
rememberingtheirtime together. Torelate tothistheory the male performercouldbe seen asthe
villainashe’sthe one whochoosestoleave the female performerhoweverthisisdown tothe
interpretation of the consumertherefore I’ve chosennottogive anyspecificcharactertypes that
they shouldfall into. Moreover, indie popvideos neversticktothistheory asthey usually follow a
performance structure therefore nocharactersare involved.
Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory explains how the camerahasthe genderof male therefore every
female featured withinashotisfor the pleasure of the male camera. Her theory emphasises why
mostmediaproducts representfemale singers/actresses/models inasexualised light.Idecided to
steerwell away fromthisfeministtheory due tothe factthat I wantedto portray my protagonistas
an individualnotone thatfallsintothe stereotypical viewssociety wouldexpectherto.The way I
avoided thistheory wasmainly throughthe chosenmise-en-scene of myfemale protagonistby
ensuringIdidn’tdress herinan provocative clothingoruse any formof camera angle thatwould
show heroff in a sexual way. Byalsoincludingamale performerinmyvideoitavoids the male gaze
theory even further. Conventionally, indiepopmusicvideosdon’tfall underthistheory astheirmain
focustendsto be the singer/band andtheirraw talentwhereas modern daypopandRnB songs
feature lotsof sexualised females. Forexample, Rihanna’s song‘Work’ involves abiggroupof girlsin
short andrevealingclothingdancinginasexual way appealingtothe camerathat is‘male’. I believe
that I fully avoided anyoffensivestereotypes withinmyvideobymakingsure myfemaleprotagonist
was fully covered atall times.
I feel thatI have metand evendeveloped conventions of indiepopmusicvideos withinthe
production of myown throughmy use of camera, editingandmise-en-scene tostrengthenmy
narrative andappeal to mytarget audience. Ithink mychosen camerashotsand movements really
grasp the message Iwas tryingto portray to my consumers alongwithstickingtothe theme.
Once I had completed all mysimilarproductresearch, Ilearntthatcreatinga brandidentity across
all three products wasvital to ensure thatthey all succeeded. Iknew thatstickingtoconventions of
real mediaproducts would be the crucial whenitcame to mymagazine advertbecause it’sthe main
sellingpointformyvideo. Evenbefore Ibeganresearchingintoreal adverts, Iwasaware of the
differentconventions they have seeingasIdo read magazines quite oftensoknow the basicformat
of them. Me beinga consumerof magazine washelpful asIfall intomytarget audience age range of
17-25 yearoldstherefore Iwouldhave aclearideaof what my audience were lookingfor. Iknew
that my advertwasgoingto be the mainproductmy audience wouldsee beforemyvideotherefore
I decided toinclude tworeviews/5starratingsof my videofromwell knownandtrustworthy music
magazines:Qand NME. To appeal to the modern daysociety Idecided toincorporate myartists
social medianame (@AstridSMusic) inthe bottomrightcornerso thatthey couldall follow heron
sitesthey use oftenandview herothermusicwhilststayinguptodate withherday to dayactions.
Moreover, Iincluded herwebsiteinthe bottomleftcorner(astridsofficial.com) allowingthe
consumerto goand findout more information aboutherlike upcomingtourdates. The otherpiece
of small textIincluded iscentral atthe bottomthat reads‘Available now onlimitededitionvinyl,
digital download, CD’ whichhighlights the three formsyoucangetthissong on. By havingan
album/songavailable onmultipleplatforms itwidens the audience asmore peoplewouldbe able to
buyit. My chosen photograph formy advertwasa twoshot of my performers thatfeature inmy

4. videofromthe a back view point, standingnexttoone anotherwiththe guitarof the male overhis
shoulder. Iedited thisinaprofessional waybyenhancingthe contrastandbrightness andslightly
alteringthe colourlevelstosuitmytonal theme thatI had runningthroughoutall myproducts. I
believethe image relatesclearly tomymusicvideoasitfeatures bothmyperformers andfollows
the simplisticstylethatmysongand visuals of the videodotoo. For the albumname, artistname
and ‘OutNow’ I useda fontthat I downloadedwhichaddstothe original brandidentity of my
products whilstbeingflowy andmatchingthe calmingtone tomy song. Moreover, Imade thisfont
the biggesttextonthe advertas it’sthe firstthingIwant the audience tonotice whenthey firstsee
the advertso they can clearly relate ittomy otherproducts. I think all the differentaspectsof my
advertmake it adhere tocodesof real mediaproducts andhelpme to create a brand identity linking
my three products togetherclearly.
My aimfor mydigital wasto keepmybrandidentity consistentclearly linkingmythree products
togethersothat they can all be recognised bymytarget audience. Iusedthe same tone toeditall of
my digipak pictures asIdidfor my advertimage andevensome of the colourgradingof myvideoto
stickto thiswarm and Autumn theme. Icreateda6 page digipak as frommy similarproduct
research I learntthatthis isthe most commonformthat digipaks come innowadays. Forthe front
coverimage I chose to use the same photoas myadvertbecause itwas mytarget audience chose
frommy two options andI think itgave an overview astomy brandidentity byincludingbothmy
performers init.Ichose to keepthe textonthe frontsimple withjustthe artistsandalbumname as
I think thiswasthe mostconventional layoutforafront cover. The back coverimage was of my
female performeranditincluded:alistof songs, a barcode and the distributingcompany forthe CD
makingitadhere to conventional digipaks. Forone of the inside covers, Iusedasunsetimage (which
features afew time inclipsof my video) withaspecial thanksmessage overthe topof it to portray
the artist as a grateful andpassionate youngwomanwholovestogive credittoall the people who
helpedhertocreate the album. I think thatmy digipak wasvery conventionaltoreal mediaproducts
whichappeals visually tomyaudience meaningthateveryonewillenjoy myproductandwantto
view the videothatgoeswithit.
To conclude, Ibelievethatmythree productshave all stuckclosely tothe conventions of real media
products in numerous ways. Mymusicvideowasthe mainone to break away fromconventions just
for the purpose of originality butIthink thatall of these contrasts were necessary tomake the
productbe more unique andsucceed inthe competitivemusicindustry.
Question 2- How effective isthe combination of yourmainproductandancillary tasks?
Before I startedto make my musicvideo, digipak andadvertI understood thatI had to create a
theme toconnectall three of themsothat my audience couldbe visually aware thatthey were all
produced forthe same purpose. Iensured thatthe tones, fontsandoverall visual aesthetictomy
final products were identical whilststillportrayingall of the mainreasons thatthese products are
required.
The main taskof my coursework wastocreate a musicvideotherefore Ichose tobase my two
ancillary tasksaround thisafterI had produced it.I decided onasort of theme tomake a clear
connection betweenthe three products thatwouldbe recognisableformyaudience members.
Before I beganthe production of my videoIknew thatI had to entertain myaudience butalsobring
across a message throughthe narrative. Bykeepingentertainmentinmindwhilstproducingmy
musicvideoI feel Ihave properly achieved thisandmyaudience would have thoroughly enjoyed
watchingmyvideo. WheneditingmyvideoIcolourgradingmany of the shotsin a similarway which
createda theme acrossthemin termsof tone that I couldinclude withinmytwoancillary tasks. In

5. orderto keepmyaudience entertained Ichose toinclude asmuchvarietywithinshottypesasI
couldwithcontrastingshotsof my twoperformers like close upstolongshotstopans etc. Another
way to properlyengage withmyaudience andentertainthemistocreate a narrative that they can
closely relate toonan emotional levelwhichIdidbyensuringmytwoperformers were asimilarage
to my targetaudience meaningastrongerconnection couldbe made. Mystoryline wasintendedto
be of twoloverswho'slove eventually fades away leavingthe girl alone. Toportray the fadingaway
of the boy I chose to slow downthe speedof myfinal clipsof himalongwithputtingtheminblack
and white tograsp the more emotional side asconventional black andwhite isassociatedwith
sadness orloss. The protagonistof myvideowasthe female characterwhoI wantedthe audience to
connectwithmore than the boy so they couldsympathise withherandherlossof her previous
lover. One of the mostimportantaimsfor myvideowasto make a clear connection tomy
lyrics/songwiththe visuals likeAndrew Goodwin saidaboutthere havingtobe aclear linkshared
between lyricsandvisuals foraproduct to succeed. IthinkI’ve done thiswell andcreatedanice
tone to my videothatI can bringacross to my ancillary taskstoshow a common connection of all
three. My songdoesn’tinclude thatmanylyrics thatI couldportray within the visuals howeverIdid
manage to match my visualswiththe beattokeepthe visual aestheticof the video. Mysong‘Hyde’
by AstridShas a mixedemotional message thatislefttothe audience tointerpretthatIhave tried
to replicate withinthe visuals. IthinkthatI matched my aimfor the videowell byproducing
entertainingvisualswithanemotional imageportrayed throughmyalteringof the tones.
The firstancillary taskI was required tomake wasan advertfor mysong. The mainrole of thiswas
to advertise mysongandmake my targetaudience aware of the album‘Hyde’ byAstridS whois
quite anunpopularartisttherefore thiswill allowthe indieaudience tobecome more familiarwith
hermusic. Thisadvert will helptopushsalesof the albumandensuringthatmore people become
aware of myartist. Throughoutthe makingprocess of myadvertthere was only a few slightchanges
frommy draftsto my final due tothe factthat the photograph Iusedon mydraft was mybestone
by far andall my audience feedback toldme tokeepitthe same therefore Idid. Ithink thisoriginal
image displays myvideoinanoverviewvery wellasitfeatures mytwoartiststogetherhighlighting
theirconnection allowingthe audience tolink ittomyvideo. The image isdefinitely the most
importantfactorof my adverttherefore Ithink thatmychoice was very goodespecially asitsticksto
my audiences wishes. Ichose tostick to very natural colouringwithmychosen image byonly editing
the contrast and brightness withslightalterationtothe colourlevelsbecause thisfitswithindie
genre conventions meaningmyaudience will be more pleasedwiththe waythislooks. The fontI
chose to use was quite flowy whichIthinklinks welltothe pace of mysong alongside givingme a
commonconnection thatI can use to linkmyadvertand my digipak. I’ve usedtwofontsonmy
advert, thisone as the mainalongside anotherone forthe little detailsthatshouldn’tbe asboldor
legible asthe maintitle andartistname. Ibelieve thatmyadvertdoes itsjobvery well creatinga
clearlinkto mymusicvideowitha strongimage and boldtexttocatch the attention of myaudience.
My otherancillary taskwasa digipak whichisa six sidedCDcase forthe albumHyde to promote the
albumwhilstalsobeingthe packagingtoholdthe CD.I needto try to carry across my brandtheme
withinmydigipak tolinkitto myadvertand musicvideoclearly somyaudience will be able to
connectthe three products. I decided tostickto a consistenttheme withinmydigipak andadvertby
usingthe same tones, fontsandimage types alongwithmychosen colourscheme whichwill helpto
bringall my products together. Iusedthe same two fontsonboth myancillary tasksas not only didI
like the fonts butmyaudience didtooand they’re boldandlegible ensuringthatmyproducts will
succeed. The fontissoftlinkingtomy artistwhichI chose to putin white tocontrast the dark tones
of mostof my photographs whichalsomakessure it’slegible tomyaudience whichisthe main
sellingpointforthisproduct. Idecided touse the same photofrommy advertfor the frontcoverof

6. my digipak because Ithoughtthiswould be the bestwayformy audience tomake a strong
connection between the twoproducts anditformed a brand identity forthemmeaningthatthis
photograph wasone of the mainsellingpointsforthe CD. It’sa two shotof myartistswhichagain
linksmyancillary taskstomy videoforthe audience. The backcoverhas a listof all the songs within
the albuminthe same fontas the albumtitle andartist name onthe front. I’ve alsoincluded a
sunsetphotowitha special thanksmessage writtenoverthe topwhichlinkstothree consecutive
shotsof a sunsetthatfeatures inone of the choruses to my song. I thinkthisspecial thanksmessage
allowsthe audience tofeel astrongerconnection withthe artistandallowsthemtosee how highof
an impactthey have on herwork showingoff AstridS’sthoughtfulpersonaandemphasisinghow
she actually caresabout whather fansthink. To tie inmy videotomydigipak, I decided toinclude
the rose image whichfeatures asone of the establishingshotsformyvideowiththe quote “It’snot
like IrememberitNothingatall”whichisa line frommy song. I have triedmybestto stickwith
conventional featuresof real lifedigipaks becauseIthoughtthiswasthe bestway toappeal to an
audience especially withartistbeingquite unknown. Ithink thatmydigipak hastruly metit’s
purpose andsticksto the same theme of my othertwotasks linkingthemall throughmybrand
identity.
To conclude, Ibelievethe mythree products all share a clearconnection througha theme thatI
have createdfor myaudience tobecome familiarandable toidentify with. Allmyproducts are
successful bymeetingtheirpurposes individually butalsosellingwell asagroup inorderto raise
awareness andpopularity formyvideoandthe artist.
Question 3- What have youlearned fromyouraudience feedback?
My targetaudience forthe genre of musiccan vary fromteenagers toyoungadultsof bothgenders.
AstridS makesindie popmusicthatthe majority of people canenjoy andrelate to.Intermsof my
final videoandancillary tasks, Ibelieve Iwill attractanaudience of 15-35 yearoldswhichisa good
assumption asfrommy audience feedback survey 90.9% of people putthatthey thoughtmyvideo
was made for15-35 yearolds. I believethatif one genderwasmore dominantinmytargetaudience
than the otherit woulddefinitely be femalesasthe protagonistof myvideoisa girl andthe
narrative isa romance between mytwoperformers. Bothmyperformers are 17 whichI think allows
my targetaudience torelate tothemevenmore as they will be of a similarage tomy two
performers andwill understand mystorylineandboththe characterswell. However, myvideodoes
follow aromance storyline whichmaynotappeal toeveryone especially boysorpeople thathave
recently endedarelationship. Ibelieve thatmysongmay attract some alternative audience
members alongwiththe indie genreasthe conventional audience of indiemusicare quite original.
The indie style alsoattractspeople thatgoto festivals orgigsregularly anddressina way that
reflectsindie artists.
Audience feedback wasvital tothe makingprocess of myproductin orderfor me to produce them
to the bestof myability whichmade me gainfeedback frompeoplethatfittedwithinmytarget
audience because Ibelieved thatthey were the mainpeople whosefeedback wouldhave animpact
on the way I produced andimproved myfirstdraftintomyfinal video. Duringthe process of
planningandthe early production stages, Iconstantly askedmyclassmatesandteachers for
constructive criticismsothatI couldimprove differenttasksasI wentalong. To have proof of this
feedbackIshould have audiorecorded itormade notesbecause I got so much verbal feedback thatI
actedupon withoutproof onmyblog. Moreover, I createdan audience feedback videousing4of my
fellow mediastudentswhowereall 17 yearoldgirlswhichfitsinwithmytarget audience especially
as the dominantgenderformyvideoaudience isfemales. Byusingmediastudents, Iwasable to
gainfeedback froma professional perspective because they all hadtocomplete the same tasksas

7. me in thiscourse and are well aware of the brief andwhat aspectsaidto a successful finalproduct.
All of themwere helpful bygivingcompliments andconstructive criticismformyfirstdraft. Aimee
said“I like how there isa range of shotsand how it’sfilmedindifferentlocations”afterthe thirdclip
whichare aspectstoa strongvideo. Itriedto promptthe feedback byaskingquestions thatI
thoughtwere crucial forme to improve andensure mytargetaudience wouldenjoy myvideo. Sarah
mentioned that“Youcouldplay aroundwiththe colourswhen youcolourgrade it”whichhighlights
the post production stage formyvideoandhow it’svital toeditsome colourstoenhance themand
make the videohave a suitable tone. The mosthelpful feedback they gave me washow to
strengthenmynarrative withmytwoperformers because Iaskedthem“Doyouthinkthe narrative
getsa bitconfusingatthispart” whichthey all agreedwith. My narrative wasclearto themand
understood well howeversome sections of myvideolackedmeaningwhichI’vebuiltupon. Tilly then
gave me advice that“They couldfindeachother at the end”to make it a love story whichwill appeal
to the dominantfemale audience thatI wasaimingfor. I chose to add inmore clipsof the boy
performerwiththe girl astwo shotsalthoughIslowed themdown andputthemin a blackand
white filtertosuitthe endof the song. My thoughts behind thiswere tocreate the videoasa sortof
flashback of the girl’smemory possibly of anex-boyfriend thateitherleftherorshe left(opento
audience) whichIfurtheremphasised withthe lastclipbeingjustthe girl alone walkingaway.
Anotherpromptquestion thatIaskedwithinmyaudience feedback videowasaboutmyuse of
scenicshots(insertclip) andasyou can hearmy classmatestoldme tospreadthemout rather than
leave themall inone place whichIdecided todo alongwithfilmingsome extraonesof asunsetto
aidto the colourscheme of myvideoandto add infor developmentonmyancillary tasks. The
majority of theirfeedback helpedme toimprove mynarrative andeditingratherthantellingme
whatthey properly enjoyed aboutthe videotherefore Idecided tocreate a survey onsurvey
monkey forpeople tofill outafterwatchingmyfirstdraftso thatI couldgather more data. For this
survey Itriedto gathera range of opinions frompeople thatfitmytargetaudience includingmore
mediastudents togive critical feedback fromatechnical view point. The resultsfrommysurvey
revealed that100% of the people thatfilleditoutenjoyed myvideoandthoughtmyuse of colours
withinthe visuals linkedwelltothe lyricsandsong. The mostfavoured partsof myvideowere my
range of shotsand locations throughoutonly byalittle bitwiththe use of tone andcolour falling
slightly behind. The twosections thatmyaudience survey taughtme thatI needto improve further
ismy use of editingandmise-en-scene withinthe videowhichIcouldalready tell due tothe factthat
I didn’tuse mucheditingapartfromcuttingthe lengthsof clips. Thissurvey hasallowedme to
understand thoughthatI do needtodevelop editingalotbecause it’sone of the main thingsthat
makesa videoflow wellinaprofessional wayandaudiences notice whenavideolacksediting. A
crucial questionthatI thoughtwasnecessary toinclude inmysurvey wasfor any extracommentary
frommy target audience whichresulted inlotsof nice comments withconstructivecriticismwithin
it.Most of the respondents picked uponeditinglike suggestingusing“WarpStabiliser”or“de
saturation”inPremiere toaidto the steadiness andcolouringof myshotswhichwill allow themall
to suitmy tone that myvideoisaimingfor. AlongwithusingwarpStabiliserinthe editingprocess, I
wentona few more re shootsto get myfootage more steady andin betterfocusas some of my
shotsI loved butthey were tooblurry to use evenafterediting. Anotheraspectof editingthatone
respondentpicked uponwastransitions suchas“addingfades”thiswill make myvideolookless
randomin termsof makingthe clipsflow intoone anotherimprovingthe visualaesthetictomy
videobuteditingisaskill Iwill needtowatchtutorialsforandtake time withseeingasI’ve never
properly editedbefore andwantmyvideotolook asprofessional aspossible. One respondent
mentioned aboutthe narrative saying“Youneedtoadd more narrative to itso getmore shotsof the
male performertobuilduphischaracter.”This wasvery interestingtome seeingasmyfellow media
students withinmyaudience feedback videotoldIthistoomeaningthatitwas somethingthatquite

8. a lot of people believed myvideolackedtowards the ending. Iacteduponthisbygoingon two more
shootswithbothof myperformers inorderto getmore advanced twoshots of them. We wentto
Black Parkwhichis full of pretty walkways thataddedtothe background of my shotsand allowed
me to get scenicshotsforthe instrumental sections of mysongorto add to the narrative. I believe
that all my feedback frommyfirstdraftthoroughly helped me todevelop myskillsandthe quality of
my video. Withoutaudience feedback, Iwouldn’thave knownwhatpartsneeded improvingorwhat
parts needed tobe cut outtherefore feedback especially frommytargetaudience wascrucial for
the production of my final video.
Question 4- How didyouuse mediatechnologies inthe construction andresearch, planningand
evaluation stages?
Technologies were crucial whenproducingall of mycoursework, especially mythree finalproducts
as withoutthemproduction wouldn’thave beenpossible. Atthe startof the A2 course we set upa
blogon a website calledWordPress whichwasawayfor us to display all of ourresearch, planning,
production, evaluation andfinal products thishighlightswhythe internetwasone of the most
importanttechnologies forthiscourse. Iwasfamiliarwiththe website asIuseditfor my AS
coursework soit didn’ttake me longto seteverythingupandmeantthat I couldget onwiththe
course and tasksstraightaway. Bloggerwasthe otheroption we could’ve usedbutIwasalready
usingthisforthe examside of the course meaningImighthave got confused if Iuseditfor both
halvesof the course and I preferred the layoutof WordPress todisplay mypostsasI thinkitlooked
more professional andyoucouldmake play aroundwiththe theme tomake itsuityour coursework
includingcustomizingthe headerimagesalthoughitwasa bitmore complex thanbloggertouse.
There were some issues withWordPress withembeddingcertainsoftware’s likeEmaze, Prezi and
Slideshare because of FlashbyAdobe needingtobe updated whichmeantthatI had to hyperlink
quite a lotof mywork whichIdidwitha screenshotof itandlinkingthisimage sothatthe bloguser
couldclickon it andbe sentto mydocument. Although Slideshare didhave anembed link
specifically forWordPress thatmeantI couldupload mywork withnoissue if I usedthislink. When
it came to recordingvideos forproduction logsorotherpostsI usedthe PhotoBoothapp on my
Mac whichwassimple touse and recorded withhighquality audioandpicture. Torecordany audioI
usedthe voice memoappon my iPhone orSoundcloud. I preferred touse voice memothenupload
viaSoundcloud asit wasquick to do and I had previously recorded audiointhisway therefore it
wasn’thard forme to do. YouTube was how I uploaded myvideos tomyblogandthese were the
easiestformattouploadas they use a html linkthatis a separate window inaWordPress poststhat
meansitappearson the blogas youwishitto allowingforagood quality videotobe portrayed to
the user. Vimeowasthe alternative software Iusedtoupload videos butIonly usedthisformy first
draft andfinal videoasI found YouTube a loteasiertoupload to forquick videos like myproduction
logsor behind the scenes.
The production stage of the course beganafterI had completed every taskinthe research and
planningsection of myblogandit wasthe stage of the course whenIusedthe most varietyof media
technologies. IusedaCanon550D DSLR camera to filmmymusicvideowithwhichI usedformy AS
course when I tookmy photos formy magazine butI had neveruseditwiththe filmingsettings
before thereforeittookme a while togetcleanshotsthat were steady asI needed togetusedto all
the settingsbefore beingable togetthe professional shotsIwasafterfor myfinal video. Togetthe
bestquality footage possible, Ifilmedat720p ratherthan the average rate of 480p thismeantI
couldfilmat a frame rate of 50fps and would be able toeditat 24fps whichis the mostcommon
frame rate forgood quality footage allowingme tochange the speedof myfootage easily inthe
editingstage withnoworry aboutthe quality dropping. The lensI usedtofilmwasa 50mm F.1.8

9. prime lensbecause itwasthe bestlenstouse for highquality footage. Moreover, asitis a small lens
that doesn’tzoominandout there were noextraparts that would move when filmingandI
wouldn’thave anissue withhavingtochange the settingseachtime Ifilmanew shot as I wasn’t
able to zoominor out. Thislenswaseasy to use in termsof focusingandexposure soitdidn’ttake
me longto learnall the correctsettings formy footage andensure thatall my footage wasat the
highestquality possible. FormyshootinBlackPark I took a zoomlens withme to attemptto get
more variety of shotsand play aroundwithzoominginand outon my performers andevenformore
scenicshots. I didn’tmanage touse many of these apart fromone clipof my female performerthatI
have usedtwice once at normal speedandthe othertime it’sslowed down asitwas the mainclipI
got that withthe zoomlensthatsuited the tone of my videoandwasin focus. All of myshoots for
my videotookplace inoutside locations therefore Ireliedonnatural lightinganddidn’thave touse
any studiolightstoenhance the brightness of myperformers. Withsome of mynighttime shotslike
one of mytwo performers inLondon, I reliedonpostproduction inPremiere andhadtoeditthe clip
to be a bitbrighterwhichlowered the quality slightly butdidn’tmake itlook worse itjustimproved
the visual aesthetic.
Digital technologies wasthe mostusefulwhenitcame tothe editingstage of myproduction as it
allowed me togetrid of all the little mistakes thatImade whilstfilmingandgetall myfinal tasksto
be the bestquality possible. Iusedadobe premiere procs6 to editmymusicvideotogetherwhich
tookme a while togetusedto as I had neveruseditbefore butwiththe helpof tutorialsand
enoughpractice I managedtolearnall the skills required anddeveloped myeditingthe more I
workedonit.I usedmany differentfeaturesof thisprogram, the mainone wasjustcroppingmy
clipsto make themfitintime withmysong andensure they flow together. WarpStabiliserwasa
helpful effectthatIusedona few of my clipswhichslightly zooms intoyourclipinorderto make it
smoothertherefore makingitappearina betterquality. Although Ididhave a few problems with
thisas sometimes Ihada clipthat was fartoo shaky that thiseffectzoomed infartoo muchand
made it look worse thanitdid before meaningI hadto finda differentcliptouse. Thiswasmost
helpful formyfirstdraft, Ididn’thave to use itas muchfor my final videoasImanagedto improve
my filmingwhenIdidmyre shoots. Anotherfeature Premiere hasiscolourgradingwhichIchose to
use to improve the visuals of myvideoandgive ita bettercolourscheme. I usedthe three point
colourcorrector tool on many of myclipsonce I had made an adjustmentlayeroverthe clipI
wantedtoedit. Each wheel changedthe colourof a differentpart(high, midandlow tones) of the
clipmeaningthatI had lotsto play aroundwithto getthe besttone to suitmyvideo. Itended to
alterthe midtonesthe most as thiswas the mostsubtle anddidn’tmake myvideolook fake orover
editedwhich suitsmyindie popgenre. The only editingIdidthatwas obvious wasonthe three
consecutive clipsof asunsetasI alteredthemtobe completely differentcolours sothey contrast
one anotherand addsome brightcolours to my video. Forsome of my clipsIchangedthe colour to
blackand white toaid to the narrative of lovers fadingaway fromone another. The bestthingabout
thisway of colourgradingis that if I didn’tlike the wayitlookedIcouldeasily removethe layerand
getback to my original clip. AnothereffectIuseda lotwas fadesfromone clipto anotheras this
made the videoflow ratherthanlookingroughandallowed myvideotobe visually pleasingtomy
audience. Idecided tochange the speed of the black andwhite clipsbyslowingthemdowntohalf
the speedtoaid to the narrative andmatch the timingsof the song. I believe thatthisalongwiththe
coloureditingmade these clipssuitthe themeof myvideoalotmore meaningthatI didn’tbreak
away fromtoo manyconventions andwould thereforepleasemyaudience. AfterIhad fully edited
my videoandwaspleased withhow itlooked, Iexported itanduploaded ittoVimeoratherthan
YouTube due to the higherquality of Vimeoandthenuploaded ittomyblogalongwithmy two
ancillary taskssothat people canview all mywork. Premiere wasthe bestprogramtouse for my

10. editingasitwas simple once touse aftera while andwasso easy to go back if I editedsomething
wronglike deletingthe adjustmentlayerforcolourgrading.
Anotheradobe software thatI usedto editmyphotos was Photoshop whichwaseasy touse as I
learntthe basicfeatures of itfrom myAS coursework. Photoshop wasmyfavourite software as
there wassuch a wide range of toolsto play around withtomake my photos the bestI could. When
editingmyphotos Imainly changedthe contrast, brightness andcolourlevelstomake themall link
togetherandsuitmy indie popgenre. ByeditingmyphotosImanagedtoimprove the quality of
some of themand completely alterthe tone sothey wouldall suitone another. Itriedtoeditthem
insubtle waysto stickwithmygenre conventions asthe indie poptendstostickwithnatural colours
rather thantoo brightor monochrome like poporrock. Afterconstantly changingthe colouringof
my photos I transferred themovertoInDesign (anotherAdobe software)tolay themoutin the
formatof my advertanddigipak. Toadd evenmore originality tomyancillary tasks, Idownloaded
my ownfontsfromdafont.comandI found twochoicesthat matched mytheme well. Idecided
between the twofontsandcolours forthemby seeingwhichsuitedmyimagesandthe tones Ihad
editedtheminthe best. Formy advertI useda twoshot of my performers anddecided onthe
correct fontinwhite as the image wasrather darkso the white contrasted itnicely. AfterIhad
completed myadvert, Imovedontolayingoutmyedited imagesintomydigipak andthentypedout
all the textthat was required. One tool Ifoundusefulwasthe pentool toget a colourfrom my
sunsetimage anduse it forthe side sections of mydigipaktomatch all the photostogether. One
thingI didstruggle withslightly waspixelation of the imageswhen Iresized themtofitthe correct
squares of the digipak butonce I had placedthemincorrectly thiswasn’ttoo hard. Also, I used
InDesign formyevaluation question 2as itwas a differentformattomyother3 andallowed me to
display thisina variety of ways. Thismagazine layoutwassimple forme due tomakinga music
magazine lastyearfor myAS coursework anditmeantthat I couldmake it look very professional. I
chose to stickto the conventional magazinelayoutwithcolumnsandphotos toplease mytarget
audience more. Ithenwill uploadthistoissuusothatit can be embedded ontomyblogandmy
audience will be able tolocate italongsidethe restof mywork.
I believethatwithoutthe use of digital technologies forthe research andplanningtothe production
of mythree final tasksto myevaluation withinmyA2coursework, mypostsand quality of work
wouldn’thave beenanywhere nearasgood. My blogon Wordpress wasusedtodisplay every single
task I hadto complete usingothersoftwares like Emaze andSoundcloud topresentthem. Digital
filmingandeditingaidedme intermsof budgetandtime aswell asensuringthatmy work was
portrayedina professional yetsimpleway. AlthoughIdidstruggle withgettingusedtosome of
these technologies, overtime Imanagedtogetusedto all of these programsand produce the best
quality work Icould.