Media evaluation

1. The Four Questions
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
2) How effective is the combination of your main products and
ancillary texts?
3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?
4) How did you use media technologies in the construction and
research, planning and evaluation stages?
Laura Humphreys

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

3. Early Stages
• During the early stages of creating my music
video, I began to research into different
music videos that had already been created
as I wanted to get a better idea of what main
conventions I needed to include in my own
music video.
• As I began to delve deeper into the world of
creating a music video, I was undecided
what genre of song I wanted to use but after
further research and discussions within my
media group, I decided upon my genre and
song. I decided to use the song “I’d Rather
Go Blind” originally sung by the artist Etta
James but I decided to use a cover by the
pop artist Dua Lipa. The original genre of the
song is Blues as it is sung by Etta James but
as I am using a cover version by a pop artist
I would personally say the genre of my
version is pop/blues.

4. Music Video Influences
• The was a variety of different elements from different music videos that contributed and helped to influence the
making of my music video. To help me get a better understand of music videos I began to look into many different
music videos from different artists.
One artist in particular which music video influenced the
making of mine was Sam Smiths ‘ I’m not the only one’ .
This music video was one of the first videos I delved into
annotating that was about loosing someone you love to
someone else. As my song was about loosing an individual
you still love this music video played a massive part in
helping me to ensure I used all the correct conventions of
this certain genre.
In addition to this the music video influenced me as it
features a variety of camera angles such as close ups and
medium shots that portray the emotions of the actor
effectively. This influenced me as I incorporated both close
up shots and medium shots within my music video to show
the emotions of my protagonist. This music video also
contained camera angles should as close ups that focused
on the emotions of the protagonist.
In Sam Smith’s music video it follows a story of the reason
why the relationship is breaking down as it flashes back and
forth from different scenes in which you see the reason why
the relationship has broke down. This is something I also
incorporated into my music video as I used this idea but
changed it slightly, as I had my protagonist portraying
emotions in present day, while also flashing back to
memories of herself and her partner before there
relationship broke down.

5. Music Video Influences
• Another artist that helped to influence the making of my
music video as well as Sam Smith was Adele. The music
video ‘Hello’ influenced me when I was deciding what colour
to create my music video in. In this video the colour scheme
of it is filmed in a dingy green colour. I wanted to incorporate
something like this within my music video as I wanted to
distinguish from present day which is filmed in black and
white and memories which is filmed in an dingy brown colour.
This music video overall helped me to find the correct colour
scheme for my music video.
As I continued to do research into similar products I decided
to look at music videos from the artist I am using my song from
therefore I looked into music videos from Dua Lipa .I looked
through an variety of music videos but I particularly
liked this music video as I like the fact it contains slight elements
of slow motion helping to focus on the different emotions
portrayed on the artists face. Slow motion is an element in which
I included in my music video at an variety of different times in my
video throughout but I made it more obvious in my music video
compared to this one. As I wanted it to be clear it was slow
motion as it connotes to the fact that the protagonist was slowly
loosing someone she loved to someone else. Therefore this
music video influenced me as I took an element they used
slightly but changed it in order to make my music video original.

6. Music Video Influences
Another music video by Adele called ‘someone like you’ also helped
and influenced me when choosing an colour scheme to run
throughout my moving image project, after deciding I would use an
dingy brown colour for the memories, I decided I would use black
and white to represent present day as I wanted to represent the
dark times the protagonist is going through not only through her
facial expressions but also through the colour of the music video,
this also allowed a clear difference between present and past so
the demographic would not get confused, making it clear the
protagonist was looking back on memories. This music video was
also helpful as it had the same basis as my song as it was again
about an loss of love. Therefore I could look at the different facial
expression Adele was showing, including the different body
positions and mannerisms she was showing and incorporate this
into my music video .

7. Digipak Influences
• While creating my Digipak I looked closely at an variety of different artist, as I was
doing my research into Digipak’s I came across this one from the artist Demi
Lovato. I looked more into this front cover as I felt as though this is exactly what I
wanted to represent. While doing my research I noticed that a lot of artist either
look slightly in another direction on the front cover of an album or they give direct
address, the reason I liked this album cover so much was because I loved the
direct address the artist was giving as it instantly creates an connection with the
audience which is almost like the artist is looking straight at the demographic. The
reason direct address was so important to me while creating my digipak is
because it shows a sense of confidence but I wanted to do this while also
portraying a sense of emotion which was important within my album as it was
about loosing someone you love and this had to be shown within the front cover.
In addition to this the album influenced the way in which I positioned my own
artist as I liked the way Demi Lovato hand was positioned. I also done this within
my album but I done it in a way in which it made my artist look fragile this was
extremely important as it I wanted to show the heart ache my artist had
experienced and by placing her hand in this position it almost suggested that she
was protecting herself as she doesn't want to be hurt. I also made sure that my
artist was the main focus of my al bum cover as I didn't want any distractions from
my artist and the emotions she was portraying therefore everything was focused
around her. I challenged this album cover as in Demi Lovato cover she looks
extremely confident, she looks fierce and her facial expression are made to look
very defined, whereas my artist looks very drained of energy and very broken.
• I decided to have my Digipak in the colour scheme of black and white as I wanted
an clear connection between the video and the album, as within the video present
day is filmed in black and white it made sense to have the album in black and
white also. In addition to this black and white is a very dark colour therefore this
connotes to the dark times the artist has been through.

8. Digipak Influences
• I decided to look into an variety of different back of album
covers, unlike the front cover of my digipak I didn't find one
specific back of album that influenced me, I found an variety
that influenced and helped me to create mine. The first picture
is from Sam Smith’s album and the second picture is from the
album of Adele. I liked Sam Smith’s album as it is very plain yet
eye catching, I liked the fact the is barcode is placed towards
the bottom of the back of album in the middle. The second
back cover is from the artist Adele, I took inspiration from this
album as I liked the fact everything was focused around the
artist and laid out around her. The back of album looks very
professional as the list of songs are placed down the left hand
side and you can clearly see the artist on the right hand side. I
challenged this album as on the back of Adele album it is a
close up of her face, whereas on the back of my album it is a
long shot of my artist and she is not looking directly at the
camera. I decided to challenged this as I didn't want a close
up of my artist as I thought as though it looked like too much
was going on, I preferred to use a longer shot of my artist as I
thought this looked less busy and would also attract an
audience, I didn't use an direct address on the back of my
album as this already features within the front. I took the image
of my artist in daylight but edited it ti black and white so it
would fit in within the flowing theme, I liked the fact the weather
also match the mood of the artist as she looked down and
bleak. I challenged the conventions of Sam Smith’s album as I
didn't want a plain background I defiantly wanted my artist to
feature on the back of the album therefore everything would
come together.

9. Digipak Influences
• While creating the inside of my digipak ( CD and inner tray) I
looked at Demi Lovato’s digipak in depth, as it was one that
really caught my eye as an audience member and this is exactly
what I wanted to do when creating mine. I liked the fact that this
CD was all black as it made it look very professional, the CD
has white lines all cross it and has Demi written in block capital
letters towards the top. This CD influenced me as I decided that
I wanted to have my CD all black with Dua Lipa written across
the top in an white writing, I done this as I thought it looked
professional and neat .This links to my video as because my CD
is black it can be considered a very bleak colour therefore this
connotes to the feelings of the artist and what kind of songs the
audience are going to hear as it is not traditionally considered
an happy colour such as yellow. I challenged the traditional
conventions of this CD as I didn't want the white lines across my
CD as I thought the was too much going on therefore I wanted
to keep it plain and simple yet effective. I also challenged
traditional conventions as I wrote the name of my album
towards the bottom of the disk as it says ‘Without You’. In
addition to this for the inner tray I added a picture of my artist in
present day and edited it with an cross dissolve so the audience
could therefore see a picture of a happy memory also this
therefore makes it look as though my artist is looking back on
memories. I thought this was a good idea as it simple yet eye
catching and fits with the theme of my music video.

10. Magazine Advertisement
Influences
• When creating my magazine advert I looked at an magazine
advert by Adele. This magazine advert helped me as it
allowed me to know the basic conventions of an magazine
cover. I liked this magazine cover as I liked the fact it was
black and white as it flowed throughout the theme, I also
loved how the magazine advert feature the front cover of
Adele’s album towards to bottom as this made it very clear to
the audience which album it is. When creating my magazine
advert I challenged the original conventions as I didn't have
the image of my artist taking up the entire advert I had my
artist centred in the middle of the advert and had my text
towards the bottom of the of the magazine advert. I kept the
same font as my album and had the same grey as my back
ground as I wanted there to be a clear link between both the
album and the magazine. In addition to this I used the same
image of my artist that is on the front cover of my album on
my magazine advert, I done this so that when the audience
go to buy the album they know exactly what the front cover
looks like. I placed my image in the middle of the magazine
so it is not taking up the entire advert as I wanted to focus to
be on the realise date and what apps e.g Appel music the
demographics can listen to the music on.

11. Magazine Advertisement
Influences
• Another magazine advert that I took influence from
was this advert from the artist Lana Del Ray. I
loved everything about this magazine therefore I
looked into it deeper. I liked this advert as instantly
the name of the artist stood out to me and the
name of the album therefore this made it
rememberable and this is something I want to
incorporate into mine. In addition this music
magazine also influenced the making of mine as I
liked the fact the main image was placed in the
middle of the advert and didn't take up the whole
of the advert, this is something I also incorporated
into my magazine as I didn't want to distract from
the main focus which was the information around
the advert. One thing I challenged when creating
my magazine advert was I added a glow to my
main image and the name of my artist and album I
done this as I wanted them to stand out therefore it
would be rememberable.

12. Representation
• My music video follows the life of a young female that breaks up with her
partner that she has shared many happy memories with. The music video
flashes back and forth from present day to happy memories that the couple
shared together. I distinguished between both time zones by having present
day in black and white and memories in an brown effect colour. I made my
actress look very fragile and vulnerable during present day as this was a
representation of how the break up has effected her and I felt as though
some audience members may be able to relate to this even though this may
not be entirely accurate the demographic would be able to relate to the
sadness of my actress. During the flashbacks of memories I featured parts
of the couple being happy and laughing together in order to show that they
were a happy couple and show the good times in the couples relationship. I
also included a scene where the audience see the couple have an argument
I done this show that the audience can see the emotional side to the
relationship. Overall I followed the traditionally idea of an female being very
upset after a break up this is stereotypical rather than showing an confident
female I felt as thought an emotional individual would be more relatable.

13. 2) How effective is the combination of
your main products and ancillary texts?

14. Targeting an audience
• One thing shared between my main product and ancillary texts is the colour scheme
throughout. In my music video I used two different colours throughout, I edited the memories
in my video to an colour called sepia, and edited my present day scenes to black and white
to represent dark times.I incorporated this into my ancillary products by making my album
and magazine advert black and white. The photography in my magazine advert and my
digipak is both black and white this connects to the black and white that is used within my
video, this colour scheme combines all three of my products together allowing the audience
to see an clearly connection between them and the is also an sensible reasoning behind the
colour scheme between each products.

15. Targeting an audience
• Another thing shared between my main product and ancillary product is the camera work. When I was
creating my main product I used a range of different camera angles to portray the emotions my
protagonist was feeling, this involved using a close up. This shot was very good as it allowed my
audience to clearly see the emotion she was feeling. When creating my ancillary products I also used
an close up/medium shot as again it allowed my audience to see emotion. I have used to same image
on my digipak for my magazine advert as this combines them together allowing the audience to know
that they are linked. Therefore my main product and ancillary products link together. I featured
camerawork such as close ups and medium shots within my music video and my ancillary products as I
wanted my artists face to be remembered. Within the camerawork in my video and my ancillary
products I tried to portray as much emotion as possible to represent that my protagonist was
heartbroken and the audience could relate to this, therefore all my products combined together. Overall I
think the combination of my products was successful

16. Theory
• While creating my project I looked into a few different theories, The reception theory, the uses of
gratifications theory and representation theory. The reception theory is all about how the
demographic receive and interpret media, the reception theory is about the version of how an
audience respond to texts. This applied to my music video because as when an audience member
watches a music video they have certain expectations and thoughts therefore I needed to meet
these expectations within my music video, therefore my demographic will share the media they have
seen.
• In addition to this I also used the theory of uses of gratifications, this theory is an active theory this
means that the audience have an active role in what they see, therefore rather than looking at what
the media text does to an individual the theory looks at what individuals do with the media text. This
theory applies to my music video as because my music video is about an individual loosing some
one they love, if an audience member is in the same position as this they may search for my music
video, they may find my music video relatable helping them to feel happier about the situation
knowing that other people go through the same experience as them, this may provide an audience
member with a sense of comfort or reassurance that they are not alone. In addition to this an
audience member may see my music video and gain knowledge of a broken relationship and
interpret this for themselves.
• Representation theory is also used within my music video. Representation theory is all about
stereotypes, male gaze and countertypes. Within my music video stereotypes are clearly used as in
my music video you clearly see a fragile girl breaking down because of her past relationship, this is
a stereotype and i stuck to this outlook on girls after a relationship as I thought as though it would be
more relatable for my audience if an individual was experiencing the same thing, I stuck to this
stereotype as it allowed me to show what hurt a relationship can do behind closed doors, it allowed
me to show the different emotions an individual may be feeling after an relationship therefore
making it even more relatable to my audience.

17. Overall Success
• I think that my overall success of my main
product and ancillary product is good as I
think they all effectively combine together. All
my products show consistency throughout
through the colour scheme, camerawork etc.
This allows my audience to clearly see the
link between each product making them
recognisable. This was effective as it made
each product look professional.

18. 3)What have you learned from your audience
feedback?

19. Music Video Feedback
• During the creation of my music video, I should my first draft to my teacher and my
peers during a media lesson. I got constructive criticism from my peers which was
very helpful as I could improve my video from the criticism.
• Positive Feedback
- Everyone understood the plot of my music video
- "I like the idea of the modern video to the contrast of the original song"
- "Effective storyline"
- Everyone liked the idea of my music video"
- " The idea of the flashback of memories sounds effective"
- "Great Idea with. great song"
- "Detailed description of idea, how the break up is effecting her”
- Constructive Feedback
- " I think lip syncing could work"
- " Show the connection and relationship between the boy and new girl"
- " How the song sounds may effect the video due to it being sung live"
- " Think about what else you could include to fill the full 3 minutes"
- " Maybe need more scenes to fill up the song"
- " show how they started to move away from each other”

20. Music Video Post Feedback
• Before I handed in my final music I asked
my target audience for some general
feedback on my draft before I handed it in
via the app of instagram. The feedback
was helpful as it allowed me to learn what
my target audience want to see and
develop upon my weaknesses. My target
audience was helpful as they didn't hold
back on telling me what I needed to
change and what would back my music
video better. Overall my feedback was very
helpful as it allowed me to correct things I
would have not corrected before hand, it
was helpful as it allowed a fresh eye to see
my video instead of me therefore they was
able to see it with a clean mind set and
give me constructive criticism. The
feedback allowed me to look at my music
video deeper and make my changes.

21. Music Video Feedback After
changes.
• After making my changes to my music video, I
gained much more positive feedback. I asked
my target audience for feedback via the apps
of snapchat and WhatsApp and the feedback I
was given was a lot more positive than before
hand. My target audience liked the different
colour schemes that ran throughout in specific.
The positive feedback I gained made me feel
confident about the changes I made.

22. Ancillary product feedback (post feedback and changes)
• Throughout creating my ancillary products, I asked for
feedback from my target audience as I wanted to ensure
that my ancillary products defiantly attracted my audience. I
asked for target audience for feed back before I handed in
my final piece and I got some very helpful feedback about
my layout of my digipak and my font. Therefore I took this
constructive criticism and made changes to my products. I
asked for my audience feedback through the app snapchat.
This was my feedback for my final
ancillary products, overall my final
products had better feedback after I had
made improvements. I got positive
feedback which assured me that the
changes I made were correct.

23. Ancillary product feedback
• After creating my final magazine advert I asked
my target audience for feedback so I could
therefore learn if the changes I had made were
correct. The feedback I got back was extremely
positive therefore I was happy with my final
piece, I wouldn't have been able to make the
changes I needed to my magazine advert
without the help of my audience feedback.
Overall audience feedback helped me to
produce the products I have and each
feedback was as equal as important as each
other and I took each one into consideration.

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

25. Research and Planning
• During my research and planning stage I used google blogger as one of my technologies.
I had already used google blogger throughout AS therefore I knew how to use it during A2.
I used blogger throughout while creating both my main product and ancillary products.
Google blogger helped me to keep up to date with all my work allowing me to track and
write about what I was doing throughout creating my products. Blogger allowed me to look
back on my research that had inspired me and the different work I had done, blogger
allowed me to look back at my different blog posts I had done throughout the year helping
me to remember things I may have forgotten. Blogger was quick and easy to use as it had
elements such as a each month was placed at the side of the blog allowing me to look
back at an post quickly from each month allowing me to see the progress I had made over
the year.
When creating my main product and ancillary product during A2 media I also used the
technology of youtube. Youtube was helpful as it allowed me to research into different products,
allowing me to watch videos that inspired my own music video. Youtube gave me knowledge
on what codes and conventions i needed to include in an music vide therefore play a big role
in the making of mine.

26. Technologies for creating music
video and ancillary product.
• When creating my music video I used the technology of an Canon Camera.
Using a camera to film my music video was helpful as it was very good
quality, it allowed me to keep a steady hand and produce high quality
footage. During AS I used my iPhone this was very basic therefore when
creating my music video I decided using a camera would be better as it is
more professional, this also helped me to develop my camera skills.
When creating my ancillary products I used my iPhone X and canon camera to take pictures.
The iPhone x has dual 12-megapixel and also benefits from two sensors. The iPhone x camera
was overall extremely good and produced high quality photos that I used on both my digipak
and magazine advert. It was quick and easy to use as I was able to email the pictures to myself
from my phone. Overall the iPhone x camera produce high quality pictures and looked very
professional.

27. • When creating my music video on my laptop my main technology I used was
iMovie. This technology helped me to put all the different elements of my music
video together. iMovie was simply and easy to use providing me with many
different editing tools I could use e.g different effects and transitions. It allowed
me to use transitions such as cross dissolve and change certain clips of my
video to black and white.In addition to this iMovie allowed me to edit my clips
making them slow motion. iMovie didn't take time to get used to and was overall
very effective in creating my music video.
Technologies used for
Construction.
When creating my ancillary products I used an software called Pageplus. This allowed me to
create both my digipak and magazine. Page plus was very effective as it allowed me to have a
template for my digipak allowing it to be the correct size. It also allowed for text and images to
be placed in the correct space. I used page plus during AS but my skills have developed during
A2 as I was able to delete backgrounds from certain images I was using such as the back
grounds of the Spotify and Appel music logo.

28. Technologies used for
Evaluation
• When creating my evaluation I used an software called keynote. Keynote was very
effective as it is exactly like powerpoint therefore I found it easy to use. I liked keynote as it
made my work look neat and presented my work in a professional way. Keynote allowed
me to save my work as I want along keeping it up to date. I thought that using a software I
was already familiar was a good idea as I wouldn't need time to get to grips with it
therefore I thought this would be better than using a new software such as Prezi.
When uploading my evaluation onto blogger I used a
technology called slide share, this software is easy as it allows
people to see my evaluation of my blog. I had to embed the link
onto my blog post in order to share my evaluation on my blog.

29. Target audience technologies.
• When asking my target audience for different feedback on my
products, I thought that social media would be an effective way to do
this as my target audience would most likely communicate through
social media as it is very popular. I used different social media apps
such as Whatsapp, snapchat and Instagram direct. Social media
apps were helpful as they was quick and easy to use and I was able
to gain a variety of feedback from both males and females.

30. Progress from AS to A2
• In my opinion I have made a significant amount of progress from AS to A2. I used a lot more different software during
A2 compared to AS and my skills have improved dramatically. Some of the software I used at AS I have also used at
A2 e.g. page plus but my skills have improved massively during A2 as my skills were very basic during AS. During A2
I have used different technologies more effectively to create my digipak and magazine advert as my editing skills
have improved.
• During A2 I used a professional camera to both shoot my video and take images for my digipak, while also using my
iPhone to take images for my digipak this made my whole project an high quality compared to AS as my pictures look
pixelated within my AS product. Overall I have made lots of progress and A2 has taught me more about how to attract
an audience and ensure your products are applying to your target audience. I have also learnt about new conventions
such as conventions of a music video and digipak therefore my skills have overall improved.