2. Question 1: In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
3. QUESTION 1 I have presented this question using Prezi, as it allows for easier annotation of my media products. CLICK HERE TO VIEW QUESTION 1 ANSWER.
4. QUESTION 1 (continued) As there was not enough time to discuss everything during my voice-over of the music video, I have taken some stills to further explain my points. This is an example of the rule of thirds that was used during the video, where we divided the frame into three and placed the actors in the conventional areas for a three piece band setup, with the drummer in the centre and guitarists flanking.
5. QUESTION 1 (continued) This is an example of the black and white filter which is used during the establishing shot and closing sequence. These images are examples of some the conventional close-up shots we used during the video.
6. QUESTION 1 (continued) This image is a good example of the mise-en-scene during the video. The band members can clearly be seen wearing t-shirts and shirts and having a relaxed figure expression as consistent with the genre. The conventional props can also be seen in this shot: the microphone on stand and the guitars, worn relatively low.
7. QUESTION 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?
8. QUESTION 2 (1) Here are my three media products. Click here to view video.
9. QUESTION 2 (2) I have answered this question by narrative. Click here or click on image to listen. (Via SoundCloud)
10. QUESTION 3 WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR AUDIENCE FEEDBACK?
11. QUESTION 3 (1) For my audience feedback, I sent out questionnaires when I realised that my initial feedback was not in-depth enough. I asked people within the demographic of my target audience. The questions I asked were as followed: -Does this look like a professional product?-What genre do you feel this product is for?- If anything, what do you think should be changed? The questions were asked for each product: the music video, digipack and website. In total I got five responses.
12. QUESTION 3: MUSIC VIDEO Does this look like a professional product? Out of all my responses the answer was yes, which suggests that the audience found our product to look professional however one person asked pointed out that the vocalist didn’t mime the words correctly, which they felt let the product down slightly. As a result of this I have learned that if I was to do this project again in the future I would give the actors more time to prepare to ensure they knew all the lyrics, movements and musical parts, or use a real band. Using a real band would have made it much easier to shoot the video as we had a lot of outtakes due to mistakes.
13. QUESTION 3: MUSIC VIDEO What genre do you feel the product is for? The target audience said the product appeared to be ‘indie’, ‘rock’, or ‘garage rock’ which suggests that our video was created correctly for the target audience. However it is easy to distinguish the genre from listening to the track. As a result I learned little from this question for this specific product.
14. QUESTION 3: MUSIC VIDEO If anything, what do you think should be changed? Of all the suggestions, I was told that one of the guitarists should be replaced with a bassist, the lighting should be the same throughout, and that it should have narrative within it to break it up. Suggesting that we needed a bassist has made me aware that the audience were aware of our error with our props, in which we were unable to obtain a bass guitar. As a result I had to bring in two of my guitars instead. The audience noticing this has made me realise that the mise-en-scene is an important part of the video.
15. …continued. The suggestion that the lighting should be the same throughout has made me realise that the target audience noticed the issues we encountered with lighting. However this is something that was out of our control. As a result of a tight booking schedule for the studio we had to film on three separate occasions, each with a different lighting set-up as the technician had no time to change the lighting between sessions. If I was to re-do the project I would book studio time far more in advance, ensuring that we had longer, single blocks in which to film in, ensuring there were fewer continuity errors. The suggestion that there should be narrative within the video suggests that some of the audience may have found the video to be slightly boring. A lot of videos within the genre we chose had narrative, yet a lot also did not. It was merely a question of choice. The audience reactions suggests that it is possible we made the wrong choice and should have added something in to break the video up. If not narrative, then back stage footage or an interview.
16. QUESTION 3: DIGIPACK Does this look like a professional product? All of the target audience believed my product looked professional which suggests that my time spent researching how to edit image within Photoshop paid off and I had achieved what I planned.
17. QUESTION 3: DIGIPACK What genre do you feel the product is for? The target audience stated mainly that the digipack appeared to be designed for an indie band, however one person asked did state that it could have been a punk band. From this I have learned that I managed to follow the conventions effectively, however my digipack had no clear signs to distinguish the large subgenres of alternative music such as rock, indie, garage, punk and so on.
18. QUESTION 3: DIGIPACK If anything, what do you think should be changed? The majority of people asked said that they do not think anything should be changed which suggests I created an effective product. However one person asked, who had previously studied media studies was critical of the glow that I placed around the cover image suggesting it could be interpreted as a ‘dodgy cut job’. As a result, If I was to remake the digipack I would use a larger, more obvious glow or no glow effect at all.
19. QUESTION 3: WEBSITE Does this look like a professional product? Of the people asked the majority said yes, with one saying no. The person who said no stated that it didn’t look complex enough and was a relatively simple design, which is not usually seen on websites. As a result it is clear to me that my limited web design skill is obvious to those who have experience working with web design themselves, however the majority of people saw no issue with it.
20. QUESTION 3: WEBSITE What genre do you feel the product is for? Of the people asked, the answer was the same as for my digipack. This was due to my web page using many similar features such as the same logo, image and background. This does suggest that there is a consistent brand image across the products.
21. QUESTION 3: WEBSITE If anything, what do you think should be changed? The majority of those asked didn’t suggest that anything should be changed, however one person suggested that I should either the twitter widget or a newsfeed and not both. As a result of this, if I was to do the product again I would take this advice and include a newsfeed but no twitter widget, as my website already contains a link to twitter.
22. Question 4 How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
23. QUESTION 4 (1) I have presented this again, using SoundCloud. I have broken the answer down into four parts. Part 1: Research. Part 2: Planning. Part 3: Construction. Part 4: Evaluation.
24. Question 4 Here is some evidence of my use of media in creating several products. Using Photoshop for my digipack. Using Flash during logo creation.
