2. How effective is the combination of
your main product and ancillary
texts?
As I was planning the digipak and print advert I kept in mind that the style of
the texts had to connect with the stylistic imagery of the music video. The
digipak and print advert have kept a noticeable resemblance and maintained a
clear brand identity for the artist allowing the audience to familiarise
themselves with the artist.
The fact that the ‘Daylite’ music video has a strong resemblance to the
digipak front cover promotes the album creates a clear relationship between
the media texts. For the front cover of the digipak and print advert I took a
photo from a scene in the music video. This link helps build noticeability for
the video.
For my the front cover of the digipak, I used Photoshop to create the effect
similar to the image and mood of the music video, creating a relationship
between the media texts which brings out the dark tones and expands the
sinister theme of the music video.
3. Representation of the artist
I initially wanted the artists brand
identity to be underground or outside
of the mainstream. The unusual filming
technique and gritty post-production
effects that have been duplicated in the
design for the digipak were used to
make the camera look cheap and old
fashioned-something the opposite
mainstream artists would use. This The artist is wearing a grey jumper, black skinny
makes the artist seem it doesn’t want jeans and Doc Martin boots. The image I have
to be mainstream and is against the created for the artist is an indie look that is
mass production of the modern day outside of the mainstream artists, allowing to
music industry. focus more on the music rather that the image.
This contrasts with many voyeuristic This build on the brand identity of the artist
representations of women in music which appeals to people with similar attitudes
videos. and fans of the genre.
The black and white effect creates adds a gritty atmosphere to the artist. I used this
effect in my digipak and print advert to create a link between the texts, building on the
artists brand identity making the artist more recognisable among the audience.
4. Digipak and print advert
The theme of the digipak and front cover has clear references to the music
video including the two main characters of the story. This promotes the single
as the main single which increases recognition of the song. I used Photoshop
to achieve the stylistic imagery that was portrayed in the music video to
continue the brand identity.
To allow my digipak to attract people into buying it I have included additional
features that fans could otherwise not get. With the inclusion of a poster a
code that can be inputted on the artists website to get 20% off merchandise
and a bonus DVD including a live concert and a documentary, the digipak
appeals to fans to make them feel they are getting more than just the music.
The front cover of the digipak has been used for the print advert to promote
the album and make it more familiar. Featured on the print advert are reviews
buy leading music magazines and newspapers. This ensures fans that they will
not be disappointed with the record.
Also on my digipak, it features another two images chosen to reference the
video and further referencing the artist.
5. Audience Feedback
100% of people recognised that the
music video has conventions of rock/indie
music videos. This is good as I intended to
represent the artist and use the
camerawork and effects to create an
indie/underground video that was anti-
corporate and reflected to attitudes of
indie culture.
From this result there is not a clear
overall opinion. This is good as I intended
to challenge the forms and conventions
of music videos. The music video has a
dark ambience whereas the song is much
brighter. I intended to challenge
Goodwin’s forms and conventions to
make my music video unique and
interesting.
6. Most people agreed that my music video
challenges the forms and conventions of
usual modern music videos. I intended to
break Goodwin’s forms and conventions
with the use of a sinister, violent narrative
and a dark tone. These features would not
be shown in mainstream music videos as
the age group intended for my music video
is 16-24 and appeals to that target audience
100% of people said that editing is effectively whereas mainstream videos have to appeal
used. This was really important to my music to all ages.
video as editing brings out the mood and
emotions in the song to make it more
meaningful. It cuts back and forth between the
artist and the characters in the story. This
technique is done in many staged music videos
to promote the artist while creating a
connection between the lyrics and visuals and
making a story out of the song.
The editing was also carefully done to at some
points build tension, reflect the mood of the
protagonist and create a psychotic mood for the
audience to be positioned in the protagonists
situation.
7. Planning the shots and angles for the music video
took a long time as it had to evolve the story while
simultaneously connecting with the audience to bring
them into the story. POV shots were used to achieve
this. Less vigorous shots were used it the beginning to
build the story whereas in the chorus and as the story
progresses the shots become more violent as the
darker themes came up such as the attack.
The shots of the artist was done to allow the
audience to become familiar with the artist, something
that record labels intend to create a brand identity to
allow them to become recognisable and promote the
artist.
As 85% of people agreed the camera shots and angles
were conventional of the genre, people agree that my
This is good as it shows people agree that different approach to filmmaking is suitable for the
the representation of the artist is appropriate genre and works well with it.
for the genre as she is wearing indie clothing.
I wanted to artist to relate to the target
audience by wearing similar clothing and not
being represented as mainstream pop artists
are. This allows the audience to identify
themselves in her. This creates a connection
between the artist and the audience.
I also intended for the artist to look ‘anti-
corporate’ and stay as ‘one of the people’.
Rock/indie cultures tend to rebel against the
mainstream so the representation of the
artist allows her to reflect her fans attitudes
and opinions.
8. I am pleased that 100% of people said
that my digipak and print advert looked
professional and attractive. I was careful
with the design of the two media texts
to make them look both professional
looking whilst creating a brand image.
This response was also appreciated
more as, from my research of other CD
covers and print adverts, my design was
unique and of my own creation.
6 out of 7 people replied that all
my media texts look related. I
planned before I produced to pieces
of texts how they would be related.
With the use of Photoshop I made
the texts maintain the sinister mood
and narrative of the music video to
promote it as well as to make it
more familiar and
recognisable, building the brand
image of the artist.
9. All of the responses show that all three
media texts in a positive light. Many
responded with ‘very good’ and ‘very
professional’. The comment ‘well edited’
was important as I wanted to challenge the
forms and conventional of editing in music
videos to create something unique so this
one was meaningful to me.
4 out of 6 people replayed that they
wouldn’t change anything about the music
video which I'm really pleased about. Two of
the comments read ‘lighting’ and ‘I like it all
really, perhaps if there was less of the shakey
camera’. The lighting was really important as it
had to reflect the mood of the narrative. Also,
the camera work was intended to be ‘shakey’
to get that effect of the audience being in the
video and to reflect the psychotic mood of the
protagonist and his situation, building tension
and make the action scenes more convincing.
10. How did you use media technologies in
the construction and research, planning
and evaluation stages?
YouTube was a huge help in my planning. As I
planned my music video I wanted to understand
my style that I wanted to achieve. I took influence
from music videos like Oasis-Cigarettes and
Alcohol directed by Mark Szaszy. The mix of high
contrast, black and white with a
gritty, underground look appealed to me and I
used this style in mine. One shot that was really
challenging form me was the dolly zoom
shot, where it appears to undermine normal visual
perception. YouTube helped me as there were
many tutorials that helped me achieve this
unusual shot in order to convey the antagonists
psychotic mind.
11. To get used to the technology that I would be using, the induction project was set to help
us. We could familiarise ourselves with the cameras, how to use effects on Adobe
Premiere and Photoshop, many of this training I used in my final piece and was very
confident with the equipment to get the takes that I wanted.
To get the track I used a non-
copyright website called
Jamendo.com. I originally
wanted a guitar driven track
to appeal to a more male
base. Although, the haunting
Blogger allowed me to track Daylite by Conway
gain information including Hambone conveyed to sinister
Goodwin’s theory, and tones of the video much
look at previous works to better to create a contrast
help me understand the between the song and the
project to achieve the visuals. This helped my
best I can do. I was also intentions of really
able to upload my work challenging the forms and
for people to see what I conventions of
had achieved. typical, mainstream music
videos.
12. To construct my digipak and print advert is used Photoshop. This
enable me to change to look of the images to create an overall
brand image for the artist so all media texts could relate to each
other. I looked at existing CDs to understand how to set out the
back cover of the digipak. The track listing, label information and
websites were used to make my digipak look as authentic as
possible.
The Conway Hambone circular logo was designed and constructed
from scratch. I took inspiration from the designer brand “Pretty
Green”., and the “Rubber Soul” font on the Beatles album to get a
retro, 60s styling. I used a font called ‘vintage’ that I found on the
website Dafont.com. By warping the image and altering its shape
into a circle using Photoshop, I created a logo that reflects the
music from the artist.
In the editing stage, the software I used was Adobe Premiere. I
had used Premiere before in the induction project, but I wanted
to experiment with it. Premiere allowed me to get the
effect, tone, and mood I wanted to convey whilst maintaining a
brand image. The shot timing was vital to express the emotions
in the narrative to create meaning. Premiere was brilliant at
achieving this. It also helped me do my voice over evaluation.
13. Facebook and Survey Monkey were really helpful.
They allowed me to gain feedback on my music video
and digipak and use that information to see how
people respond to it and how I can improve in my
future work. Facebook allowed me to share my video
with my friends and show what I had achieved. It also
allowed me to put the survey I create to get feedback
quick and easily.
