1. How did you use new
technologies in the
construction and research,
planning and evaluation
stages?
Evaluation Question 4
Yzabelle Celosa
2. For the production process, I had experience using the DSLR Canon EOS 650D
camera to film shots for the music video.
Using this camera put me in the role of director and cinematography as it had
much complex settings and allowed me to create high-definition footage with
controlled image focus.
I was introduced to the rule of thirds grid where I explored with the positioning
of images in the shot; i.e where the artist is crouching down in front of the
moving buses and cars in the background.
Construction
As a text producer, it was my
intention to create convincing and
realistic media texts. Learning and
exploring these techniques, I found
strengthened the cinematography
of my music video and therefore,
made my scenes more advanced
and professional looking.
(Role as ‘director’)
(Role as ‘cinematographer’)
3. ConstructionThe more I practiced with the DSLR (Canon EOS 650D),
the more familiarized I became with the tools, effects and
settings that was available on the camera. I eventually was
able to use these skills to produce specific shots,
such as unfocused shots and panning shots. I
experimented with a variety of shots and ensured
that I recorded it all so that when it came to the
post production process, I would have a lot of
raw footage to work with.
This camera was also used to capture
photographs that would be used for
my digipak and advert. These would
also be edited during the post-
production process, but ensuring
which aspects of the photograph was
in focus needed to be considered
whilst taking these photos.
I also vlogged during
construction where I
used my own hand-held
camera to document the
process.
(Role as ‘director’)
(Role as ‘photographer’)
4. Editing : VisualsWhen editing the shots and clips for my music video, I used
Final Cut Pro to arrange and move around the raw footage to
create verisimilitude with the use of continuity editing.
There were many effects, transitions and settings
on Final Cut Pro that I could use for my MV.
However, I did not want to over use special
effects as it would then not conform to real pop
music videos. Some of the effects I used were…
• Slow motion (1.)
• Layering footage (2.)
• Editing/cutting on the beat (3.)
• Lens flare effect to match lyric ‘Light Up’ (4.)
• Transitions: fade, cross dissolve, blur
1.
2.
3.
4.
(Role as ‘editor’)
5. Digipak/Advert
To edit my photographs, I was
then introduced to the program
Adobe Photoshop to take my
gained video editing skills onto
still images and photographs.
I used it to increase brightness,
contrast and sharpness on the
artist to make her stand out
from the backdrop. I also used
this programme to add the
essential characteristics of a
digipak/advert such as text,
barcodes and logos. I also
applied different filters to
aspects of my digipak to create
a grainy but vibrant effect to
highlight the positive vibe of the
music video.
Adobe Fireworks
was used to
create the
production logo
for the album.
(Role as ‘editor’)
6. Before
After
The original photo was too saturated, therefore,
using Photoshop enabled me to decrease the
levels of saturation and increase brightness,
contrast and sharpness to adjust the colour and
clarity. I also cropped the image so that the
artist would become the focus and to shape it
into the design of a conventional album cover.
7. From creating the digipak, it was then easier for me to create the magazine
advert as I could then use my new gained skills from using Photoshop to
produce the next print product. For instance, the image used in the magazine
advert needed edited as well. I used the same filters and effects that I used for
the front cover so achieve a similar outcome. I added the front cover and
production logo onto the advert too to add a synergistic element that connects
the two products. I also experimented with different fonts and since I decided to
shape the advert as a landscape design, I was able to make these bigger and
bolder which was limited in the construction of my digipak. I also added names
of other songs by the artist, the artist’s name itself and the album name.
8. Research
For most of my research, such as audience feedback, focus
groups, and recordings of development, I used Photo Booth
on the iMac to record the footage and used iMovie to edit
these. From my experience with adding text in my
digipak/advert and editing video clips in order using
Photoshop, it was easy for me to edit the raw footage of my
research videos and add text, transitions, music and sound
effects to make them not only informative but also
entertaining.
I also learnt how to show two
clips at the same time so then
the audiences reaction was in
sync with the screen that they
were watching.
9. AnimaticsFor the planning of my music video, a storyboard
was created by drawing each initial shot of the
video which was scanned into the computer and
edited on iMovie…
The song was then imported and the drawings
were edited to the song; focusing on the
durations and order of each clip.
In terms of filming, it helped me have a general
idea of what shots to collect at what angles. Also,
in terms of editing, it acted as a guide/visual
timeline to show me the order of the clips and
where each piece of footage goes.
10. Websites/Social Media
I used Microsoft Excel to record
information that I received and to display
it on a much clearer and informative way.
to edit the raw footage i.e. genre research
Used public/official websites to research news and
popular events of contemporary pop. i.e. Capital FM In today’s modern society, social media is
now one of the easiest modes of
communication. Therefore, when I wanted
information from others, I used Twitter,
Facebook etc to communicate with them.
To access the
real music videos
of the pop genre,
I used YouTube
to research these
and to guide me
in my own music
video
production.
11. As I was analyzing real music videos, I used Prezi
as an element for my research…
In this, I embedded music videos from
YouTube by pasting hyperlinks so that they
could be played on the Prezi.
I used Google to find
images of the artist albums
so that I could paste them
onto the Prezi.
I used screenshots of YouTube clips to aid
my analysis and evaluations…
Although I found it difficult to use at first,
as I got the hang of it and was familiar with
the different tools it offers, I found myself
using it more and more to present my
research.
12. It was important to understand and take into consideration the
consumers’/audience’s opinions on my products to ensure that if it were a real
media product, it would do well in the market place and be popular with the
target audience. Fortunately, I found that my music video was successful in
terms of this as when I showed this to my target audience for feedback, I gained
a lot of positive comments on the realism and continuity of the overall video. To
do this, I recorded my audience watching the music video on the Photo Booth
program on the iMac and imported this into iMovie for editing. By using the
'Picture In Picture' setting, I learnt how to show my music video and the
audience video at the same time so that the reaction is in sync with my product.
Audience Feedback
13. I used an online poll maker to receive votes and
opinions on my own products from others.
For instance, I conducted a poll to help me decide
which digipak design to use for my print product. I
wanted to use design A but I was not sure about it.
However, after seeing the results of the votes, design
A did win and it became clearer that this was the
design that I should use.
Also, what helped me through this process was my
audience feedback. After completing a few drafts of
my print products, I conducted a few
questionnaires and polls on social media websites
such as Twitter and Facebook to gain different
feedbacks and opinions from my target audience,
causing me to choose which designs and layouts
were the most effective and suitable for our print
products.
Audience Feedback
(Print Products)
14. A lot of research was needed in order to create this product as it
provided me with guides and structures to make my final outcome
as conventional and realistic as possible. In order to keep track of
my research and development, I used Blogger to record all of the
sources that I had collected in visual and creative ways.
It enabled me to explore different platforms of digital technologies
to record and present my work from Prezis and Slideshares to
podcasts and videos. It was incredible versatile from pre-production
to post-production as I was able to access all of the research into
media products as well as my primary research like audience
feedbacks and focus groups that helped me create the final product.
In doing so, I learnt how to embed links onto posts and share
relevant videos from other websites (like YouTube) and post them
onto my blog.
Not only did it help me access my
own research, Blogger also allowed
me to share my individual posts
with the rest of my group and vice-
versa.
(Role as ‘publisher’)
15. Planning
I constructed a moodboard
to show the different visual
motifs that would be seen
in my music video giving
me a general outlook on
what the appearance of the
video would eventually be.
Before creating a digital and final version of my digipak and advert design, I drew it
out first and used a scanner so that I could compare the two and use this plan to
guide me in creating my print products.
17. It was important to make the fonts clear
and bold especially in the digipak (such as
for the album name "Light Up The Sky"
and the artist name "Ada Satka") in order
to catch a buyer's attention. Although it
was difficult to structure the digipak and
magazine advert to appear realistic, it
became easier once I researched real artist
digipaks and adverts. Again, I used the
Internet to research real media products
(particularly pop artists such as 'Lana Del
Rey' and 'Rihanna') to inspire me with my
designs. I constantly recorded my
observations on Blogger, so that I (and the
rest of my group) can follow the
development of the digipak and magazine
advert construction.
18. Evaluation
1. I created a video using iMovie where I included clips from my own
music video and compared it with clips from real music videos (from
YouTube) in the pop genre to help demonstrate the similarities and
differences as well as how I conformed/challenged the conventions
of the pop genre/conventions of a music video.
2. I created a Prezi as it allowed me to import images to compare my
main and ancillary texts as well as add text explaining how effective
they are when they are linked together. Prezi also allowed me to add
YouTube videos of my audience feedback on my print products.
3. I created a video with a voiceover where I explained what forms of
audience feedback I conducted and what I had learnt from them. I
also had images that were relevant to what I was explaining during
the video to make it a visual and eye-catching presentation.
4. I created a presentation using Microsoft Powerpoint, then I used
Slideshare to share it onto blogger. It includes images and text that
work together to create a visual and informative presentation.
