2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
With the music video we ensured that we followed the typical techniques, used by The Hives. Andrew Goodwin explains that music videos should ignore
common narrative in order to promote the band and keep the audience interested, therefore we produced a ‘live performance’ video. We had the actors
dress in uniform, wearing white shirts and leather jackets, much like The Hives do, we then applied this to the album artwork/cover work and the magazine
advert. We enhanced the images giving them a flatter colour, with the dark colours becoming more dominant. This was an idea that we adopted, from
looking at past videos by the hives and their various album covers. We noticed that blacks and blues were foregrounded in the videos and albums, strongly
supported by sharp whites; we decided that we would approach our product in the same manner and so by using Final cut pro and then Photoshop for the
images, we edited the colour.
With the music video we included rebellious imagery, following typical conventions of the rock/garage rock/ punk genre. The actors appeared aggressive
and as a group we made a conscious decision to place the band in a wooded area in the second half of the video. This was to challenge conventions, putting
the band members in an unusual area where they don’t seem to belong. This relates to the punk rock image that bands such as The Hives portray, showing
them to take over a space that may not fit in to the rock/garage rock/ punk genre.
The theorist Nicholas Abercrombie, suggest that “the boundaries between genres are shifting and becoming more permeable”, meaning that many
different conventions used by certain genres are being adopted by other genres. For example we used a typical technique used predominantly in pop music
videos, where the title of the song appears across the screen during the video. This not only foregrounded the song’s lyrics, but reinforced the aggressive
nature of the video, due to the bold words dominating the screen.
It was the idea of rebellion and aggression that was at the basis of the video and media products, with these two themes being the core behind so many
videos and products of the rock/garage rock/ punk genre. We wanted to ensure that this was clearly presented and so we used bold fonts for our media
products and for the magazine advert a slogan saying “Prepare for The Hives”, to construct a rebellious, arrogant image.
Arrogance is a fundamental technique used in the rock/garage rock/ punk genre, with it being something associated with bands of that genre. We
developed this idea in our media product, for example with the video. The video is set in both a garage and a wooded area; the use of a garage is commonly
used in music videos and is where the term ‘garage rock’ stems from, so it was appropriate that we included this as a setting. We also used fast paced
camera movements, relating to the songs tempo and its aggression.
Overall I believe that our media product conforms to its genre. We followed typical conventions of the rock/garage rock/ punk genre as well as
intertextualising different genres to complement our media product. Our CD cover relates to both the music video and our magazine advert, setting a
theme, which is common in media products, and the ways in which we styled the products followed the conventions of its genre.
3. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I believe that our media product and ancillary texts fit the criteria. They both relate to each other, with the settings of the video featuring on the album
cover and the front cover of the album being the same image for the magazine advert. The combination of the two resembles real life media products of its
genre, as well as relating to the products of The Hives.
By linking the settings of the video to the album cover it allows the audience to create a connection, as well as bringing the two products together to
produce one whole product. We also portray a sense of arrogance in the various products; this is a common marketing strategy in the rock/garage rock/
punk genre, for example one of the Hives albums is entitled your new favourite band. Our magazine advert reads “Prepare for The Hives” in bold capital
letters, suggesting that the album will be an instant success as well as creating a sense of mystery, attracting the audience.
The slogan “Prepare for The Hives” is effective because it suggests that the album will become instantly popular, meaning that many people will feel obliged
to purchase it in order to keep up to date with the music scene. As said above it also creates a sense of mystery, as people will wonder why they should
“prepare”, meaning that they become intrigued and therefore purchase the product.
I also feel that the contrast in style between the two settings in the video is effective. We began in the garage, with the camera movements being fairly
constrained, then dramatically changing in the wooded area, with the camera movements becoming much freer, due to the fast paced hand held
movements. This contrast works with the shift in tone in the song, with it becoming much more aggressive, as well as relating to the fast nature of the
music.
We then continued the idea of aggression in the ancillary texts, specifically the album, with the actors having angry expressions on their faces. Combined
with the video, this presents the band as rebellious and aggressive, a typical portrayal of bands of the rock/garage rock/ punk genre. This is an effective way
of marketing a band, due to the fact that it creates a sense of mystery that captures the attention of both men and women.
We made a conscious decision to adopt many of the techniques used by The Hives to market the band. We noticed that it was the ‘punk rock’ attitude that
appealed to so many people, and so we foregrounded their rebellious image onto our products in order to create a similar attraction, as well as including
humour, specifically with the music video . The Magazine advert strongly supports this idea, with the slogan “Prepare for The Hives”, as well as the album,
which includes three close up shots of the band members appearing to look angered. The music video demonstrates a range of different techniques that
we used, both conventional and un-conventional, to portray rebellious attitudes, for example, the fact that the actors are in uniform, like an army, or that
the camera movements are fast paced.
I personally believe that the combination of both the main product and the ancillary texts are effective, they follow conventions of the genre, appealing to
all age ranges, specifically the younger generation ( teenagers/ young adults), and fulfil their purposes of attracting the audience. We focused on
foregrounding the bands presence, with it imitating a live performance as well as placing them in settings that acted simply as backgrounds, instead of
relying on a narrative structure, again a common convention of music videos of its genre. Overall the main product and ancillary texts appropriately support
each other, with there being a clear link between them, combining them together to create one whole product.
4. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
We gathered audience feedback using social network sites, questionnaires and
YouTube. We also showed our music video to a focus group in order to gain more
information and criticism on our work.
The audience feedback has allowed us as a group to discover whether or not our
media product is effective. Most of the feedback has been positive, with them all
saying that the products fitted in with the rock/garage rock/ punk genre. There
were a high number of comments about the humour in the video, with people
finding it amusing as well as appropriate to the genre. People also commented on
the editing, saying that the music was well synced with the band members as well as
the music.
It would also appear that having the actors in uniform was effective, many
comments were made saying that it was suitable to the genre and made the video
seem much more professional. However people felt that the video at times was
amateur, which is understandable, with the colour being off-putting and the
transitions between shots at times too slow. This is something that we would pay
more attention to if we were to do it again, ensuring that the colour matched at all
times at that all shots worked alongside the rhythm of the song.
On YouTube we managed to collect a few comments, one in particular was helpful,
suggesting that the quality of the video could have been improved. If we were to do
it again, as said above we would take more time in production and post-production
to ensure that the colour and camera movements were all of good standard.
(On Twitter) Other people suggested that we need to speed up the shots at the start
of the video in order for it to fit the speed of the music. Again we would work on
ensuring that it worked in time well .
(On Twitter) Another comment was made saying that the quick cuts between the
singer and the microphone was hard to watch. However this was our intentions,
with it relating to the obscure nature of the song at that point.
We also had people within the target market group, watch the video and write
down their comments. People liked the use of locations and the fact that we
followed conventions by focusing on the frontman by using such techniques as
close-ups.
People were also impressed with the syncing of the video with the song and the fact
that the live performance suits the genre with the handheld camerawork. This was
something that we noticed whilst researching into the genre and so felt it was
appropriate to include.
Again more comments were made of the syncing of the video and the idea of it
being a live performance. This person also gave feedback on the introduction of the
text, which was helpful as this was something that is typically used in pop videos and
is unusual for a video of this genre.
The comments above were helpful due to them all being from people with in the
target market age range. This meant we were given constructive criticism from
people with whom the video was aimed at and so were able to clearly establish
whether or not our video was effective.
5. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation
stages?
We used a range of different media technologies to aid us in producing our media products. In the researching stages we used the internet and various
social networks and websites to gain as much information into our chosen genre. We researched such things as the Hives website and their previous album
covers and posters. I then took those images and using PhotoShop created a mood board which was then uploaded on my blog. The mood board allowed
me to have all their past album and poster designs in one place meaning I could compare and analyse them altogether and then apply what I have learnt to
my own design.
For further research I created a survey on SurveyMonkey, asking questions about what appeals an audience to a music video. I shared this survey on
Facebook for people to fill in and then collected my results which I posted on my blog. I also created a powerpoint on Slideshared which I then posted on
my blog for people to view.
As a group we also experimented with a camera, seeing what effects we could get and working out what would work and then pursuing these effects on
PhotoShop. I used a range of different techniques on PhotoShop, taking advantage of the layers to experiment with changing saturation, cutting out
sections of the image using the lasso tool and adding text.
Also using the camera we had people within the target market group take part in a video interview, allowing us to gain a greater knowledge and
understandment of what appeals to the T.M.G. We also used Adobe Illustrator to create mind maps and produce drafts for our media products, such as the
CD cover and magazine advert.
During the filming we placed the camera (a Canon 600D) on a tripod as well as experimenting with handheld. This was effective as it meant we could
change the style of the video to create a greater contrast between the two different settings. We continued with emphasising this contrast in the editing
stages. Using Adobe Premium Pro, we edited the colour, not only to show contrast but to improve the quality of colour.
For the digipak and magazine advert, we took pictures using the canon 600D and then edited them on Photoshop. We downloaded fonts from Dafont.com
and then placed them on top of the images. We experimented with using the blur tool to foreground the band members and again used the colour levels to
change the colour tone.
We used Adobe Premier Pro to edit the entire video, which allowed us to use non-linear editing. We began with cutting down the videos and ensuring that
they were in sync with the music, we then edited the colour and added text. Once finished we exported the video to YouTube, gaining feedback through
social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Social networking sites proved to be a vital part of the project, it meant we could generate audience
feedback fast in order to gain as much information needed to pursue with the project.
