A2 media coursework evaluation

1. A2 Media Coursework Evaluation

2. In What Way Does Your Media Project Use, Develop or
Challenge Forms and Conventions or Real Media
Products?

3. In What Way Does Your Media Project Use, Develop or
Challenge Forms and Conventions or Real Media
Products?
This is my selection of album covers and posters (left) against
the Foo Fighters’ original album covers and posters (right).
My covers follow the convention of being simple in terms of
imagery, font, colour scheme, and layout.
My three products all have the same image just as the real
products on the right do so all three products have a very
clear link. In addition, all three share the same colour scheme
and similar layouts. It is conventional of real media products
to have a clear link between the front cover, back cover and
the poster.
I would have chosen a white background for my products but
my clock wouldn’t have stood out very much compared to
the black heart on the real products. Therefore, my
background colour and colour scheme are unconventional
compared to the original One by One products.

4. In What Way Does Your Media Project Use, Develop or
Challenge Forms and Conventions or Real Media
Products?
The artwork for my products (left) was inspired by the In Your Honor
album cover (right) as the image on the right reminded me of a vector
illustration, especially the background of the lines.
I decided to create a clock for my products as I thought that it was a
clever idea since the song that I used in my music video is called Times
Like These. Also, I thought it would be clever to point the hands on the
clock to 11 and 1 (all 1’s) as the album name is called One by One. I
think that it turned out well and has a good effect on the overall
product. The vector images on album covers are conventional of real
media products as seen in the Color and the Shape cover (see next
slide).
On an earlier draft of my album cover, I tried adding the lines seen in
the album cover on the right with a white background which would be
conventional. I then changed that to a green background as I thought
the clock didn’t stand out quite enough.

5. In What Way Does Your Media Project Use, Develop or
Challenge Forms and Conventions or Real Media
Products?
I was inspired to use a similar colour scheme in my products (left)
to the original Color and the Shape album cover (right) as I
thought that the red and blue slightly clashed but created a really
interesting effect as it was bright, bold, but simple.
In addition, the images on my products are similarly simple and
3D vector style images as the products on the right, therefore, it
follows the conventions of real media products.
I based my back cover off the Color and the Shape back cover in
the way that the image is on the left and the list of songs are
aligned diagonally with the shape of the image.

6. In What Way Does Your Media Project Use, Develop or
Challenge Forms and Conventions or Real Media
Products?
In my music video I have used one actor throughout as this is what was used in the
original Foo Fighters Times Like These (acoustic) music video. I decided that the
video would be more effective without a storyline as I only had one actor; the Foo
Fighters have two types of videos, with a humorous storyline, or just the band
playing the music. I opted for the no storyline option due to the fact that I had only
one actor and this is the style that the original version of the video was filmed in
and therefore would make my video more conventional.

7. In What Way Does Your Media Project Use, Develop or
Challenge Forms and Conventions or Real Media
Products?
My video gives off a laid back and casual vibe due to the mise-en-scene – the locations, lightings,
shots, props and outfits. I was aiming for this as the original Times Like These (acoustic) video is
very laid back and casual as he is singing with his acoustic guitar in the studio by himself and
appears very comfortable. Although this video is all indoors, I decided to film mine outdoors,
mainly because of the better quality lighting and higher video quality, but also because it
highlights the laid back and casual feel of the song and overall video.
For the line “it’s times like these” in the chorus I used clips of different clocks from in and around
Manchester as I felt the repetition of the clocks fitted in well with the repetition of the word
“time”. Although it is unconventional to repeat the same few clips, I felt as though it worked well
with the repetition of the chorus.

8. How Effective is the Combination of
Your Main Product and Ancillary Texts?

9. How Effective is the Combination of
Your Main Product and Ancillary Texts?
The main, obvious link between my music video and the album covers
and poster is the clock; in the video, I used the repetition of a few clips
of clocks in and around Manchester to link in with the lyrics,
specifically with the line “it’s times like these”.
On my album covers and poster I also used a clock, but with the hands
pointing at 11 and 1. The clock ties in nicely with the video, the song
name “Times Like These” and the lyrics of the chorus. The hands
pointing to the 11 and 1 (all 1’s) is significant as the album name is
“One by One”.
I tried to fit the colour scheme of the covers and poster in with the
genre of music (rock, acoustic, alternative) and the conventions; I
aimed for darker colours (but not too dark as that would not be
conventional for this genre), slightly colourful, simple, bold, and casual.

10. How Did You Use Media Technologies in the
Construction and Research, Planning and Evaluation?
Blogger
I have used Blogger throughout my AS and A2 Media
coursework to upload and present my research, planning,
construction and evaluation. I found it very easy and simple to
use.
YouTube
I used YouTube for my research, to watch, evaluate and share
music videos relating to my own. I have learnt how to embed
YouTube videos into Blogger. I also uploaded my final music
video to YouTube and then embedded it into Blogger.

11. How Did You Use Media Technologies in the
Construction and Research, Planning and Evaluation?
Adobe illustrator
I used Adobe Illustrator to create the vector image
clock used in my album covers and poster. I learnt
how to use the programme from an online tutorial
of how to create a vector image clock.
Adobe in design
I used Adobe inDesign to arrange and construct my
covers and poster; I had already learnt to use this
programme through experimentation and using it in
my AS Media Coursework for the magazine project.

12. How Did You Use Media Technologies in the
Construction and Research, Planning and Evaluation?
iMovie
I used iMovie on my MacBook to construct my music video. It took a
while to get used to the programme and learn how to use it and all the
tools and options on it, but overall I found it fairly straightforward to
learn and I like the final outcome of my video.
Powerpoint
I have used Powerpoint for this evaluation and some of my research
and planning, I already knew how to use the programme through years
of using it for other courses.
Slideshare
I used Slideshare to upload my Powerpoint presentations to Blogger;
first upload to slideshare then embed the code into Blogger. I learnt
how to use this website in my AS Media coursework.

13. What Have You Learned From Your
Audience Feedback?
My audience feedback told me that I maybe needed to change the colours of
my album covers and poster to fit in with the genre better as the colours
were quite bright – bright green. I took that comment into consideration and
asked 15 people, male and female, from my target audience to choose
between the green colour scheme and the purple one that I had constructed
after reading this comment. 9 people chose the purple colour scheme
whereas only 6 people had chosen the green colour scheme.