This document provides an evaluation of a student's A2 media project, which included a music video and ancillary texts. The evaluation discusses how the project used and developed conventions of real music videos while also adding some original elements. It describes the effective combination of the main video and ancillary texts and reflects on positive audience feedback, though some did not fully understand the intended narrative. The student concludes that the project was largely successful in achieving its goals through the use of researched conventions and media technologies.

1. EVALUATION
This is my evaluation for my A2 media project. In my evaluation I shall be
investigating what could be improved, what was successful, what was
unsuccessful and how I achieved my goals.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
In my opinion, my music video reflects the conventions of a typical music
video, including traits like narrative – where the song involves a narrative and
therefore the words and meanings of the song
are acted out in some way and mixture – where
the artist is performing the song as well as a
narrative storyline occurring and so the camera
cross cuts to each scene. However, I have
developed some of the conventions such as
performance – as the artist is playing the music when recording the song, but is
not however playing it in the music video, and
cameo – which is where the musician features
in the narrative but is not part of the storyline
and does not perform in it, however in mine the
performer is in the narrative and is part of the
storyline and does not perform the song in these
scenes. I got the idea of flashbacks from other music videos, however most only
contain a few shots whereas nearly the entirety of mine include them as the
flashbacks are they key part in my music video.
I followed the typical conventions of camera movement and cinematography
when filming my music video, including shots like close ups, establishing shots
and panning shots, as I felt these reflect the song in
the way I planned and it makes it look professional
and modern. When editing, my main technique was a
split screen, as I had a performance and a narrative
and therefore it makes them flow together and makes
it fit in with the song. However, this was one of the
only techniques I used, I decided not to include techniques such as changes in
the level of sound, CGI effects and diegetic sound as I felt these were not

2. appropriate in correlation with the song itself, and although these are quite a
common convention in music videos, I decided against the idea as I felt it did
not fit in with the narrative or the song itself. When it comes to mise en scene,
there were not many props used as I felt they were unnecessary, however in
some scenes, they were very appropriate. The
costume was extremely important as it reflected
the characters and performers personalities and
therefore had to be very specific. The location
matches the conventional location used in music
videos as it was a simple setting where many
people can relate to – in my product it was open fields and woods. I decided to
follow the conventions of music videos such as Taylor Swifts as my song is
relatively the same to hers and therefore I wish to present mine as hers is
presented. However, I took ideas on what I have researched and created my own
ideas to include originality.
In my ancillary texts, I followed the simple conventions of a digipack and a
magazine advert as these are normally quite similar
anyway. My digipack contains – obviously – a
front cover and back cover, and also includes lyrics
to the main song, photos of the artist herself, and a
thank you message from the artist. I could have
chosen many other things in the digipack but I felt
these were appropriate as they reflect the artist’s personality the most. The
magazine advert contains the front cover to the album, the release date and
where it is available, I chose to do it this way as these adverts are normally the
most effective as it tells the audience exactly what they want to know and is
therefore simple and easy to understand.
I feel that I have used the conventions of a normal music video and have
developed on some techniques that are normally used, however I haven’t
challenged the normal conventions as I felt it wouldn’t match or be necessary
for this particular song and music video.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I feel that my main product and ancillary texts connect very well. As the
ancillary texts both use the same front cover it makes them both relatable and
therefore easy for the audience to recognise. Also, in the digipack I used shots

3. of the performer while on set shooting for the music video and therefore she is
in the same location and costume, this means
the audience can relate the two. So, if someone
is wishing to buy the album, they can look in
the digipack and realise that they have seen
clips of the music video before, and then wish
to see it again. Therefore I feel the combination
of my main product and ancillary texts are very effective as it helps the
audience relate to each piece and they can find it easy and recognisable.
What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
There was a variety of feedback from my audience but most of it was positive
and constructive. Most of my target audience felt that it was edited very well
and it looked professional. Some said that they would watch it again which was
very reassuring as these were the people who would like the type of music
which was produced, and some said they would if they liked the genre of music,
but because they don’t they wouldn’t
want to, which was also reassuring as
even though they don’t like the
music, they still liked the product I
produced. Some commented saying
that the editing helped explain what
the story is about which is what I was
trying to achieve, and most agreed
that it looked professional which was
also one of my goals to begin with. Many also made a statement that the
performer looks like a professional singer and was very talented with being in
time with the song, which also made them comment about my editing as it was
all in sync. Most gave my product a 4/5 rating (5 being the highest) which is
very satisfactory for me as the director, editor and producer.
Although, most of my target audience did not understand the storyline I was
trying to pursue. Most assumed she was with her boyfriend and she wasn’t
happy anymore, however originally it was meant to have the narrative that she
has broken up with him and she doesn’t like him anymore but she misses him
and is confused by her feelings. However, they are similar in ideas and although
they didn’t fully understand the narrative in detail, the general idea is still
relatively the same.

4. I feel that my music video is targeted at the right audience and is a good piece
of production, but in my opinion I think that it could be re-edited in a certain
way to get the narrative across more effectively but this would mean re-shooting
a lot of the scenes.
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research,
planning and evaluation stages?
The media technology was a key part in the research and planning stage of my
production as I had to use secondary sources for this part. For the research I
used YouTube and music channels on the TV to research
other music videos then created a template sheet for my
analysis on these videos. I used magazines and newspapers
to research what magazine adverts look like for albums and I
also used the search engine Google to help me find the codes
and conventions of music videos. Ifound presentations on
slideshare (www.slideshare.com) which helped me
understand the common codes and conventions of music
videos and digipacks and I used other music videos to plan my product as it
gave me a rough idea on length of shots, different
coloured effects, and camera angles. The only
media technology I used for my evaluation is the
internet and a magazine as I looked back on the
music videos I viewed when creating my
proposal to see if I had achieved my goals and –
more importantly – to see if my music video
looks professional or not and also to reflect what magazine adverts look like for
albums.
In conclusion, I feel that my main product and ancillary products were very
successful and I used my knowledge to the best of my abilities to achieve my
goals.