This document discusses the skills and technologies the author gained during a school project to create a music video, digipak, and website. The author's knowledge of Photoshop and iMovie increased as they used these programs to create the digipak and edit the music video. Audience research was conducted through SurveyMonkey to understand what types of music videos and content would appeal to their target audience. Key skills learned included using selection tools in Photoshop, trimming clips and adding transitions in iMovie, and gaining insights into audience preferences to guide their project design.

1. Question 1 Technologies

2. How have my skills progressed
during the project?
Throughout the production of our A2 coursework, my knowledge of
Adobe Photoshop and iMovie have increased greatly. The creation
of a music video was much more challenging than the music
magazine at AS since more technologies were required and there
were three main things to focus on (the digipak, website and music
video) as opposed to one. Our knowledge of Photoshop was
developed throughout the creation of the digipak, and it was easier
to complete than the AS task since we’d already experienced
using the software by now. Another important factor was the fact
that we’d learnt more about the conventions of our genre (pop) so
that we could make our video match the stereotypical ideas of
other pop videos. This was to ensure that our target audience
wouldn’t be too alienated by our creation and want to buy/watch it.

3. Which technologies have I
gained knowledge of and why?
Photoshop - This was the software used for the production of our digipak. To create the first draft, I
measured the size of our pre-bought plastic tray and created four separate documents to fit those
measurements (width 12.6cm x height 12.1com). Since the front cover of Beyonce’s album is a close-up
of her face, I decided to use an image of our actress on the front of ours too. The lasso tool was used to
cut out the unnecessary parts of the image (a skill learnt at AS since I’d previously used the erase tool
which isn’t as careful), and the remainder of the background was coloured black by the fill bucket tool for
simplicity and sophistication. Finally, the artist’s name was typed in a white serif font, since this would
make it more noticeable on a black background.
iMovie - This was the software used for the editing of our final video. We imported our footage directly
via the camera, and created the project by trimming the clips and placing them in a chronological order
to create a narrative. Our SurveyMonkey told us that a combination of live performance and narrative
was the most popular choice for a music video, so we incorporated the lip syncing in with the storyline. I
used the ‘trim to selection’ tool so that the clips fitted with the music, and transitions were also extremely
useful when marking a change in scene. I used subtle ones such as cross focus for a more professional
look, however fade to white was also useful for the flashbacks towards the end. I changed the hue,
saturation, brightness and contrast on many of the clips since a lot of our video was filmed in a dimly lit
room, using the ‘video adjustments’ tool. I also used ‘audio adjustments’ to set the clips’ volume to 0%,
so that the background noise on the footage wouldn’t interfere with the song. Since some of the original
footage was slightly shaky, I used the stabilisation tool on these clips to help give it a more swift,
professional look. Finally, another useful tool was the slow motion (50%) which I used on the flashbacks
to make it obvious they were old memories. I also changed the saturation to 0% so that they’d be black
and white, just to make it more obvious.

4. Audience Research
We collected audience feedback by using SurveyMonkey. Seven questions were asked:
• How do you mainly purchase our music?
• When you hear a song you like, how often do you search for the music video?
• How often do you watch a music video?
• What type of music videos do you prefer?
• What’s the most important part of a music video?
• Why do you watch music videos?
• Does the music video influence your view on the song?
Six of the questions were multiple choice; the only one that had a text box to type your
answer was ‘why do you watch music videos?’ We didn’t include this question however,
because some participants thought they’d be clever and write ‘your mum’ or ‘I don’t
understand the question.’ The other questions were beneficial however, because we got
more of an insight into what genres and types of videos our target audience likes, and just
their general views on music. After creating the survey, I posted the link onto Twitter so that
people would see the link and answer it for me.
SurveyMonkey was a great way to collect data since all the answers are clearly grouped into
a bar chart, so you can immediately see the most/least popular answers. Our survey helped
us see how popular/important music videos were in general, and our results showed us that
although music videos aren’t overly popular, people will watch them from time to time (on
average a few times a month). This showed us that we have a lot of competition with all the
music videos that are regularly released, and will have quite a challenge keeping our
consumers engaged. Question 4 was the most beneficial to us, since it lead us to film a lot
of lip syncing footage which we probably wouldn’t have even considered before, seeing as
‘a mixture of narrative and live performance’ was a popular answer.

5. Group communication - We contacted each other via text message, to see what needed
completing before the next lesson
Primary Research - For this task, we did an analysis of an existing website, digipak and music
video. It was useful since it allowed us to learn the conventions of existing material and incorporate
them into our own work. I analysed the album ‘Teenage Dream’ by Katy Perry (which I created a
Prezi for), which was extremely different to the style of what we were aiming for, despite it also
being a pop album. For the website, I looked at Eminem’s official website which was very basic yet
professional-looking with its tricolour theme (black, red and white) and was extremely similar to
what we were aiming for on our website, despite Eminem being more associated with the R&B
genre. It also reminded us to use widgets (links to social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram), which are extremely useful promoting tools. For the music video, I looked at Everything
has Changed by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, which inspired us to use swift cuts and a fluent,
structured storyline throughout
Getting Permission - We emailed Sony BMG Music Entertainment to ask for permission to use the
song. No permission was needed for locations since most of the footage was filmed in college, at
home and in a local pub.
Equipment - A tripod was used during filming so that the shots would be steady. An SLR camera
was used for our ancillary task (the digipak) to ensure the images of our actress were of the best
quality
Conclusion - In conclusion, I found the ‘trim to selection’ and ‘video adjustment’ tols most
beneficial in iMovie because it was essential to get the correct timing and lighting on our video for a
professional finish

6. Question 2 Audience

7. Audience - Our primary audience was obviously Beyonce
fans, and teenagers because they can relate to the lyrics.
The secondary audience would be any other general pop
fans who may take an interest in the song.
SurveyMonkey - The majority of questions were related
to how/how often our audience watched music videos and
purchased music. This was to determine how popular our
products would be, I.e. if lots of people illegally download
music, we’d have to work extra hard to produce an
interesting digipak. Out of all our options, 48% of survey
takers illegally download their music, as opposed to 13%
who purchase the actual CDs.