The document discusses the evaluation of a media production project. It describes how new media technologies were used at different stages of the project. During filming, DSLR cameras and tripods were used to capture footage. Poor camera settings on one camera resulted in low quality shots, but these were incorporated into the final video as point-of-view shots. Photoshop was used to edit images and create artwork for promotional materials. Audience feedback on the video was generally positive and highlighted effective elements like the opening sequence, but also noted areas for improvement such as adding more narrative footage.

1. EVALUATION

2. Finished video
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt4JN2yD
QtU

3. 1) In what ways does your
media product use, develop
or challenge forms and
conventions of real media
products?

4. Narrative structure
From my research into the genre I had found one crucial element to a video. That was each
Rock/metal video that I had watched had at least one shot of the band playing. Therefore it was
obvious that we had to include this into our video for it to look like a real Rock/metal video. I
looked at videos from Slipknot, Korn, Bullet For My Valentine, Foo Fighters, Guns ‘N’ Roses etc
another thing I had found was that all videos had the bands playing but not all had a
narrative/storyline. Myself and the group discussed whether or not to include a narrative but
because it was a six minute song we all agreed that it would have been to repetitive and boring.
Therefore we thought of a narrative that would suit the song. We had read the lyrics and
brainstormed the idea and we had all decided that we had to have a narrative the represented a
nightmare. Therefore we thought of common fears and nightmares and the first thing that
sprang to mind was clowns. Many people have fears of clowns and clowns have been used in
many horror films, which would suit the song perfectly.
A few years prior the batman trilogy had been a big success and the Joker was used a villain. As
it wasn't an old film we knew that people would recognise the Joker face paint and link the two
together. This therefore promoted both our video and the batman films, which many of the fans
of rock genres are into comic books and superheroes. This is a type of synergy. In addition, the
band Avenged Sevenfold in their video of nightmare include scary themes as well as having
close ups on tarantulas which many people are afraid of.

5. Editing
The final Digipak was edited many times to achieve the desired look. We really wanted to include the
nature/earth element as this develops and uses the conventions of the metal/rock genre. We edited the
colour scheme of the woods to make it look darker and more distorted. The colour itself is very plain as the
images look rather beige/brown, this is to convey the element of earth, soil and trees in the winter (with no
bright, colourful leaves). The plain beige colour of the woods looks calming in comparison to the black front
cover contents and inside page. This again is a common convention of the genre as peacefulness makes the
theme/genre look darker and heavier. Just like the colour scheme of black and white. They are two complete
opposites making each other look bolder. The image at the bottom was our draft of how we would want our
Digipak to look like. I did this by taking images from Google of woods and Slipknot to combine what my
group envisioned.
By doing this we started to get a feel of what works and
what doesn’t as our aim was to use and develop codes
and conventions from our chosen genre to achieve a
professional look.
When editing the Digipak we had decided to include a small twist.
this is that when the individual lifts the CD out of the case the nightmare
Is no longer hiding behind the trees. This symbolises putting the
Nightmare into the CD player to make the nightmare come to
life.

6. Close ups
Another common convention of Rock music videos is close ups. Almost every video I have seen
has an extreme close up. I think this adds to the intensity of the song as images become more
distorted and less recognisable to the viewer the closer you get. As this is a very popular
technique used it was only obvious that my group would include these close ups. When
watching the completed video back it is clear that our close ups were not close enough to
achieve the desired affect. This is especially present when comparing my music video to
Avenged Sevenfold's video as there are many extreme close ups within the video of nightmare.
This will have been done to add that extra scare factor to the video for example a close up on a
tarantula.

7. Using nature
From looking at other metal videos we found a great video that combines nature and music together by
using nature to imitate instruments. The song/video is by Infant Inhalator- fornification decapitation. This
convention portrays the rock/metal music to be as natural as nature. Hence why my group decided to use
bits of the woods to imitate the instruments. The lead singer was singing in to a thick branch and the
drummer had a large flat leaf as a symbol to make up for the lack of equipment available to us. Therefore
our video is keeping up with using and developing common forms and conventions of real media products.
Although you could say that it challenges most chart music and genres such as pop, RnB, dance etc
because if a fan was to watch infant inhalators’ video they would think it was madness to use nature in the
way they have. But challenging common forms and conventions of popular modern day chart music is
what rock does best as they want to stand out and be different rather than following the cloud. Therefore
yes our video does challenge common forms and conventions of real media products whilst also using a
and developing other forms and conventions.

8. The Digipak supports conventions of common rock bands and the genre. Some examples would be
infant annihilators'- decapitation fornification and Slipknot’s- left behind. Both videos are filmed in the
woods . The colour scheme of the Digipak uses the conventions of these videos as the colour is dull
with lots of black incorporated within the image. I would personally say that our Digipak resembles all
three of the real media product images as it has the tall trees and surrounds wood with the dark sky
above
Although the Digipak doesn't look as
professional as I would have liked it too be
because of the effects. I definitely think that it
uses common forms and conventions of the
real media products.

9. PosterPersonally, I would say that the poster we created,
definitely complies with common forms and
conventions of common rock themes. Although it may
look amateur due to lack of experience, the themes are
all there. Looking at the posters/advertisements of
other Rock/metal bands it is clear to see that dark
themes such as colours and art are often used. In my
poster we have used distorted fonts for the text to
emphasise the loud distorted sounds of the instruments
that are played in the band, black background
symbolising out of space giving the idea that the album
is out of this world and the artwork which is five skulls.
Also included on the poster are Facebook and Twitter
icons/logos which many bands use to promote
themselves. This is an example of cross-media
convergence as many types of media are displayed in
one place.
There is also an image of the albums front cover this will
help the buyers know what to look for when purchasing
the album. The whole purpose of the poster is to
promote the album being released.

10. Camera work
We had originally taken two cameras to film with and one of the cameras had not been set to
the setting we wanted, therefore the colour was distorted and the quality of the shots were
really bad. When editing we found that the shots worked well as we turned the clip in to a
point of view shot.
In my video we included as point of view shot to make it look like someone was watching the
band play live. It gave the impression that someone or something was creeping around the
woods. The song Monster by The Automatic gives the impression big foot is watching. In my
video the camera makes it seem like the nightmare is watching.
As our shoot was done over the period of two days we consulted the technician and he told us
how to set the cameras to how we wanted them in case they weren't set right again. The
camera used was a DSLR canon 600 D, autofocus-full auto setting.

11. 2) How effective is the
combination of your
main product and
ancillary texts?

12. Cross-media convergence
• Facebook and twitter logos/icons- introduces the product to the world anyone can
see it. By having Facebook and twitter icons on my products, popularity for the
band and those social networking sites will increase. If someone see the
advertisement and wants to find out more they can log into Facebook or sign up
with a new account and find the page, therefore promoting Facebook as a good
reliable source to receive all new news and announcements. This works the same
in reverse as well as somebody could be on Facebook looking at different pages
and then come across the page with all of our news on. If they like what they see
they can share and promote the band and video. Cross-media convergence is a
great way for different medias to help promote each other.
• Whether people prefer to be online or read magazines they will see the artwork
and name of our products even of they are looking through YouTube. That is why
similar artwork, fonts and colours are crucial in promoting. This is because you
need an image that it recognisable to the audience. Therefore when they see the
poster they will notice the deathbat artwork and will remember who the band is,
then when they see the Digipak the previous images from the poster will be
similar. Hence making the products linked but in different ways.

13. Synergy
All three products have a common link
whether it be through the artwork,
text or colour scheme. There is
something in each product that is
represented in all three as a
collective group of products.
The colour scheme was kept dark and
basic for the common theme to run
throughout the products. Each
product has one of the pieces of
artwork on them. This way when
viewers see one product and then
see another they will recognise the
style of art and the band that goes
with it.

14. Audience
The video has done fairly well and there is still a
continuous amount of hits happening. So far
we are at 145 hits. Although this is not a lot in
comparison to any famous internet video, the
numbers will increase with time. With the
poster and album itself becoming more
recognisable and out there then the numbers
will most definitely increase.
Some verbal feedback that we received mostly
said that our package as a whole looked
good because of consistent themes that ran
throughout.

15. Artwork

16. The artwork used in all of our products had continuity through the fact that the death
bat and skulls were used a lot. Although they are not the best drawings they are drawn
by hand and have been digitally edited to add colour, boldness and definition to clean
them up. The artwork worked perfectly as the consistent use of the iconic death bat is
always displayed in all of the products.

17. Colour scheme
The colour scheme is consistent throughout all of the products with black being the main colour to
represent darkness and red to represent blood and passion. The bright colours seen on the poster
and digipak which represent each band member is also supported and shown in the video, the
bassist and drummer in this particular shot can be seen wearing or playing an instrument which is
their colour. By doing this the look and image of the band is always there making them recognisable
through any product they promote.

18. 3) What have you
learned from
your audience
feedback?

19. YouTube
The feedback from YouTube has been quite minimal, although we have
received over 100 hits/views on the video. Therefore many people have
watched it and may have shared with friends which in turn promotes the
video. To have so many views is definitely a positive thing. Even if the
individual watched the video once and disliked it, they will tell others who
will then watch it for themselves to form their own opinion
We haven't received any useful comments from Facebook as of yet. Although
my group does have a lot of feedback after a class viewing. There may be
many reasons as to why we have no feedback on YouTube as it accessible
on smart phones many might have watched the video quickly and not had
time to comment. As many people who I personally know have watched the
video they have told me what they think of it in discussion. Most feedback
is positive in terms of editing and effects. The only criticism that has proven
to be a minor problem is that there wasn't enough footage of the storyline
itself. When editing the clips we had realised we didn't have enough
footage but we tried to extend it and include as much as possible. Many
people thoroughly enjoyed the band shots. The feedback has been positive
as they enjoyed the camerawork and setting of the band.

20. Feedback of effectiveness

21. Pros Cons
•Shaky camera- therefore we need to use a
tripod for future products.
•Less bands shots- personally I totally
agree with this criticism because we had
picked such a ling song and lacked a lot of
narrative shots due to the mix up with the
cameras we filled it with band shots and
unfortunately this was picked up on.
•Outfits work well to fit the genre- when
planning we researched and really looked
for what band members wear. Thankfully
our hard work was recognised by the class
audience feedback.
•Follows conventions of the rock genre e.g.
live performance- from the very beginning
we had established that a live performance
would be crucial to the video as the
majority of rock videos have a live
performance scene. It is good that the
audience picked up on this and related it to
the rock genre.

22. Likes and dislikes
Almost all feedback commented on the opening sequence. Most thought it was creative
and fit the opening of the song well as the fade to blacks were in time with the music.
The overall opinion was that the opening set the mood/tone for the rest of the song as
it was creepy and tension was thrown at the audience instantly.
Also the ending was proven to be a success as many thought that the shot of the girl
running away shot through the mirror was different and effective. Right at the very end we
see the band walking away from the cameras, smiling and putting there instruments down.
This was found to be a common theme used in rock videos as it shows the band relax. The
band seem to have gone from serious to normal which makes the audience feel like they
have some level of connection with the band members.
Some dislikes or criticisms we received were definitely reasonable and fair. For starters
myself and many other had picked up on the fact that the camera was a bit shaky in places.
In hindsight the tripod should have been used consistently.
Again some thought that the narrative could have been more clear and this could have
been done through making the narrative parts longer, we could have done this by doing
shot reverse shots from the guitarist doing his solo to the narrative. This would definitely
be an improvement to work upon as we had six and half minutes to fill.

23. 4)How did you use new
media technologies in the
construction and research,
planning and evaluation
stages?

24. CamerasThe camera used was DSLR Canon 600 D in autofocus- full auto setting.
When filming the video we used tripods to make sure our shots were steady. When watching the video you will find
a part in the narrative chasing scene where the camera falls down and comes back up again. My group had not
originally planned to do this and was only thought of on the day, to test whether it would look good or not. When
placed with the music we found that it worked extremely well with the timing of the song and adding to the
distorted dream like reality that the narrative seems to be in.
In the video there is a point of view shot which puts the audience/viewer into the shoes of the
nightmare/villain. As we can see the girl running in front of the camera. Here we can put the audience
in an uncomfortable position as an audience usually supports the innocent good character. Here we
put the audience in as the villain. We see this as the camera makes its way through the trees, with the
girl running in front. The Point of view shot chasing the girl, looks animalistic adding that extra sense
of fear and tension as we put the audience in a bad characters shoes taking them out of the comfort
zone.
When requesting equipment to use for our shoot, I had seen that there was a light on the list. I initially thought that
we wouldn’t need a light as we would be in an open outside space, starting early in the morning to make the most
of the light. Then after thinking about how long the shoot would take, as back up , we requested a light and it
worked very well in the end scene. As we wanted to show a progression of time the darkness let the audience know
that the chase had been going on for some time.

25. Bad camera
When our first shoot took place we were naive to believe that the cameras would be set up to
how we wanted them to be.
As we had two cameras the difference between the two was easily noticeable. This proved a
very strong inconvenience when editing pour clips and putting them together. We could not
change the quality of the clips to match them perfectly. Therefore we devised a way to use
both sets of clips by using the bad quality shots as point of view shots. The way this worked
out was perfect as it added to the distorted theme we was going for. The shots make it seem
like you are looking through the eyes of the nightmare. These shots were used during the
band part of filming. By doing this we had broken the bridge between narrative and band as
the narrative of the nightmares/bad character was lurking in the woods watching the band.
Correctly set up camera
Wrongly set up camera

26. Photoshop
• I had used Photoshop before when I was creating my AS projects but this year in A2 I
have had the chance to explore and play around with Photoshop a lot more. Especially
when it came to the artwork for the deathbat which featured on the front of the album.
As the drawing was pencil I had to digitalise it in some way. I did this by scanning the
picture then importing it in to Photoshop. Here I played around with a few tools to see
how I could make the line jet black. From previous experience I remembered that I could
do it through the magnetic lasso tool where I go around a line and then fill it colour. I
found this was very time consuming but the overall image looked great. I also added the
red joker smile to the mouth using the same technique. When the image was completed,
it was then added to the album cover and the whole group was happy with how it turned
out.
Both the advert and Digipak was done using Photoshop as we all had previous experience
with Photoshop. We used Photoshop as it is an easy program to import images and fonts
to combine a professional look through the effects and tools that are supplied.
On the Digipak and poster we added layers to create a 3D look. This made them look like they
had depth and less plain looking. By doing this it adds different levels and adds that
professional look we were going for.

27. Macs and Premiere
I had no previous experience with Macs or premiere which
proved a problem during the editing stages. Although some
members of my group had a lot of experience in which they
taught me how to use it. I learned how to add transitions,
colour filters and how to crop clips and to import videos
and music. Although my skills are very basic I have some
understanding of how to operate the Mac and the premiere
software on it. No idea how to use either as it was a new
computer and software.
In our completed video we included many fade to blacks
which worked well with the beat of the music. We also
included a grey/blue filter on the clips to make them seem
colder and scary to add tension.

28. Facebook and YouTube and survey
monkey
Firstly YouTube was a great way to research music videos of the chosen genre, metal/rock.
When watching a video there is a column at the side that has suggestions of other songs like
that particular video. This made it quick, easy and helpful to watch many videos of the same
genre. YouTube was also proven useful when uploading our music video as it is an accessible
site which many people use. The ease of access to the site made it better for the audience to
watch as they could view the video through phones, iPods, iPads and computers/laptops.
Facebook was helpful in the sense of organisation and communication. My group members and
I are all friends on Facebook therefore we made a group chat where all of us could
communicate and share ideas without having to plan to meet up somewhere as we all live in
different locations. Also by having a group chat on Facebook we could share links to videos.
Survey monkey i had used prior to A2 coursework as I had used it for my AS coursework as well.
The sight had seemed easy and familiar to use. I could use the URL link to post on to
Facebook and twitter for friends and relatives to take part in. The answers were anonymous
which gave people the chance to say what they really felt without being discriminated
against. With the site you can put results in to all different types of charts and graphs to
present your results. This was handy to show our audience research results.
Images of YouTube page
suggestions, YouTube
icon, group chat, how to
share via Facebook .

29. Slideshare and blogger
I already had previous experience with Slideshare and blogger
from doing AS coursework. All PowerPoints on my blog are
uploaded on to Slideshare then I copy the url and post it
onto blogger by selecting a new post and pasting.
All of my PowerPoints are backed up on Slideshare as i had
some complications with my blog account due to it being
closed for spam. By backing up my work I could simply start
a new blog post and re-upload my work.
I had customised my blog to suit the theme of my posts. I used
the band artwork and dark colours that complied with the
colour scheme. This way the general theme of my was
consistent and suitable for the work being displayed.