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1. EVALUATION - QUESTION 4
HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND
EVALUATION STAGES?

2. RESEARCH
The main elements of which I had to research for the creation of my productions were: Songs, Existing music
videos and print productions, Genre, Audience and Theories of music video conventions. To find the song that I
would end up using, I explored many songs on the app Sound Cloud. A collection of many unsigned and creator
based music which is mainly experimental. I chose this method as I thought it would help me greatly in finding a
song to use. Looking at this way of consolidating music compared to around 20 years ago, it would have been a lot
harder to find new music and access it so easily. Whereas the accessibility and ease that Sound Cloud provides
proves greatly beneficial. In terms of existing artists and videos, I utilised YouTube to explore other music in the
genre which I selected. Being Alternative Indie, I found it easy to find music videos of the same genre. For example,
is I was to find a video in the genre, other similar videos would pop up in the suggested column. I then used these
located videos to gather ideas about narrative, representation, media language, etc… YouTube was also greatly
beneficial in audience response (Detailed later), in that I was able to look through the comments and get an
inference about responses to the video and artist. The genre of my video wasn't something that I had to fully
consider to research. After deciding on my song, the genre was set, and I used the internet and forums to identify
the key conventions of the chosen genre. These conventions also align with the research taken on the theory of
Goodwin, regarding music videos. This allowed me to construct an understanding of what typical features and
conventions tend to be followed and challenged within the genre and what I can do to make my video conform to
this. I did however find it difficult to consolidate information surrounding the genre as it is a sub genre, therefore
meaning that there are two sets of conventions which I could possibly conform to. Therefore, I had to infer for
myself what the typical conventions of the genre would be through closely analysing videos. In respect of the print
production part of the coursework, I researched other albums and ancillary texts. This was done using my initiative
based on visual styles which applied to my own work, therefore, it was relatively harder to pinpoint good sources to
use and analyse which would be beneficial to my work. The magazine adverts were located online through
magazine websites. These include Billboard and NME. With these website being very assessable to archives, I
found it very easy to find texts that coincide with my selected album covers.

3. PLANNING
The planning for my music video and print productions involved a mixture of group and
individual work. The way that me and Ben Ambrose were able to keep in touch and work
together, through the planning process on elements that involved group work, was social
media. In the modern day, social media is a versatile and useful way of communicating
quickly and efficiently. Facebook and Snapchat are the primary ways that were used.
Snapchat allowed us to directly send images of work and ideas to one another, whereas
Facebook allowed a more discussion based way of communicating. Another way that was
used was e-Mail. This was beneficial in sending larger files to one another when were
unable to share a memory stick in person. Many of the aspects of planning was completed
by hand, mainly due to how this section is the more experimental and creative were ideas
are put down on paper through storyboards, mood boards and initial idea mind maps. This
therefore reduced the need to use additional media technologies. However, for the print
production planning, I was able to utilise media technologies to experiment with ideas and
construct drafts. I used the program Photoshop to try out different ideas for my print
productions. This was greatly beneficial as although I was already experienced with the
program, I could sharpen up my understanding of it. Additionally, I was able to properly
visualise the pros and cons of my initial ideas as it was more realistic.
These are examples of how I used Photoshop to
create my initial ideas. As seen in the image on the
Left, it carries a more psychedelic and surrealist
visual style which I concluded doesn’t match my
genre. With the image on the Right however,
although it complies to the genre through its
composition and visual style. It was unable to
portray the message that I wanted it to, therefore,
losing the producer/consumer connection which I
was hoping to prioritise

4. AUDIENCE RESEARCH
After establishing the genre of my music, I needed to research and construct an audience who I would aim to
appeal to through all of my productions. In my audience profiling, I used the band ‘Tame Impala’ to compare
my own artist to. The reason being is that they both share similarities in terms of genre and representation. I
used their fan webpage to gather ideas of the bands ways of appealing to their target audience. I found this
greatly useful as I could then establish a set of conventions for my own productions to follow. Alongside this,
I looked at the comments on You Tube to see the audiences direct responses to the band music and the
band in general to get an understanding on the typicality of the band and how they effect and communicate
with their audiences. I found extremely interesting how the music, although very stylised by the video and
fictional essence, the members were able to identify with the music and apply it to themselves and their own
situations. This carried the idea that anyone can produce their own relation to a story/narrative which greatly
connects them to the producer of the track. I therefore used this as inspiration to construct a negotiated
audience who would hopefully respond to my video in the same way as they did tame Impalas. In terms of
the print productions, similar to that of the music video, I had already established the genre of my own
productions. Therefore, when selecting and analysing the existing products, I was able to utilise my research
in the audience of Alternative Indie to identify the ways in which the products appeal to/divert from the same
audience.
Post-completed production, I carried out a survey using Survey Monkey to accumulate response to my
productions. These responses would them be useful in telling me if my productions appealed to my
constructed audience and also tell me what I did well and what I can do to improve inn further productions.
The use of Survey Monkey was greatly beneficial to me as I could easily distribute my survey and then
receive my responses which would all be saved in one place. Looking back 20 years ago, the ability to
gather and store all these responses so easily alongside collecting them in the first place would have been
difficult. Due to how paper surveys and questionnaires would have been carried out with the chance of
misplacing responses and having to travel to get them. I also used You Tube to broadcast my video as it is
universally accessible and fast. This is better than e-Mail as the file would have been too large to distribute,
and again better than using a memory stick as it saves travelling. Alongside this, I did use e-mail to send my
print productions to recipients as it is a direct method of communication. However, this was slightly
problematic as I had to ask people to take my survey then to manually send over my print productions.
Although the website conforms to a more
psychedelic visual style, the comments and
direct responses on You Tube suggested
that it was more relatable. With the music
itself being much more Alternative Indie.
Therefore, giving me inspiration.

5. MUSIC VIDEO
I used Adobe Premier Pro to edit and finalise my music video. I was relatively experienced in using this program
from my Year 12 thriller coursework, this was beneficial as I was able to work independently and know what I was
doing without instruction. Alongside this, Premier Pro was used as it is a versatile program which allow the user to
be creative and experimental, unlike programs such as Movie Maker which are more limited. A predominant
element in my video was cutting to the beat. I did this with ease due to how I could zoom into the timeline and cut
more specifically. This also helped me with the lip sync I was able to perfectly align the two raw files together. I
experimented with colour grading, with an aim to create a division between parallel timelines and flashbacks.
Exampled by how the real-time shots are more sombre and blue hinted, and the shots of the female and happy
couple are brighter and more vibrant. Another element of experimentation was how I cut the video in general. With
a main aim to construct a clear narrative from a complex plot. I struggled in this as I received words of feedback
saying that it lacked impact and clarity, however, after further experimenting with it, I was able to successfully
construct my story. I also greatly experimented with shot types, involving different angles, composition, etc… An
example is the initial lip sync shot of the artist. This was shot using a DSLR rig which although made the camera
very stable, gave a looser feel than if a tripod was to be used – I experimented with this to add to the raw feel of
the whole video. This feature wasn’t greatly evident in the final cut so therefore I would male it a bit more obvious
if I was to produce this again. Additionally, I experimented with the use of a slider. This again wasn’t incredibly
evident in my final cut but it is noticeable – and I think it adds a good flare to the video
To film the music video, I used a Canon DSLR 700D with an 55-135mm lens with a focus ring this vastly
contrasted the quality of my thriller from the previous year as I was able to have better control of the cameras
settings in general. An example of how I did this is in the penultimate shot of the video of the female character.
The shot was intentionally over exposed to imply that she is some sort of angelic figure. Throughout the video I
included pull focuses and I used a slider to come up with a wider variety of clips to use. To save and share the
clips, me and Ben shared an SD card and retrieved the footage from that, this was efficient.
In the video, I have used slow motion shots. These shots although are clean and smooth, lack clarity in terms of
appearance. Mainly due to how we used an iPhone 7 to record these clips. On the bright side, the shots were, as
mentioned, successful in adding dynamics to the video, however, took away from the professionalism of the video
and didn’t meet the standards of the other clips. In future productions, I would use a DSLR camera on the correct
setting to be able to produce a smooth and crisp slow motion shot.
In post production, I experimented with overlays and puzzle style transitions in order to add to the story. This was
greatly successful and easy to do due to the program that I used. With this acting as a starting point so to speak,
in future productions I would try and incorporate more challenging elements.
Original
Colour Graded and edited
Original
Colour Graded and edited

6. COVER
I used Adobe Photoshop to create the album cover. The print production as a whole needed to link o the
music video in terms of visuals, narrative and themes. Therefore, I used my video as main inspiration for my
cover. The images taken for the cover were shot using a Canon DSLR 1300D with an 18-55mm lens. I chose
to use this camera as it would be better for photography due to the autofocus element. The main elements of
the cover are the extreme close up shot of the artists face and the illustration. The close up of the face
originally was a coloured image. Inn photoshop, I modified the levels and curved of the image to bring a
more vibrant contrast between the highlights and shadows. Following this, I added a gradient of black to
white to cast the figure into the blank background. This was immensely successful. Through doing this, I
successfully gave the idea that the artist is reserved and a conservative member of society, being someone
that the audience can closely relate to. The illustration element of the cover was created using a graphics
tablet. This made the illustration easier as I had more control over the cursor/brush and was able to imitate
what I would have drawn directly onto paper. The illustration was split up into four sections and then edited
together after they were completed. I also installed custom brushes from a Photoshop forum. This was
greatly beneficial as I was able to get the exact brush type that I needed and was very accessible to do so.
MAGAZINE ADVERT
Similar to the album cover, I used my music video as inspiration. The main idea for my
magazine advert was to incorporate the album cover to give the idea of a ‘bigger picture’
emphasising on the brand identity of the artist. I found ease in doing this as I could easily
create layers, position text and alter the colouring of the image through the program that I
used. This allowed me to better experiment with my ideas and come to a final design which
was effective and suitable. I found it hard to fully immerse the cover into the poster, yet I
overcame this by just adding to the album cover in general rather than making it fit in almost.
Original Edited

7. THE PRESENTATION OF YOUR WORK IN BLOGGER
I used Blogger to store and present my work. My research posts, planning posts and completed productions were all labelled separately. This labelling made it much
easier for me to find posts, as well as making it easier for other viewers/readers to also. Within my blog, I utilised many forms of presentation regarding my posts.
Microsoft word was used for more essay based posts such as the narrative case study, whereas Microsoft PowerPoint was used for more analytical posts, where I was
required to closely analyse screenshots through annotation. Apart from this, unlike the year 12 blog, I used more Prezi's to display my work. I did this as I felt like it was
clearer and more accessible for the reader. As well as how I could easily, like PowerPoint, annotate and include images from music videos and research in general.
Regarding my evaluation posts, I chose to do all of them on PowerPoint. This is mainly due to the user availability of the program and allowed me to easily edit work as I
am writing it. Considering also the high volume of imagery and screenshots that is required, I was able to closely annotate and structure them to make sense to the
reader.
The benefit of using blogger is that I could easily get feedback from peers and teachers. This feedback is useful I that I could change my posts ad re-upload them,
something that can be done with ease on the Blogger site. Additionally, unlike verbal or written feedback, the comments are stored in one place and can only disappear
if they are deleted. Therefore, showing an additional benefit to using blogger and how it made my work easier to present. After editing posts, responding to feedback, I
would re0upload the post and include *UPDATED* in the title. This then allows readers and myself to identify which posts have been improved and demonstrate any
further development to my work.
To conclude, I can see a difference in how I have used media technologies in my year 13 coursework over that of year 12. These changes involving better
understanding of the premier Pro software, alongside more experimentation through planning and research as well as more consideration of the audience to producer
relationship, with main priorities being the ability to address my constructed audience and create a sense of identification. Likewise, I have been more vigilant in my
methods of presentation and depth/selection of research as I feel like it would have had a more beneficial impact on my overall work. The impact being that it is more
creative and concise. It is therefore fair to say that I used my thriller opening as a platform to learn from, and gather inspiration from. Additionally, looking deeper into
what the programs, cameras and software's have to offer to benefit my work and allow me to experiment with creativity.
CONCLUSION