Media evalutation - A2 Music Video

Media Evaluation – ‘Dan Bull’
Music Video
By George Turner

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
When I chose to make a music video I knew the song that I wanted to use
from the start, this allowed me to focus more in depth about what genre the
song is and what conventions are used within that genre. I started by looking
at the genre ‘Rap’ as a broad starting point for my research, this is evident in
the blog post: 23rd June 2015 “Chosen Brief-Music Video – Genre”. Within
this post I talk about the stereotypical features of rap music. I found that my
chosen artist actually was apart of a new music genre hybrid that challenge
the common conventions of: “drugs, money and sex”. This hybridisation of
commercial rap and nerd rap allowed for unique visual conventions to be
combined because of the expectations from a wider ranged audience. To
help me combat this challenge of appealing to so many people I researched
into a variety music videos, one music video that I found really inspired me
was ‘Youtube Rewind’ 2015 (blogpost – 23rd June 2015 “Music Video Style
Choice”). This video really captured the postmodern idea of ‘remixing’
because this is a main dynamic of the culture both on YouTube and the
internet. This was a great inspiration for me because the video offered a
variety of scenes which offered lots of micro-narratives, which were all
connected by one singular camera motion. Although that in my music video I
didn’t completely follow this I did include many ‘integrated’ transitions,
which gave the illusion of a singular camera motion at points. In addition to
this I also added the whole idea of ‘Micro-Narratives’ to my music video by
having the character perform movements that linked to the lyrics. This
music video often relies on intertexual references within the visuals to keep
the viewer picking apart the video and the satisfaction of recognising certain
iconic signs. This was another feature that I included within my music video
because I used the references in the lyrics by the artist such as “I’m a human
Yoda” as a platform to include certain visual aspects like a lightsaber.
However the central theme throughout my music video is still the
performer, this is because I wanted to have a mainly performance based
structure intertwined with the micro-narrative; is it’s self is another
hybridisation of conventions within my music video.

The following shots show how my research into the conventions of real media
products influenced my music video. The shots used in my music video reflect
those of commercial rap because often within the rap genre the camera is placed
as a mid shot to a close up to really make the experience intense for the viewer
and it further helps centralise the artist. In addition to this the music video “ No
Love” by Eminem helped me learn about the hybridisation of performance and
narrative structures towards the video and further informing me of a circular
narrative. My product used a circular narrative by having my character start and
end the same way, which helped the audience close the narrative and feel
satisfied with an ending. Furtther research into narrative structure is evident in a
blogpost 11th September 2015 – “PUP – Guilt Trip [Narrative Structure]” along
with others with a similar title.
Some of the Mes en Scene and VFX in my took the convention of ‘fire’ within my
music video. This is because rappers are often associated with fire due to the
connotations of good lyrics. In addition to this is shows the idea of the lyrics
making an impact, or a difference within society. The fire VFX are one of the
select aspects I have in colour within the video because I felt that is would
further support the idea of making an impact visually. The fire further supports
the lyric: “If you prefer to lack a burn then stand further back” which is said at
the same time that this fire is on screen. This convention of the lyrics being
supported by visuals is common in not just rap but most music videos.
My product applied the convention of a dark black background, which is also
shown in the music video “No Love”. This harsh black background symbolises the
power of the rapper because the background does nothing except help the
viewer focus on the subject. This is further supported by the fact that my
character is the only person in the entire music video even in the shots where
there are two people. The reason behind this is I wanted to make the video
express the oppression of ‘Nerds’ within our society, which is further supported
by the film noir style of my product. This again links in with the message behind
Eminem’s music video because his song focuses on bullying, however his is much
more upfront about the meaning than mine.

The black and white in my video is inspired
directly from my film noir research from AS and
A2. This is referenced in my blog 7-21st July
2015, which is when I went into detail looking at
the film noir movement and chiaroscuro. I loved
the connotations that the shadows created and
I briefly looked at German Expressionism; I
experimented with taking photos in the same
style with symbolic symbols like the crow. I
wanted to learn about the suppressed German
citizens and how this related to my theme of
Nerds being suppressed within a modern
society, not by a government but by each other.
Furthermore the bold use of angles in Film Noir
reflect those in a music video and allowed me
to experiment with the angles. I used low angles
towards the second half of the music video to
create a sense of power being given to the
character because he is now being listened to
through the power of the lyrics. I also used
smoke in some of my shots to add the sense of
mystery and depth that is often seen within film
noir. Another convention I followed is the idea
of an alienated protagonist because of only
having one person playing everyone in the
music video it denoted that suppression of
loneliness and alienation from the outside
world.
I used the shadows to create the depth and shapes within the frame, this was very important to keeping the shot visually interesting. Due to the lack of
props in the shot or objects in the location I had to rely on lighting to create shapes in the shot. By using film noir in my music video it allowed me to
experiment with lighting and it helped me understand how to make use of light to improve my shot. Furthermore I reshot a lot of scenes to improve
the depth, and was always adding lights to create different effects. I think that by paying more attention to lighting it allowed my music video to follow
the conventions of film noir a lot closer, which overall added more strength to my shot. (20 January 2016 – “Lighting tests”)
A FilmNoir image
My own image I
used to practice
Film Noir lighting
and to understand
German
Expressionism.

Within the music video the I took a postmodern approach to
constructing my media product. This meant that I used previous real
media products to create my work so I wanted my music video to be
self aware of that fact. One way that most performance music video
videos are postmodern is that they break the fourth wall. However I
wanted to take this common convention within western music and
combine it with the camera interaction that is seen within K-Pop. This
is because the audience interaction with a K-Pop music video is a lot
more personal compared to western music, therefore in my research I
looked how they interacted with the camera to try and get a more
personal connection to the viewer. This is because the platform that
this will be shown on is the artists personal YouTube channel. YouTube
is a very personal platform because you follow your creator and watch
them grow, this means that people are more likely to enjoy this
personal style compared to if the product was shown on television.
One common convention in K-Pop was the seamless transitions that
make it seem like one continuous video, this was very similar to
‘YouTube Rewind’. These transitions involved hitting the camera,
which again added to that personal at aesthetic of my product and this
also kept the transitions smooth. The smooth transitions denotes that
they have been thought about. I was constantly thinking about my
audience while creating my product, which helped me pick and choose
the conventions I wanted.

In the construction of my music video I wanted to have intertexual references towards
other media products that relate to mine. This was because the platform that I want to
upload the music video to would be online therefore I wanted to relate to the internet
culture of remixing. I got the idea while watching Ferguson’s video about remixing (30
September 2015 – ‘Everything’s a Remix’) which I learnt about how texts copy each
other and build upon each other. I really liked this idea so I though that would be how I
would construct my media product. Furthermore the hip hop rap genre is often
remixing tracks and referencing other media.
Within the soundtrack for the lyrics often referenced other texts or products, one
specific lyric I used was the line: “colder than Trebor mints” which influenced the
visual image of the mints with the character in the “O”. The movement of the mints
towards the screen parodies old televisions adverts with the slight canted angle.
Another interesting intertexual reference would be the goat scream at 00:41, this is
because originally I used the classic Wilhelm scream from just about every film.
However then I though that I would take the popular internet goat scream that has
been widely remixed across the internet. I thought that seeing as my platform was the
internet it would be more appropriate to use the goat scream. The army jacket I wear
is a reference to a my previous AS media film opening because it is the same jacket
that is used for the army character.
Another reference that I used in my music video was the ‘Mirror Effect’ at 2:12, which
was a reference to grim rap music. This is because when I was making my work I was
still researching into other sub genres that have formed within rap, one of them was
‘grim’. Within these music videos they often use basic VFX because the budget is low
so they often use the mirror effect, I thought that I would use this because it connotes
the idea of reflection that my character would be doing by himself. Moreover it links in
to Youtuber rappers having a low budget, which links directly to my artist. This helped
the visuals link with the song because I made it appear on the lyric: “digital
illusion”.The low angles were mainly formed because of the music video ‘Berzerk’ by
Eminem, because I found that these angles made the artist look giant, which connoted
a large ego. This is something that links with any musician because every musician
must have some kind of ego to want people to listen to them, however this was
interesting because it contrasts the stereotypical nerd that my artist is meant to be
and that’s why I had to include it.

Within my ancillary task I have challenged, used and developed a
variety of conventions. I looked at a large amount of different album
covers from a wide range of genres both within rap and music, this is
because I wanted to gain inspiration from a wide range of artwork
hoping to try and create something fairly new. However I already
knew the design I wanted and that followed the typical conventions of
including a portrait photograph of the artist. Although I followed this
very common convention I did alternate and challenge it because I
used the character in my music video and covered the face of them,
which prevented them from actually being seen. Overall this made
the character more a symbol of the album/artist instead of being a
portrait of the artist himself. I got the idea from the album cover by
‘Joywave’ and the album cover ‘Cherry Bomb’ (Friday 18th September
2015 – “Album cover research”). The character on the Cherry Bomb
cover was a strong inspiration for the balaclava because it creates an
interesting character for the audience to interact with. I developed
the convention of colours within album covers because I wanted to
get that modern look, which involved the bland use of greys and
blacks but I also wanted to use contrasting punchy colours. This
involved using the them both effectively and blending the two
techniques using ‘selective colour’. I further used the idea of pastiche
within my typography in order to intertexualise the text from the
battlefield games within my album, originally I was not going to do
this by my idea developed through my research and experimentation.
The next two slides show how I developed these ideas and how I took
inspiration from different aspects of cover, especially the battlefield 3
cover.

The chart shows how I developed my work with inspiration from the
Battlefield 3 cover.
I used the conventions like the ‘typography’ of the work “Battlefield and the colours such as the orange. I did this
by originally parodying it but this would break copyright laws If used without permission. Therefore used what I
learnt from this experimentation and translated it in the poster and the album cover to provide the synergy.

The chart shows how I developed my work with inspiration from the
Battlefield 3 cover.

Within my didgipak I have challenged the conventions of real media
texts. I achieved this my creating my own design that was fluently
incorprated throughout the whole product, which further included
the video itself. This constant use of synergy made the digipak and
video have an underlying tone and theme within the visual elements.
This is important for the artist to be easily recognised, this helps
advertise the songs.
Usually the digipak is made with a centralised theme depending on
the genre of music, however with this album cover for DanBull I
wanted to challenge this and build it in a more post modern way. I
wanted to combine and remix other designs in order to create
something new but recognisable. The repetitive design with only one
person on it relates to the idea of suppression of nerds and links to
the loneliness present in the video. By having the these ideas present
throughout it helps people engage to the whole product instead of
just the video, which relates to the purpose of a professional digipak.
This is because when I looked at other promotional material such as
digipaks and physical copies of albums they all shared the same
characteristics and visual elements and information. This is one
reason why I am very satisfied that I have made a professional level
product.
Within my digipak I have developed the colours in my product, again
in a postmodern structure. I developed the oranges by firstly
parodying the Battlefield 3 poster, this is because I wanted to
experiment with the selective oranges to help address the issue of my
image being to dark. I got this from my feedback from my focus
groups within school and online. I developed the text by creating a
similar styled typography to the battlefield 3 poster an cover.
Within my digipak I have developed the colours in my product, again
in a postmodern structure. I developed the oranges by firstly
parodying the Battlefield 3 poster, this is because I wanted to
experiment with the selective oranges to help address the issue of
my image being to dark. I got this from my feedback from my focus
groups within school and online. I developed the text by creating a
similar styled typography to the battlefield 3 poster an cover. I
further developed this by angling the text slightly to to show
dominance, I further used the ‘light lines’ (the orange line) from the
battlefield poster to create orange that will brighten the cover. Finally
I used a blue brush in order brighten the blues therefore this makes
the cover more eye-catching. This will attract new viewers for the
album and allow the loyal audience to recognise it easily.

The poster challenges the convetions of most posters because it
relys on the iconography of the logo, typography and textures to
attract the loyal fans. However the use of these feature will further
attract new viewers as well. The poster more tries to sell the album
and the iconic symbol of DanBull rather than the artist himself, this
is defying convention because the majority of posters focus on the
artist just as much as the album. However mine purely focuses on
the album. The constant references to other media such as
‘Battlefield’ makes my media defy the convention of only
promoting your product, but my poster uses other products to add
depth to my poster making it more than superficial and eye-
catching, I think that this will be something that my target audience
will respond well to. The constant use of the orange and blue
contrasts the colours in my music video, which are mainly black
and white this would defy convention because usually the colours
would reflect what's in the music video not what the music video is
about. I preferred this way of working because it allowed my
overall theme to be pushed further and for each of the separate
products to have it’s own semiotic weight. I also developed the
convention of bold text and colours to catch an audiences
attention, I also used the idea of a grey and orange pattern that will
also subconsciously attracted peoples attention and makes them
more likely to retain the information. I also used the conventions of
the release date and tagline to make the album more memorable.

How effective is the combination of your main and ancillary task?
The underlying theme of oppression, war and nerd culture within my
digipak and promotional video’s narrative is seen throughout. This is
shown in the minimalistic colours only on certain objects that either
provide an action or they bring the character joy, this is scene within
my poster and album cover as well. The use of film noir within both
products creates the synergy between them, this synergy is supported
by the same actor being used throughout both the main and the
ancillary task. Furthermore this continuity is created further by the
repetitive use of the actor in the digipak, these same images were
integrated into the poster. Another way in which I have integrated the
the underlying themes is used the same text in both my final media
product and the ancillary task. This was to help the promotion
campaign be easily recognisable to the current audience and the new
audience. In addition to this I used similar shots such as close ups and
mid shots both within the photography for my final digipak and the
final video. This is because the constant use of close ups connotes
that idea of oppression throughout the product and it further
strengthens the relationship between the audience and artist.

The synergy of my product is further presented through the use of
Film Noir throughout the video and the digipak, this was because I
wanted to the narrative to flow well between the two products to
create one unified package to promote the music. The use of an
orange boarder for the poster is the only time this synergy could be
argued to be broken however the reason behind this the fact that it
serves a different purpose to the other products. In my research I
noticed that the posters usually incorporated bolder text and brighter
colours to capture new listeners, I decided to incorporate this into my
design for the poster. I took the colours I used in my album cover and
enhanced them to make them brighter and used that same orange to
create a vibrant boarder, which brightened the poster to make it more
eye-catching.
I further decided to integrate my poster into the end
of the video. This is so that the combination of both
the promotional video and the poster helps sell the
album, plus it makes the poster more regognisable to
an audience who have seen the video, which makes
the album more prone to sharing by word of mouth.
The same title is also used in all three producers, this
is located at the end of the video. Finally I also used
“the digital illusion” lyric as a promotional slogan for
the album. This offered links to the actual soundtrack
as well as the video.

The synergy between all three media products was created through the use of
the same tone, photos and typography. The interaction between these visual
elements created a co-operative unit in which the combination of individual
contributions created the single and greater message for the audience. For
example the use of the mask throughout the product links them all together.
This synergism allowed the messages of suppression and bullying to be tackle
through all my media products, which offers a higher level of depth and
interaction with an audience. This is because the new technologies for an
audience in the 21st century allow the user to interact with the product in
many different forms of media , this directly links to the areas of
entertainment that the audience choose to interact with. The outlet of my
media is important to creating larger profits off a singular product and
managing to meet audiences expectations of a product having a range of
merchandise and advertisements that make it easily accessible across a wide
range of platforms. This is why I in all my products all include the same
character to create a symbol across all platforms that’s iconic for the album. I
further used black backgrounds for all three products to set them in the same
location, this adds another layer of synergy.

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
I used my audience feedback within my research to begin with, this is
so that I could gain a greater understanding of my audiences
demographics, platforms and preferences.
I began my survey with the question of age, this is because I wanted
to understand what level of content I could incorporate in order not
to offend or scare my audience. This means that the age range of this
survey did of decreased the amount of violence within the music
video because the majority of responses were from younger
teens/children that is why I included such a low age at the start of the
survey. Although the 13-17 category was one of the largest my survey
also showed the wide range of my audience on the web, this made
catering to them all very difficult. This is because I wanted to have
violence in my music video because it matched the theme of the song
but it couldn’t be too far fetched from what is deemed ‘safe’ in the
eyes of censorship. This is what informed my stylistic approach to the
violence; by having white ‘unrealistic cartoonish’ blood it would keep
both audiences satisfied without being to gruesome. This feedback
also confirmed that most of the people within my age bracket would
get the references like ‘StarWars’ because it also appeals to the
majority of people because of it’s cultural impact on our society, they
wouldn’t even to have had to of seen StarWars to know what the
lightersaber is or what it represents within nerd culture.

The next basic question I covered that offered an interesting response
was “What is your gender”. I had to ask this to gain a greater
understanding of my audiences demographic, furthermore it would
help me within my research and planning decide what type of
narrative to have. This is because more typical tradition action
narratives suit the males needs of explosions and fights, which
compared to females is very basic because they prefer to have a
mystery surrounding their narrative or a puzzle, something that has to
be worked out. This means that I would have to considering offering
more than just violence and action to grip my audience I would
further have to look into offering a meta meaning behind my narrative
and offer something further to be explored in order to cater to my
audiences needs.
However the platform that I used may of attracted a less accurate
representation of my audience. This is important to consider because
by advertising the survey on social media it makes it open to anyone
to answer.

This next question showed me how how important the music video is
to making the song a success because over half the responses do
watch the video while listening to the music video. I felt that this was
important to find out and my curiosity got the better if me to see how
effective the promotional side of the video is. This further informed
me of how different members of my artist’s audience respond to the
videos especially the live action videos. I also wanted to find out how
critical these survey responses were in the terms of how valid they
were in their understanding or love of music videos either from Dan
Bull or in general. This is because as people become more used to a
certain style of music video they start picking up on the conventions
and expect to see them with certain genres of music, this would link
in to my audience theory in the sense that I wouldn't want to leave
them dissatisfied if they expect a certain convention or visual aspect
to be included within a music video or more specifically in Dan’s
music video. I loved the way that my survey was gaining such a wide
range of responses and opinions because it offers more avenues and
critical perspectives to explore.

The next question I asked was to do with looking at what genres
people were interested in within modern culture. This is because me
being a filmmaker I didn't have much understanding of what people
were mainly into within a modern music culture, this was one of the
risks I took when deciding on this brief. This question helped me
understand what music people liked and would prefer compared to
the other options, this would then allow me to research these genres
and find out the conventions I could use from other genres and
incorporate them into my music video, this would create a
hybridisation of conventions to attract new viewers from other genres
to Dan Bull’s work. The wide range of perspectives on these genres
offered a large range of conventions that I could use from different
music videos. This was probably a result of the wide range of ages
within my audience feedback. This further helped me outline the
themes and concerns within mainstream music and decide whether
or not to use, address or challenge them. For example the notion of
bullying in modern culture is relatable through music and is often a
topic that is shown within music. Rap is also often expressive about
suppression from a higher power, this feedback allowed me to focus
on how pop music and rock portrayed that so when I alternate some
conventions I can understand which ones are essential to keeping my
audiences understanding.

These questions are specific towards the audience, which requires an
actual typed response. I felt that this was necessary because I wanted
to gain a greater understanding of what people expect from their
music videos and what videos have really made an impact on the
viewer. Furthermore these videos that they selective will offer further
research for me to look at in order to get more ideas for my music
video. By identifying what is important to the viewer and what has
made an impact on them I can try and incorporate or try and recreate
that connection to the music that the audience felt to the other
product, which would make them understand the meta meaning
behind the video. This would also provide an emotional connection
between the viewer and the song because they would recognise the
conventions, and people love things that they understand easily
because it makes them feel clever. This meta meaning would also
provide that ‘puzzle’ meaning that the female core audience would
spend time figuring out, this provides a higher level of interaction
between the audience and media product.

The last question I asked was “Where do you watch music videos?” I
asked this to gain a greater understanding of which platforms my
music video will be presented on, this is because it effects how the
video will look and which conventions will be incorporated and be
the most effective towards the audience. It will also effect the
formatting of the video within post production because of the
resolution differences and lastly it will effect the censorship claims
within the product. I found that the majority of my audience is based
on YouTube, which is a fairly personal platform and this is the reason I
made the video very personal between the viewer and the character, I
also made sure that the formatting was MP4 so that the video was in
good quality but was easy to upload to the sight because otherwise I
could be waiting for hours for the video to upload. Most artists on the
platform release their music videos on their ‘Vevo’ channel, these
channels dominate most of the YouTube music market because of
their wide range of artists and videos. Having to make a music video
to compete with a those high level products required a lot of research
into the expectations and common conventions of music videos.
Youtube is also a platform that has changed the way media is
produced, the site allows any ordinary person to become not just a
consumer but also a producer. This is because they can upload and
download content independently without a production company, this
has given way to a rise in internet culture widely based off the idea of
remixing, which through the construction of my music video I wanted
to reference.

I also used my audience feedback to see how much people enjoyed
the music video once it was released. I got extremely positive
feedback from all the surveys, tweets, comments and messages.
Although I had loads of people to please including the audience and
the artist I feel that I have successfully created a professional music
video. My criticisms throughout helped make the final screening of
my product very enjoyable because some of the people had helped
improve it and some were experiencing it for the first time. In relation
to doing this project again I would defiantly look into having the
actual artist perform the music video, as I think fans would prefer it
and I would work on the video being less superficial and maybe
having more of a conventional narrative so it’s easier for the average
viewer to follow and understand.

Did you use new media technologies effectively in the process of
creating your music video and ancillary task?
The equipment within my production had a wide range depending on
the location. To start with I used a modern DSLR, more specifically
Canon 650d. I used this camera because it can record in 1080p full HD
and allowed me to record in 25fps, which is close to professional
standard. Furthermore I used my camera for both the ancillary and
the music video because this DLSR also has great photography
features as well as video, this combined with my already good
knowledge of the camera helped me try knew techniques and achieve
the effects I was looking for confidently and efficiently. Although I
used this camera in AS I did develop how I used the manual settings
to achieve different tones and colours. I also used a wide range of
camera stabilising equipment such as: tripod, glide cam and X-grip.
The tripod and X-grip were both pieces of equipment that I was
familiar with from AS, however I did develop how I used these
equipment by using the tripod and X-grip for different techniques and
experimental angles. However the glide cam was a first for me, this
meant that I had to do research into the product before buying it or
using it and it did prove challenging at times as seen in the vlog. Most
of the time I used the tripod because it gave a ‘vlogger’ feel, which
relates to the platform that the music video would be shown on.
However I did also use a variety techniques such as hand held, which I
felt gave it a much more gritty feel, which relates to the genre of
music.

Other equipment included lighting. I developed from my AS media
product by using more lighting techniques because of my inspiration
and research into film noir. I further developed within the creation of
this music video because I increased the lighting within my own
reshoots because I kept wanting to add more depth to my image.
When I was indoors or close to power I was using my industrial lights
to light the scenes, or I used my photography lights. I then developed
these techniques by using my theatre lights on top of this to create
some really harsh shadows and contrasting lines that both helped
create shape, depth and tone. My cinematography in this media
product developed significantly from AS because I understood more
about the different effects of lighting and translated that into this
project, I further used other products and short films I was making at
the time to help inform and experiment with lighting for this music
video. I further used reflectors when outdoors mainly because I
wanted to be able to direct the sun onto my subject to distinguish
them from the background. I learnt this while making my short advert
for the school, this is because I had to conduct interviews very quickly,
this did not allow time for lights so I had to use reflectors. I used them
to create harsh light using the sliver and warmer light using the gold,
in addition I used the white as a dimmer as seen in the vlog.

Another new media technologies that I have utilised in the
creation of my product is the ‘vlog’. This meant that I was
actually documenting the creation of the music video,
which helped me evaluate what I was doing throughout and
also meant that I actually had some additional media that
the audience could look at to understand more about the
product. I mainly used my phone camera on my iphone,
which although was not the best quality it was was good
enough for the audience to interact with, I know this
because I have had people direct message me about how
interesting and helpful the vlog was. This meant that the
audience does like this extra bit of media that is there to be
interacted with on top of the music vide itself, this is
because it provides additional knowledge about their
favorite artist and the creation of their product. This also
helped as a promotion for my youtube channel as well
Dan’s, this allows me to network something that is really
useful within web 2.0.

Within the creation of my ancillary task I primarily used Photoshop.
This industry standard tool allowed me to work in detail within pixels,
this was due to me using a high resolution camera but also because of
the power of the program. Furthermore Photoshop offered me a wide
range of design tools like brushes that allowed me to create logos and
patterns for the album and easily transfer these between files. This
ease allowed me to use my creations fluidly throughout my predict,
which helped provide a clear cohesive narrative and provided synergy.
Furthermore the typography features allowed me to design and tweak
my own fonts in order to create some new and eye-catching, and
helped me provide a professional level product.
Another program I used was Premiere Pro cs6, this is another industry
standard product that I used to edit my music video. Within AS I used
final cut pro 7, this was another huge risk I took in order to get the
result I was looking for. This is because within my editing I knew that
to get the music video to have a singular theme it would be best to be
able to easily transfer elements from my digipak to my video. This
meant that I had to learn how to use this program in a short space of
time but in the end it worked out very well because it helped me
work between all the adobe sweet seamlessly. For example I could
drag and drop my VFX in straight from after effects into premiere after
constructing them, which avoided me having to export and import like
on final cut pro. This overall saved me time and allowed me to use
more advanced software for my visual effects.

Within the creation of my media product I had to use tutorials in
order to perfect certain effects such as the light saber. This is because
although I knew roughly how to do it there were certain techniques
that allowed me to make the effect look as professional as it did.
Youtube was a key tool in helping me develop in teaching myself how
to use certain programs, this is because the wide range of tutorials
covers all the problems that people come across while using these
different programs. This tutorial helped me learnt how to smooth up
my editing while key framing, which overall helped my understadning
of these new technologies.
Understanding the adobe sweat allowed me
to easily transfer files between each program,
this is again something I learnt from youtube. I
think that by utilising youtube to broaden my
knowledge of the different programs and
problems when editing and film it made me
more prepared and allowed me to develop
more confidently within my process.
I further put these skills I learnt to practice
under timed conditions before I filmed my
music video. For example I made a shortfilm
and an advert for the school, both of these
products had to be turned over in a short
period of time. This helped me learn how to
problem solve quickly and learn the editing
software a lot faster, although this created
more work for me it allowed me to make my
music video better.

Social media and the internet presented an important role in both
the production and research of my final products, for example I used
YouTube to look for new music videos to inspire and research my
work this is because it is a multi networked platform which allows
both normal people and professionals to upload to the same place.
This meant that my research was not just of mainstream media but of
other more alternated versions either parodying or doing their own
thing. Furthermore YouTube allowed me to discover music video from
other countries such as K-Pop music videos, which gave ideas on
camera interaction. I used YouTube to find my artist’s song and it is
where he is based on the web so the site played a key role in my
product especially as it is where it was finally uploaded.
As for the other social media platforms like: Facebook, Instagram and
Twitter I used them to connect with Dan Bulls audience and stay in
contact with Dan himself. This helped me have constant feedback for
my work from his very critical fan base, which gave me vital feedback
from his core fans. I also used these sites to promote the video upon
release using my album cover and poster along side that. These
helped get the video seen and enjoyed by new fans as well as the
current ones. Lastly I used them to get audience feedback via my
survey I created online that was easily accessible to my audience via
any online device.

Within the planning stages of my music video I used new media
technologies to create an animatic from my storyboard, I achieved
this by using Adobe Premiere Pro to cut together screenshots from
my storyboard and matching it to the pacing of the song. This allowed
me to see what shots would work in the timeframe I had and which
ones would be to long. A lot of my initial cutting of scenes happened
at this stage because I soon realised that time wise it would not be
possible to achieve everything I wanted in that time frame. This
animatic overall helped me improve my videos pacing and understand
how quick the pace of the editing would have to be to get my idea to
work. This also helped solidify shots and angles that would work and
helped me plan what I wanted within the Mise en Scene in terms of
props and location. This further helped me in editing because it
helped me easily see the narrative pre built for me.
Blogger helped me organise and post everything that I was doing
during my production process from researching to post production, it
helped me keep control of all my crazy ideas and helped make sure
that I followed the process fully without skipping sections. This is
where I made lists of things to do and items I had to buy in the form
of budget lists, and it kept it all in one place for me or anyone else to
access easily. I further kept a video blog to help make sure that I was
documenting everything that I was doing.
An examples of
animatic to real video

Within the production I feel that I have used all the new media
technologies I can effectively to create a professional looking video
and digipak. I used a range and wide variety of technologies such as
lights, computers and cameras to achieve this and I think that it is this
successful combination of media technologies that has really helped
make my product look professional. Furthermore the software I used
allowed me to expand my ideas an improve them easily when my
audience had an improvements, I feel that by using this feed back
with the combination of new technologies is what also made this
project such a success. For example the stages that my media product
went through to get to this stage is amazing, because it has changed
so much though the process but still reflects the vision form the
storyboard.

W Now that my media product has been created I have
high aspirations within media and film making for both this
music video and my career. This is because my music video
is actually being used as a professional media product, this
project is genially all professional, all the promotion and
visuals are being used to promote this artist who again is a
real famous artist. This is why I am pleased with how well it
has turned out considering this is the first time I have ever
made a music video. I took on this project mainly because I
wanted to push myself because I know that most
filmmakers started making other products such as music
videos and adverts. Therefore I thought it was important to
make sure that I am adaptable within the industry and make
sure that I can translate what I have learnt into my
fimmaking or other projects in the future. I think that as a
director I have developed really quickly because of this
music video and the other various projects I embarked on to
learn more about the process, therefore I am excited to see
where this takes me and hopefully embark on reaching my
goal of directing a feature film.

Media evalutation - A2 Music Video

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