Amira's A2 music video Yellow flicker beat final

Final Digi-pak

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

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

When creating my media text, I watched many music videos of the same genre to gain inspiration and knowledge of the conventions. This enabled me to use similar ideas in my own music video, for example the idea of my artist walking through a forest was inspired by Taylor Swifts music video; "safe and sound" which is an indie style song.
I also found that in most music videos, (indie and other genres) direct mode of address is used therefore I had many shots throughout the video of my artist looking at the camera, this gives the video a sense of performance as it includes the lip syncing, this also makes the video appear more personal to the audience. My artist is also alone when direct mode of address is used which enhances the audiences connection with the artist.

Voyeurism is another reoccurring theme that I used in my music video which is also one of Goodwin's conventions and is therefore used in many music videos (not only indie) especially music videos with female artists, this often sexualises women, however this is most commonly done in pop music videos whereas in indie videos, voyeurism is mainly used in a non sexual way.

Another common feature of music videos is the visuals being influenced by the music. This can be done through amplification of lyrics or cutting to the beat (which is one of Goodwin's conventions). I have developed this convention throughout my music video as a way of emphasizing/drawing attention to the beats, I have also achieved this using one of Vernallis's conventions of "jump cuts."

From these two shots the use of different shot types is seen, as both a long shot and close up shots were used, close up shots are commonly used in music videos of all genres as a way in which the audience can gain a connection with the artist.


This particular shot demonstrates my use of mise-en-scene which essentially hints at the artists character. The shot shows the artist at a dining table which is fully set and finished with bottles of wine and candles. However the artist is alone which hints at her personality (which is a gothic loner). The shot also suggests rebellion and through her costume we can also see her gothic influences. The shot hints that the artist is from a middle class background which we see from the the mise-en-scene, however she seems uncomfortable with this as she is alone and appears to be angry (this is also shown in the lyrics).

I created a shadowy lighting effect for this shot to create a sense of mystery and also add to the gothic theme. I did this by only using one light on the right side of her face. Her hair is also partially covering her face which also adds mystery.


Many music videos consist of the artist going on a journey, I decided to include this in my music video I felt it would fit in with the idea of my artist not wanting to be part of society. This idea is seen in this shot.



This is another shot that coveys the idea the she doesn't want to be part of society as she removes her lips stick which may symbolise her removing her attachment to society and not caring about fitting in anymore.
This shot is also immediately followed by an outdoor shot which is a big contrast and can represent the artist being set free, her movement also suggests this as she opens her arms out to highlight her new found space which shows that she is fulfilling her desire to escape.



To conclude, although the song that I used was indie, I used and developed the conventions of mainstream videos to make my product more suitable for the genre which is similar to what many other indie music videos do. I also used shots that enabled my artists character to be revealed through the setting and the mise-en-scene.

Evaluation question 2 How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

For my magazine advert, I used conventions of existing products to improve the authenticity of it. I did by using a similar layout e.g.
-The name of the artist is at the top (and can be seen clearly)
-The release date (out now) is in big writing  and can be seen easily.
-I have given information about the popular songs that are featuring on the album.
-Information about record company is displayed at the bottom as well as the logo.
-I have used the same image that is on the album cover so that the magazine is easily recognizable and can therefore be associated with my artist.
-The font used is the same font used in my digi-pak which again enables people to associate the font with my artist.



To ensure my digi-pak was effective I made sure that it followed a similar theme to my magazine advert as well as my music video. I included some song lyrics in the third panel of my digi-pak which relates to the actual image shown (Both consist of fire) they are also lyrics from the song I used for my music video. This is often done by actual artists and is a way of advertising the album to the audience and emphasizing a message about the artists character.  Another way in which my digi pak relates to the music video is the fact that the music video shows my artist escaping from society, (which is shown by her escaping to the woods) this message is also shown in the lyrics. Similarly, In my digi-pak the artist appears to be disappearing in a different way in all the panels, which can be seen as a way of escaping, (The album Title is also called "Disappear").
My actual music video I also feel goes nicely with the digi-pak as the theme of the video as well as the lyrics suggest the she wants to disappear from normal society as well as her middle class lifestyle, (which is evident through the mise-en-scene in the dinner table shots) similarly, the front cover of the digi-pak also shows her face literally disappearing which nicely personifies the message.

Ultimately, I feel as though the combination of the two products is highly effective at conveying my artists message. This is also enhance as I used conventions of the genre to put this across. (e.g. cutting to the beat as I mentioned in the previous post). I also feel that this product effectively shows the audience characteristics of my artist as the mise-en-scene and the costuming suggest influences from gothic culture. (e.g. the dark colours that she is wearing as well as the dark background of the       digi-pak.)

I feel as though all the products I have created successfully/effectively coveys the character of the artist to my target audience through the visuals. I believe that when the products are recieved, the audience will immediately know the artists "star text" and her character (which is gothic and rebellious)  

Question 3 What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Question 4 How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Amira's A2 music video Yellow flicker beat final

Yellow Flicker Beat, first draft

Making my Digi-pak

 The way in which I achieved the front cover of my
digi-pak is by first, using the liquifying tool on the actors face (which I removed from the original background) I then layered the original picture of my actors face on top of the liquified face and used one of my brush tools to remove parts of the original face whilst revealing some of the liquified face.











For the Back panel of my digi-pak I used part of the same images that I used for the front of my   digi-pak. This creates an illusion that that parts of the actors face is being blown into the next panel.

I also used the same image for my magazine advert. I did this by saving the image as a JPEG and placing it in a new photoshop project.

Audience theory

Psychologist Bandura created an experiment where children from Stanford nursery were made to watch a clip of adults violently attacking a "bobo doll". The children were then left in a room where there was a bobo doll of there own that they could play with. Bandura found that due to watching adults being violent towards the bobo doll, the children were more likely to display aggressive behaviour. This research supports Katz and Lazerfeld's hypodermic needle idea as it shows that children act immediately on what they see in the media. It also promotes the idea that children are very likely to imitate what they see people that they perceive as role models do. 

In opposition to this theory, some theorists would argue that the consumption of violent images may be helpful rather than harmful as it may be a way the audience members release their violent impulses which would make them less likely to imitate violent behaviour.

Shoot

The re-shoot went very well and the lighting was much better the second time due to the time of day.

I laid out the setting so the it had a Gothic look, I also used dark props to emphasize this. I made this particular scene look as though it had been abandoned, to achieve this I paid attention to small details such as the arrangement of the chairs and the wine glasses as well as the cutlery and soviets.

Audience Theory (Katz and Lazerfeld)

The "hypodermic needle" theory implies that media texts have a direct and powerful effect on its audience and can have a huge effect on the behaviour and communication of the them. This effect has also been likened to a bullet as the effects are immediate. Katz and Lazerfeld suggest that media has the power to "brainwash" huge populations.



Example of theory

Goodwin (Star text)

Star text is an important part of an artists image as it gives the audience an idea of who the artist is based on there physical cues such as the artists cloths and make-up. An artists star text can also be seen from some of the things the artist does e.g. things she/he says on social media. Many artist also can be recognised due to small things that make up their star text.

Audience Theory

Theorists Blulmer and Katz came up with an audience theory which was developed from Lasswells theory (1948). Blulmer and Katz stated that audiences can be attracted to media texts due to a variety of reasons e.g.;
Diversion- To distract them from everyday life and problem they may be facing.
Personal Relationships- Using media as a form of interaction (a way to cope with loneliness).
Personal identity- Audience members may see themselves within media texts or may learn ways to deal with situations.
Surveillance- Media texts can help to keep us informed about world events. also use to satisfy curiosity and general interests.


All of these reasons that people use media can help them in many ways e.g.
-Learning
-Can help with personal identity issues
-Can help with issues of aggression and violence

Magazine advert Research

Magazine adverts for albums tend to follow a similar theme to the actual album cover which enables target audience members to identify the album.
Here is an example of a magazine advert following the theme of the actual album. In this case the same picture is used. In all cases artists use the same font for the magazine advert as they do for the album which promotes the artists identity.
The magazine advert tends to inform the audience of singles that are on the album (usually singles that have already been released), which we can see from this example.

The information that is usually show on the magazine advert is;
-Date of release
-Record label
-Website of record label
-Name of artist
-Name of album





The writing and information for magazine adverts tend to be placed at the bottom however this may vary. e.g.

Actor

The actor that I have used to portray my artist is Helena, this is because she is a very capable and keen actress that I believe can portray my artist very well. She is also a very convenient actor to use as she attends Park High Sixth form, therefore I can reach her very easily. Helena has had a lot of experience acting as she completed a GCSE in drama therefore she will be comfortable playing the role and portraying different emotions.

Re-shoot Schedule

I have decided to re-shoot the indoor scenes of my music video on the 9th of January as my artist is available at this time. I did not need to consider the weather as the shot is going to be indoors. I will re-shoot these shot at about 5:00pm as it will be dark outside which would improve the lighting and make the footage look better. I will arrange and lay out the setting at 4:00pm so that I have plenty of time before filming. I will use this time to set up the lights, tripod, camera and design the scene (mainly the dining table scene).

Filming

I shot all of the outdoor scenes for my music video on the 5th of December as planned, however I did not manage to shoot the indoor scenes correctly as the lighting was incorrect due to the time of day (it was too bright outside which disrupted the indoor lighting), therefore I have decided to re-shoot all of my indoor scenes in the evening instead.