Media a2 evaluation

Media A2 Evaluation
By Alex Patrick-Smith

In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge conventions
of real media products?
Initially when I first started my research into music videos the first thing I learned was
that they all follow a similar structure in terms of how they relate to the music.This was
very important to me because if I was going to create my own music video I would need
to somehow develop these conventions of real media products where the video relates
to the music itself.The videos did however vary based mainly on the genre of the music
that was going with the video.This can be seen in terms of Mise en Scene, editing and
the shot types that were used to create a video that fit the style of the music.
Discovering this in my research made me understand that if I were to develop or
challenge the conventions of these real media products, then I would need to create a
music video that would fit in well with the genre of music that I chose. I think that
creating a video based on the Synth-wave genre of music challenges the conventions of
real media products because it is not for a very mainstream audience as it contains no
lyrics of any kind. Lyrics were the key thing that were in all the videos that I analysed and
so I decided to create a video that was different from real media products and therefore
challenging those conventions of what make up a music video.

In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge conventions of real
media products?
I decided to go into this niche market of music videos because I felt that I could help
develop these kind of videos even further. I used a lot of the same conventions from the
music videos that I looked at for example the use of fast paced editing is a feature used
by many music videos when the music is in the chorus and so I also decided to do this
however I did it where the more upbeat parts of the music took place as within the song I
used there is no chorus as such. I also tried to add in a narrative with my music video
which from my research is a main feature within music videos and so audiences will
identify my video as a music video.
In addition to this in post production I also added a posturize filter to the video to add to
the aesthetic of the video. I believe that this also develops and adds to real music videos
because some videos do include filters such as monochrome and so I think posturizing
my entire video shot for shot not only added to the video but also developed the
conventions of real music videos. Kavinskys music video for ‘Odd Look’ is most similar to
my video and that also uses similar aesthetic to my video and so maybe I have not
developed the conventions but have just used conventions that were already there.

In what ways does your product use,
develop or challenge conventions of real
media products?
Moving onto the poster ancillary task, I
think I used a lot of conventions from
existing poster products. I made the text
bold and stand out so that the audience
could easily identify with what it was. I
also used the same font from my music
video so that the products are linked
together to form a bond.This is also done
with existing media products and so I
wanted to make sure that I used the right
conventions. I also developed real media
products by using one main image and
enlarging it so that it is the focal point of
the poster. Furthermore, this image is the
front cover of the Digi-Pack and so this
also creates a link between my products
which from my research I understand that
real products do this as well to create a
brand for themselves.

In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge conventions
of real media products?
With my Digi-Pack ancillary text I wanted to ensure that I used the codes and conventions that I
learned from my research. An example of this was that many Digi-Packs included Large eye
catching images for the front cover to try and catch the audiences attention. I felt this was very
important to do as this is the main focal point of the Digi-Pack itself. In addition to this, I followed
the conventions of keeping an effective colour scheme on all sides of the Digi-Pack so that the
theme of the video would transpire on to the audience. However, I also challenged the conventions
of real media Digi-Packs by including images
from the music video itself. From my research
I feel that Digi-Packs tend to not do this to
avoid setting the wrong tone for the whole
album. I however believe that this would
Work well with the concept of the whole
album and I also think that using contrasting
images for the back of the Digi-Pack only
made it a more stand alone product that
would stand out to people. Keeping the same
Font and general style of the text also used
Conventions of real media products as many
Other products do this to create synergy
with their products.

How effective is the combination of your
main and ancillary texts?
Within my main and ancillary tasks I wanted to create a ‘Synth Wave’ style aesthetic
that would be coherent throughout all of the tasks and create synergy between the
texts. One of the main ways that I did this was to put the same font in the video that
was also in my ancillary texts. In addition to this, I tried to also have a similar colour
scheme between all of the texts which word further create an effective combination of
the texts. I think I achieved this to a certain extent where I added a filter to the Digi-
Pack which also go well with the video.Throughout the texts I tried to put forward a
dark electronic tone however contrasting this bright colours such as the striking pink
text that is used throughout. I believe I achieved this by filming at night time and
combined this with my ancillary tasks with the colour black being prominent in places
however I could of perhaps turned down the excessive amounts of pink and blue in the
ancillary texts as this could be considered to overrun the dark tone that I was
essentially going for.

How effective is the combination of your
main and ancillary texts?
In addition to this, I feel that perhaps my poster sometimes did not create the
synergy that I wanted with the music video itself.This is because I feel it lacks that
dark tone that the video brings forward and so perhaps I could of expanded on this
within the poster.Also, I think that the poster does not completely create the correct
image of what the video was actually about for example it includes no indication of a
skateboard within the video.The video itself also contains no hint of rain and
therefore the poster and Digi-Pack could be misguiding and therefore not have a
very strong connection. I found this a difficult task because there is only so much you
can do within a poster and so I think I am happy to some extent that there is still
quite a bit of synergy between the main and ancillary texts.

Audience Feedback
In the beginning of my audience feedback survey
I looked at who was viewing my video and to see
who my video appealed to. From the results I
I could see that it had a wide age gap and so this
tells me that my music video was viewed by
various kinds of people which is what I was
looking for when I first planned the idea.
To further understand my audience I also looked at
what gender watched my video. As you can see from
the image to the left it was mostly viewed by males.
This is what I predicted when I first started to do
research and planning for the music video and so I
feel that I have met my target audience well.

Audience Feedback
My next question was aimed at looking
to see if audiences understood what I
was going for within the video and if the
video was easy to understand.The
results for conclusive in that most people
thought that it was a montage of clips
which indeed the video was. I felt that
this met the criteria for music videos and
so it appears that audiences understand
this as well.
However at the same time I was trying to tell a story but it was not exactly linear.The
fact that audiences picked this as a category of music video that my video falls into
tells me that my video might have been a bit confusing in places. In addition to this its
good to see some indication that people knew I was trying to make a somewhat
serious video and not a typical party–type music video that mainstream audiences are
used to seeing. Linking this back to how all types of audiences viewed my video tells
me that everyone seems to enjoy a more underground type of music video.

Audience Feedback
Moving on throughout the survey I then
asked what people enjoyed most about
the video itself. It seems that people really
liked the concept that I was trying to
conceive to the audience which was a late
drive at night about self discovery. From this
I have learned that people do also enjoy the
synth-wave genre of music as well and how
it can fit in well with what I wanted to
present.Also, People also seemed to enjoy
the shot types that were used throughout
the video. I tried to always use shots that
kept within the codes and conventions of
real music videos and so if people thought they were good and suited the video then I
think I did to some extent achieve what I was going for. An ’other’ option was also
chosen which suggests that they liked the feel of the video and so I think I did create an
atmosphere that was noticeable within the music video.

Audience Feedback
Moving on I then asked my audience more
specifically if they enjoyed the music video and
if not why.The majority of the response
suggest that people did enjoy the video for
what it was. It was suggested quite often that
the concept of the video went well with the
music itself and so I think I achieved what I
wanted to with the video. However, some
people did not enjoy the camera work within
the video and suggested that it was sometimes
too shaky. I agree with these statements as I
also think that some of the shots could have
been less shaky in the video. People did
however think the editing was good and I think
this was an outcome from doing lots of
different drafts of the video so that I could keep
improving the editing as the project went
forward.

Audience Feedback
The next I asked was what the
audience think the target audience
was.This was important to ask as it
would help me understand if I
achieved my aim of appealing to a
mass audience. As you can see I
have a range of different ages who
watched the video however it
appears that the concept of the
video did not appeal to an elderly
audience of 45 plus. In addition to
this, I think that my video is quite
fast paced and so it would perhaps
appeal more to a younger audience
between the ages of 17-24. Overall, I
am happy that I got the correct
target audience.

Audience Feedback
Here I asked what people considered was the
best part of the music video and I see this as a
key question to ask as it lets me know what I
did well. A lot of the comments suggest that
the opening credits was a very good part of
the film and I am pleased to see this as I was
also happy with the way this aesthetically
turned out in post-production. People also
loved the zebra crossing part as the editing
was very good. I was also happy with the
editing of this scene however I think it could
have been improved on a bit and been more
quick cut now looking back at it.

Audience Feedback
I then asked what could be improved
within the video to make the video
better as a whole. I received a lot of
comments suggesting that the
lighting within the video was quite
poor and that sometimes it was hard
to see what was on screen. I agree
with these comments as this was an
ongoing problem throughout the
whole project that could only be
partially resolved in editing. People
said that the camera work also could
have been improved and I also agree
with this as some shots were a
struggle to achieve a lot of the time.

Audience FeedbackConclusion
To conclude my audience feedback, I asked people
what they would rate the music video out of ten.
The results were mixed reviews but the majority of
people put it within the 6-8 bracket. I agree with
this rating as I think that the video is not perfect but
to but I think I did produce some good work within
this project.
However I was sometimes concerned about the
results within the survey which suggested that the
editing was not good enough in places and so the
story line was a bit hard to understand, leaving the
audiences sometimes confused.
I think the main thing to takeaway from this
audience feedback is that people did enjoy the
video quite a lot and really liked the whole concept
and ideas behind the video.This overall makes me
happy with the music video that I have produced
over the course

How did you use new media technology
in the construction stage?
Starting off with the hardware used during the construction stage, I used two different types of cameras for
filming the music video.These were a GoPro and a Nikon D3100 DSLR camera. It was very helpful to use the
GoPro when filming the shots within the car because it is a very portable camera that could be placed anywhere
so that I could get the specific shots that I wanted. In addition to this, the DSLR was essential when getting high
quality shots that would fit in well with the video.The DSLR was used for shots of the car moving from outside the
car and also the skateboard shots. Using a tripod with the DSLR was also a priority for filming as it enabled me to
get accurate and still shots that would not shake too much.
When going into post-production I usedAdobe Premier Pro to edit the video together as I already had experience
in using this software and so I knew that it had everything I needed when editing the video together.Within this
software I cut the clips all together and I also made minor adjustments to the contrast of the video in the hopes of
making it brighter which worked to some extent. I also at one point added a posturize filter to the video in
Premier Pro however my teacher advised against this and so for my final cut of the video I took this filter off.
In addition to Adobe Premier Pro I also usedAdobe Photoshop to edit my Digi-Pack and Poster Advertisement
ancillary tasks. I used this software as again I already had hands on experience with it and knew that it had
everything I needed to create these ancillary tasks. I used a lot of techniques that worked very well when creating
these ancillary tasks such as using the levels and filter tools to create rain effect for the front cover image. Overall,
I used new media technology to help me a lot in the construction stage.
However one of the main downfalls in the construction stage was timing and I sometimes spent too much time
trying to film the correct shots which cost me a lot when it came to editing the video together.

in the planning stage?
Within the planning stage it was crucial that I used new media technology to my
advantage so that I knew what I was going to be doing when it was time to go into the
construction stage. An example of this would be when I needed to create my animatic
from my storyboard. I used premier pro to do this by hand drawing the storyboard
myself and then importing the images into premier pro and editing them together to
create a helpful animatic. It was essential for me to create this as it helped me massively
in visualizing how my video would work and it would not of turned out very well if I did
not create this.
Furthermore, I used blogger very often within the planning stage to help document my
planning documents so that I could be more organized and see what I was doing.
Throughout the project and even in the construction stage I constantly looked at
YouTube videos to help me progress. I also looked at other tutorial website when it came
to editing my video together so that I could create the best video I could.
Another key to success for my video during the planning stage was the use of social
networking sites such as Facebook as twitter as this allowed me to set up dates with
other people to film my video which helped me progress massively.

in the research stage?
Web 2.0 was very important when gathering research for my video. An example of this
would be that I used the website ‘Survey Monkey’ which let me create my own survey
to gather information about my target audience and what ideas would work within my
video.This helped me make key decisions on what my video should be about and so
new media technology had a huge impact on my research for my video.
The websiteYouTube was also very important for my research as I was able to look at
music videos, Digi Packs and poster advertisements in detail and analyze them.This
helped me broaden my horizons within the music video genre and I learned a lot about
what my video should include and a rough idea on how my two ancillary tasks should
look in comparison with real media texts.
This overall helped me understand a lot about the music video genre and therefore
going into the planning stage I was fully aware about what I wanted to do and how to
do it.

Did I use new media technologies
effectively?
I believe to a large extent that I did use new media technologies effectively.This was
because I felt that if I did not do this then my music video and ancillary tasks would not
have turned out very well.Within the research stage I felt it was very necessary to look
into numerous kinds of genre within music video so that I had a full understanding of
how to approach my own video and how I wanted to make it. I believe that using new
media technology within the construction age was the biggest benefit to my projects.
This was because it helped bring all of the products together as whole creating that
synergy. Editing the same fonts and creating a signature across all three products I
believe was very important and is proof that I used new media technologies effectively.
I think I could of improved in some areas such as listening more to my initial audience
feedback survey as sometimes my video does not always do what the audience may
have wanted and as a result some of my audience were left confused as to what was
happening.
Overall, I think that I have created a body of work that is cohesive with each other and
works well as a whole. I think that they subvert, develop and use existing codes and
conventions of existing media products and have developed my skills as a filmmaker.

Media a2 evaluation

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