Evaluation

Adam Brown

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

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

I have chose within my media A2 project to create a music video. The products on the left use a variety of conventional and unconventional to engage my audience. After research and surveys, I found that the age range between 16 -25 are more likely to be interested in the genre and style of music. However from research I have found out that there are some people within the 30 – 40 age range that would be interested. This means I have to take into consideration both types of people. Widening my target market. This resulted in using basic style fonts and bright attractive colours to help engage my audience then retain them with the text used.

CD front coverThis is my CD front cover. It is a simple design which includes an image I took on a nice day at mow cop castle. Throughout my project I have used mow cop castle throughout my research and planning stages. The Album title and band name are contrasting because it is in a dark font, which helps it to stand out from the background. However, I used a smaller sized font to help to take more focus on the picture. I did this because who would want to pick up a boring album cover. This is slightly unconventionally because stereotypically the band or artists name is usually the main focus on the album cover. However I have found this to be a more contemporary thing. For example, the Beatles used basic album covers but got a great response from them.

Personally I think this CD cover would challenge the forms or real media because it is a simple cover, but it is eye catching and links well with my target audience and the genre of music.

CD back

This is my CD back cover. Contrasting with the Front of the cover it has a completley different colour scheme. The front shows a nice day at mow cop castle, however the back shows the day ending as the sun looks like it is sitting in the trees. I took this picture in congelton canal which in my planning stages I was going to include footage of the bridges. However due to weather and the general public always around I decided just to take a range of images. This is one that I picked for my final CD cover back.

It is conventionally in the way that it has a barcode, which is certain that it will be on real media products. In addition, using the same font as the front, I have listed the song names that would be included within the CD. Yet again I have kept this plain and simple due to the responses of my research.

I think this CD cover back challenges the forms of real media products because it has the same things as a typical CD you could pick up in a shop. In addition, the image looks professional and relates well to my overall project and the genre of music that is used.

PosterThis is my poster which I have created for my final A2 product. My poster can be seen as conventional and at the same time very unconventional in relation to my other products. It does not use similar fonts or colour scheme as the other products. However after researching in the Red hot chili peppers, I had found that the band rarely used the same fonts more than a couple of times for poster and flyers. This information guided me to use a completley unconventional approach to this product. The image was taken of a road near to where I live in november last year. The title ‘untouched’ links with the snow in the picture being untouched. I think this works well because the title of the poster relates to the image. The poster is plain and simple using colours that contrast to help the font stand out. I asked members of my class to view my poster from a distance and asked them to read the writing. The majority response was good so little changes had to be made. The orange colour relates to the orange sunset within the CD cover which makes it abit conventional to my other products. To conclude, I think my poster is more unconventional but it is simple and easy to understand which makes it stand out.

With my music video I am going to challenge how conventional it is through analysing it in terms of Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory. He believed that all music videos should follow these six steps;

There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.

There is a relationship between the music and the visuals, with them illustrating, amplifying or contradicting each other.

That genres are complex and diverse in terms of music video style and iconography.

That record companies will demand a lot close-ups of the main artist/vocalist.

That they are likely to be intertextual references to other forms of media within the music video.

There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.

Within my music video I have used a range of live action shots to make a live action music video. The lyrics link with the visuals of the song. For example when it says ‘im always alright ill say im okay’ the person on screen looks happy and smiling. This links the visuals and lyrics together. There are moments throughout the song where the lyrics link directly to the visuals in what we are trying to portray. However I think in some parts I could have used better footage to create this effect.

There is a relationship between the music and the visuals, with them illustrating, amplifying or contradicting each other.

Within my music video I have tried to edit down the clips to help them keep in time and change around the time of when the music changes pace. For example when it goes into the chorus. The music is calm and the lyrics suggest that it is about being happy and enjoying life better than ever. This link with the clips of the small waterfall because they are usually seen as relaxing objects. In addition, because it is a live action video, this means that the music and visuals have to have a strong relationship otherwise it wouldn’t really make a lot of sense. This means I had to place my footage in time with the song I recorded at the start of the a2 project.

That genres are complex and diverse in terms of music video style and iconography.

The genre of my music is mellow rock/indie. The genre was hard to make products to, however it is my own music which means it is the style which I prefer. I think the music is diverse and could be targeted towards a variety of age ranges. However, because my video and music is my own it makes it harder to compare it to conventional products on the market today. On the other hand, it can be seen as being easier to be evaluated because it is my own music which makes it easier to use within my products and easier to change bits.

That record companies will demand a lot close-ups of the main artist/vocalist.

Within my music video there is a lot of close ups of the main singer Dave. This is mainly because it is stereotypical that the main focus is usually of the main vocalist. So by following this theory I included a range of close ups of the main singer. However I also included multi shots of myself and Dave to show that there is two of us and we see each other as equals. I think the video works well with the music, and fits with the genre and style.

Andrew Goodwin’s Theory of music videos. Overall, I have found out that my products follow some of the

points throughout the theory. However my video does not follow convention with some of the points and does not follow the rules. The points that my video follows I think I have done them effectively and followed typical convention

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

My products work well however they don’t follow a repeat pattern. In some ways this is good however in other ways it is not. The CD covers linked to together as it shows night and day as you turn over the cover. The poster is slightly different using different fonts. However from my audience feedback I have found them to be effective.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From audience feedback I have a greater understanding of what my audience wanted. From my research and surveys where I asked a variety of people questions in relation to my products the music, type of genre and so forth. These results helped me to create my own products in a style which related to their feedback. I have learned that audience feedback is very useful and is vital in the creation of making a successful product. This means that in future references of media I will always use audience feedback as a main focus to how my products will turn out. However, I will not forget to use conventional or unconventional items throughout my work. On the other hand, some of the survey results came back with answers I didn’t expect but this might be because I asked people of all different age groups.

How did you use media technology in construction, research and planning?

Throughout my research I used a variety of technologies. One of the main sites I used was youtube which allows me to see other music videos and use them as inspiration. I also researched my genre which was rock used this site. Throughout my project I have used blogger to display my work at each stage.

I also used technology at my stages of planning, where I developed mock ups of my digi pack and received feedback from my peers so that I could improve them to fit my target audience more. I used fireworks to create these products as it gave me the ability to manipulate my images. When constructing my video I used pinnacle, which gave me the ability to manipulate the clips so that they could synchronise with the lyrics .