That is the end of my A2 Media Studies Coursework! I've really enjoyed the process of the 3 ancillary tasks, and various other reasearch. I've learnt a lot from this, and gained further knowledge of the technologies I have used.
Bye!xo
Friday, 9 March 2012
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
The Final Music Video to The Saturdays - Died In Your Eyes
This is the final version of my music video. I have added a few extra clips from my last cut (the thrid version - in an earlier post). I have also changed the lighting in a few clips, adding some effects here adn there. I have also used slow motion on a couple of clips, and inserted a couple of ttansitions. Overall, I'm happy with the outcome of the music video, however the only thing I would change if i could would be the lighting of the music video as a whole. I twas very hard to adit most of the lighting as the weather change was quite significant as the music video was filmed over three seperate days.
Charlotte video final corrected from Caroline Birks on Vimeo.
Monday, 5 March 2012
Evaluation - 4
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Throughout the process of these ancillary tasks, I have used Blogger, scanner/printer, Photoshop, Digital Camera, Video Camera and Final Cut Pro X technologies. All of which became very useful to me, and I had no trouble using them. The following is a list of the technologies, and the advantages/disadvantages I had experienced when using them:
Blogger - I had had plenty of experience last year at AS when using this, so I experienced no trouble at all. I really enjoyed blogging as I felt that it was like an online diary, and it helped that I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of this coursework, encouraging me to blog often.
Scanner/Printer - The scanner played an important role as I often needed to scan images to post on my blog. Particularly my storyboards, shooting schedule, beat sheet etc. I had used this technology recently when scanning Grainne's signature onto the Digipack cover.
Photoshop - this software was the software I struggled with the most. I was a little familiar with it as I had used it very briefly in the past, but didn't know the ins and outs on how to edit as complex for the ancillary texts. However, it became more and more familiar to me the more I tried and practiced with the software. This as well as Final Cut Pro X was most useful to be as it helped me produced the most work.
Digital Camera - my camera came in handy when capturing images of the girl band individually and together. The images I took were much clearer than they had been from the video camera, too. Also, I am very familiar with cameras, so I was able to use this very efficiently and effectively throughout the ancillary texts.
Video Camera - I am also very familiar with this piece of technology as I used it last year at AS, and was the same camera. However, I would say that this could be improved due to the battery life and the picture quality. I found this particularly stressful when it came to the editing process, as I felt that the scenes I had filmed did not to it justice in real life. The poor quality is its biggest downfall for me personally.
Final Cut Pro X - this software is used only on a MAC. At first, I found this a very stressful software as I am unfamiliar with mac's in general, and did not know the short cuts and the general editing skills that were needed. However, I made things easier for myself by researching some of the short cuts on the software, printed the information off and began to pick up on many of the short cuts, making things so much easier and quicker for me to edit. This is one of the very best softwares you can use to edit with, and it offers so many things that I probably still haven't discovered. I loved the range of effects and choice of tools to use.
These technologies have all contributed into making my coursework a success. I feel so much more confident using all these technologies now, particularly Photoshop. Before I began the process of this coursework, Photoshop was something that I had used briefly in the past and hated it, as I found it much too complicated to work with. However, the amount of practice I have had with the software has enabled me to grow to love it and will definitely use it more often. There are so many things on their that it has to offer that I never knew about. The same with Final Cut Pro X - this has made a huge impact on me, so huge that I am considering buying a MAC and buy the editing software. Even before I took on media for a-levels, editing has been a big passion that I have had, and since using this software, it has offered me so much more than any other software I have used.
I have used all these technologies at different stages of the production, for example: Blogger - this was used throughout the production as it was vital that I 'blogged' very often with regards to my coursework. Scanner - this was also used throughout, although mainly early on when I needed to upload hard copys of work to my blog. Photoshop - this was used only for the Digipack and the Advert, which came after the filming process of the coursework. Digital Camera - this was used only for taking pictures when filming the music video. The pictures I took were then used for the Digipack and the Advert. Video Camera - this was used for the filming, and also the interview I filmed with Grainne with regards to audience feedback. Final Cut Pro X - this was used only for the editing process of the filming.
Throughout the process of these ancillary tasks, I have used Blogger, scanner/printer, Photoshop, Digital Camera, Video Camera and Final Cut Pro X technologies. All of which became very useful to me, and I had no trouble using them. The following is a list of the technologies, and the advantages/disadvantages I had experienced when using them:
Blogger - I had had plenty of experience last year at AS when using this, so I experienced no trouble at all. I really enjoyed blogging as I felt that it was like an online diary, and it helped that I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of this coursework, encouraging me to blog often.
Scanner/Printer - The scanner played an important role as I often needed to scan images to post on my blog. Particularly my storyboards, shooting schedule, beat sheet etc. I had used this technology recently when scanning Grainne's signature onto the Digipack cover.
Photoshop - this software was the software I struggled with the most. I was a little familiar with it as I had used it very briefly in the past, but didn't know the ins and outs on how to edit as complex for the ancillary texts. However, it became more and more familiar to me the more I tried and practiced with the software. This as well as Final Cut Pro X was most useful to be as it helped me produced the most work.
Digital Camera - my camera came in handy when capturing images of the girl band individually and together. The images I took were much clearer than they had been from the video camera, too. Also, I am very familiar with cameras, so I was able to use this very efficiently and effectively throughout the ancillary texts.
Video Camera - I am also very familiar with this piece of technology as I used it last year at AS, and was the same camera. However, I would say that this could be improved due to the battery life and the picture quality. I found this particularly stressful when it came to the editing process, as I felt that the scenes I had filmed did not to it justice in real life. The poor quality is its biggest downfall for me personally.
Final Cut Pro X - this software is used only on a MAC. At first, I found this a very stressful software as I am unfamiliar with mac's in general, and did not know the short cuts and the general editing skills that were needed. However, I made things easier for myself by researching some of the short cuts on the software, printed the information off and began to pick up on many of the short cuts, making things so much easier and quicker for me to edit. This is one of the very best softwares you can use to edit with, and it offers so many things that I probably still haven't discovered. I loved the range of effects and choice of tools to use.
These technologies have all contributed into making my coursework a success. I feel so much more confident using all these technologies now, particularly Photoshop. Before I began the process of this coursework, Photoshop was something that I had used briefly in the past and hated it, as I found it much too complicated to work with. However, the amount of practice I have had with the software has enabled me to grow to love it and will definitely use it more often. There are so many things on their that it has to offer that I never knew about. The same with Final Cut Pro X - this has made a huge impact on me, so huge that I am considering buying a MAC and buy the editing software. Even before I took on media for a-levels, editing has been a big passion that I have had, and since using this software, it has offered me so much more than any other software I have used.
I have used all these technologies at different stages of the production, for example: Blogger - this was used throughout the production as it was vital that I 'blogged' very often with regards to my coursework. Scanner - this was also used throughout, although mainly early on when I needed to upload hard copys of work to my blog. Photoshop - this was used only for the Digipack and the Advert, which came after the filming process of the coursework. Digital Camera - this was used only for taking pictures when filming the music video. The pictures I took were then used for the Digipack and the Advert. Video Camera - this was used for the filming, and also the interview I filmed with Grainne with regards to audience feedback. Final Cut Pro X - this was used only for the editing process of the filming.
Evaluation - 3
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Audience feedback has become a major part in the process of my researching, as it's important to me to have other people's opinion and advice on my work. Before I began any research for audience feedback, I first established who my target audience would be, and what they should expect. I then created a questionnaire, asking a series of questions based on music video's. I asked 20 people to fill in the questionnaire I had created, then I blogged about the answers I had received. I found this feedback extremely useful as I noted that the majority of people do not like to see dance routines, nor do they like narrative based music video's. This made it much easier for me to continue as I knew that this would have been tricky to pull off.
Other aspects of audience feedback began once I started the process of filming/editing. Even when during the filming exercise, the girls would tell me what they think worked best in the different parts of the location we filmed in. I took this very seriously as 3 of them also studied media, and we all had different ideas that we shared. When it came to editing, there were many times where I would ask my peers to gather round the computer screen, and asked them which I think worked best.
Particularly when I showed my class my 3rd draft of editing, they were all kind enough to note down what they liked/didn't like about the music video. The majority noted that they really enjoyed the whole production, and would want to watch it again. Many said they think the lip-syncing worked well, and good use of emotions. Also, that they liked the interesting shots of the location and when we all see the girls singing together. However, I also received some negative feedback, which of course I appreciated, too. This was that I needed to introduce some effects, and play around with the different lightings of the scenes. I knew I had to do this as the video had been filmed on 3 seperate days, so I took their advice and played with some of the effects on the editing software.
The latest feedback I have received was interviewing Gráinne, (one of the band members) with regards to the making of The Saturdays music video, and about The Saturdays in general. The questions I asked her were: 1. What would you expect to see in a 'The Saturdays' typical music video? 2. What did you think of the production of the music video? 3. What did you like?/What didn't you think worked well? 4. Did you think it needed some Narrative? 5. Would you watch the music video more than once? 6. Would it make you want to buy the CD? After asking these questions, I then received the following feedback:
Overall, the feedback I have received throughout the process was very helpful indeed. I have taken into account all of the things people have said that worked well/didn't, and have altered parts of the ancillary texts where I needed to. I think its important that you get other peoples views and opinions on your own work, as they may have different interests/ideas than you do.
Audience feedback has become a major part in the process of my researching, as it's important to me to have other people's opinion and advice on my work. Before I began any research for audience feedback, I first established who my target audience would be, and what they should expect. I then created a questionnaire, asking a series of questions based on music video's. I asked 20 people to fill in the questionnaire I had created, then I blogged about the answers I had received. I found this feedback extremely useful as I noted that the majority of people do not like to see dance routines, nor do they like narrative based music video's. This made it much easier for me to continue as I knew that this would have been tricky to pull off.
Other aspects of audience feedback began once I started the process of filming/editing. Even when during the filming exercise, the girls would tell me what they think worked best in the different parts of the location we filmed in. I took this very seriously as 3 of them also studied media, and we all had different ideas that we shared. When it came to editing, there were many times where I would ask my peers to gather round the computer screen, and asked them which I think worked best.
Particularly when I showed my class my 3rd draft of editing, they were all kind enough to note down what they liked/didn't like about the music video. The majority noted that they really enjoyed the whole production, and would want to watch it again. Many said they think the lip-syncing worked well, and good use of emotions. Also, that they liked the interesting shots of the location and when we all see the girls singing together. However, I also received some negative feedback, which of course I appreciated, too. This was that I needed to introduce some effects, and play around with the different lightings of the scenes. I knew I had to do this as the video had been filmed on 3 seperate days, so I took their advice and played with some of the effects on the editing software.
The latest feedback I have received was interviewing Gráinne, (one of the band members) with regards to the making of The Saturdays music video, and about The Saturdays in general. The questions I asked her were: 1. What would you expect to see in a 'The Saturdays' typical music video? 2. What did you think of the production of the music video? 3. What did you like?/What didn't you think worked well? 4. Did you think it needed some Narrative? 5. Would you watch the music video more than once? 6. Would it make you want to buy the CD? After asking these questions, I then received the following feedback:
I found that this was very helpful as she is an 18 year old girl, who is right in the middle age group of my target audience.
Overall, the feedback I have received throughout the process was very helpful indeed. I have taken into account all of the things people have said that worked well/didn't, and have altered parts of the ancillary texts where I needed to. I think its important that you get other peoples views and opinions on your own work, as they may have different interests/ideas than you do.
Evaluation - 2
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
The 3 products that I have created all work and link together. I felt that this was important so that the viewer will be able to recognise the band easily. The image that I have created is that they are this generations most popular girl band, all with very different looks and different styles. I have kept the theme of the fields and their
outfits the same to promote the song 'Died in your Eyes' and the video. The way they all link together creates a theme for their promotion of their Limited Edition package, creating a brand that I think the audience will be very fond of. Here is an example of the front cover of the Digipack, an image on the inside cover, and the advert. Notice how they all link together with the scenery.
- This is the Digipack image (the images will alternate with the different band members, showing that it is a Limited Edition album cover). As you can see, Grainne is wearing what she wore in the video, and the trees in the background show she is in the same location to where it was filmed.
This is another example of how I have kept the theme of the music video flowing throughout the ancillary texts. This image is one that also appears in the music video, except I have taken this as a still image, making it black and white to show variety.
- This is the advert cover. Again you can see that they are all wearing the same and are in the same locations as to wear this was filmed. Also what the viewer may notice is that this image is also a scene in the video where they are all together singing the chorus. When seeing this image, the audience immediately know that this image may appear in the music video, and straight away know what outfits they are being filmed in.
I think these products all really work well together and I wouldn't change anything. As I said before, I didn't want to do anything too out of the ordinary, as I think that too unusual may ruin the whole 'look' of the band. To keep the audience interest, I have simply changed the contrast and tones of the images in order to make sure it is not all too similar. Overall, I would say that this has been a success in linking all the products together, as it creates a brand for the band which can easily be noticed by The Saturdays fans.the general audience.
The 3 products that I have created all work and link together. I felt that this was important so that the viewer will be able to recognise the band easily. The image that I have created is that they are this generations most popular girl band, all with very different looks and different styles. I have kept the theme of the fields and their
outfits the same to promote the song 'Died in your Eyes' and the video. The way they all link together creates a theme for their promotion of their Limited Edition package, creating a brand that I think the audience will be very fond of. Here is an example of the front cover of the Digipack, an image on the inside cover, and the advert. Notice how they all link together with the scenery.
This is another example of how I have kept the theme of the music video flowing throughout the ancillary texts. This image is one that also appears in the music video, except I have taken this as a still image, making it black and white to show variety.
I think these products all really work well together and I wouldn't change anything. As I said before, I didn't want to do anything too out of the ordinary, as I think that too unusual may ruin the whole 'look' of the band. To keep the audience interest, I have simply changed the contrast and tones of the images in order to make sure it is not all too similar. Overall, I would say that this has been a success in linking all the products together, as it creates a brand for the band which can easily be noticed by The Saturdays fans.the general audience.
Evaluation - 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
When I first began this assignment of my media coursework, I did lots of research towards how and where I would create a music video, and ideas for the Digipack and the Advert.
The first part of the research I did was about the different types of Genre in a music video - observing and taking notes of a series of Youtube video's, noting whether it was narrative/performance/concept, and what were the expectations of the music video. I then did a textual analysis of Lady Gaga's 'Paparazzi' music video, again noting the same sorts of things, and how the audience perceive her. I researched the History of the Music Video, and researched the 100 Greatest Music Video's. Once I had gained further knowledge of how and what to expect from a music video, I began to decide my artists and start the research for filming.
Once completing my filming, during the course of editing I started to then think about what I would be doing for the Digipack and Advert. Fortunately for me, I thought ahead and already had taken a variety of photo's that I knew would be useful when it came to the designing of the ancillary texts.
The Digipack research I felt was much easier than the research I had done before, because I had a better insight to which images I would use since I had already completed my filming. Firstly, I researched what a typical Digipack looks like, and how I wanted mine to look like. Then I researched ideas for the Digipack, looking at previous images of The Saturdays, getting more of an idea of what a typical girl band looks like. Once I knew roughly my idea, I began to sketch out what I hoped m Digipack will look like (in a previous post). Since then, I have stuck to all my ideas I have talked about it previous posts.
Finally, the advert research was very simple as I had learnt so much along the way of the coursework process. I knew what image I would be using, and how I wanted it to look. I researched 4 other adverts of various artists and noted what their adverts featured on the cover. In my advert, I stuck to all the same texts and font I had used throughout this process, showing a link between the Music video, the Digipack and the Advert.
Without all the research I have done, there was no way of producing what I had done. As you can see in previous posts, I have included many of the ideas I have talked about, incorporating them into my coursework. I made sure I included them by going back and forth to the posts where I had shown my research. I also felt that It was very important to show a link between the ancillary texts, reflecting on the music video. All the images/scenes you see are all from the music video, and fonts of the texts are all the same. As The Saturdays are a young English band, I keep their image quite new, young and simple. I didn't feel it would work if I went against conventions by doing anything unusual because that is simply not them. I wanted to use the space of the land I had as it was right next door to me, and so I felt that the music fit with its location.
I think its very clear what sort of genre this band seem to theme, yet I didn't feel that is was necessary to bring in the aspect of narrative. At first, I didn't rule the concept of Narrative out, I experimented with it (in earlier posts), but It didn't really work as I had already filmed most of the music video, and the narrative bits that I did film just seemed out of place when I began to edit them. I wanted to show the audience that this was purely performance based to really show off each individual, and what they can do. They all have a different look and a different image, and I think they work really well together as a band. I think this becomes evident throughout the ancillary texts, specifically the Advert cover and it's a really eye-catching image.
When I first began this assignment of my media coursework, I did lots of research towards how and where I would create a music video, and ideas for the Digipack and the Advert.
The first part of the research I did was about the different types of Genre in a music video - observing and taking notes of a series of Youtube video's, noting whether it was narrative/performance/concept, and what were the expectations of the music video. I then did a textual analysis of Lady Gaga's 'Paparazzi' music video, again noting the same sorts of things, and how the audience perceive her. I researched the History of the Music Video, and researched the 100 Greatest Music Video's. Once I had gained further knowledge of how and what to expect from a music video, I began to decide my artists and start the research for filming.
Once completing my filming, during the course of editing I started to then think about what I would be doing for the Digipack and Advert. Fortunately for me, I thought ahead and already had taken a variety of photo's that I knew would be useful when it came to the designing of the ancillary texts.
The Digipack research I felt was much easier than the research I had done before, because I had a better insight to which images I would use since I had already completed my filming. Firstly, I researched what a typical Digipack looks like, and how I wanted mine to look like. Then I researched ideas for the Digipack, looking at previous images of The Saturdays, getting more of an idea of what a typical girl band looks like. Once I knew roughly my idea, I began to sketch out what I hoped m Digipack will look like (in a previous post). Since then, I have stuck to all my ideas I have talked about it previous posts.
Finally, the advert research was very simple as I had learnt so much along the way of the coursework process. I knew what image I would be using, and how I wanted it to look. I researched 4 other adverts of various artists and noted what their adverts featured on the cover. In my advert, I stuck to all the same texts and font I had used throughout this process, showing a link between the Music video, the Digipack and the Advert.
Without all the research I have done, there was no way of producing what I had done. As you can see in previous posts, I have included many of the ideas I have talked about, incorporating them into my coursework. I made sure I included them by going back and forth to the posts where I had shown my research. I also felt that It was very important to show a link between the ancillary texts, reflecting on the music video. All the images/scenes you see are all from the music video, and fonts of the texts are all the same. As The Saturdays are a young English band, I keep their image quite new, young and simple. I didn't feel it would work if I went against conventions by doing anything unusual because that is simply not them. I wanted to use the space of the land I had as it was right next door to me, and so I felt that the music fit with its location.
I think its very clear what sort of genre this band seem to theme, yet I didn't feel that is was necessary to bring in the aspect of narrative. At first, I didn't rule the concept of Narrative out, I experimented with it (in earlier posts), but It didn't really work as I had already filmed most of the music video, and the narrative bits that I did film just seemed out of place when I began to edit them. I wanted to show the audience that this was purely performance based to really show off each individual, and what they can do. They all have a different look and a different image, and I think they work really well together as a band. I think this becomes evident throughout the ancillary texts, specifically the Advert cover and it's a really eye-catching image.
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Advert - The Saturdays
These two images are of the possible covers for my advert of The Saturdays, promoting their new album, 'Glitter In The Air'. I have designed this using photoshop. The image itself has not been edited in anyway as I thought that it was not necessary. Personally I love how the angle of the picture highlights the fact that they are powerful young women, as the sky is shown in the background. I have used the same text as I have done throughout the designing of the Digipack, changing the colour to white, also making the text Bold. After researching various adverts from different artists, I have realised that less is more. I haven't cluttered the poster with lots of information, just simply showing clearly when the album will be released, and where you can purchase it first. I have pasted the logo for Amazon, and also their record label 'Polydor'.
In this first image below, I have displayed the views of critics, showing what other people have said about the album. However I felt that this wasn't really necessary so decided to eliminate the text, and just have 'The Saturdays'.
This is the final advert for The Saturdays. I made sure that this image was A4 before I begun, however I found that in adjusting the image size, the girls became very distorted. I solved this by simply copying and pasting more of the grass to allow room for the text. This made a big difference and the girls were not as 'stretched' as they had once been. Personally, due to the angle, I really like how the girls are pictured here as I feel that they look powerful and in control.
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