Signing out..

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

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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. 

Advert Research

Before starting the process of my Advert for The Saturdays, I have looked into some other famous artists,
and how they promoted their albums on their adverts. Some of the ones I have looked at are:

This is the magazine advert for the Kings of Leon. They have displayed their band name in block letters at the top of this poster, making it clear for the viewer straight away who's advert this is. Their background image reflects the name of their album title, 'Come Around Sundown' which I think is really effective, as the background shows a sort of vintage sunset across the centre of the poster, highlighting the palm trees. It shows us very clearly at the bottom of the poster that this is an advert for their new album, and the release date. It isn't very clear on my blog, but I noticed when seeing this image that the smaller print at the bottom reveals the website name for the band, and to the left of it it shows where you can purchase it first (amazon.com).

 This is the magazine advert for Gwen Stefani's new album - 'Love. Angel. Music. Baby'.  The advert cover for this represents the theme of a lot of her songs, for example - 'Rich Girl'. We can see her sitting on what looks like a throne, holding a crown and what could possibly be a sceptre, what a queen would have. This again represents her album name, showing that she is very glamorous. The advert also features some of the songs that are on the track listings, and who features in a number of the songs e.g. Eve. There is also some smaller print below it, yet it is hard to read. Then right at the bottom of the advert, it says that the album is 'Out in stores now'. In the bottom left hand corner, we actually see what the album cover looks like, making it easier for the viewer to know what they are looking for in stores. I personally really love Gwen Stefani's imagination when it comes to the designs of her albums and adverts, and I think it's really effective how she has kept the same image for the advert and the poster, enlarging the image for the poster.

This is a magazine advert for the band Audioslave - 'Turn To Gold' album name. They have kept their advert very simple, inkeeping with the theme of the album cover, too. They have displayed their band name at an eyelevel view, with the album name underneath in a smaller print. They have their faces either side of the advert, with the words 'Coming Soon' inbetween them. What I like most about this advert is that they have shown the reviews of what some critics have said - 4 stars from The Independant, Rolling Stones, and 3 from the News Of The World. Then in smaller print at the bottom, like most, they have shown the website name for the band.

Final Digipack as a whole...

This is an idea of what my Digipack would look like as if it were printed. Although the pixels and text are not as clear, this is just a way of showing what it looks like now each panel is completed. I have just 'Paint' to merge these images together.

Below is the version of the final Digipack as if it had just been printed. The images are upside down to give you an idea of how the Digipack would be presented to us ready to be folded. Overall, I am so pleased with tge final version of my Digipack.

Digipack - Inside cover

This is the inside cover of my digipack. As I have explained in previous posts, this image is across 3 panels, with insde pockets either side for the CD and DVD. This is the final edit of the image, which I have made into black and white. I have done this to highlight the background of the forest setting, which appears in the music video. As the girls are in the distance, I felt that it wasnt that important that I focus on them, instead making it more about the scenery. I have also made better use of the smudge tool when pasting more of the background to the left and right of this image, blending the cut together. Overall I think this image is a success and will look great when you open the digipack.

Digipack - Inside Front cover

This is the 4 panels of the 4 other girls in the band, with Grainne on the front cover. As i've explained before, all 5 of the girls will be roatating round so that they all get to be on the front cover for their Limited Edition Digipack. I have print screened all of these images from the music video, at the very beginning where we see all of their faces. I have cropped each one so that they are all close up, and are level in image size with each other. I have photoshopped each one, making their skin clearer, and increased the vibrancy. I then used a pink glitter image from Google, and covered the background in the glitter, over and over until it filled the canvas size. I think this is really effective as it highlights the name of the album, 'Glitter in the Air'.



Front cover - Limited Edition

This is a limited edition front cover for my digipack. On this particular cover, we have Grainne appearing on it. This front cover will also be repeated with the other 4 girls in the band, again individually. This is to appeal to the fans - a particular fan may have a favourite band member, and this digipack is to increase the sales of the CD and to advertise the band. On this cover: 

I have created a sticker in the top left hand corner, advertising what is included in this digipack, making it clearer for the viewer to see. It tells you that this is a limited edition of their album called 'Glitter in the Air', and tells you what features in the digipack, including more bonus features on the DVD that also comes with it. I have also inserted black and gold stars in order to make the writing stand out, particularly when it shows that the DVD is included, I have put 3 stars either side. As this is Grainne's edition, I have designed her a signiture, which I signed on paper, scanned onto the computer and 'Photoshopped' onto this image. I think this makes the front cover look more personal and appealing to the fans. This is again repeated for the 4 other girls. I have adjusted the lighting of both Grainne and the background, experimenting with various tools on Photoshop. For instance, I have desaturated the background, making the trees less green and more black and white, effectively making Grainne stand out. I have turned up the Brightness and Contrast of Grainne, also adding a Lens Flare in the top right hand corner, creating a sunlight shining down on her, portraying her to be very glamorous. I have made her eyes more blue and her skin slightly darker to make her stand out against the darkness of the trees. 

I have then inserted Text, clearly showing the name of the band, and the name of the album underneath. Overall I have really enjoyed designing the front cover, and after a class discussion and questionnaire, I have had an overall opinion that they would all consider buying this album. It is very eye-catching and colourful, and tells you everything about the digipack on the sticker, so we know exactly what to expect.

Digipack - Final Tracklistings

This is my final digipack tracklistings cover. I am really happy with the outcome of this because this is how I imagined the back cover to look like. I wanted something quite simple, in-keeping with the personalities in the band; nothing too wacky or colourful. I have inserted little black hearts in between the song listings on the Bonus Features, and the DVD. I have also inserted a scroll design wither side of CD and DVD to make it look elegent and make the headings stand out. Overall, I'm very happy with this, and will continue to design the other panels to the Digipack.

Digipack - Tracklistings

This is a rough idea of what I want the back cover of the Digipack to look like. I have selected a range of The Sturdays songs, conbined with various other artists, and some I have made up myself. I think its very important that I keep the tracks and the fonts simple to fit their image. I have looked at a range of album covers such as Enter Shikari, Pink, Ministry of Sound, to get ideas of the layout. I have included performances that are 'live' at the O2 to appeal to the audiences that the digipacks include extra feautures. I will also advertise this by creating a sticker on the front cover of the Digipack to show that it is a limited edition digipack with many features on 2 discs. I have included the DVD showing The Staurdays documentary which will appeal to their fans, to see the band behind the scenes and what their life is like off camera. I have also included other music video's and live performances of various songs. I think so far this is a success and look forward to continuing the final Digipack.

1st Draft

Here I have created a pink tint over the image to appeal to the audience as it looks more attractive. I have also reduced the capacity so that the tracklistings are clearer for the buyer to read.

Images for Digipack (outside cover)

I had the idea of creating 5 different types of Digipacks to appeal to different audiences. Each fan of The Saturdays will have their favourite band member, so I had to idea of creating a kind of Limited Edition Digipack, where the front cover will alternate from each different girl, in order to sell the digipack to the audience. Also, there may be people who are 'mega' fans of the band, and maybe buy more than one album. I think this idea will work really well as I have planned what I am to do (in a previous post). Here are my photoshopped images of each of the 5 girl band members:

                                                 

                

                        

                                                  

Images for Digipack (inside cover)

I have decided that this image below will be the inside cover of my digipack. However, I wanted to have this image stretched out across the 3 panels as you open the digipack, but I risked the image becoming pixelated, therefore becoming very low quality. So I have the idea of coping either side of the background of the forest, and pasting it either side of the image in order to get  the picture I was hoping for.

This is the new image now that it has been photoshopped.

As you can see, I haven't lost any quality of the image in 'pasting' extra background of the land. I have also used the 'smudge' tool in order to make sure that the ground and the trees match up.

Sketchings of my Digipack

I have drawn out a rough idea of how I would like my Digipack to be like. I am using the idea from Enter Shikari's album, using a 6 panelled cardboard design. In doing this I can include as much information as possible, e.g. 3/4 images, messages to fans, a collage of each band member individually. Here is my plan:

As you can see, I have annotated on my sketch of the digipack what I plan to create. The idea of the 'limited edition' design has stemed from my inspiration of research in the 'history of the music video' (shown in earlier posts), where many artists in the 80's/90's would create different digipacks in accordance with popularity from their fans.

Playing with Photoshop

In preperation for the making f my Digipack, I have been playing around with the Photoshop software. I have looked through the picture I have taken of the girls, and narrowed it down to my 3 favourite pictures. This is the first one which I plan to use as the album cover:

                                                                    Original Picture

Photoshop Design

If you look closely, you can see some obvious, and some subtle changes to the original picture. As there are originally a lot of colours and vibrancy in the image, I didn't want to make too many obvious changes as I feel that what I need is already there. What I find is most noticable is the saturation of the picture. I have, ever so subtly, made the whole image more vivid in colour. I have also made each one's eyes more blue, and made the white around the eye stand out. Also, I have used the 'smudge' tool to blend in their skin tones, and hide away any blemishes they may have. This gives them a subtle 'airbrush' look. I have changed the colours of their lips in accordance to their personalities. For example: Rosie (far left) lips are very red. This is to emphasise her pale complextion and dark hair, covering the very sterotypical image. Also, the red scard she has on brings out the redness in her lips. Sophie (second left) is the one girl I haven't changed the colour of her lips as I feel that they already have a nice pink tone, which suits the natural colour of her skin. This also highlighs how she may be portrayed as a slightly quieter character as she looks very natural. Beth (middle) I have made look very fresh-looking. Her lips are a peachy colour which I have changed, which I think brings out the colour in her eyes. I really like how she has the hood of her coat up, empahsising that she is the more dominant girl, being lead singer of the band, almost looking quite 'fierce'. I really like the colour of the fur in her hood as its similar to her hair, giving her a more dramatic look. Ellen (second right) I have made very little changes to. I have slightly changed the colour of her lips as I didn't want to take too much focus away from her as a whole. I think her main focus is the big lepord print coat, and how the colour of her hair brings that out. Grainne (far right) I have again, made very little changes to as I feel she didn't need as many, as her outfit is showing us that she is the miore mature one, possibly older one too. This is evident in the coat she wears, and also the leather gloves. I have made her lips a slightly lighter shade as I wanted her to look quite natural.

Overall, I feel that this was a successful photoshop creation, and I will continue to play around with more tools in the next 2 pictures for the Digipack.

Examples of Digipacks

Here is an example of an Enter Shikari Digipack that I have photographed:

For my Digipack, I think I will use this as a template design to create mine. After playing around with photoshop, I have realised that It will be difficult in terms of making the main photo in the shape of a square to fit the front cover. I am afraid that If i crop the picture, I will lose the proportion of each of the girls.So I am thinking of making something similar to this, a 6 paneled cardboard design. I really like how they have just one photo that spreads across 3 panels on the inside of the Digipack. For my Digipack, I would use one photo and spread it out.

Digipack

Digipacks are a type of CD packaging made out of card stock or other heavy paper/cardboard material. Digipacks can flip open like a book, or it can have three parts, so that one portion of the packaging opens to the right and one to the left, with the CD in the center portion. Usually, the portion of the digipack that hold the CD is made of plastic like a traditional jewel case CD - the plastic part is simply attached to the paper background. Here is a typical example of what a Digipack template looks like:

I will use this template, and others to determine how I will create my own digipack. After sketching and planning my digipack, It should look something like this: