How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluate stages? (Music Video)

Software used:

Final cut pro

Other technologies:

Digital video camera, Digital still camera, facebook/ youtube.

I used Final cut pro to create my music video. I needed to take lots of footage so I had enough to piece together a music video with many different shots and cuts. I used the video camera to record at different locations such as Box Hill, London, East Wittering (coast), Sutton and Portsmouth (coast). I needed to film in these locations for many reasons, the main reason was for the journey that the video would portray. I used the video camera on the tripod, off the tripod, upside down, spinning... to get different interesting shot types and qualities.

I used many different effects, for example luma key, dazzle, chroma key, colour key, overdrive, bloom, spinning of the video itself, reversing of clips, speeding up of clips and resizing of different video clips. I also used a digital still camera and photoshop for the image of the spinnaker tower in Portsmouth. I also used a vinyl record, a turn table with a stylus to show the name of the band on a disk in pencil to make it look authentic as if it were a new, fresh copy of the music.

I used media technologies by looking on the internet for examples of existing music videos. I found a few good reference videos and studied them in the costumes the people wore, the locations and props. The main one was Around the world by Daft Punk which goes almost perfectly with the image of our band. For this I used youtube and also playtime to find songs and different artists like daft punk.

I planned the music video by using a shooting schedule and a storyboard and I feel that the music video matches up with the storyboard very well.

I used a digital video camera, a digital still camera, photoshop and final cut to create the music video, making sure the images and video were of high qulaity and cut smoothly and on the beat with the music.

I used youtube to put my music video up to get feedback to evaluate the work. I found out that my music video showed a good, strong image of the band and genre.

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluate stages? (Ancillary Task)

Software used:

Photoshop

Other technologies:

Digital still camera, digital video camera and facebook.

Using photoshop I created an advert to promote and sell the artists and digipak and created a couple of digipak panels.

I was influenced by Daft Punk mainly as the image is of two faceless artists that wear full face helmets. We came up with a faceless DJ approach where the artists would be covered by the hoods and black glasses which goes as well with the music with the hidden DJ in clubs. I wanted my artists to have a very memorable image that sells them and most importantly, their music which is what they are all about.

I used media technologies by looking on the internet for examples of existing digipaks and posters, as well as looking at examples first hand. I used a digital camera and photoshop to create the poster and digipak, making everything flow smoothly and making sure the images were of high qulaity. I used facebook to put my ancillary tasks up to get feedback to evaluate the work.

In my research, I looked at many places for a suitable image that could relate to the dance genre and the faceless DJ image. I found that as you go on a journey through the music and the journey you go on when you are listening to a piece of dance music in a club where you cant see the DJ but go with the flow anyway, I felt that the coast would be a good place to get some images for the advert and poster as it shows the sea, which is what I normally think of when going on a journey and the colours of a sunset over a sea with the formation of the clouds can really match the colours which you get in clubs, especially with colours which relate to dance music which would be strong and vibrant.

For my advert poster, I took a picture of East Wittering looking out on the beach. I used photoshop to make the image more contrasting. I then inverted the colours and changed the hue so the sunset was still yellow and orange but kept the purple as it works with the dance genre and with parts of the music video. I then got my picture of the Spinnaker tower in Portsmouth and used glowing edges to match that of sharp lines and lasers in a club, which I then desaturated it to make it black and white. I made the hair logo to go on top of all parts of our ancillary task by getting a picture of us (the band) and cutting the hair out, making it a vector and grouping them together to make one logo. I used the font 'Spleen machine' for the overall font for our band as it matched the genre and the image of dance perfectly. I used some paint effects behind the text to make it blend better with the background and to finalize the whole piece.

I used the media technologies: photoshop and a digital still camera to produce this piece of work for our band.

For my Digipak panels, I used a gradient as a background, then used a lens flare, plastic wrap and glowing edges with a highlighted top left corner to give a nice light soure to create a very club and dance like feel. I used final cut to get screenshots of our faces, imported them into photoshop, added the effect 'glowing edges' so they match the background well and put them into the panel, positioning them so they are easily identifiable from the background and each other. I then added the same 'Spleen machine' text to give a sense of continuity to the different parts of the ancillary task.

I used the media technologies: photoshop, final cut, digital video camera to produce this piece of work.

I put these images on facebook to get feedback on parts that are good and bad about them and found out that most of the comments were positive.

What have you learned from you audience feedback? (Music Video)

I have learned that from my feedback, my music video shows a strong image of the band and has many good effects that match that of the image of our genre. I have also learned that the use of the lava lamps as a background throughout worked very well. I put my video on facebook and the comments i got were all positive.

What have you learned from you audience feedback? (Ancillary task)

I put this on Facebook to get the feedback for this evaluation. From the audience feedback, I have learnt that my poster works well with the music video. I learnt that it was eye catching and a nice background which was the seascape gave it a warm feel and reminded them of summer and dancing, especially with the text and effects that surrounded the background image. I found that the main things that stood out were the name of the band, the album and the logo, which is very good as that is what I am trying to sell.

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

The image of our band was important. We wore dark clothes throughout the digipak, poster and music video (most of the video) and dark glasses to create a memorable image of the band and adding to the image of the genre of dance music. I think they are both very effective in the way that they bring this image of the artists as faceless and that you go along with it (just like in clubs- you just go along with the music). I think that the ancillary task perfectly resembles what the music video and band are about. It shows a journey through different areas, much like the journey through the different sections of the music:

We wanted a combination of areas that would resemble a journey. Therefore, we chose Box Hill, East Wittering, Portsmouth etc to film the pieces of footage and take the pictures for our music video, digipak and my advert poster. We also needed to make sure that the areas in which we took photographs and filmed were suitable to put good effects on and that the effects could represent lights and the atmosphere in clubs and of the music itself. We filmed and took photos in the same areas so the ancillary task could match the music video and so parts of the ancillary task could highlight points in the music video.

In the identity of the artists, throughout the music video and the ancillary tasks the artists remain faceless and hidden. I thought that hiding their identity through most of the video and all of the ancillary tasks would keep the audience glued to the final product which was the video, until a long way in where the hidden identity becomes an identity that the audience can relate to (teenagers in casual clothing).

The combination of the ancillary task and the music video was important as the identity of the artists remain hidden until the middle of the music video, while the image of them is clear throughout. This combines a strong image (hoods and glasses) with the relation to the target audience, in the video, of normal teenagers.

The main product and ancillary tasks go perfectly together as the image of the artists is the same, the locations match up and they all work with the genre of dance/ club music.

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

My ancillary task uses the conventions of real media products as the digipak has the colours and tones relating first of all to the video, and to the conventions of that type of dance music.

Going through the digipak is a journey, much like the one conveyed in the music video. It relates to the video well, as does the poster, using the exotic scene of the sea behind the Spinnaker tower in Portsmouth, both of which are in the video in some way.

The colours and tones in each part of the ancillary task are very similar throughout. We wanted a strong, memorable image of the band and that meant using the same rough colours and styles. If were were to challenge conventions of real media products of this kind and of this genre in certain ways, we would have had to use different colours of styles in different things and that would not have worked to give such a definite image. However, we have used slight differences in each part of the ancillary task, for example the advert poster with the sunset over the sea in those warm, summer like colours is not in any other part. I decided to do this to show more of an invitation for the audience to see the music video and buy music from the artists. In other sections of the ancillary taks, the colours are far more neon like and match the artists overall look but to have the warm, inviting advert poster can first appeal to a vaster audience but more to do with having a product which is nice to look at for the audience and that the artists have feelings and emotions (calming, warm sunset over the sea - what anyone would like to see and be near) and they are not just hidden people in hoods and glasses.

The main text throughout the ancillary tasks I thought matched the image of the artists and their music and comes from a website called 'Dafont'. This uses the conventions as there are usually certain font types that you relate to certain genres of music and certain artists.

In other parts of the ancillary tasks, the main effect uses is glowing edges, which makes very neon looking lines to form the image. The name of the band uses the words 'Blackened' and 'Neon', two main parts of the overall colous used in the making of the posters and digipak. These work well with the music and genre as they show similar colours to lights and lasers inside clubs in which this type of music would be played.

The editing throughout the ancillary tasks are very similar, so is the cinematography when looking at the faces.

I made sure that throughout making parts of the ancillary task, The style, colours, fonts and patterns had to match up with each other in some way and especially with the band image and music video, also with the genre of music as this style of music has strong imagery and impact on the audience, which is why a lot of it is remembered and gets popular and therefore sells.

I feel that these have all been successful and have boosted my creativity a fair amount and that I am able to produce professional looking media products in the future. The way I have used photoshop with mainly glowing edges, very contrasting imagery and a small range of shot types with the sunset and close ups of the faces, I think has made a memorable, powerful image that would sells the artists very well, and quickly.

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

In our music video, we have successfully used the forms and conventions from real media products in our genre. We have put in many features of dance music into the video, for example the lava lamps which show the movement in clubs and the glowing, vivid colour effects that match that of the lasers and lights in a club.

The shots cut on the beat and quite a few shots cut on syncopated rhythms to make the whole piece (audio and visual) more interesting. I think it also develops the conventions as there are different locations that are usually not used in music of this kind, like the river and sea.

We used conventions from real media products by looking at the image of Daft Punk. The image there is artists in helmets and you cant see any identity but you get a strong image. The style of music is similar to that of our music and so we thought that we could do something similar. We had the artists wearing hoods and dark glasses, also darkening the video as well so it would be very difficult to see their identity but get a strong and memorable look of the band.

The genre of our music is generally quite creative anyway so we came up with quite a few things that would give the artists a strong look. We looked at different effects and found a few that give a club like feel, we also filmed the lava lamps which would give a good effect made for us, which also has motion in it to represent motion in the music and clubs again.

We made sure the basic conventions were followed, for example cuts on the beat etc but also pushed them slightly as we put cuts and transitions/ fades off beat, but rhythmically to emphasize parts of the drum kit and a few nice chord progressions. We gave only a portrait of the artists to give a simple yet effective image.

Our music video has parts that other genres of music would relate to more but in adding these different scenes (sea...) we were able to create something that develops the conventions of music videos of the club dance genre.

The music video was a mix of continuity and montage editing. Near the end of the video it was more of a montage of clips put together and cuts were frequent and fast. Earlier in the video, there are parts of continuity with a small structure (close up lip synching parts). We mainly used quick cuts as the music's tempo is fast and in 4/4 timing which also means cuts can go on the offbeat and on the beat which means the cuts can be in 8/8 (if there can be a time signature for visuals).

Photoshop idea for Digipak

This is my idea of the style for the digipak. I have got images of the three members of the band, all wearing glasses and with their hoods up, looking straight at the audience. I have added and effect called Glowing Edges which make them seem very relevant to the style of the music which this group is supposed to produce. I then added a large 2 panel section with a gradient on it with plastic wrap and then the glowing edges around it again to give the electric colours to go along with the music genre. Lastly, I added a black panel with a black and white version of the main member of the band on the right hand side of the panel, just showing his glasses along with a lens flare, a black and white gradient on the black panel with plastic wrap around it to finish it off.

I then came up with some more possible panels for the Digipak:

Photoshop quick ideas for posters

I have come up with some designs for the poster. They both have an image of the sea with a sunset with the Spinnaker tower in Portsmouth. They both have the logo with the hair but the images of the tower are slightly different in each one.

Later on, I put some more effects on and a few pieces of text and came up with this:

Photoshop ideas for logos

I have come up with two logos that try to fit our music video. The first one shows the hair of the whole group. The second one has the glasses that we wear in the music video which really is the main image or look of the group. I feel that the hair logo suits our genre well as it shows the 'faceless DJ' which is what you get in many clubs. This also shows how you don't know who the people are that are making/ playing the music but you go along with it. This fits perfectly with our dance music track and with our video.