Introduction
Welcome to our blog!
This group consists of 4 boys aged 17-19 with a great variation and range of skills to complete a successful media project.
Howdy, I'm Will! I study ICT and History at A2 Level, alongside Media Studies, of course! *laughter* I'm 19 years old. My hobbies are playing football and learning how to drive but my real passion is fine dining!
Look what the cat dragged in... haha! I'm just horsing around, Hi, I'm Seb, I'm 19 years old and study ICT and Business and Economics at A2, tough stuff! I'm have an avid interest in indie music, so I was over the moon that I found this diamond in the rough, Bob Tink, and was able to use his little known song 'What' for our music video!
'Sup! It's Dave here, but you probably already knew that! I'm 17 and study ICT and Psychology at A2, I'm a real guy's guy, I play rugby most weekends so don't mess with me or I'll be sure to hit you with a firm tackle, am I right?!
Hi, I'm Tom! *applause* I'm also 17 and I'm the only one who doesn't study ICT, I do study French and Business, however. I love flower arrangements and making youtube videos with my friends!
We have great interest in Indie alternative music as we don't enjoy the mainstream crowd. As a result of this we have chosen to create a music video based from our idol Bob Tink.
Evaluation Question 3- What Have you learnt from your audience feedback? by David Sampson
Our music video is called "What" by Bob Tink. Our target audience for our music video is aimed at late teenager sand early adults stage which is around 17-22. The gender for our music video is aimed at men because we not creating an image of the artist for females to look at as our music video is all about the song. We haven't targeted or music video at any ethnicity. Our target audience would be interested in indie music so sort of hipsters would be interested in our music video. Our target audience might be interested in skateboard as we got a few skateboard clips in our music video. Also our target audience wouldn't really care about the video as they would only care about the music.
Data analysis
We have managed to get some data from our music video to monitor of how many people are watching and where they were watching the video. From this you can see only the UK and the US has been watching our music video but this isn't updated yet as I last check we got 162 views not 82. For some reason they could not find out the percentage of gender of each male and female that watch the video. This is probably because it meant to get over a number of views which ours don't match yet. The data shows that most people actually search for the song instead of someone channel page. This is good because word is getting around the place about our music video which will increase the number of views when more people watched it. As you can see we got no dislikes which shows no one actually hates our video and also we got a couple of likes which shows more people like the video than they dislike it.
When I did the interview I was making sure it was in our target audience so it gives a true reflection. I did a couple of interviews but here is one of them.
The first question was What you would expect in an indie music video? And from the feed back I got most of it was expecting to see performances in the video and also some conflict which is what we did in our video which shows we follow the indie genre very well.
The second question was what sort of costumes would you expect the band to be in? From the feedback I got was similar as audiences were saying bright colours while other audience were saying it should stand out. In our video ours stand out because of the use of binary opposites we got with the band wearing black while the artist is in white.
The third question was what did you think of our music video? From the feedback I got was that the music video was very good and it was professional. Also from the feedback I receive was that they like the gaming as it was symbolising the relationship very well and also like the rubix cube.
We ask the class to look at our video and we ask them a few questions. Our aim is for males so it was unfortunate we had females watching but it didn't feel a difference at all. The class did understand the video and also they link it to theories like Barthes and Levi Strauss theories. They answer the questions fine and with detail and also gave us good feedback of what great about the video. SO we felt this was a success as they knew what they were talking about.
EBI
Data analysis
We have managed to get some data from our music video to monitor of how many people are watching and where they were watching the video. From this you can see only the UK and the US has been watching our music video but this isn't updated yet as I last check we got 162 views not 82. For some reason they could not find out the percentage of gender of each male and female that watch the video. This is probably because it meant to get over a number of views which ours don't match yet. The data shows that most people actually search for the song instead of someone channel page. This is good because word is getting around the place about our music video which will increase the number of views when more people watched it. As you can see we got no dislikes which shows no one actually hates our video and also we got a couple of likes which shows more people like the video than they dislike it.
Wordle
I asked a couple of people to come and look at our music video and then ask them to write down ideas/images or any key lyrics that came into their head. I presented this using Wordle so I can take a good look at some of the big words the audience has put in.
A big word in the clutter is relationships which was shown in our music video by the relationship between the male and the female. Also we showed the relationship by using Barthes theory of semiotics when we use a number of objects to show the relationship.
Another word used was emotion which wasn't helpful because this doesn't show if it was an happy or sad emotion but they did use heartbreak which shows in the music video that the artist is heartbroken as he lost something that he loved very much.
There are also loads of other words in there which are link to the lyrics for example caught which was caught up in a rush. The audience probably wrote this down because you can see in the music video that he was caught up in a rush in the car which linked to our lyrics.
Interviews
The first question was What you would expect in an indie music video? And from the feed back I got most of it was expecting to see performances in the video and also some conflict which is what we did in our video which shows we follow the indie genre very well.
The second question was what sort of costumes would you expect the band to be in? From the feedback I got was similar as audiences were saying bright colours while other audience were saying it should stand out. In our video ours stand out because of the use of binary opposites we got with the band wearing black while the artist is in white.
The third question was what did you think of our music video? From the feedback I got was that the music video was very good and it was professional. Also from the feedback I receive was that they like the gaming as it was symbolising the relationship very well and also like the rubix cube.
Class video
We ask the class to look at our video and we ask them a few questions. Our aim is for males so it was unfortunate we had females watching but it didn't feel a difference at all. The class did understand the video and also they link it to theories like Barthes and Levi Strauss theories. They answer the questions fine and with detail and also gave us good feedback of what great about the video. SO we felt this was a success as they knew what they were talking about.
Facebook page and youtube strategies
We have created a Facebook page of the artist but we haven't really used it during the project. But somehow we have got 10 likes and if we actually put some of the stuff from the project like our rough cuts or pictures from filming and even our final music video then the likes will go up and people will share this with other people which will gain larger audience and a wider fan base for Bob Tink. If we did put a final video up then people might have shared it to other people and we will have feedback from the video which we don't have any at the moment. We haven't employed any youtube strategies to our music video because we felt it wasn't necessary but the downside for us not doing it is that we lose the audience as they don't know about this music video as we haven't done any advertising. If we did include youtube strategies for our music video then we will have loads more views and we will have good feedback of the music video which will help us to improve it.
Summary
WWW
- The use of theories like semiotics and binary opposites
- The narrative fitted in with the song
- The use of cinematography was very good
- The look of the band was very good
- Good performance in the video
- The slow motions in the video was good and perfectly timed
- Good lip synching
- We included performance and narrative genre in the music video
- The concept of the video was good
- The mise-en-scene like the lighting was very good
- Some places of the video the lip synching is off
- We could have made the some of the shots shorter as some of them are quite long
- At the end of the song it got what but we could have made it bold so it stand out
- We could have added in the music video of what the reason for them breaking up
- Could have added more pace to the editing
Evaluation Question 2: How Effective Is The Combination of Your Main Product and Ancillary Texts? by David Sampson
This is the second evaluation of how our music video links with our digipack and magazine advert. I did this on Gliffy but I couldn't embed it properly.
Evaluation 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? By David Sampson
This is the first evaluation of our music video.
Evaluation Question 3- What Have you learnt from your audience feedback? by Sebastien Perrier
What Have you learnt from your audience feedback?
Target Audience
Our Music video aims at the following audience:
- Essentially Males who may may be in a similar situation to what our music video portrays, as it seen from a male perspective.
- 18-24 year olds, as our video is quite serious and strong on emotions we felt it needed to be watched from a mature, adult perspective. Relationship problems are also very common during this age range, increasing the relevance towards it.
- Any Indie enthusiasts, who particularly have an interest in a narrative story
- People who like abstruse music videos with complicated themes and ideas.
- Any ethnicity
We used a large range of technologies to receive our feedback from a wider audience. Feedback we received inspired us during the production of our music video, as a result allowing us to pinpoint our target audience. This also meant that we could gain a larger audience by spreading our music video through social network sites such as Facebook, to gain likes and comments, putting it on twitter in hopes of re-tweets and favourites and most importantly YouTube for views and likes. This showcases audience interaction thanks to web 2.0, making it possible for these sites and technologies to be possible.
Worlde
Worlde is an online application that will compile lists of words that you input, emphasized words that appear multiple times by making them stand out more with a larger font. This achieves knowledge of key themes and ideas of the soundtrack, in our case it was "What?". At the beginning of our music video project this application helped us to focus on certain themes and influenced us to portray them in our music video.
To gain audience feedback for our finished product, I contacted 5 people and asked them to write down any thoughts that come into their head while watching. Words such as Cube, Lost, Depression etc have appeared the most so I will analyse their importance towards our music video.
The most frequent thought of our watchers was "cube". This is an important theme to pick up on as it is an example of Barthes' theory of semiotics. The Rubix cube symbolizes the situation of the relationship. When it was incomplete it represented our characters confusion, he gradually solves it as the music video progresses, just as he is decided what next steps to take in the relationship. By the time he lets go of the relationship the cube is complete, linking with the lyrics when it is sung " I know which way to go now".
Another thought that appeared to stand out among the audience was "Lost". At the beginning of our project we planned for the idea of being lost to be a key theme throughout the music video, however lost being in a mental state as opposed to the literal meaning. This was a very important concept as it is how we represented Stuart Halls theory of encoding/decoding, the audience needed to pick up on what the deeper meaning is behind the subject being stuck in the middle of a crossroad. " I don't know which way to turn to" is a way of suggesting complexity in the relationship, not knowing whether to let it go or attempt to salvage what is there.
Two words that are particularly interesting are "White" and "Black", as they are complementary to each other, with the audience perfectly picking up on our attempt of creating a vision of Levi Strauss' Binary opposites. The black being the representation of our subjects distress, sadness and despair, other thoughts of the audience. The black connotes the time when the relationship is crumbling and effectively over. At the other end of the spectrum the white seen in the video signifies the opposite, when the relationship was healthy, and as can been seen on the wordle, the idea of "Happiness". We displayed these conflicting emotions through the use of costumes, on both the Main actor and the band members. We also made sure our location had a white floor and walls to continue the opposites of black against white.
"Depression" is a concept thought of from a few of the audience; again this is a theme that we strongly implied to further emphasize our characters inner struggle. We used Barthes' semiotic theory through the use props, objects such as alcohol give implications of depression, and is commonly used as a coping mechanism for people going through tough times. We also heavily focused on lighting to further accentuate the idea of depression through low-key lighting, combining it with the use of props to make the theme very powerful.
YouTube Statistics
These are some figures obtained in graphical f from our music video "What" on youtube. We can learn a lot from the image above, in total we have had 186 views, 98 of them being unique. This goes to show that some people have decided to re-watch the video, which means we successfully completed our goal of initially confused audience members, to make them watch it again and try to understand, thus increase our view count even more. Our video is currently at 186 views and is ever increasing, meaning that there is constant audience interaction with the product.
You can also see that we have 5 likes and no dislikes, promoting only a positive response , therefore we feel our product is a successful narrative story, which may be down to correctly meeting our target audience, as well as people possibly sympathizing with the character from their own experience. Sympathy is one the words present from the Worlde. It has also been shared, so that it spreads between audiences, and the channel from which it was uploaded has 5 subscribers, which could be people showing their appreciation for our product and hope to see more. It has been watched an impressive 5 hours in total, although the average watch duration is 3:04, when the length of the actual video is 3:45. This statistic may have been skewed by myself and my group members when we have had to skip forward at parts to find screenshots.
Class Interview
Question 1: What conventions of our genre did we use?
Response:
- Retro video game
- Skateboarding
- Clothing
Comments
We felt they were good responses, as an indie genre we had to make sure our video deviated from the norm and really stood out was being different. We went with a retro style game instead of a modern one because it was an interesting and unique concept. Skateboarding is also a hobby that is enjoyed by people from the Indie crowd.
Question 2: Which of Goodwin's rules did we use?
Response:
-"Relationship between music and visuals" Solving Rubix cube, "what you gonna do?".
- Crossroads "Don't know which way to go".
Comments:
Thankfully our audience here picked up on a succinct relationship between music and visuals, as the examples they picked out are completely correct and what we intended. The crossroads has 4 directions, which links to " I don't know which way to turn to".
Question 3: How did the clothing represent the artist?
Response:
- Band wearing all Black, singer wearing all white
- Girls shoes are white, Main characters are black.
Comments:
-These answers are correct and link directly to Levi Strauss' theory of binary opposites, with the bands Full black representing negative emotions, sadness, despair etc. The Singers white clothing representing the positive emotions, happiness and tranquility. He is also seen wearing darker clothing throughout the narrative scenes. One of our audience members noted the girls white shoes connoted "purity", therefore on the other hand the singers black shoes could suggest he was his own downfall, possibly making a mistake to put the relationship in crisis.
Question 4: What did you like about our use of semiotics?
Response:
- Wine bottle breaking, representation of relationship falling apart.
- In the video game when it comes up with "Game Over".
- Crossroads scene
Comments:
These semiotics using Barthes' theory are all correct and each symbolize stages in the relationship. When the bottle breaks this shows how the relationship has taken a big hit and is effectively in ruins. Later on when the the "Game Over" appears, the relationship is portrayed as simply being over. One of the most important semiotics that was missed however, is the rubix cube, and also the skateboarding in circles scene. We felt the initial skateboarding scene was very important to the story as it symbolized the situation in the relationship, it wasn't going anywhere and the characters emotions were stuck in a loop.
Question 5: What did you like about our Cinematography and Editing?
Response:
- Tracking Shot in skate-park
- Reverse effect
-Range of shots, high angle, low angle.
- Time-lapse (Stop-frame animation)
Comments:
We're glad the audience interviewed liked the shots they picked out, as we really wanted to make an impression with unique camera work in an attempt to make the video stand out. During planning we weren't sure how the time lapse sequence would turn out, but fortunately the effect came out nicely.
Question 6: Overall what did you like about the video?
Response:
- Good representation of the Indie genre
- Lip syncing
- Use of connotations
- Our way of connoting the break-down of the relationship
Facebook
We did create a facebook page for our music video, but did not really interact with it during our project, therefore receiving just 9 likes. If we had put more stuff up on our page, such as our rough cuts and animatic then the page may have received more likes and views, spreading more and gaining a larger audience. We also could have put the final video on and therefore received more feedback. Maybe if we had employed youtube strategies we could have received a larger audience from advertising.
Summary
What went well:
- Our implementation of media theorists, such as Barthes' semiotics and levi Strauss' Binary opposites
- The way we portrayed the indie genre through clothing, style, symbols etc.
- Our unique and interesting cinematography, such as the time-lapse shot and timing of slow motion.
- The use of Mise-en-scene, the low-key/high-key lighting and props such as the alcohol.
- Our portrayal of a narrative story, that could possibly sympathize with some audience members.
- The variety of locations throughout our music video, showcasing dedication and maximizing the potential of our video.
-Acting of our main character/singer.
- Originality.
- Slick editing to give off a great visual appeal, such as the cuts during one of the skateboarding scenes.
EBI:
- A couple of the lip syncing shots were slightly off, we could have improved upon this.
- A couple of the scenes drag, and are possibly longer then they need to be.
- Added in more variety of shots during the performance, such as a close up of the guitar playing.
Target Audience
Our Music video aims at the following audience:
- Essentially Males who may may be in a similar situation to what our music video portrays, as it seen from a male perspective.
- 18-24 year olds, as our video is quite serious and strong on emotions we felt it needed to be watched from a mature, adult perspective. Relationship problems are also very common during this age range, increasing the relevance towards it.
- Any Indie enthusiasts, who particularly have an interest in a narrative story
- People who like abstruse music videos with complicated themes and ideas.
- Any ethnicity
We used a large range of technologies to receive our feedback from a wider audience. Feedback we received inspired us during the production of our music video, as a result allowing us to pinpoint our target audience. This also meant that we could gain a larger audience by spreading our music video through social network sites such as Facebook, to gain likes and comments, putting it on twitter in hopes of re-tweets and favourites and most importantly YouTube for views and likes. This showcases audience interaction thanks to web 2.0, making it possible for these sites and technologies to be possible.
Worlde
Worlde is an online application that will compile lists of words that you input, emphasized words that appear multiple times by making them stand out more with a larger font. This achieves knowledge of key themes and ideas of the soundtrack, in our case it was "What?". At the beginning of our music video project this application helped us to focus on certain themes and influenced us to portray them in our music video.
To gain audience feedback for our finished product, I contacted 5 people and asked them to write down any thoughts that come into their head while watching. Words such as Cube, Lost, Depression etc have appeared the most so I will analyse their importance towards our music video.
Another thought that appeared to stand out among the audience was "Lost". At the beginning of our project we planned for the idea of being lost to be a key theme throughout the music video, however lost being in a mental state as opposed to the literal meaning. This was a very important concept as it is how we represented Stuart Halls theory of encoding/decoding, the audience needed to pick up on what the deeper meaning is behind the subject being stuck in the middle of a crossroad. " I don't know which way to turn to" is a way of suggesting complexity in the relationship, not knowing whether to let it go or attempt to salvage what is there. Two words that are particularly interesting are "White" and "Black", as they are complementary to each other, with the audience perfectly picking up on our attempt of creating a vision of Levi Strauss' Binary opposites. The black being the representation of our subjects distress, sadness and despair, other thoughts of the audience. The black connotes the time when the relationship is crumbling and effectively over. At the other end of the spectrum the white seen in the video signifies the opposite, when the relationship was healthy, and as can been seen on the wordle, the idea of "Happiness". We displayed these conflicting emotions through the use of costumes, on both the Main actor and the band members. We also made sure our location had a white floor and walls to continue the opposites of black against white.
"Depression" is a concept thought of from a few of the audience; again this is a theme that we strongly implied to further emphasize our characters inner struggle. We used Barthes' semiotic theory through the use props, objects such as alcohol give implications of depression, and is commonly used as a coping mechanism for people going through tough times. We also heavily focused on lighting to further accentuate the idea of depression through low-key lighting, combining it with the use of props to make the theme very powerful. YouTube Statistics
These are some figures obtained in graphical f from our music video "What" on youtube. We can learn a lot from the image above, in total we have had 186 views, 98 of them being unique. This goes to show that some people have decided to re-watch the video, which means we successfully completed our goal of initially confused audience members, to make them watch it again and try to understand, thus increase our view count even more. Our video is currently at 186 views and is ever increasing, meaning that there is constant audience interaction with the product.
You can also see that we have 5 likes and no dislikes, promoting only a positive response , therefore we feel our product is a successful narrative story, which may be down to correctly meeting our target audience, as well as people possibly sympathizing with the character from their own experience. Sympathy is one the words present from the Worlde. It has also been shared, so that it spreads between audiences, and the channel from which it was uploaded has 5 subscribers, which could be people showing their appreciation for our product and hope to see more. It has been watched an impressive 5 hours in total, although the average watch duration is 3:04, when the length of the actual video is 3:45. This statistic may have been skewed by myself and my group members when we have had to skip forward at parts to find screenshots.
Class Interview
Question 1: What conventions of our genre did we use?
Response:
- Retro video game
- Skateboarding
- Clothing
Comments
We felt they were good responses, as an indie genre we had to make sure our video deviated from the norm and really stood out was being different. We went with a retro style game instead of a modern one because it was an interesting and unique concept. Skateboarding is also a hobby that is enjoyed by people from the Indie crowd.
Question 2: Which of Goodwin's rules did we use?
Response:
-"Relationship between music and visuals" Solving Rubix cube, "what you gonna do?".
- Crossroads "Don't know which way to go".
Comments:
Thankfully our audience here picked up on a succinct relationship between music and visuals, as the examples they picked out are completely correct and what we intended. The crossroads has 4 directions, which links to " I don't know which way to turn to".
Question 3: How did the clothing represent the artist?
Response:
- Band wearing all Black, singer wearing all white
- Girls shoes are white, Main characters are black.
Comments:
-These answers are correct and link directly to Levi Strauss' theory of binary opposites, with the bands Full black representing negative emotions, sadness, despair etc. The Singers white clothing representing the positive emotions, happiness and tranquility. He is also seen wearing darker clothing throughout the narrative scenes. One of our audience members noted the girls white shoes connoted "purity", therefore on the other hand the singers black shoes could suggest he was his own downfall, possibly making a mistake to put the relationship in crisis.
Question 4: What did you like about our use of semiotics?
Response:
- Wine bottle breaking, representation of relationship falling apart.
- In the video game when it comes up with "Game Over".
- Crossroads scene
Comments:
These semiotics using Barthes' theory are all correct and each symbolize stages in the relationship. When the bottle breaks this shows how the relationship has taken a big hit and is effectively in ruins. Later on when the the "Game Over" appears, the relationship is portrayed as simply being over. One of the most important semiotics that was missed however, is the rubix cube, and also the skateboarding in circles scene. We felt the initial skateboarding scene was very important to the story as it symbolized the situation in the relationship, it wasn't going anywhere and the characters emotions were stuck in a loop.
Question 5: What did you like about our Cinematography and Editing?
Response:
- Tracking Shot in skate-park
- Reverse effect
-Range of shots, high angle, low angle.
- Time-lapse (Stop-frame animation)
Comments:
We're glad the audience interviewed liked the shots they picked out, as we really wanted to make an impression with unique camera work in an attempt to make the video stand out. During planning we weren't sure how the time lapse sequence would turn out, but fortunately the effect came out nicely.
Question 6: Overall what did you like about the video?
Response:
- Good representation of the Indie genre
- Lip syncing
- Use of connotations
- Our way of connoting the break-down of the relationship
We did create a facebook page for our music video, but did not really interact with it during our project, therefore receiving just 9 likes. If we had put more stuff up on our page, such as our rough cuts and animatic then the page may have received more likes and views, spreading more and gaining a larger audience. We also could have put the final video on and therefore received more feedback. Maybe if we had employed youtube strategies we could have received a larger audience from advertising.
Summary
What went well:
- Our implementation of media theorists, such as Barthes' semiotics and levi Strauss' Binary opposites
- The way we portrayed the indie genre through clothing, style, symbols etc.
- Our unique and interesting cinematography, such as the time-lapse shot and timing of slow motion.
- The use of Mise-en-scene, the low-key/high-key lighting and props such as the alcohol.
- Our portrayal of a narrative story, that could possibly sympathize with some audience members.
- The variety of locations throughout our music video, showcasing dedication and maximizing the potential of our video.
-Acting of our main character/singer.
- Originality.
- Slick editing to give off a great visual appeal, such as the cuts during one of the skateboarding scenes.
EBI:
- A couple of the lip syncing shots were slightly off, we could have improved upon this.
- A couple of the scenes drag, and are possibly longer then they need to be.
- Added in more variety of shots during the performance, such as a close up of the guitar playing.
Evaluation Question 2: How Effective Is The Combination of Your Main Product and Ancillary Texts? by Sebastien Perrier
Please follow the link to view an interactive webpage showcasing my response to the question:
(Allow for time to load)
How effective is the combination of our main product and ancillary products?
http://www.gliffy.com/go/publish/6998711
(Allow for time to load)
How effective is the combination of our main product and ancillary products?
http://www.gliffy.com/go/publish/6998711
Evaluation 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? By Sebastien Perrier
Magazine AnalysisThis is the final ancillary product of our magazine Advert. I particularly like the way it came out due to the incorporation of the " Rule of three". We split our magazine advert into 3 different sections, where we felt the the album title and artist should be displayed on the top third as they complement each other well. We also decided to include the Record label on the top half due to space constraints on the bottom third of the page.
In the middle third of the page we decided not to include any text or images as we wanted audiences to focus on the artists representation, and the location he is in. This effort meant that the middle third effectively uses Stuart Halls theory of Coding/Decoding, where the audience need to suss out the meaning of the image. In the bottom third of the ad we can see references from other Indie magazines recommended our album, these were used to boost popularity and improve realism and professionalism. We also included labels of an offline and online store, so audiences know where they can purchase the new album. However our magazine ad could of been better if we included a release date for the album, so audiences actually know when its out, also the inclusion of our website may also have been a nice touch.
Evaluation Question 3- What Have you learnt from your audience feedback? by Will Elliott
When we created our music video, 'What' by Bob Tink, we had to keep in mind our target audience. The age range for our music video would be late teens to early adults, so ageing from about 17-23 year old's. The gender that our music video is targeted and more likely to appeal to is Male and it isn't targeted to any ethnicity. We believe that our target audience would be those interested in Indie music and would be seen by some as 'Hipsters'. We think that these people would be interested in skateboarding and going to music gigs, not necessarily at the big venues such as the O2, but in small places that wouldn't have a big crowd. Our target audience would care more about the music than the video.
Once we uploaded our video to YouTube we managed to get 87 unique views but 172 views in total. This tells us that people who have watched the video have come back again to watch it. Our video has been watched for a total of 4 hours with the average viewing at 3.09, meaning people on average do not watch the whole of the video. We have also got 4 likes and no dislikes and the video has been shared once.
We showed our finished music video to our class mates and then asked them some questions on it. We wanted to know what they thought of the editing, costumes, semiotics and whether we had included any other theorists ideas. We asked our classmates these things because they wouldn't know what message we are trying to get across and so we wanted to know if they understood the video and and understood the messages that we were trying to get across.
Other than creating the Facebook page, we have not used it, yet we still have 10 likes on it. If we had been putting things up on the page like our progress, rough cuts, a pictures while filming then we could have got more people interested in the page and then we would have a larger audience. We could have also put the final video up to show everyone that follows the page, if they liked it then they could have shared it and then that would have allowed more people to see the video, increasing our audience and it would have allowed us to get feed back and what we have created.
WWW
- We have used theorists ideas through the use of semiotics and binary opposites,
- We have added a variety of shot types and camera angles,
- Variety of transitions and special effects,
- Fits in with the Indie genre
- Narrative and performance fits with the music
EBI
- The lip syncing is not perfect in every scene
- Reduce the length of some scenes as they could be too long
Evaluation Question 3- What Have you learnt from your audience feedback? by Tom Anderson
Who was our target audience?
The audience we targeted would be predominantly males who may have gone through the same experience. They would be young people with ages varying for around 18-24. As this video focuses on the trouble and strong emotions felt in a relationship we decided to focus on a more mature audience, but as the video also includes younger people we though it would be more applicable to an audience of the same age range. As the genre of our song is indie, it is also focused on anyone fond of this music genre and fans of this type of music video genre which is obviously narrative. Our video could also be aimed at anyone who has a taste for strange ideas and unusual themes.
To gain this feedback we used numerous technologies to receive it from a larger audience. We spread our video using sites such as our Bob Tink page on Facebook to gain likes and comments. We put the video on Twitter so that our followers would see it and perhaps re-tweet and/or favourite it. We also, obviously, put on YouTube for our subscribers to see it and also gain views, likes and shares. Each of these things demonstrate audience interaction due to Web 2.0.
Facebook
We didn't interact with our Facebook page much during our coursework and it only gained 9 likes. This was probably do our lack of posts on the page, if we had more activity such as posting rough cuts and/or storyboards we may have gained more views and like resulting in a larger audience.
Class Interview
We showcased our video to members of our class and then asked them a range of questions about what they thought of the video. We were happy with the outcome of this, as their answers told us that they understood the theme and message of the video. They were also able to link many of the themes in the video to theories we have learnt about in class. They also recognised many of the cinematography and editing techniques we used in our video and let us know what was especially good about them.
YouTube
In the pictures above, you can see a few figures from the past 28 days such as the views and the duration of the video watched. In total, our video as had over 200 views but only 131 of them have been unique which shows that around 35% of our videos audience have decided to watch the video more than once. This shows that we've successfully grasped our target audience as they have come back to decipher the video's true meaning. Another figure giving evidence that we have captured our target audience is our likes and dislikes, at the moment, our video has 6 likes and zero dislikes, the solely positive feedback shows we have made an appealing video which has captured a pleased audience.
Summary
To conclude, our video has been well distributed as it has gained hundreds of views. From our interviews and YouTube likes we can assume that we have created an effective video with a lot of detail and a good use of semiotics. We have also prosperously used a range of theorists ideas through our use of semiotics and binary opposites. We successfully portrayed the indie genre in our video though the narrative and choices of costume.
However, there are some areas that could be open to improvement, such as, our quality of lip synching, as it is less than perfect in many of the scenes throughout our video. Also, a number of scenes could be a little bit shorter as they may tend to drag on.
The audience we targeted would be predominantly males who may have gone through the same experience. They would be young people with ages varying for around 18-24. As this video focuses on the trouble and strong emotions felt in a relationship we decided to focus on a more mature audience, but as the video also includes younger people we though it would be more applicable to an audience of the same age range. As the genre of our song is indie, it is also focused on anyone fond of this music genre and fans of this type of music video genre which is obviously narrative. Our video could also be aimed at anyone who has a taste for strange ideas and unusual themes.
To gain this feedback we used numerous technologies to receive it from a larger audience. We spread our video using sites such as our Bob Tink page on Facebook to gain likes and comments. We put the video on Twitter so that our followers would see it and perhaps re-tweet and/or favourite it. We also, obviously, put on YouTube for our subscribers to see it and also gain views, likes and shares. Each of these things demonstrate audience interaction due to Web 2.0.
Class Interview
We showcased our video to members of our class and then asked them a range of questions about what they thought of the video. We were happy with the outcome of this, as their answers told us that they understood the theme and message of the video. They were also able to link many of the themes in the video to theories we have learnt about in class. They also recognised many of the cinematography and editing techniques we used in our video and let us know what was especially good about them.
YouTube
In the pictures above, you can see a few figures from the past 28 days such as the views and the duration of the video watched. In total, our video as had over 200 views but only 131 of them have been unique which shows that around 35% of our videos audience have decided to watch the video more than once. This shows that we've successfully grasped our target audience as they have come back to decipher the video's true meaning. Another figure giving evidence that we have captured our target audience is our likes and dislikes, at the moment, our video has 6 likes and zero dislikes, the solely positive feedback shows we have made an appealing video which has captured a pleased audience.
Summary
To conclude, our video has been well distributed as it has gained hundreds of views. From our interviews and YouTube likes we can assume that we have created an effective video with a lot of detail and a good use of semiotics. We have also prosperously used a range of theorists ideas through our use of semiotics and binary opposites. We successfully portrayed the indie genre in our video though the narrative and choices of costume.
However, there are some areas that could be open to improvement, such as, our quality of lip synching, as it is less than perfect in many of the scenes throughout our video. Also, a number of scenes could be a little bit shorter as they may tend to drag on.
Changes to Storyboard
Pier Scene- We decided to get rid of the pier scene as it was inconvenient for us to go and film at one.
Inflatable scenes- we had planned to have a an inflatable being slowly released of its air during the performance parts of the video to symbolize the relationship dying, however we thought it wouldn't look very good and ruin the scene.
Puzzle and Mirror Scenes- We planned to have a broken mirror as one of the scenes but we replaced it with a wine bottle instead. We also planned to have a puzzle being created but then the final piece would be missing. We didn't use this scene as we didn't have time to film it.
Skateboarding scenes- We decided to add more skateboarding scenes to create a theme as he is doing it alone as he has lost his girlfriend, who he used to do it with. We added a scene where he is skateboarding around in circles to show that he lost and confused so e doesnt know where to go or what to do.
Inflatable scenes- we had planned to have a an inflatable being slowly released of its air during the performance parts of the video to symbolize the relationship dying, however we thought it wouldn't look very good and ruin the scene.
Puzzle and Mirror Scenes- We planned to have a broken mirror as one of the scenes but we replaced it with a wine bottle instead. We also planned to have a puzzle being created but then the final piece would be missing. We didn't use this scene as we didn't have time to film it.
Skateboarding scenes- We decided to add more skateboarding scenes to create a theme as he is doing it alone as he has lost his girlfriend, who he used to do it with. We added a scene where he is skateboarding around in circles to show that he lost and confused so e doesnt know where to go or what to do.
Technical Difficulties
We encountered many technical difficulties while filming.
On our first day of filming we reached our location but could only film for about 10 minutes as we had not checked the battery level on the camera which was very low.
On our first day of filming we reached our location but could only film for about 10 minutes as we had not checked the battery level on the camera which was very low.
Another difficulty we encountered was on another day of filming, we
need to film with the camera close to the ground but also moving which we found
was very difficult as crouching and walking makes the camera very shaky.
While filming our band sequence, we needed lighting but the best we
had were desk lamps which made the scene look very amateur.
During the couple scene while the boyfriend and girlfriend are
playing on the Xbox it was hard to get a good angle from behind as the back of sofa
they were sitting on was against the wall so there wasn't much space to put the
camera and film, another difficulty during the couple scene was the pancake scene, where it was also hard to get good angles as the cooking area wasn't the
ideal size for two people a camera man and a camera.
Health and Safety information
- As we were filming by the train station we need to make sure that no one goes onto the tracks as it would be very dangerous. To prevent this from happening we need to stand behind the yellow line.
- As we filmed on the bridge via the train station there was a possibility that the camera or one of us could fall off. To prevent this we need to stand away from the edge and make sure it won't happen.
- The battery could run out while we are filming. To make sure that won't happen we need to make sure the battery is fully charged.
- Another risk is that we need to be careful on the roads while we filming so we don't get run over. To make sure that won't happen we need to keep our eyes open and look to see if their is any traffic coming.
- There was loads of stuff lying about when we got to the house like shoes and bags so we need to make sure we don't trip up. To minimise that risk is that we move the stuff in one area so it much more safer to film.
- As we were filming in the kitchen we need to make sure that we didn't burn our fingers when using the cooker. To make sure that doesn't happen we have to be careful handling the food while the cooker is on.
- When we were filming the skateboard we need to make sure that the actor landed safely or he could damage himself. To minimise it we made sure that he wears extra padding underneath so he protect himself.
Nine frame analysis
I did a nine frame analysis on the music video from the indie genre. The song I chose is the Bleachers- Rollarcoaster.
CD Digipack Planning
Here are two potential ideas for our CD cover.
The first one shows the actor stood in front of a signpost that shows the name of the artist and the name of the album displayed as directions.
The second one shows the actor sat in the back of a car surrounded by fog/smoke with the name of the artist and the name of the album in two corners.
CD Digipak research
I have decided to look at Bombay bicycle club's digipak " A different kind of fix". As they are also an indie band, through analyzing their CD Product, we can take inspiration and ideas for our own.
This digipak is very interesting, and very intriguing. Foremost, the blue background stands out, and the white bold text complements it nicely. I feel the colours blend together nicely to create a fantastic visually appealing CD album. The title of the album, and name of the band are both easily distinguishable; the song titles on the back clearly numbered and displayed. We will take influence from this and make sure our text will also be bold and stand out making it easily readable, as we don't want confusion to set in to our audience.
Now despite the text/font taking a simplistic approach, the imagery is anything but. Firstly we liked the hand-drawn style of the heads and image on the back cover. It is unique and different; which is one our main priorities since we started our project. However what makes this digipak stand out among the rest, is the relationship in the imagery and title of the album. A "Fix" is to temporarily satisfy one's addiction. The imagery relates to this with drawings of the brain, and a neuron cell on the back, implying this is where the "addiction" comes from. This can be connected through what we see on the actual cd; very bizarre images and a "trippy" feel to it. This could mean the fix is one of an
hallucinogenic drug, such as DMT or LSD. On the other hand, " a different kind" that precedes "fix" could imply something other then narcotics, psychedelics or alcohol. it could be referencing to music as the fix, with the brain imagery simply implicating the place that allows us to enjoy the music. I really enjoy the idea of deciphering what we see on the digipak, which has inspired our group to try and go with a similar approach when making our own.
Magazine Advert Research
As we have to design our own magazine advert, we have looked at a couple adverts ourselves. Our song is in the indie genre therefore we took inspiration from adverts of other indie bands. One particular advert that we liked as a group was the two door cinema club one, for their debut album tourist history.
We enjoyed various aspects of this advert, particularly the grainy effect and bizarre image of the cat with a crown. We would like to take inspiration from this and make sure our advert is somewhat different to mainstream ads. We particularly liked the font for the text, stands out well and is easy to read. However towards the bottom it is more difficult to read, however this might be done on purpose as they are tour dates; but are sold out, clearly visible with the large sold out stamp over them. The advert also has a link to the bands website which we plan to incorporate. Interestingly this has been put in bold, so to stand out more and increase traffic throughout their website, hoping to sell tickets and albums.
We enjoyed various aspects of this advert, particularly the grainy effect and bizarre image of the cat with a crown. We would like to take inspiration from this and make sure our advert is somewhat different to mainstream ads. We particularly liked the font for the text, stands out well and is easy to read. However towards the bottom it is more difficult to read, however this might be done on purpose as they are tour dates; but are sold out, clearly visible with the large sold out stamp over them. The advert also has a link to the bands website which we plan to incorporate. Interestingly this has been put in bold, so to stand out more and increase traffic throughout their website, hoping to sell tickets and albums.
Magazine advert planning
These are the two ideas we had came up with for our magazine advert.
For both of these they meant to have black grainy background and for the second advert it meant to have five stars by it. But these are ideas so we can improve on it later.
Magazine Research
This is a magazine advert for Bombay Bicycle Clubs debut album, I had the blues but I shook them loose. This article is very simple and very clear. It is very simple to see who the band is as it stands out at the top of the advert in blue. Underneath that is the album name, this again is very simple and easy to see, although it is quite along album title so people might not be so sure that it is, however there is nothing else on the advert that could be the album title. The advert also tells you that it is out now, or that it is available form the 28th September, and a few of the songs that it features. At the bottom of the advert it also contains the bands URL, so you can go and check out their website.
This advert is very simple, it is a picture of some people in the park and the picture has been desaturated so it is mostly dark, which helps the writing stand out even more as it is all in Blue which contrast with the darker background.
The advert is very similar to their album cover, as that again is a black and white image of people in the park with blue writing on it.
Costumes and Locations
This is our slideshare presentation on costumes and locations, explaining our ideas, and our reasoning behind them.
The white room: This is our location when we switch to the performance part of the video and is perhaps the most important. A lot of the music video's length will take part here; the actor will be in full black, contrasting heavily against the colour of the room, connoting the binary opposites in place. However we will switch the clothing of the singer to white, to show he has had both good times and bad times. (when the singer switches clothing, the opposite happens for the band).
Analysis of a video produced by other students
Gabriel and Steph - Evacuate
This video has an obvious indie feel
to it. The editing of the picture colour is clever as it has had a slight
desaturation added to it to give the video a more raw and emotional feel,
something that can be associated with the indie genre. The mise-en-scene is
impressive in the quirky shots such as the taped mouths and black balloon;
these things set the video apart from other and also add to the emotional feel
of the video in a captivating way. The time lapses of the clouds and the city
centre make good cutaways for the video as they are interesting and unusual.
The close ups on the mouth singing demonstrate the students skill of lip
syncing, and you can see they are proficient at doing so. The rewind at the end
of the video makes for a creative closing scene as it pieces the video together
nicely and also looks pleasing.
Actors and actresses for our music video
This is Tom Anderson who is our main actor in the music video. For this music video we wanted Tom to represent the teenagers of now and how they would react with a girlfriend and what they would do after a breakup. We wanted Tom to have a confident but lazy personality about him as it would represent the normal teenagers and how they would be with their girlfriends. We were trying to represent the middle class and you can see that in the video as you can see the costumes he was wearing.
This is Melissa Bond who is the girlfriend of the main actor of the video. We needed to use her because we needed a girlfriend for our music video. We needed someone who might be a good fit to the main actor. We needed someone with similar personality and she is confident which makes her a good fit. We needed someone who is similar age to the main actor and Melissa fits the bill. Normally in teenagers relationships they normally out somewhere or they will stay at home which we use in our music videos.
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