Finished Video

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

The blog format that we used throughout our practical task helped me to significantly structure my ideas and keep my planing stages organised through the constant updating and thinking process. The internet as a whole played a big part in the initial planning process as it helped build a vision in my head through research tasks. Through using google, I found various images which inspired my choice of location and effectively became more precise in my ideas and as a result I came to a clarified vision in my mind. 

With regards to researching other musical artists and their ways of branding themselves, the internet was a huge help. I was able to look carefully into the creative means such as album covers and advertisements, through analysing these I was able to gain the key conventional knowledge I would need to successfully create my own branding for the artist 'Melissa Hill'.

The technological approach to the practical aspects of this project made the overall construction process of the video more efficient. I was able to build my ideas quickly with the use of final cut as everything is set out so clearly yet extremely precisely so the smallest change could be made possible. Being able to cut clips with a click of a button was key to working efficiently with my time and progressively moving forward with my project. I also became more confident this year with my editing as I created a variety of opacity levels within the clips in order to portray the gentle, soft theme explored throughout the main product and ancillary tasks.

Photoshop was also extremely significant in order to create the branding for 'Melissa Hill'. I was able to take a still from the footage and transform it in to a strong, sharp and engaging image that as a result I used for both the album cover and as the central image for the advertisement.  This programme was new to me this year but I managed to familiarise myself with it through experimenting with layers, colours, opacity etc. The camera equipment I used was fairly basic but allowed me to get all the shots I intended too, I used a dolly for tracking shots but due to the nature of the rural landscape I was filming in it came across shaky and jolty.
There is no doubt that the media technologies available to me had significant impact on the final product but also a huge factor towards the research,planning and evaluation stages of my project.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I agree that my camera movements were often shaky and slightly jolting, although I can accept some responsibility for this fault, the location I filmed in proved to be quite challenging. For example, pulling a dolly along a country road was very difficult indeed. However, my skills could definitely be improved when it comes to filming.


The focus group I questioned mentioned the clear narrative explored throughout the video. They said it complimented the lyrics of the song 'without being boring'. I asked them to describe what they imagined the narrative to suggest and they described it exactly as I had aimed to portray it. They also commented on the strong use of imagery which reflected the atmosphere of the song throughout the entire video.

Did you gain a clear concept of the music video's narrative on first viewing?

80% of my focus group commented on the clear narrative throughout the music video, however the remaining 20% didn't gain the concept of it on the first viewing and on second viewing began to understand it.

Which music video channel would you be most likely to see this music video on?

Interestingly, 55% of my focus group thought this video would be shown on music channels belonging to MTV, 35% thought it would appear regularly on various chart shows and a small minority said it was more suited to a relaxing channel such as the music channel for magic fm which is known for it's 'easy listening'.

I asked my focus group to post comments on my digipak including both the music advertisement and the album cover...

One of the comments says 'Melissa Hill's brand is shown as soft and feminine through VFX' ...This is exactly what I aimed to do through the use of the rural theme established through both the main product and ancillary tasks. Despite this feminine vision being established through the simple, rural and natural beauty throughout the video, the video effects used on the advert really accentuate this idea.

Another comment stated that the snapshots used throughout the album design were helpful to inform the audience what sort of thing they will find in the music video. This element engages the audience and creates further interest, therefore serving the purpose of a promotional product.

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

 

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

The advertisement I created for the digipak of this artist followed various conventions of promotional posters; the central image of 'Melissa Hill' sets the audience's focus and establishes the artist. I challenged the conventional ideas of glamourised women in Rnb videos by using soft colours to accentuate her natural beauty.
I have also used special effects to create a soft atmosphere through having an image of a sunset laying behind the central image which again accentuates the simple, rural theme of the artist. Rnb artists are often known to have used special effects to create bold , harsh and eye- catching images which is a contrast to the calm, goddess-like imaging of this poster.

I included a review from an institution (The Guardian) of which I imagine the target audience of 'Melissa Hill' to value their opinion. I also included the amazon logo which tells the audience they are able to download, this idea is a common convention in regards to modern technology.

I purposely designed the album cover for Melissa Hill to reflect the rural, simplistic theme that is ongoing through the music video. The clear, delicate font is a convention used in order to not take any attention away from the central image of the artist. This convention is seen on the album covers of various female Rnb artists which accentuates the soft goddess branding that Rnb females aim for.

A barcode is commonly found either on the front or back of the album and is a modern convention due to the modern technological way of selling Artist's music today.

Final Advert

This is the final advertisement ....

I decided to stick with the image of the sunset behind the central picture of the artist, this accentuates the rural theme which is explored throughout the music video. The clarity of the text again reinforces the simplicity within the artist and her music; the text is made up of pieces of information which are conventionally found on promotional music advertisements including release dates, artist's website, where this album can be purchased etc. 

The Guardian is a respectable institution of which people will value their opinion, this is why I included a 'five star rating' on their behalf.

Initial Advert Idea...

Initially, I aimed to use this picture of my artist with a picture of the sunset sitting behind. I fiddled around with the opacity to get a nice balance between the two, however I decided that another picture would work better....

This image is the picture I have used for the album front cover, it is a still from the music video footage and captures the essence of the music video's genre as a whole.

I decided that I would again use this as the focal point for the advert as it should become a memorable image for the audience and one they can identify the artist with.