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.

Annatation of an advert: Corinne Bailey Rae

Corrine Bailey Rae is similar to my artist 'Melissa Hill' in the way that they are both very simplistic both in their branding and their music. Simplicity is a constant theme for my artist due to the rural shots of the music video, the gentle editing used and the branding of the artist throught the digipak- which further accentuates the rural theme of the video.

The colouring of this advert appears very light and optimistic- autmnial colours suggest a peaceful and happy atmosphere can be found in the album being advertised.

The simple use of delicate fonts ensures no attention is taken from the central focal point (being
the image of Corinne) and expresses the theme of clarity which is also part of the simplistic branding to this artist, which will appeal to her audience that are familiar with her music.

There is a little but sufficient amount of text which allows the audience to pay attention to what is necessary, for example the release date of her album, her website, record label and where the audience can purchase this album.

Corinne is wearing a very simple dress and has very little make up proving the more 'natural' look; this again adds to the overall 'simplistic' theme which is what I aimed to acheive with my artist Melissa Hill.

Magazine Adverts...

Why advertise?
People use advertising services in order to create awareness, interest, desire and effectively encourage you to take action which in this case would be to buy the artisit's album.

The common conventions of a magazine spread advertising an artist's album are as follows...

• Brand name/artist name
• Focal point e.g a central picture of the artist- of which the audience may or may not recognise depending on the artists relevence to the public eye. ( May be first big break and therefore will be a 'fresh face' to the industry.)
• Possible reveiws of the album: 'Daily Mail - a chilled, sunday relaxing listen'
• May include a picture of the album itself so the audience know to recognise it in the shop/ online
• A small amount of text with futher information including record label, website, where to purchase the album, release dates, contact details etc.

Final Net....

I think it was highly appropriate to have two black and white images on the inside of the album as all the 'flashbacks' of the couple in the music video are too in black and white. The back cover picture is a classic still of the couple together, taken from the footage used in the music video. However, I wanted this shot to be in colour on the back cover to signify the happiness and content status of their relationship; the picture on the back is a true representation of the narrative within the music video.

Front Cover

I went through a couple of ideas for the front cover of the album both of which are close ups of the artists face..

A second idea which I decided was the strongest image for the cover is this one...

I think the colours work really well, they are not too bright but not too dull which is a perfect balance due to the video being in both black & white and colour. The use of clear, simple font is a convention used in order to not take any focus away from the artist's central image this also reflects the theme of rural simplicity which is further accentuated in the music video.

Digipak Annotation

Digipak: Initial Research

Digipaks are a type of packaging of which emphasises the brand of an artist/band. Various different genres of music will explore different themes in order to portray their own unique style.
The main features of a digipak consist of:

• Title of the album/single
• Song list
• Photographs/ graphics
• Inside can include a piece of writing by the artist, a possible list of thank yous'
• There can also be a commentary of each song included. For example, the people involved in creating the song, producers ect.
• Sometimes, the packscan include bonus material such as stickers or special information

Obviously the front cover attracts most attention and sets a first impression...

The layout, font, colour and theme used has to be carefully thought about in order to portray the right brand image. For example the us dark colours on the cover would suggest maybe a heavy metal / rock band. Light, pastel colours would portray a softer, lighter sound to the album.

Edit, Edit, Edit!

Just a last minute editing task...


I was advised to have a shot of my artist slightly earlier on in the music video in order to successfully help the audience to establish their focus on this main character.


I didn't think a random close up shot would fit in to the atmosphere so instead, I played around with the opacity and had about a four second shot on top of the scenery shots I had already edited in.  This way, what I had done was still there but the soft close up shot sat on top of the clip behind. 


As a result, I didn't have to change what I had already done, but added to it in order to establish the main character in the piece. The soft editing also suits the atmosphere of the music video very well.


Here is a screen grab showing how my target audience will relate to the footage...

Editing decisions explained...

I have finally finished my editing and I am please how my previous date of filming came out on final cut...
I had left space to place the new lip syncing footage at certain parts of the video to boost the performance element.

I used the 'opacity' tool on final cut to allow the performance shots to sit on top of the 'flashback' footage of the couple, to explore the emotions being performed both visually and expressed through the song. I used this quite often as I thought it worked really well and accentuated the soft atmosphere of the piece.

The transitions at the beginning of my piece are cut to the 'clicks' which are heard in the song. As the vocals develop the transitions are more of a dissolving type to accentuate the soft, floaty feel of the video.

An on going theme throughout my music video is the idea of rural living. There are various shots containing trees, animals, stables etc. When the couple are in the treehouse, there is a pervious shot showing the main character climbing up the tree. I wanted this shot to appear almost 'home video' like due to the close camera angles in contrast to the other shots used in my piece. The home video idea would be a reflection of the flashbacks and memories that are included within the narrative of the peice.