Thursday, 11 February 2016
Wednesday, 10 February 2016
QUESTION FOUR (Transcript)
How did you use media technologies in research, planning, construction and evaluation stages?
Research
The majority of my research consisted of using google, which is a search engine. This was to conduct research such as my target audience, for example before creating a media product such as a music video, I believe it is important to find out how it is aimed at. I also conducted research on google, for information such as the following conventions which are found in a music video or any digipak and advert relating to any genre, then further one in the research stage I matched these conventions to my specific genre I have chosen. I also furthered my research using other popular websites, such as YouTube and slide share. The purpose for using YouTube, was to ensure the song I had chosen had a video, and if so that my video was created with no similarities. YouTube at the beginning of my research, was also very popular as this website was used to watch a range of music videos, to grasp an idea of what is expected of a music video and the range of ideas into different genres, artists and types of music video. This was extremely beneficial to me, as I did indeed grasp various ideas and learnt a significant amount about music videos, just by viewing them. The intention for using slide share, was because it is very informative, for example on slide share you are able to access a range of PowerPoint which students, like myself, have created. Therefore, you gain information and ideas from other pupils work but also this is where information such as conventions of a music video and ancillary tasks are rooted. As a whole this is where I obtained my information from for my research.
These media technologies,which I used on my Toshiba laptop and the school computers, was beneficial to me as a student and almost any information can be gained if you hard enough, for example this search engine was very straightforward and easy to use, as you can simply type any question into the google search bar, and within a matter of seconds you gain the answer. Other websites which I used for planning, were also very beneficial to me as a student, as numerous students use them, so as I previously mention you can gain an idea or a tracking progress. to know where you are and should be, just by viewing other peoples work.
Planning
Of course blogger was the most used website throughout my coursework, as this is where I posted every stage of the process and all my ideas and the progress I made. Blogger is the most straightforward website I have used, as a student who frequently uses social media, this website is significantly similar to websites such as Facebook and tumblr, therefore as a student and an individual this website caused no difficulties when using it and is so simplistic, therefore easy to get used to. This website allowed me to produce effective work, as I knew what I was doing and was easy to use. Web 2.0 sites, such as social media sites also assisted me whilst planning for my media products, as websites such as Facebook was where I posted my ideas and my created work to gain feedback, of course the results of this were effective as I had already used these sites, but nevertheless they assisted me whilst planning, as it allowed me to obtain feedback from peers and the target audience, resulting in making my ideas more effective, as I took into account others suggestions and allowed me to finalise my ideas, by knowing peoples opinions of my ideas was that it was successful. This also assisted me, as the suggestions made my work better and more effective, as I took on board the improvements suggested for my media work.
I also own an iPhone 6, which I used whilst performing all stages of the process for my media product, as there is an app of blogger which can be accessed through my iPhone. This was beneficial to me, as it was much simpler plus easier to upload pictures which were saved on my phone, for example screenshots of feedback. This was easier than uploading videos from the website, as the difficulty faced was the picture should never be shown whilst writing the post, it was a blank square, only seen until the post you were working on was published. My iPhone was also used to take pictures which was quite straightforward as I use my phone and the camera on my phone on a regular basis, these pictures were taken for the purpose of planning as I took pictures of my models when writing their profiles and also took pictures of the models outfit and makeup.
I also filmed a make up trail on my iPhone which was successful, and easily uploaded to YouTube.
To take pictures and film my video, I used a Cannon Camera, to take pictures was easy after I experimented with the different filters you could apply and found which one suited my skills and needs best. However, I was faced with certain difficulties when taking moving pictures, for example my model jumping was difficult as I used the sports filter but because the flash could not be used on this filter, the picture resulted in being blurry and unsuccessful. I overcame this difficulty by changing filter and pose of the model, the pictures I ended up with were even more successful and professional looking than what I hoped for. Another major difficulty I found with the cannon camera was that every time I attempted to focus the shot, the camera just either zoomed or resulting in being even more blurry than what I had started with. I overcame this by changing filters to best suit what I needed, and has to manually focus the camera myself, rather than the lenses being focused automatically. Furthermore, a final difficulty I faced with this camera was trying to film long shots, as it was hard to get the whole of the performer in whilst dancing, plus in my first video I made, I had the same problem as when filming I could not get her whole body in, as a body part was cut off, mostly the top of her head.
Construction
For the construction of my digipak and advert, I wanted to use the same font to create consistency. I used a font off of the website, Da Font. This was a easy website to use, as it was done in a matter of a few simple steps; find the font you want, type what you want the font to say and then screenshot, crop and use the magic wand tool on Photo Shop to erase any bits around the font you do not want. I was faced with no difficulties whilst using this website, as it was easy to use and also useful for creating my digipak, as it had a range of fonts anyone can use, there is not even a signup.
To create my digipak and advert, I used software such as Photo Shop, this caused me no difficulties as in my opinion once you have the hang of the software it is straightforward to use. This is successful for photo manipulation and creating ancillary tasks as there is every tool to alter the picture in any way possible. This helped me to create the best work possible to my ability, as I was able to grasp every tool and its use. This was easy to use when creating things such as a CD, or an album front cover, as the tools are straightforward, for example there are shape tools such a circle to create a CD. A few new things I did year on Photo Shop however, which i did not previously know how to was, layer pictures which after teaching myself was pretty simple, after adding all the pictures you can simply change or alter the opacity, to which pictures stands out the most. Another thing which I learnt on Photo Shop, was how to change the colour of the digipak, for example my digipak is enhanced and has a blue background, which was previously white. All that had to be done was change the adjustments of the image.
This year, I did use a view software to edit my music video named Premier Pro. This was extremely difficult to understand at first, but just like Photo Shop it was easy to get the hang of, for example the tools were straightforward, as to crop a video by using the razor tool. The videos were easy to import, as was the song, as you converted the clip from YouTube into a MP3. A difficulty I did face however, was to export the video as a YouTube clip, however I overcame this by using clips from YouTube to teach myself how to do this. To make adjustments were also pretty simple, as the video effect has to be dragged onto the clip then experimented with until successful enough, for example the brightness of the video.
Evaluation
To conduct my evaluation, I first used slide share as it was an easy and straightforward method to use. I firstly made a presentation of the question, then simply uploaded it to slide share, then used the embed into the HTML of blogger on a post, then composed it. I was faced with no difficulties here and would recommend as it was so simplistic to use.
For my second evaluation question, I used an apple mac to write it out onto to blogger, here however I was faced with some difficulties. This was because I had never used one before and was not used to difference. For example, even simplistic things such as screenshotting certain parts of my video, or of my digipak or feedback, you could not doing this as easy as an everyday laptop, as there was no button on the keyboard, but after googling how to do such a simple task, it was straightforward from then on. I also found difficulty in saving images and importing images, as to scroll down it is not as consistent and easy as a normal laptop. This meant I spent more time trying to work the laptop, than working on my question, but nevertheless got it done to the best of my ability.
For my third evaluation question, I used a new website, called Padlet. This to me was like a blank canvas, which made it easy to write, add or change on. The only difficultly I was faced with and was not aware how to overcome, was when I attempted to upload my music video to demonstrate what was meant by my feedback, but after waiting fifteen minutes for it to uphold, it was not able to upload such a video.
I have always found Prezi hard to work with, as I feel like it has a mind of its own, therefore this year I decided to use something different, such as something new like slides, which is similar to slide share, therefore easy to use and navigate.
Research
The majority of my research consisted of using google, which is a search engine. This was to conduct research such as my target audience, for example before creating a media product such as a music video, I believe it is important to find out how it is aimed at. I also conducted research on google, for information such as the following conventions which are found in a music video or any digipak and advert relating to any genre, then further one in the research stage I matched these conventions to my specific genre I have chosen. I also furthered my research using other popular websites, such as YouTube and slide share. The purpose for using YouTube, was to ensure the song I had chosen had a video, and if so that my video was created with no similarities. YouTube at the beginning of my research, was also very popular as this website was used to watch a range of music videos, to grasp an idea of what is expected of a music video and the range of ideas into different genres, artists and types of music video. This was extremely beneficial to me, as I did indeed grasp various ideas and learnt a significant amount about music videos, just by viewing them. The intention for using slide share, was because it is very informative, for example on slide share you are able to access a range of PowerPoint which students, like myself, have created. Therefore, you gain information and ideas from other pupils work but also this is where information such as conventions of a music video and ancillary tasks are rooted. As a whole this is where I obtained my information from for my research.
These media technologies,which I used on my Toshiba laptop and the school computers, was beneficial to me as a student and almost any information can be gained if you hard enough, for example this search engine was very straightforward and easy to use, as you can simply type any question into the google search bar, and within a matter of seconds you gain the answer. Other websites which I used for planning, were also very beneficial to me as a student, as numerous students use them, so as I previously mention you can gain an idea or a tracking progress. to know where you are and should be, just by viewing other peoples work.
Planning
Of course blogger was the most used website throughout my coursework, as this is where I posted every stage of the process and all my ideas and the progress I made. Blogger is the most straightforward website I have used, as a student who frequently uses social media, this website is significantly similar to websites such as Facebook and tumblr, therefore as a student and an individual this website caused no difficulties when using it and is so simplistic, therefore easy to get used to. This website allowed me to produce effective work, as I knew what I was doing and was easy to use. Web 2.0 sites, such as social media sites also assisted me whilst planning for my media products, as websites such as Facebook was where I posted my ideas and my created work to gain feedback, of course the results of this were effective as I had already used these sites, but nevertheless they assisted me whilst planning, as it allowed me to obtain feedback from peers and the target audience, resulting in making my ideas more effective, as I took into account others suggestions and allowed me to finalise my ideas, by knowing peoples opinions of my ideas was that it was successful. This also assisted me, as the suggestions made my work better and more effective, as I took on board the improvements suggested for my media work.
I also own an iPhone 6, which I used whilst performing all stages of the process for my media product, as there is an app of blogger which can be accessed through my iPhone. This was beneficial to me, as it was much simpler plus easier to upload pictures which were saved on my phone, for example screenshots of feedback. This was easier than uploading videos from the website, as the difficulty faced was the picture should never be shown whilst writing the post, it was a blank square, only seen until the post you were working on was published. My iPhone was also used to take pictures which was quite straightforward as I use my phone and the camera on my phone on a regular basis, these pictures were taken for the purpose of planning as I took pictures of my models when writing their profiles and also took pictures of the models outfit and makeup.
I also filmed a make up trail on my iPhone which was successful, and easily uploaded to YouTube.
To take pictures and film my video, I used a Cannon Camera, to take pictures was easy after I experimented with the different filters you could apply and found which one suited my skills and needs best. However, I was faced with certain difficulties when taking moving pictures, for example my model jumping was difficult as I used the sports filter but because the flash could not be used on this filter, the picture resulted in being blurry and unsuccessful. I overcame this difficulty by changing filter and pose of the model, the pictures I ended up with were even more successful and professional looking than what I hoped for. Another major difficulty I found with the cannon camera was that every time I attempted to focus the shot, the camera just either zoomed or resulting in being even more blurry than what I had started with. I overcame this by changing filters to best suit what I needed, and has to manually focus the camera myself, rather than the lenses being focused automatically. Furthermore, a final difficulty I faced with this camera was trying to film long shots, as it was hard to get the whole of the performer in whilst dancing, plus in my first video I made, I had the same problem as when filming I could not get her whole body in, as a body part was cut off, mostly the top of her head.
Construction
For the construction of my digipak and advert, I wanted to use the same font to create consistency. I used a font off of the website, Da Font. This was a easy website to use, as it was done in a matter of a few simple steps; find the font you want, type what you want the font to say and then screenshot, crop and use the magic wand tool on Photo Shop to erase any bits around the font you do not want. I was faced with no difficulties whilst using this website, as it was easy to use and also useful for creating my digipak, as it had a range of fonts anyone can use, there is not even a signup.
To create my digipak and advert, I used software such as Photo Shop, this caused me no difficulties as in my opinion once you have the hang of the software it is straightforward to use. This is successful for photo manipulation and creating ancillary tasks as there is every tool to alter the picture in any way possible. This helped me to create the best work possible to my ability, as I was able to grasp every tool and its use. This was easy to use when creating things such as a CD, or an album front cover, as the tools are straightforward, for example there are shape tools such a circle to create a CD. A few new things I did year on Photo Shop however, which i did not previously know how to was, layer pictures which after teaching myself was pretty simple, after adding all the pictures you can simply change or alter the opacity, to which pictures stands out the most. Another thing which I learnt on Photo Shop, was how to change the colour of the digipak, for example my digipak is enhanced and has a blue background, which was previously white. All that had to be done was change the adjustments of the image.
This year, I did use a view software to edit my music video named Premier Pro. This was extremely difficult to understand at first, but just like Photo Shop it was easy to get the hang of, for example the tools were straightforward, as to crop a video by using the razor tool. The videos were easy to import, as was the song, as you converted the clip from YouTube into a MP3. A difficulty I did face however, was to export the video as a YouTube clip, however I overcame this by using clips from YouTube to teach myself how to do this. To make adjustments were also pretty simple, as the video effect has to be dragged onto the clip then experimented with until successful enough, for example the brightness of the video.
Evaluation
To conduct my evaluation, I first used slide share as it was an easy and straightforward method to use. I firstly made a presentation of the question, then simply uploaded it to slide share, then used the embed into the HTML of blogger on a post, then composed it. I was faced with no difficulties here and would recommend as it was so simplistic to use.
For my second evaluation question, I used an apple mac to write it out onto to blogger, here however I was faced with some difficulties. This was because I had never used one before and was not used to difference. For example, even simplistic things such as screenshotting certain parts of my video, or of my digipak or feedback, you could not doing this as easy as an everyday laptop, as there was no button on the keyboard, but after googling how to do such a simple task, it was straightforward from then on. I also found difficulty in saving images and importing images, as to scroll down it is not as consistent and easy as a normal laptop. This meant I spent more time trying to work the laptop, than working on my question, but nevertheless got it done to the best of my ability.
For my third evaluation question, I used a new website, called Padlet. This to me was like a blank canvas, which made it easy to write, add or change on. The only difficultly I was faced with and was not aware how to overcome, was when I attempted to upload my music video to demonstrate what was meant by my feedback, but after waiting fifteen minutes for it to uphold, it was not able to upload such a video.
I have always found Prezi hard to work with, as I feel like it has a mind of its own, therefore this year I decided to use something different, such as something new like slides, which is similar to slide share, therefore easy to use and navigate.
Sunday, 7 February 2016
QUESTION TWO
How effective is the combination of your main products and ancillary texts?
For the purpose of my a levels, in media studies, I was faced with the task of creating a music video for any genre of my choice, due to my interest within indie/ alternative music, this is the genre I chose to create a music video to. This task also included making ancillary texts, such as an album advert and a digipak (front, back, inside, cd and spine.) When combined and finished, these two products would demonstrate a marketing campaign for the song, complete with branding and house style.
What is house style?
A style guide is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents , either for specific use or general publication. This is also known as house style, which refers to a specific usage and editing conventions followed by writers and editors to ensure stylistic consistency in a particular publication or series of publications, for example newspapers, magazines and websites. House style guides provides rules on such matters as abbreviations, capital letters, numbers, date formats, spelling and terms of address.
Why is a house style important?
The quality of the corporate identity is reflected in all printed matters, as well as online marketing emphases the excellence of the products and the attitude of the business. Therefore, a careless or professional presentation, which is dissatisfactory, does not result in success. The first contact with a consumer, needs to create an impact and also create a good impression, if the product is already sloppy then a good impression is not made, possibly resulting in loosing or not gaining any business.
The house style must reflect the branding strategy and the values of the brand (most values are reflected in the tagline.)
What is branding?
A brand is the identity of a specific product, service or business. A brand can take various forms, such as a name, logo, colour combination or slogan. A legally protected brand name is called a trademark. The idea of branding and the word itself, has evolved to encompass identity, this affects the personality of a product, company or service.
Why is branding important?
Branding is important because it is a method of highlighting what makes the product you have created, more successful or different to the competitors you have.
There are four successful elements to successful branding:
For the purpose of my a levels, in media studies, I was faced with the task of creating a music video for any genre of my choice, due to my interest within indie/ alternative music, this is the genre I chose to create a music video to. This task also included making ancillary texts, such as an album advert and a digipak (front, back, inside, cd and spine.) When combined and finished, these two products would demonstrate a marketing campaign for the song, complete with branding and house style.
What is house style?
A style guide is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents , either for specific use or general publication. This is also known as house style, which refers to a specific usage and editing conventions followed by writers and editors to ensure stylistic consistency in a particular publication or series of publications, for example newspapers, magazines and websites. House style guides provides rules on such matters as abbreviations, capital letters, numbers, date formats, spelling and terms of address.
Why is a house style important?
The quality of the corporate identity is reflected in all printed matters, as well as online marketing emphases the excellence of the products and the attitude of the business. Therefore, a careless or professional presentation, which is dissatisfactory, does not result in success. The first contact with a consumer, needs to create an impact and also create a good impression, if the product is already sloppy then a good impression is not made, possibly resulting in loosing or not gaining any business.
The house style must reflect the branding strategy and the values of the brand (most values are reflected in the tagline.)
What is branding?
A brand is the identity of a specific product, service or business. A brand can take various forms, such as a name, logo, colour combination or slogan. A legally protected brand name is called a trademark. The idea of branding and the word itself, has evolved to encompass identity, this affects the personality of a product, company or service.
Why is branding important?
Branding is important because it is a method of highlighting what makes the product you have created, more successful or different to the competitors you have.
There are four successful elements to successful branding:
- 'The Big Idea' which is the starting point for any branding project. It is a summary of your business' or products' personality, and what makes it different therefore successful.
- 'Vision', the understanding of where your business is heading or where you want it to head to.
- 'Values', clarifies the understanding of your business and what is stands for. The values are important as it is how individuals view your business.
- 'Personality', when you start communicating your brand to consumers, you will also be expressing the personality of your business through tone, language and design used.
How have you created a brand identity across your music video, digipak and advert?
I believe I have successfully created this brand identity throughout my digipak, as every element is consistent throughout. I have used similar images, in similar poses. The model in the images I have used is wearing the same outfit, with the same makeup and hair style, this is also shown through my music video, creating brand identity, as every element of the model is the same throughout the digipak and the music video. The model poses in dance still poses on the digipak and the advert, for example hands crossed behind her back, tilted frame and even pointed toes. I have also created brand identity throughout my digipak, as the editing throughout is the same, the digipak has been edited with the same tools and colours on each side of the digipak. This created brand identity, as there is a theme of colours which are all similar. All colours are the same, which I ensured whilst creating. The colour is a mix of blue and green, which can be shown on the spine, front, inside, back, etc. The style of the digipak is also consistent throughout, it is simplistic and there is a theme of pictures being used to create style in the digipak and advert. The style, is basic but yet successful, consisting of limited text on each side of the digipak. Another theme which is used throughout the digipak and advert, is the use of conventions have been included throughout all of the digipak and advert. Finally, I have also created brand identity as the fonts are all the same or similar, for example every time 'Another Love' or 'Fletcher Logan' is mentioned of any of the media products, the font for this is the same, it is named 'code' off of the website, www.dafont.com. Also, minor text is all created in the same font as well, verdena. The major theme which is emphasised throughout all three media products, is the theme of dance, as either the poses of the advert or digipak are dance stills and the performance of the music video is contemporary dance.
How do you think your digipak design will sell the song/ album to the audience?
I believe the digipak design will sell the media product I have created, as firstly it conforms to the conventions of not only a real digipak, but also the genres conventions, which I have used. By following the conventions, this will sell as it makes the digipak come across to audiences that it is professional and the real deal, professional. By also following the conventions of an indie genre, this will make the product sell as it has been edited unique, rather than other genres of just using an image of the artist, rather I have edited the image in a alternative way, relating to the genre and making it more interesting and attractive to audiences eyes. Following the conventions, makes the media product relatable to audiences and easily recognisable to audiences as they are aware of the conventions, therefore when in a store that sells these media products this will stand out to them as they will known that the media product belongs to genre and by using the conventions, this attracts target audiences. The design of my digipak, is interesting and different but still suits and relates to the genre I have used, due to the design of the digipak being different, this will be attractive to an audiences eye. The digipak design will sell, as not only is it successful and professional looking, it is creative and shows consistency of design and theme throughout, e.g. colour, style, images and font.
How do you think your advert will sell your album?
The advert is one, informative, therefore will most likely sell to audiences. By informative, I mean it features conventions, such as making it known to the reader where the album can be found e.g. iTunes, Spotify or google play. Also, it informs audiences when the album is released, e.g. Out Now or often involves a date when the album is going to be released. It is also successful, as it interesting and different, for example the use of editing I have used, for example the layered pictures of the model in different positions, this will stand out to audiences as it is creative and different, it is not basic and it does stand out to individuals. The advert will also successfully sell the album, as there is consistency throughout, e.g. the theme. colours and styles etc, therefore all media products advertise and promote themselves and the other media products, as they are all similar, therefore will make each product recognisable to audiences.
What elements of your advert and digipak communicate the genre of the music video and the style?
The advert and digipak communicate the genre, as they each conform to the conventions of an indie genre, for example the digipak and advert have been edited to a style of an indie genre, as they are each alternative and different, they are not basic, rather they are unique and creative. They each follow the conventions, as rather an artist being featured, there is someone different to the band or artist on the digipak and advert, this is similar to Arctic Monkeys album 'Whatever People Say I Am, Thats What Im Not' as this does not involve, the band being featured or any artist rather someone different to the band, similar to what I have done, used the performer as a model for my digipak and advert, this follows the conventions of an indie genre as the albums hardly feature the bands themselves, as they are more about advertising their music rather than their image, they normally feature artwork or a logo (for example Arctic Monkeys album AM.) The digipak and advert communicate the genre as, it is similar to other designs of indie digipak and adverts, for example my album is similar to Circa Waves album and the CD, is similar to Tom Odell's CD.
Below is an example of an indie album cover which looks similar to mine, this denotes how I have followed the conventions of an indie genre for a digipak. The fact that there is a successful indie album that looks similar to mine, suggests how my digipak is also successful as it looks similar to other indie album covers, therefore easily recognisable to audiences.
Saturday, 6 February 2016
Editing
Due to my second idea being inspired by the Justin Bieber music video of 'Life Is Worth Living' which was filmed within one apparent take of two dancers. In my own video I decided to emulate this idea, meaning that the video would be filmed with a minimum use of shots and transitions once edited, this is because it would flow more successfully and look more consistent. This is because the dance would be out of sync and look unsuccessful if it had to be in different shots. I felt the need to emulate the inspired idea, and take it in one shot as the dance and video only required limited shots and transitions for the idea of the video to flow.
FINAL CUT MUSIC VIDEO
Below is the final product of my music video, which has been edited to take into account of the feedback I received from my social media and focus group feedback. It was suggested to be to edit the video in more detail to be more exciting and interesting, which I did. This is my final cut of my music video, Another Love.
Thursday, 4 February 2016
Wednesday, 3 February 2016
Feedback
The feedback I received for my ancillary task was all positive and no improvements were suggested. This feedback was successful as it also reached out to my target audience and I received feed back from them, people ages 16 to 25 years old is what I found the inde genre is targeted at from previous research. I have taken all comments on board and I am pleased my digipak was so successful with the audience I was reaching out to.
Video Editing (5)
After editing my music video I had to ensure I rendered all videos, in order for all the editing to be effective and actually work. I found at the end of editing my music to be as successful as I would of wanted and created to the best of my ability.
Video Editing (4)
To make my video more successful and attractive to the eye, I edited the video to be brighter. I did this by looking at all the various video effects and found brightness to be most successful. I then began to edit the shots and turning the brightness to an average of 70. This made the video brighter and visually pleasing as it no longer looked as dull. 
Video Editing (3)
Then I wanted to edit a part of the music video which I filmed and found to be more successful, therefore I seeked audiences advice on how to edit this video. I was suggested to once again add the title of the song, this not only makes my video more successful but it also is great advertisement for the video and song as the title is repeated and emphasised.
Video Editing (2)
I then began to edit this video to make it more interesting by using the razor tool to cut a small part of the dance out the video, so it cuts to black. I found this successful as it created a dramatic effect and also became more interesting as the audience was no longer just watching the dance. This created a black, blank shot within the video which makes it more exciting, stand out and different. This will catch the audiences attention.
Video Editing
I began to edit my music video by uploading the footage which I had filmed. After this was completed, I then add a title to my music video to introduce the artist and the title of then song. I did this by firstly clicking the title button located at the top of the progamme, then I was provided with various options and I made the decision to choose a still title then added the names of the artist and the song. I placed these at the beginning of the video to create an introduction and to follow the conventions of all music videos.
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
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