All the research and planning tasks are towards the beginning of the blog, the final digipack and advert is on the 17th Decemeber 2010. It then continues with research and planning and then goes into the evaluation. It ends with the final video.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Evaluation: Question 3 - What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
For my audience research I held a focus group with members of my target audience. Some of the members of the group had seen the progress of the video so therefore know more about the background and the initial research we did and some of them, it was the first time watching the video and seeing the digipack and advert. I felt that the feedback I was given was fair and helpful however I was unable to record them discussing but I was able to do a voice recording and therefore have a script of what they said:
Does the performance look convincing?
Person1: YES! I think it looks real retro and relaxed and cool.
Person2: Yeah although it the comes across a bit rushed at times I reckon. Like it feels a bit rushed together.
Person3: The performers look like they're having fun and just concentrating on the music a bit more. The lip-syncing's a bit out in some places too...
Person4: I think it fits with the genre of music, like the laid back indie-ish pop-ish stuff. Just looks like... Cool. (laughter)
Would you like to be friends with the people in the video?
Person3: Well Ollie is one of my friends.. (more laughter) No no no I know what you mean. Yeah I think they look like fun, like they're actually enjoying what they're doing in the video.
Person2:Except the chorus bit, I reckon they don't look like they're enoying that bit. Although I would wanna be friends with them.
Person1:I don't think I would. (laughing) Sorry I know that sounds harsh but except the one on the front of the CD I reckon the others look a bit like they're trying to be indie but they're just not. Just no.
Person4: I like the way he dresses yeah. He looks cool. They all look like they're normal lads and when they're doing the dancing in the video or the end of it they look good. I reckon we could be mates.
Does it remind you of any other music videos?
Person4: THE KOOKS! That's the first thing I thought. Looks like one of their videos when they're like in Paris.. Can't remember which one it is*. Like the way it's laid back and relaxed. It's very Kooks-y.
Person2:Yeah I can see The Kooks now you've said it. Or like, ummm Mumford and Sons.
Person1: When you think about it, it's similar to loads of videos with the indie kind of genre. 'Cus they all go for laid-back 'Ooooh we're really cool and take ourseleves really seriously and want to show you our really cool music' (laughter).
Person3: I agree with everything they said. (laughing)
Helpful. I know you've mentioned a few genres, but what genre do you think it is meant to be?
Person2: Indie deffo.
Person4: Bit of pop in there though 'cus proper indie's like, not as pop-ish. (laughter)
Person1/3: Indie/pop.
If you could, what would you change about the video and why?
Person1: I think I'd make it more smooth and not as jumpy from shot to shot. Not on every part but like the chorus bit it's kind of jumpy.
Did that make it unenjoyable to watch?
Person1: I wouldn't say unenjoyable just distracted a bit at that point but like one shot then another shot than another. It was a bit too much.
Ok. Anyone else?
Person3: The lip-syncing looks a bit out in some places.
Right and does that make the video hard to watch?
Person3: No not really but I did notice it in some parts, not the whole thing just certain parts. And it does make it just look like polished and professional really.
Person4: Yeah and some of it the lads look a bit stiff. I'd get them to relax a bit and look like they're having loads of fun the whole way throughout.
Something else the audience came up with was "The lip-syncing looks a bit out in some places." When asked whether the lip-syncing makes the video hard to watch, he said "No not really but I did notice it in some parts, not the whole thing just certain parts. And it does make it just look like polished and professional really." I feel that we could have spent more time on getting the lip0syncing perfect and making sure the actors were singing at the right pace, so as to make it easier to match with the song. This type of critcism is vital for getting the audience satisfied and the video a job well done. I feel that if I were to make the video again I would make sure all these things are sorted and get actors that are slightly more commited to the cause.
Another criticism I got from the audience was "some of it the lads look a bit stiff". I feel that this is a fair comment to make about some of the scenes in the video because the actors do appear to be rather stiff at certain points. If I was able to make some changes to the current video I would again get the actors to loosen up a bit and not take it so seriously because that is how the video is meant to be. I feel that the parts of the video that are best is when they are laughing or messing about and dancing. I feel that those parts really feel like the indie genre.
Cultural Capital:
When looking at the audience research, I feel that the cultural capital is the 'indie genre' and also the type of person actors come across as. For example, one member of the target audience focus group said that they would not want to be friends with some members of our 'band' because they look like they're trying to hard to be 'indie'. I feel this shows that some specific members of our audience are proud of their 'indie' nature and do not like it when people try and be like them. However if someone from an older generation were to look at the video, that would never be something that they would pick out of the four boys. This shows that to make proper criticisms and understand the members of the band fully, you have to know the indie genre and the type of people they are very well. That type of knowledge is obviously held in high regard to our target audience.
Uses/Pleasures of the text:
I feel that the audience has used to the text try and be more like the relaxed nature of the boys in the video. For example, all the members of the group have said that they like the way the main boy on the front cover of the digipack dresses, so perhaps they will use the text to be more like him. They also mentioned that they liked the free-style dancing and casual nature of the video so they may use it to be more let-loose and crazy. The pleasures of the text seemed also to be directed at the members of the band. Their clothing was mentioned in the discussion which means they got pleasure from looking at that. Also, their dancing and laid-back attitube was a big selling point for the target audience, which showed that the way we conquered the video worked well.
Summary:
I feel that from looking at the outcome of the focus group, our target audience read our video in a appropriate way. Most of the things they said about the video, (eg. the laid back nature and quirky band members) wre things we were aiming for them to pick out and enjoy. I feel this shows that the text was understood by our target audience well and shows that we accomplished our initial aim. I feel that the fact that all the members of the focus group are very into the indie genre and therefore their social context is fitting with the video helped us get such a clear reading of the text. If you were to put a non member of the target audience in front of the video and asked them to discuss it, I do not think that they would have understood the relaxed nature of the video. I do not feel that their lack of cultural capital of the indie genre made them read the text any differently; however I do feel that one member of the groups excessive knowledge of the indie genre made them look into the band members a bit more and therefore thought that some of them did not fit in.
Does the performance look convincing?
Person1: YES! I think it looks real retro and relaxed and cool.
Person2: Yeah although it the comes across a bit rushed at times I reckon. Like it feels a bit rushed together.
Person3: The performers look like they're having fun and just concentrating on the music a bit more. The lip-syncing's a bit out in some places too...
Person4: I think it fits with the genre of music, like the laid back indie-ish pop-ish stuff. Just looks like... Cool. (laughter)
Would you like to be friends with the people in the video?
Person3: Well Ollie is one of my friends.. (more laughter) No no no I know what you mean. Yeah I think they look like fun, like they're actually enjoying what they're doing in the video.
Person2:Except the chorus bit, I reckon they don't look like they're enoying that bit. Although I would wanna be friends with them.
Person1:I don't think I would. (laughing) Sorry I know that sounds harsh but except the one on the front of the CD I reckon the others look a bit like they're trying to be indie but they're just not. Just no.
Person4: I like the way he dresses yeah. He looks cool. They all look like they're normal lads and when they're doing the dancing in the video or the end of it they look good. I reckon we could be mates.
Does it remind you of any other music videos?
Person4: THE KOOKS! That's the first thing I thought. Looks like one of their videos when they're like in Paris.. Can't remember which one it is*. Like the way it's laid back and relaxed. It's very Kooks-y.
Person2:Yeah I can see The Kooks now you've said it. Or like, ummm Mumford and Sons.
Person1: When you think about it, it's similar to loads of videos with the indie kind of genre. 'Cus they all go for laid-back 'Ooooh we're really cool and take ourseleves really seriously and want to show you our really cool music' (laughter).
Person3: I agree with everything they said. (laughing)
Helpful. I know you've mentioned a few genres, but what genre do you think it is meant to be?
Person2: Indie deffo.
Person4: Bit of pop in there though 'cus proper indie's like, not as pop-ish. (laughter)
Person1/3: Indie/pop.
If you could, what would you change about the video and why?
Person1: I think I'd make it more smooth and not as jumpy from shot to shot. Not on every part but like the chorus bit it's kind of jumpy.
Did that make it unenjoyable to watch?
Person1: I wouldn't say unenjoyable just distracted a bit at that point but like one shot then another shot than another. It was a bit too much.
Ok. Anyone else?
Person3: The lip-syncing looks a bit out in some places.
Right and does that make the video hard to watch?
Person3: No not really but I did notice it in some parts, not the whole thing just certain parts. And it does make it just look like polished and professional really.
Person4: Yeah and some of it the lads look a bit stiff. I'd get them to relax a bit and look like they're having loads of fun the whole way throughout.
Ways in which the audience were affected:
When going back and analysing my research, I feel that the audience was affected by the video is a positive way. They thought that the performers looked like they were having fun and enjoying themselves. This is an expected result to find from the video because we were aiming for an upbeat and relaxed performance and feel that this is what we have got. The positive affect of the video also prompted comments fro the audience about the actors clothing and the way they acted. When asked whether they would want to be friends with the actors in the video, three out of the four said yes they would want to be. The reasons they gave were that they looked 'cool' and they liked the way that they dressed. This is the response we were aiming for from the audience, which shows they have taken the preferred reading from the video. However, one member of the group said "I don't think I would. (laughing) Sorry I know that sounds harsh but except the one on the front of the CD I reckon the others look a bit like they're trying to be indie but they're just not. Just no." I took this criticism into account and think that if I were to make some changes to the video, I would get the other actors to play up to the indie vibe some more and therefore satisfy the whole of the audience. One of the members of the group also said "I think it looks real retro and relaxed and cool." This is the type of response we were aiming for and I am very pleased with this comment. The fact that the audience recognise the affect we were going for shows the video is at least off in the right direction.
When going back and analysing my research, I feel that the audience was affected by the video is a positive way. They thought that the performers looked like they were having fun and enjoying themselves. This is an expected result to find from the video because we were aiming for an upbeat and relaxed performance and feel that this is what we have got. The positive affect of the video also prompted comments fro the audience about the actors clothing and the way they acted. When asked whether they would want to be friends with the actors in the video, three out of the four said yes they would want to be. The reasons they gave were that they looked 'cool' and they liked the way that they dressed. This is the response we were aiming for from the audience, which shows they have taken the preferred reading from the video. However, one member of the group said "I don't think I would. (laughing) Sorry I know that sounds harsh but except the one on the front of the CD I reckon the others look a bit like they're trying to be indie but they're just not. Just no." I took this criticism into account and think that if I were to make some changes to the video, I would get the other actors to play up to the indie vibe some more and therefore satisfy the whole of the audience. One of the members of the group also said "I think it looks real retro and relaxed and cool." This is the type of response we were aiming for and I am very pleased with this comment. The fact that the audience recognise the affect we were going for shows the video is at least off in the right direction.
Looking at the changes the audience would have made:
When asked whether the audience had any changes to be made, one member of the group said "I think I'd make it more smooth and not as jumpy from shot to shot. Not on every part but like the chorus bit it's kind of jumpy." When asked whether this made the video unenjoyable she said that it distracted her a bit and was a bit too mich. I feel that we could have made the cut shots a bit smoother to prevent this from happening because we were not aiming for a negative response from the shot cuts. I feel by making the video smoother and not trying to fit as many shots in as possible, we could have stopped ourselves from gaining this kind of response and therefore made the audience more happy. When looking back at the focus group, this is the only time this issue is mentioned however I feel that because it is mentioned once then it is automatically an issue.Something else the audience came up with was "The lip-syncing looks a bit out in some places." When asked whether the lip-syncing makes the video hard to watch, he said "No not really but I did notice it in some parts, not the whole thing just certain parts. And it does make it just look like polished and professional really." I feel that we could have spent more time on getting the lip0syncing perfect and making sure the actors were singing at the right pace, so as to make it easier to match with the song. This type of critcism is vital for getting the audience satisfied and the video a job well done. I feel that if I were to make the video again I would make sure all these things are sorted and get actors that are slightly more commited to the cause.
Another criticism I got from the audience was "some of it the lads look a bit stiff". I feel that this is a fair comment to make about some of the scenes in the video because the actors do appear to be rather stiff at certain points. If I was able to make some changes to the current video I would again get the actors to loosen up a bit and not take it so seriously because that is how the video is meant to be. I feel that the parts of the video that are best is when they are laughing or messing about and dancing. I feel that those parts really feel like the indie genre.
Cultural Capital:
When looking at the audience research, I feel that the cultural capital is the 'indie genre' and also the type of person actors come across as. For example, one member of the target audience focus group said that they would not want to be friends with some members of our 'band' because they look like they're trying to hard to be 'indie'. I feel this shows that some specific members of our audience are proud of their 'indie' nature and do not like it when people try and be like them. However if someone from an older generation were to look at the video, that would never be something that they would pick out of the four boys. This shows that to make proper criticisms and understand the members of the band fully, you have to know the indie genre and the type of people they are very well. That type of knowledge is obviously held in high regard to our target audience.
Uses/Pleasures of the text:
I feel that the audience has used to the text try and be more like the relaxed nature of the boys in the video. For example, all the members of the group have said that they like the way the main boy on the front cover of the digipack dresses, so perhaps they will use the text to be more like him. They also mentioned that they liked the free-style dancing and casual nature of the video so they may use it to be more let-loose and crazy. The pleasures of the text seemed also to be directed at the members of the band. Their clothing was mentioned in the discussion which means they got pleasure from looking at that. Also, their dancing and laid-back attitube was a big selling point for the target audience, which showed that the way we conquered the video worked well.
Summary:
I feel that from looking at the outcome of the focus group, our target audience read our video in a appropriate way. Most of the things they said about the video, (eg. the laid back nature and quirky band members) wre things we were aiming for them to pick out and enjoy. I feel this shows that the text was understood by our target audience well and shows that we accomplished our initial aim. I feel that the fact that all the members of the focus group are very into the indie genre and therefore their social context is fitting with the video helped us get such a clear reading of the text. If you were to put a non member of the target audience in front of the video and asked them to discuss it, I do not think that they would have understood the relaxed nature of the video. I do not feel that their lack of cultural capital of the indie genre made them read the text any differently; however I do feel that one member of the groups excessive knowledge of the indie genre made them look into the band members a bit more and therefore thought that some of them did not fit in.
Evaluation - Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
When completing the whole project, technology has played a huge part. Firstly I would have been unable to complete the project without the use of http://www.blogger.com/. This website is where I have documented all of the work I have completed and is how everyone will be able to look at it. From the very beginning the website http://www.youtube.com/ has been vital in completing the project. The use of embedding videos into my blog has made the process of researching existing products very simple because I was able to show people which videos I was influenced by and tell them why in one place. I have incorporated Media 2.0 technologies into the project as well by using http://www.facebook.com/ to interrect with my audience. I set up a group and invited some friends who I thought were part of the target audience to join. This meant that I was able to get audience feedback from the very beginning and it would all be in one place. I was also able to show people my digipack, advertisement and video when they were all finished and ask people to give me feedback on them. I was also able to communicate with the artist I was using through the use of emails. This Media 2.0 made getting in touch and asking permission very simple and easy and made the whole project fit together better.
When beginning to produce and shoot the digipack, advert and video, we used either a Panasonic HD DV camera or a Nikon D60 DSLR camera. These cameras are both very advanced in technology and allow you to film or take a picture and watch it back on the camera. This kind of technology allows us to get the filming done much faster and with much more ease. The access to these cameras was extremely helpful and made completing the project much easier. When going back into the classroom and actually putting the products together, I used Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Premiere Pro. Photoshop was used for the digipack and the advertisement and made putting them together very simple and quick. I was able to be more creative with the new media technology and it made doing things like edit pictures very simple. Without the use of Photoshop, the digipack and advert would be very limited and unprofessional. When completing the video, I used Premiere Pro which, again, made the process very simple. I was able to do lip-syncing with ease and create a video that flowed well.
I feel that if I were to have access to more advance technologies, such as a studio to shoot a video in or an advanced lighting system, the video may have come across as more professional. When looking at the theory of technological determinism, I felt that the new technology did both help and hinder my finished products. For example, the technology made completing the projects very fast, with everything in one place and at my disposal as I wished. However, I do feel that when creating the digipack, I was more limited as to where I was going to put the pictures because the programme had it's own idea as to where it wanted the picture to go. I do not have any major crisicisms of the technology used.
Evaluation - Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I have completed a Prezi to answer this question:
Evaluation - Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? on Prezi
To answer the question two of the evaluation, I have completed a Prezi. I have also included pictures of my final digipack and final advertisement below:
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Evaluation: Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
When research our product, we were influenced by existing media products such as the Arctic Monkeys videos, CD covers and advertisements. We used the Arctic Monkeys because we felt that they reflected the work of The 99s and used the same indie theme that we were going for. We thought the indie theme was interesting and there was room for creativity because they try and keep it simple without challenging the conventions and therefore losing the audiences interest.
When comparing the digipack I created with digipack's that have been done professionally, it is interesting to compare the similarities and differences. Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of the full indie CD cover for the Arctic Monkeys album other than the one above, but i feel you can see the similarities between the two front covers. However when further designing the digipack, I found it hard to achieve a professional standard due to lack of resources in college and little to no funds. The actors I used were very good at posing for the photos which made the process much simpler. I feel that the mood board I made, including photos of the type of clothing the actors would need to wear, reflects the type of things that are shown in the video and digipack. This works well with the audience and shows the research that was done into the target audience was fairly detailed and showed some good knowledge of the kind of people we wish to target.
The products that I have created follow redundant conventions from typical indie videos, advertisements and digpacks. The generic nature of the products works for this genre because the audience tend to 'know what they like and like what they know'. A member of our audience said this to us when we were doing initial research and we tried to stick to this rule. The black and white colour scheme of the advert and the digipack is something that the indie genre will recognise and immediately know what they are getting from the products. We tried to make it so they will automatically understand what they are getting from the songs they are going to listen to. We tried to make our actors typical 'indie' member of the audience, so we used clothes, shoes, hairstyles etc that would appeal to our audience. We are hoping that the audience will understand if they see familiarity and an Arctic Monkeys-type performance. However, there is the fear that the audience could easily forget about about the products, due to them being very redundant and the same as lots of other indie type products on the market. This was also mentioned in the audience feedback but we are unable to do much about this problem now that everything is finished. The practitioner Steve Neale said that the repetition of genre helps the audience recognise indie theme and shows understanding of audience needs. We thought about this when first looking into the indie genre and felt that we would want to reinforce this theory and satisfy our audiences needs.
This is the image used on the front of the Arctic Monkeys digipack - I feel it reflects my digipack well because of the use of the main singer on the front cover and the other band members on the other panels. Our audience research helped to define the strengths and weaknesses of our media products and shows us that we have followed the indie conventions well. For example, we asked the audience: "Does the Production work target the audience we wanted?" and a member of our target audience answered: "Yes, i feel the indie theme is portrayed well. and the black and white looks good. The costume and people used go with the target audience." We communicated with our audience mainly through Facebook because it is easy to come across the type of people we want. We set up a Facebook group and invited people who we thought would appreciate the music type we are using.
When comparing the digipack I created with digipack's that have been done professionally, it is interesting to compare the similarities and differences. Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of the full indie CD cover for the Arctic Monkeys album other than the one above, but i feel you can see the similarities between the two front covers. However when further designing the digipack, I found it hard to achieve a professional standard due to lack of resources in college and little to no funds. The actors I used were very good at posing for the photos which made the process much simpler. I feel that the mood board I made, including photos of the type of clothing the actors would need to wear, reflects the type of things that are shown in the video and digipack. This works well with the audience and shows the research that was done into the target audience was fairly detailed and showed some good knowledge of the kind of people we wish to target.The products that I have created follow redundant conventions from typical indie videos, advertisements and digpacks. The generic nature of the products works for this genre because the audience tend to 'know what they like and like what they know'. A member of our audience said this to us when we were doing initial research and we tried to stick to this rule. The black and white colour scheme of the advert and the digipack is something that the indie genre will recognise and immediately know what they are getting from the products. We tried to make it so they will automatically understand what they are getting from the songs they are going to listen to. We tried to make our actors typical 'indie' member of the audience, so we used clothes, shoes, hairstyles etc that would appeal to our audience. We are hoping that the audience will understand if they see familiarity and an Arctic Monkeys-type performance. However, there is the fear that the audience could easily forget about about the products, due to them being very redundant and the same as lots of other indie type products on the market. This was also mentioned in the audience feedback but we are unable to do much about this problem now that everything is finished. The practitioner Steve Neale said that the repetition of genre helps the audience recognise indie theme and shows understanding of audience needs. We thought about this when first looking into the indie genre and felt that we would want to reinforce this theory and satisfy our audiences needs.
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Monday, 10 January 2011
Research and Planning: Moodboard.
To give you a clear view of the type of things my target audience likes, here are some images representing them:
Research and Planning: Organisation of Costumes and Props.
The costumes the performers/cast members need to wear when filming the video are very straight forward. All 4 of the members of the 'band' already wear the type of clothing that we need. Here is an example of the sort of outfit they would wear in the video:
Research and Planning: Organisation of location.
When considering the location of our music video, we had to take in to consideration several different aspects. Firstly, the weather conditions are fairly unpredictable at the moment, with lots of snow often followed by rain. We had to think about whether it would be sensible to film outside at the time of year we are hoping to, and if we did want to, the whereabouts of this. At college, we have a large wooded area which appears to be the perfect place to film because there is a lot of room and it is easily accessible to all performers/cast members and filming crew. We also had to take into consideration the risk aspect of filming in the woods because we had to think about what could happen. We analysed the situation and decided that there was little risk when in the woods, except for falling over or getting wet with rain. We have thought about the weather and decided the video would be fine to film in most weather conditions and are not worried about wind or rain or snow or sunshine.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Research and Planning: Performers and Casting.
