Evaluation

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

For our A2 Media coursework, we were set the task of creating a music video promo for an unsigned band. We also had to create two promotional products to promote the band and our product.  

Music video promo: Music videos are created and released to advertise the band and the music track in the video. The video can be displayed and released through a range of companies and using several different websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.  Music videos in general are created to be eye catching and to advertise a chosen track off an upcoming release, usually the most anticipated track. Therefore the track will gain more views and the album/video will be advertised.

The song we used belongs to the hardcore genre, which is where videos are heavily performance based and are commonly filmed in a dark and dismal place.

Digipack: The digipack is an important piece of a band or artists release, as this will be the item sitting on the shelf of a store, creating a connection with an audience. Therefore they need to be eye-catching and normally relate to the band. Bonus content such as interviews, live music or pictures, is a regular occurrence as it encourages fans to buy the album. Albums can also be released on either vinyl, coloured vinyl or on a limited edition box set. These are commonly at a higher price and are more popular with die-hard fans. Vinyl are also becoming more popular with hardcore and metal bands because they colour the record and have a larger digipack space as the dimensions of a record holder is larger than a cd case.

Website: Websites are becoming less and less popular with the rise of free advertisement via social networking sites such as Tumblr and Facebook. However we set to design a website that meets conventions with the current bands and artists websites. We will do this by making the homepage as minimalistic as possible and by making the whole website well laid out. The website can also create a relationship between the audience and the band by having interactive between them. For example a contact us form or a questionnaire for the fans.

Music videos are created to suit the band and the genre in which that band is classed as. Therefore depending on what genre the music video is, the content will change. For example in the pop genre, there is a lot of mid and close up shots of the main singer. In the hardcore genre, the genre that our song is classed as, there is a range of different shots and methods used.

Firstly there is a lot of attention on the main vocalist with a range of long and mid shots. This is because the vocalist is normally moving a lot, which would (if the camera was close up) result in a lot of camera movement. This could result in some viewers being put off, therefore long and mid shots are used, so that the camera doesn’t have a large amount of movement. This is the same for the guitarist, bassist and drummer as too much camera movement could confuse the viewer.

We think that quirky videos in the hardcore genre isn’t conventional, therefore we decided to make our music video as serious as possible. Therefore the performance and narrative heavily relate to the song and we have not used intertexuality in our video. 

The screenshot below is a conventional shot where the whole band is in the frame. This is a very common shot that is used in hardcore genres as, unlike the pop genre, the focus is not on 1 person. The focus is on the whole band, which is a common focus throughout the video.

Another conventional shot we used was the mid-close up shot on the vocalist. This was used at points where the vocals were the most dominating part of the track. We aimed the lighting at the vocalist to illuminate his face and make everything around him dark. This was effective because then the viewers would only be concentrating on the vocalist.

Illustration:

Illustrates lyrics in the song.

Amplifiction:

Takes the lyrics and adds to them and elaborates from one point.

Dysjuncture:

Completely unrelated to the lyrics.

For our music video we decided to use an illustrative method; we illustrated the lyrics in the video through the narrative. We thought that this would be more effective than having a video that had no relation to the lyrics and what the song is about. This is quite conventional as the lyrics are hard to understand because of the method of the vocals, therefore most hardcore videos have a narrative linking to the songs.  

Linking the lyrics to what happens in the video also means that the video is easy to understand. Sometimes videos can be hard to understand and therefore the replay value can be lost. However some people like watching videos over and over again to try and grasp the concept that the narrative is portraying.

Throughout our music promo we used conventions and went against conventions to try and increase the replay value of our video. We used a range of camera angles and methods to make the camerawork more interesting.

We used the While She Sleeps video for ‘Seven Hills’ as a big inspiration towards our music video.

The two screenshots above are both close ups of the vocalist. We used this shot type at different parts throughout the video as we felt that the vocalist getting ‘up close’ to the camera would make the viewers feel like the vocalist.

The shots above are of the guitarist. We made sure that throughout our music video, the amount of shots of every band member was equal. This is because in the hardcore genre, the vocalist isn’t the only popular member in the band as all of the band perform. Therefore the guitarist, bassist, drummer and vocalist all equally shot.

We also chose to make a large percentage of the shots of the musicians close ups on either their instrument or themselves. This was to give the viewers an audience like feel of an intimate gig.

The screenshots above are of the drummers. We decided to use the same angle for the drums for the whole video otherwise there could be continuity errors with how the drummer is positioned and how the drums are positioned. This is the same method used in the While She Sleeps video.

We tried to make our video as energetic as possible. This meant that we used the long shot for a large percentage of the performance side. If we used a close up shot, the camera would move a lot and could make our audience not want to watch it.  This is very similar to the while she sleeps video.

The location we used was a very conventional location for our genre. We used it because we felt that it suited the song as the song is about being alone and it is a secluded barn. I also felt that it suited the genre as it wasn’t colourful, it was extremely dark and dull.

We had a choice of 2 locations. Both were barns, but we felt that the barn we ended up choosing, suited the genre more. The barn we chose was able to be blacked out completely, meaning that our lights were really effective. It also meant that when the lights blacked out before the breakdown, there was no light coming in to the barn, making this part of the video even more effective.

We used lighting to make the video look more professional. It made the performance look like it was a real performance for a crowd, making the audience feel like they are fully involved as they are the audience/main audience. This is very conventional and can be seen the in While She Sleeps video. They use an audience there, but use the same concept that we used, an intimate venue with lighting to make the viewers feel like they’re involved with the audience.

When editing my music video, I decided not to use transitions between shots as this very unconventional and would not suit the genre. The aim is to make the video look as professional as possible. Therefore I think straight cuts are the best way to achieve this.

However one effect that I did use whilst editing was the opacity effect. I used this to make one of the key parts of the song more effective. I used it to make it seem like the vocalist was screaming the lyrics at himself.

Another convention that we challenged was the lighting. We decided to use a laser in the middle of lighting rig to add colour to our video.  We Are Fiction’s video (left) for Earth Medicine inspired us to do this as it worked really affectively in theirs, however as our song was much heavier, we decided no to add too much colour. 

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

We have created 2 different pieces of texts to go with our production.
The first ancillary text is a website. We created this because websites are common in our genre because they are a good cheap way to advertise the band. Websites commonly have feeds to the bands social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The second ancillary text was the digipack. We created this so that the band could see what the digipack would look like if we were asked to create it for them.

I think that both of the products that we would intend to release are of a high standard. I think that the video suits the genre and the digipack/website combination challenge the genre because hardcore bands commonly use logos as their album covers. However they suit the band and work well together as a feature for the band because it shows who the band are and who the band are involved with.

We chose to keep the text for the band’s name the same for both the website and as this is a conventional method, and it also keeps the logo text continuous.

All of the texts use synergy, meaning that the content is related on all of the products that we have created, thus meaning they all help to promote each other. The CD has a band picture taken in the same setting as the video, therefore linking it to the video. Therefore if a member of the public sees the video and wants to buy the album, the faces of the band members and the setting may remind this person may encourage them to buy it.

For the website it is the same, by using images from the music video, visitors will remember the music video if they were to access the website.

Our whole product suits the new media, Facebook, YouTube, ITunes and other new media, because it’s created with modern technology for modern technology. We filmed in HD, meaning that the resolution of the video is incredibly high, meaning that the video isn’t fuzzy or pixelated. Therefore viewing it on all websites (YouTube/Vimeo/Facbeook) is good and looks professional.

As there are very few ‘hardcore’ music channels, our product has a very small chance of being played on tv. However there are new and upcoming video channels that would play hardcore music, such as Kerrang! And Scuzz. These are music television channels that play heavy music, meaning that our hardcore video would be able to be played by them.

To make our album cover more recognisable to people who have seen our music video, we chose to use a photo taken on the day of music video as our album cover. This is handy because it meant that viewers can watch our music video, and if they cannot remember the name of the band or the track, but they can recognise who is in the track, the album cover will remind them of it. However this is unconventional as a band normally uses a logo or a plain text front cover for their album cover.

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From our audience feedback we have learnt a number of things that have affected how we filmed our music video and how we approached creating our website and digipack.

First of all, we created 2 questionnaires to give to people of a range of different ages.

The first questionnaire (below) was aimed at anyone, it’s aim was to find out what people expect from a music video. It had questions asking how they would watch it and what would make them want to watch it, meaning that we could tie our video in with the conventions of music videos in general. This was because a lot of views can be gained on a music video for going with conventions. Therefore we felt that using the answers from the questionnaire guided us in to making a music video that may not have music that appeals to everyone, but everyone can like the video. It also affected how we approached releasing the music video.

The results showed that both males and females who like a variety of genres, watch their music videos on YouTube. Therefore we felt that releasing our video on YouTube was a must because it would increase the chances of the video being viewed. It also gave us an idea on what people (across a range of genres) like to see in the music video, whether it is more narrative, or more performance.

1) Are you a...

Male

or

Female

2) Do you watch music videos?

Yes

No

3) What is your preferred genre?

Metal

Hardcore

RnB

Pop

Pop Punk

Rap

Rock

Classical

Jazz

4) If yes, how do you watch music videos?

Youtube

TV - _____________________ (state what channel)

Vimeo

CD/DVD

5) Which do you prefer to dominate the music video?

Performance

Narrative

6) What devices do you view music videos on?

Phone

Tablet

Laptop

Computer

7) Do you prefer a music video that either links strongly to the song or a little bit, or do you prefer a completely random music video?

8) Do you rewatch a music video? Or do you just download the song and listen to the song again?

Rewatch video

Relisten to song

The second questionnaire (below) contained questions specifically for people who like the hardcore genre. We created this because we felt that we needed an insight in to what fans want from a hardcore genre. Therefore we comprised several questions on questions that were similar to the general questionnaire, however it had more questions tailored to bands and energetic music.

From this questionnaire we found out that a most of the people that we asked prefer the setting to fit the song or the genre so that it doesn’t look strange.

We also found out that all the band should be filmed equally. Meaning that instead of the video focusing on the main vocalist, like a pop or indie video, the other members of the band will also be filmed.

1) What is your gender?

Male

Female

2) Do you watch music videos?

Yes

No

3) If yes, how do you watch music videos?

Youtube

TV - _____________________ (state what channel)

Vimeo

CD/DVD

4) Which do you prefer to dominate the music video?

Performance

Narrative

5) What devices do you view music videos on?

Phone

Tablet

Laptop

Computer

6) Do you like the video to focus on the vocalist or do you like seeing all the band members equally?

7) Do you think the setting plays a large part of the music video? (If yes please state why)

Yes - ____________________________

No

8) Do you like seeing a story run along a performance?

Yes

No

9) Do you prefer music video that has a fast editing pace to it or do you feel this results in a music video that changes the focus too much?

Before filming our music video, we pitched 3 possible ideas to a feedback group, containing both hardcore music and non-hardcore music lovers.

The pitch above contains all three ideas for our hardcore music video. We used this pitch to gain feedback on our locations and ideas for the narrative, as both are key parts of music videos. The performance area is less important as it is purely to entertain the viewers, however the location is important, as it needs to fit with the song and the genre of music. The narrative was also important as at the time, we did not know whether to have a video that either used illustration, amplification or disjuncture.

From this we gained varied opinions on what location we should use and what narrative we should have alongside the performance. Most of the audience agreed on a certain location and a certain narrative. This information then helped us plan the video in more detail.

After our music video was filmed, we interviewed several different people at different ages, with different music tastes and asked them a variety of questions (below) about our final product. This was good as it gave us an insight in to what a variety of people think of our final music video. This knowledge meant that on the next project we can improve the final product, whether it is a hardcore music video or not.

1) What were your initial thoughts of the music video?

2) How was the narrative to the performance ratio?

3) Was the video stereotypical?

4) What bits of the video standout to you?

5) Would you watch the video again?

From the questions we found out that our music video had fast paced editing, which was very stereotypical of hardcore music videos. We also found out that our video has replay value. However, the people who would not replay the video would not replay it because of the type of music accompanying the video.

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

YouTube: We decided to release our music video through our own personal YouTube channel as it meant that we could add captions, change the information to it, monitor the comments and gain the views from the publicity that we gain through it. It video was released on my YouTube channel (NapoleonOverboard). This can be

seen as unprofessional for both a musician and a videographer as it’s on the same YouTube profile as other videos that are not professional.

A more professional approach to releasing our video would be through a professional music video publishing channel. A channel like this that suits the genre of our video is BlankTV. BlankTV is a Rock, Alternative, Metal, Punk and Pop-Punk. By releasing our video through BlankTV, an audience who are into the same music as the video can view the video and can leave feedback on whether they like it or not, whether it from the like or dislike buttons on YouTube, or the comments section.

Facebook: We have used Facebook to both advertise and research into what people expect from a hardcore music video. Facebook enables users to post questionnaires and polls allowing people to give us feedback. It also allowed us to contact communities, such as a group called UKHCII (UK hardcore II), that are the audience

that will be watching our video. Because of the community had over 3000 members, getting feedback quickly was easy and we could easily have a large amount of feedback. Sharing our video on Facebook was also good because it meant that we could share the YouTube link, meaning that people could either watch it on Facebook or on YouTube.

We also used Facebook’s polling system as a type of questionnaire. This was handy because it only required people to click on the answer that they wanted. Because it was quick and simple, it meant that the response we got was bigger than a written or long-winded questionnaire. This did not affect on the quality of the information that we got back because it was answering the questions that we needed and gave us a good insight in to what people want.

Twitter: Twitter helped us advertise our music video release to a large audience. As Twitter isn’t private like Facebook, anyone can see any tweet unless they are protected. Therefore our tweets can be retweeted on to other people’s feeds, meaning that people who do not follow the band can still see the music video and can follow the link to watch on YouTube. We had several different replies to our tweets advertising the music video giving us feedback on it. This was handy because it was from people we didn’t know and was helpful. It also meant that more advertisement was gained and more people video the music video.

Tumblr: Tumblr is a site that lets anyone host a blog for free. This was good as it meant that we could have used our blog, or used the band’s blog, to post the video. Unlike Facebook, anyone can view what the person is publishing, whether it be pictures, text or video. We can also attach the video to the blog so that every visitor will have a pop up of the video, with either the embed YouTube video, meaning the visitor can go to the YouTube version, or an uploaded version, straight on the blog. This is good because it meant that our video can be advertised to people who may not see the video because it may not appeal to them.

MySpace: A social networking site that has been popular with bands throughout the years is MySpace. It allows the user to upload pictures, upcoming events and more, including videos.

MySpace is more commonly checked by record labels and promoters, as well as fans meaning that our video will get more hits from a concentrated audience who are in to the Hardcore (or similar) genres.

The picture below is a screenshot of a similar band’s MySpace page. It contains all of their fans and the music that they have released. It also includes a videos and photos page, meaning that our music video would have a page dedicated to it. Our digipack would be on show on the front page as the album artwork for the bands music.

It would help the band a lot as it would advertise the band to a larger amount of fans that are in to music. Facebook isn’t a page for advertising music, however MySpace is.

Use of Logic 9: When we were editing, our track was an extremely long track, which is a common problem. Therefore we decided to use a program called Logic 9 to professionally cut the track down. This meant that the track was shortened from 4:27, to 3:52.

When publishing the video, the video was dubbed ‘video edit’, as the track on the album will be longer.

An alternative to this could have been audacity. This is not a professional piece of software but would have done the same job. However the track was already in Logic 9, meaning that it was much easier to do.

Final Cut Pro X: To edit our music video we used Final Cut Pro X, a professional video-editing piece of software. Created and developed by Apple, the software is only available on Macs, and having it loaded on my MacBook Pro, meant that I could edit wherever I was. Final Cut also has a range of different professional effects and allowed us to create a much more professional film.

An alternative to this could have ben iMovie. Also created and developed by Apple, iMovie is a more amateur piece of software with less professional effects. However it would have still allowed us to edit our music video.

Photoshop: Photoshop was used in making the digipack for the Ancillary task. Photoshop allowed us to make a digi pack that was at a professional standard. It allowed us to create the whole digipack to the exact dimensions a printing company would need, thus resulting in a perfectly sized and professional looking digipack.

Camera equipment: For this task my team and I used several different cameras for several different parts of the video. We used 2 main cameras, the Canon EOS 550D and the Canon 7D. Both cameras can film full HD footage at 1080P and at 25FPS (frames per second), meaning that our footage will be at a very high quality. The cameras will be fitted with a variety of lenses, that will be able to deal with the low light when filming the performance and the strong light when performing the narrative in the sun. The EOS 7D was a more professional camera and required us to set a variety of different settings, whereas the 550D was set on to auto.

However when the 550D was set on to auto, the footage ended up being noisy. (See above).

This resulted in us having to refilm and having to set the camera up manually, so we knew the camera would be able to handle the low light without creating noise.  (See above).

When filming I developed a range of camera skills from the foundation product.

The main skill I have developed is filming steady camera shots. To gain this I used a variety of different equipment including a SteadiCam and a Chestcam. This meant that the shots I filmed where steadied by weights and counteracted the movements.