Evaluation

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

My music video complies with Goodwin's six conventions of a music video.

                      1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance 

                          in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

                      2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented 

                          with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

                      3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere 

                          of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

                      4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups 

                          of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work 

                          (a visual style).

                      5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, 

                          mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

                      6. There are often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music 

                          videos etc). 

The video is very much focused around the 'star' Ricky George which is the persona I created. He is in majority of the shots and is on his own, this shows him off as the star and can allow him to gain recognition as he grows as a 'star'. The fact that the character is on his own most of the time also shows that he is lonely and this works well with the lyrics that display emotion for example the beginning line, 'I've got nothing, absolutely nothing". This shows the relationship between lyrics and visuals and the close ups of the character (example below) can help show the emotion that the artist is trying to put across and allow the audience to recognise and relate to the 'star' also. The close ups also meet the demands of the record label as they allow the 'star' to be recognised and can develop motifs for the 'star' which the audience can relate to also.

                                                    Close up of Star Ricky george

There is other examples of where there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals also shown below. 

                              'But her eyes glaze over like she's looking straight through me'.

                                             'But you've got to walk away now, it's over'.


Throughout the video the atmosphere is fairly dull and emotional, this complies with Goodwin's 3rd convention that there is a relationship between the music and visuals. The song is a slow pace and therefore I presented my character just walking around aimlessly with slow cuts mixed with quick cuts of flashback memory shots with Natalie, this allows the audience to understand and relate to what the persona is going through. 

Goodwin's 5th convention refers to notions of looking and voyeuristic viewpoints of the female body. Therefore in my video I used frequent short cuts to shots of my star, Ricky George with the female known as Natalie. This acts as part of a narrative also as the song is about Ricky who has just recently got out of a long term relationship. The cuts have an effect on them which I did through the use of iMovie to suggest to the audience that they are flashbacks and memories. 

I changed the colouring in this shot with an effect using iMovie to suggest to the audience that it is a flashback.

  This shot could be seen as voyeuristic as it is given from the viewpoint of the star Ricky george looking at Natalie.

I tried to include factors of mise-en-scene in order to make the music video more realistic and comply with Goodwins 1st convention by demonstrating genre characteristics. My actor fits the stereotypical look of a British rap artist. Young, white, short hair, wearing cheap looking clothes and I used locations that would add to the stereotype. Typical places we may expect to find youths spending their time as I spoke about when analysing conventions of British rap earlier on in the blog.

                               Location - Park, not much going on, typical location for youths

                                                       Working class looking house

Empty train station

                                        Alley way - typically associated with hooded youths

Therefore these factors allow my audience to make sense of the video as it complies with typical stereotypes, my audience can understand this and take meaning from this which adds to the emotional level of the song and makes it seem more real.

Overall my product uses conventions of British rap as my character and locations fit the stereotype in terms of looks. However there is a deeper meaning behind the song as it is not about gangs or crime and it does not have an aggressive nature behind it, like youths are typically associated with today. The song is a slower more emotional song which therefore challenges conventions of real media products that I've looked at which gives my video an interesting twist. This can attract an audience and can appeal to a specific market. This can also be seen as a development of real media products as I have challenged the stereotype and given another viewpoint on life as a youth.


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

When producing my ancillary texts I tried to have a link between all three pieces. I used one of the shots from my main product as the front cover of my DigiPack and on the Poster also. This allows the audience to recognise this and can allow my star to grow in popularity as the word spreads about him. Also as I included the RG productions logo (pictured below) this can allow my brand label to become recognisable and all the products can work together to enhance the reputation of the star.

I used similar effects on both the poster and the CD cover by reducing the opacity and fullness by some of the images using photoshop. This is to show that they are linked to the same main product. If audiences can see that the two are linked then they are more likely to pick up on the brand and therefore both the label and the star can gain recognition. The inside of the digipack shows on each side the character Ricky walking towards the camera. However on one side he is with Natalie and on the other he is alone with his head looking down, this is to show a contrast and allow the audience to understand the narrative. The lyrics are also on the back of the digipack so that the audience can really make sense of the narrative and therefore understand the video.












3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Dan Searle (male, age 17)  - "I really liked the use of different camera angles in each scene and the cuts between them, especially at the train station. The cuts between Ricky walking on his own and then with the girl Natalie really emphasised the meaning behind the song showing that they were once together but now are not. Those kind of cuts really aided the narrative and interesting to watch."

Emma Turner (female, age 14) - "Its not the usual style of music that I enjoy, but watching the video was fun as it flowed well".

Richard Anderson (male, age 26) - "the video was interesting as it challenges the typical stereotype of a youth, he is chasing a girl around instead of playing football. However the bit at the end could have been more enhanced, was a bit boring just watching Ricky sit there on his own at the table".

I also posted the link to the Youtube video on my Facebook in order to reach a wider audience. It received 30 likes in only 3 days showing that it was well received and sparked interest to viewers.

From this audience feedback I can gather that there is good aspects of my video but ones that could be improved also. The quick cuts from the star on his own and ones with the girl Natalie were well received and added to the emotional impact of the video. However some of the scenes may have come across as "boring" and if I was to re-do the project I would have changed this. I may have included better more interesting locations from which I could get more angles and better shots that flow together. This shows the significance of my audience feedback as it allows me to see where I can improve next time in order to continue growing the star. Overall I was happy with the outcome of the video.

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

I used iMovie when constructing my media product, the music video. iMovie is an editing programme on the Mac's that I have become familiar with over the duration of my AS and A2 courses. I used it for my AS project and therefore gained the confidence and experience needed to complete the A2 project.

This time around I also used a more enhanced camera than from my AS project. This allowed my filming to be more defined and give it that extra touch to make it look more professional. 

The other editing programme I used for both my Poster and DigiPack was Photoshop. Earlier on in the year I did some practice using Photoshop in order to know what I was doing when it came round to the coursework. Previously I was not a fan of Photoshop as I used it in earlier years of my school life and struggled with it. However the teaching and practice I had at the beginning of this academic year in Media Studies taught me a lot about using Photoshop and allowed me to be confident with using it for 2 of my coursework pieces.

  

Audience Reception

After Having posted my music video on YouTube I had positive responses and plenty of views showing that my music video and my Star was popular and a hit. It received over 250 views within two days.

below you can see some comments on the video relating to the artist, the positive reception shows he has become a star and a recognisable character.

My Finished Coursework Piece

This is my A2 Music Video for my coursework.

DigiPack Design

Inside Cover

                

                                                    Front Cover                     Back Cover


For my DigiPack cover I made sure that there were plenty of pictures of the star, Ricky George, especially on the front cover, this is to show him off, make him look good and build his reputation as a star. This way he becomes recognisable to the audience. I also included the brand label in the top right corner of the front cover as this can become a recognised image for the brand itself. on the inside cover there is a contrast as on one side the star is shown walking alone, whereas on the other side the star is shown walking with his girlfriend, this is linked with the song and can create meaning to the audience as they listen to the piece, some audiences may be able to relate to this also. The song is about a young couple that have recently got out of a long term relationship and the emotions that the male is going through after this. I tried to show this through my DigiPack and my video.

Magazine Advert

Here is my poster advertising the new release of my Star Ricky Georges new single - Dry Your Eyes

The poster includes the recognisable brand name and logo in order to create awareness about the star and his forthcoming track. This helps builds anticipation for the audience as they await the release of the new song and encourages people to spread the word as described by Katz and Lazarsfeld 'two-step flow' effect. Opinion leaders will influence others with their views on certain media texts. Hopefully in this case the opinion leaders will have a positive view and have an interest in my star, therefore allowing my product to raise awareness to a mass audience and have a large positive reception upon release.

Digi Pack

For my Digi pack cover I have used photoshop. At the beginning of the year I was practicing using photoshop in order to improve my skills using the application for my coursework.

My cover includes the Stars name in large stand out font at the bottom, this allows the audience to recognise the star as a brand and help build a reputation for the artist. The cover also includes two pictures one large and one small of the artist, clearly displaying who he is so he can be recognised.

Social Network Audiences

My music video has created anticipation to audiences on social networking sites such as twitter, below shows a fans excitement for the release and also the starts account.

 

Logo Designs

These logos and recognisable brand labels are from already developed and popular artists, Eminem and Example. I can use these to help build my logo and brandname in order for my star to gain recognition and popularity. Therefore I looked into producing a logo and brand label on Photoshop so that I could include it in my Poster and Digipack as a standout icon for the audiences to recognise the star by.

Logo

Brandname

Conventions of British Rap

Here are some examples of British rap artists below.

JamieT - Sticks and Stones

In this video we see a stereotypical British rap artist, he is white and wearing cheap looking clothes. From this the audience can assume that the character is not very well off and maybe a bit of a chav, given the typical stereotype of a youth on the streets. Some of the locations used reinforce audiences stereotypes of the character as they suggest he is a typical youth of today with nothing better to do than cause trouble on the streets. some of the locations used are listed below.

Artist at a train station.

Front door step of a rough looking house, typical of a low/working class British man

Out in public places, this shot strongly shows the aggressive nature of youths as it is from the viewpoint of the glass window that they have been damaging by throwing objects at it. The audience can therefore see these cracks in the window, as the signifier, and relate them to the signified meaning of 'the cracks' in society and how damaged it has become. This plays on the typical stereotype of a youth up to no good on the streets.

The artist singing down an alley way, a typical destination to find youths hiding away up to no good.

Plan B - Playing with fire Ft. Labrinth

In this video we see Plan B the star as a traditional British rapper, he has the stereotypical look of a British rapper, white, short hair, hoodies. The location also suggests a little bit about the characters background, there is council estate housing suggesting that he hasn't maybe had the best of upbringings. The lyrics also aid the visuals as they talk about fighting and there is scenes of gangs fighting and ganging up on an individual, this is a typical stereotype of angry aggressive youths. For my video I will use an actor that fits the stereotype of a white British rapper.

Here is an example of one of the shots in the video showing the aggressive nature of youths. the location, a park is also a typical location that we would expect to find teenagers messing around.

New Footage

After my first time of filming the couch scene I found that the shot was not lit very well and so i had to re-do this, the new footage I got was far better as the character could be seen far easier and this helps to show off the star.

before

                                                                           after


Comparison of the two shots before and after.

Filming

When filming my A2 project it took us a long time to get the lip sync correct. This video highlights the amount of time spent on producing my product, there was multiple locations used and scenes that i had to cut and re-do. Here is a video put together of bloopers and without the backing track to show my character actually singing/lip syncing.

Communication

I communicated with my two actors via text message and Facebook chat.

Me: hey George can we meet at 2.00 in the park to start filming?

George: sure mate thats fine with me, can you pick me up?

Me: yeah ill come to yours at quarter to ish

George: cheers



Me: George we need to do filming at Banstead station, can you do tomorrow, I'll come and pick you up?

George: Can't have work tomorrow, can do Saturday though?

Me: Okay say around 10ish?

George: early, but sounds good to me

Me: see you then


Here is my conversation with Siobhan.

Use of iMovie

For my project I have decided to use iMovie for my editing. This is an application I became familiar with last year during my AS project and I grew in confidence as I was using it. It is a good application to use when putting together my footage as it is easy to trim and edit clips so that they fit in with the song. I have found so far that it has been difficult to get the clips at the right time so that the lip sync fits in with the backing track. I hope to further better my ability to use iMovie throughout the duration of my A2 project also. So far I have got about two thirds of the footage I need to complete my project however I will need to adjust some scenes.

An example of a scene I will need to change is below, the scene was badly lit and the actions of the character don't fit well with the song. I have tried to use editing techniques on the clip for example, changing the brightness in order to improve the lighting, but I still feel that the scene still needs to be re-done.

Further up the blog you will be able to see my new footage with much better lighting.

Character Profiles

Ricky George

Played by - George Ascroft

Age - 22

Address - 2 Park Avenue, SM6 2JQ, Surrey

Occupation - Plumber

Lives on his own and is a lonely guy, having just recently got out of a long term relationship with Natalie and is full of emotion that are counter hegemonic to the dominant male hegemony. He is sad and upset instead of the typical angry aggressive young male.


Natalie Smith

Played by - Siobhan Gormley

Age - 20

Address - 34 Link Lane, SM6 7TY

Occupation - Student

Lives with flatmates and just recently broke up with Ricky.


Here is an image of the two characters together. I will also use this image in my film as a memory for Ricky to look back on.

Shot List

When filming I will make sure that I get lots of close ups of the star, not only to boost his recognition but also to show the emotion that the star is adding to the song. The song is emotional and therefore the character should show emotion as it fits the visuals with the lyrics and by the best way to do this is by using close up shots.

I will also use point of view shots from the stars view looking at the female actor. This complies with Goodwin's conventions about notions of looking from voyeuristic views.

I will include both shots of the two actors together and the star on his own in order to show a contrast and this can add to the emotional effect.



Here is a list of shots I plan to feature:

opening scene
- Opening movement from the sky down to a scene with star Ricky standing there on his own.
- Ricky walking around station from different angles
- Ricky leaning on a pole singing close up, side view and medium shot

change of scene
- cuts to house
- Ricky sitting there with Natalie
- close ups of the two staring at each other (fits with lyrics)
- Natalie leaves
- close up of Ricky upset

change of scene (chorus)
- Ricky walking down an alley way alone
- close up of Ricky leaning against a wall singing
- Ricky gets phone out
- close up of phone sending text, 'I miss you'
- shot of Ricky from behind walking away (fits with lyrics, 'you've got to walk away now')

change of scene
- cuts to Ricky in the park walking in front of the camera singing, relatively close up
- Ricky sitting on a bench singing, close ups, side view, medium shot

change of scene
- Ricky then sitting in a car with Natalie, point of view shot, (notions of looking)
- point of view shots back and forth from characters
- shot of Natalie leaving

change of scene (chorus)
- Ricky laying in bed upset
- close ups of his face showing emotion
- shots of Ricky walking back and forth in bis room thinking
- shot of Ricky looking at old picture of himself with Natalie as a memory

change of scene
- Long shot of ricky sitting in an empty stand
- cuts to close up of ricky in stand singing
- side view of ricky singing
- close up of ricky singing in stand again
- Long shot of the stand again

change of scene (final chorus)

- Ricky sitting in his house alone at a table
- Close up of Ricky showing he is upset
- Medium shot showing the picture he was looking at earlier disguised in the shot
- Close up of Ricky picking up picture
- Close up of Ricky looking at it
- Medium shot of him throwing it away, then getting up and walking off

Final Shot
- Extreme close up on picture of the two together as music fades out