Final Music Video

Evaluation

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

I used effects within my music video in order to use forms and conventions of real media products. I used effects such as dissolving in order to combine the various clips/filming together without pausing or breaking as in real music videos you do not see breaking or pausing when a new clip is introduced. I also used effects such as glimmer to give the main protagonist's (me) face a sense of bolness and shine. I decided to use effects such as these because clips in the music video looked plain and basic/simple and I wanted to add a touch of professionalism to my music video. 

I used a studio as a location for my music video which uses the conventions of real media products. I aimed to make my music video look as professional as I can. In many music videos, studios are used as a location and I wanted to conform with this real media product element to try and make my music video as professional looking and successful as possible. I also used studio light to give my music video a sense  of natural light to ensure the video had a good amount of natural-looking light in order for the video to be clear and bold. The studio light was very useful in doing this and I aimed to use as much as I could.

The Monica - So Gone music video has a storyline of a young woman who's partner is betraying her and shows aspects such as her crying, lying on a bed with him in the background as well as her smashing up his house. I took these aspects of the music video into account when creating my own, as I wanted mine to be professional-looking also. However, I decided to challenge the conventions of real media products in a way as I was the only character in my video, although this was partly due to having to change decisions at a late date. I wanted to show that a music video may not need a group of different people in it. By showing this, I used different locations, costumes and props in my music video; I used various outfits/costumes such as a black dress and pink dress at different points of the video. I also used different locations, from the studio in my college to a location at my home. I wanted to do this in order to meet the conventions of real media products as various locations are usually seen and used in real music videos.


I used various shots and angles in order for my music video to conform with real media product's elements. Many professional music videos use various angles and shots in order to add a sense of emotion, as well as helping to tell the story of the lyrics and music video itself. I aimed to show shots such as close ups, to express the emotion within the main protagonist's face, I also used mid-shots in order to show body posture/language to express feelings the main protagonist feels. I aimed to make my music video as professional-looking as possible in order for it to meet real media product's elements, I did  this by taking inspiration from the real Monica - So Gone music video and using aspects of her music video in mine, I wanted to develop the conventions of real media products within mine.

When considering my concillary texts I used forms and conventions of real media texts. I aimed to use close ups and mid-shots when choosing pictues for both my digipak and magazine poster. When producing my magazine poster I used an image which shows me in a fur coat and pink heels, I used this image because I thought that it used conventions of real media products as in music videos, video girls/artists are often seen in dresses and heels and in some cases fur coats (as this explores a sense of wealth, sexuality and sex appeal). I added effects to the image which added a sense of mystery as well as the main protagonists face not being fully revealed. When creating my digipak, I used 5 images of myself as I was the main protagonist and 1 image of a bottle of champagne and a champagne glass. The images I used all had an added effect to them in which they either looked brighter, abstract and had an added sense of professionalism. I used an image of a bottle of champagne/champagne glass to both use and challenge forms and conventions of real media products. Most real digipaks usually show images of the main protagonist and the main protagonist only, but I wished to challenge this by using an image of something else. However, the use of a champagne bottle and glass may also use the conventions as it shows a sense of wealth.

 

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

To ensure my ancillary texts were effective I made sure that the picture used for the front panel of my digipak was the same as the one used for my magazine poster. I tried to use aspects of sexuality, femininity and sex appeal within my media products by using body posture and costume/clothing. I aimed to make them effective together so I used images of me as I was the main protagionist and I added effects to these images which helped to develop them in showing a sense of professionalism and developing the sex appeal within them. My main media product and the ancillary texts combined together are very effective as they explore a large sense of sex appeal together, as I aimed. The music video is about a young girl who's boyfriend is betraying her which she later finds out and I wanted to reflect this when thinking of the title of my digipak 'Broken'. My ancillary texts go together more than my music video as I used one main picture in both of the texts in order to show that they go together.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I learnt from my audience feedback both positive and negative aspects. The positive feedback I gained considering my music video expressed that the use of different/various locations was a good idea and that real media products often use more than one location. I also got feedback expressing that the use of using a studio as a location explored a sense of professionalism. I got comments such as "I think the music video Rianna created met conventions of real media products. I think the use of different costumes used within the music video was a good idea as most music videos do this also. I also liked the use of effects she used in it as it gave it more of a professional look." This feedback from one of the individuals who watched my music video showed me that the individual was impressed by the idea of using different locations, as well as the effects I used. I also received feedback on my idea of using the blue screen in the studio in my music video. The blue screen was used in order for me to add action/filming to the background whilst I was lip-singing. I also received feedback which helped me realise what I could have improved when planning and filming my media product. This person could have however gone into detail in what I ideas I could have included. After collecting my feedback I gained information which was both negative and positive and found that if I was able to go back and improve upon my video.

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

I used the Mac computers which I would be mainly using when planning, researching and evaluating my media products. I would use the Mac's to not only plan my media product but also to edit and produce my music video and produce my digipak/magazine poster. When planning my music video I used the computer (Microsoft Word) to note down the ideas I wanted to undertake. I then started my coursework by producing a blog on Blogger, this would be the base of my coursework, where I would plan my media products as well as note down things such as shooting times, my pitch, costume/props I planned to use, locations I planned to film at, a lyric planning sheet etc. This enabled me to know what I planned to do and note down if/when I needed to make a change to anything. I also used the internet (YouTube) to watch the Monica - So Gone music video to find aspects which I found inspiring and would want to use when filming my own music video. I also used this software to search other music videos which inspired me.

Feedback from my Music video

After producing my music video I needed to get feedback on it as this would help me when completing my evaluation. Therefore, I planned on ways in which I would get this feedback. I listened to other members in my class and saw how they would be getting their feedback and instead I wished to do it in other ways. The ideas I thought of were:

• Recording people watching my video and then going on to get individual feedback.
• Getting people to watch it, asking them their opinions and writing notes.
• Showing a group of people the real Monica - So Gone video and then going on to show them mine and asking them feedback.

I decided not to record people's individual feedback as many people were doing this and I did not want to show them the real video and then mine and this may have had an impact of what they thought of mine as mine was not as professional as the real one. In conclusion to this, I decided to produce my own surveys and handing them out to people after they had watched my music video and told them their feedback would be anonymous. I decided to do this because it would be more likely that they would be honest and the feedback would therefore be more reliable and valid.



Feedback..



Person 1
"I think the music video Rianna created met conventions of real media products. I think the use of different costumes used within the music video was a good idea as most music videos do this also. I also liked the use of effects she used in it as it gave it more of a professional look."

Person 2
"The thought of using a studio as a location was a brilliant idea. Studios show a sense of professionalism and is used in various real media products. I also like the idea of showing action behind the main protagonist whilst singing. This showed a sense of creativeness and creative-thinking."

Person 3
"The music video was good but I think Rianna could have broadened her ideas when planning/filming the video"

Planning my Evaluation

Planning for Feedback

When planning my evaluation I had to think about the audience of my music video and their feedback. Therefore, I would have to get a group of people to watch my music video and give me feedback on what they think. I decided to choose a group of people who were of various ages, both males an females and friends/family as well as random people also. I chose these aspects because it would make the feedback I received more reliable and honest, this is because I would have various relationships with the people. People that didn't know me would most likely be more honest however family/friends may feel as if they need to tell me something which makes me happy. I chose people of different ages to see what different aged people think of my music video. I planned to do this group viewing in an available and quiet room. I would film them watching my music video and then individually film their opinions asking them questions such as:

• What do you think overall?
• What aspects do you think were successful?
• What could I have improved?
• Why do you think this?
• What do you think about the different themes of my music video? 

These questions would allow me to see what was successful and what wasn't as successful in my video. 

I would then go on to create survey monkeys in order to receive anonymous feedback which is also honest and reliable. I would also add a voxpop (filming the group of individuals watching my video and ask individuals what they think so far and then go on to ask them individually). I chose to do this because it would give me detailed individual feedback, allowing me to know each individual's opinion.  




Below is an image of my plan..

Changes

When planning my music video I had many ideas in mind which I wished to carry out when filming. Later, I realised that I would have to make a lot of changes and alterations. 

• My planned main protagonist was not as available as I thought she was.
• I did not have as much time to film in the various locations as I thought.
• The lighting varied and I had to change certain locations.

My Main Protagonist..

When I planned on filming, I found that my main protagonist wasn't always available and this affected my deadlines, as well as the amount I had filmed. I then decided that I would be the main protagonist as I was/had to be available to film and was able to empathise with the lyrics and meanings of the song. 

Locations..

When I began filming in my room I found that it wasn't bright enough and there wasn't enough space to film, so instead I decided to film in another room in my house. This room was more spacious and much brighter. At times when filming in the room I had now decided to film in, I found that the room was surprisingly dark so I had to make a few alterations such as opening curtains and blinds and moving furniture to ensure the filming went well. 

Deadlines & time..

I found that time went very quickly and I was unable to film when and as much as I wanted. I had to make some changes and alterations in order to make sure my filming was successful and fluent. These changes were my main protagonist and locations (above). 

My Magazine Advert

I created my magazine advert using Adobe Photoshop. I imported the image I wanted to use as my main layer. I then went on to add text, including:

• Artist's name
• Album name
• Release date
• Website
• A review from 2 magazines.

To ensure it looked like a 'music' advert I added two quotes from two music based magazines. I then added an image which I also used as the front cover of my digipak to express that it is linked to my music video. 

My Digipak

Planning my Digipak

Front Cover

The front cover will be a close up image of my main protagonist; I plan for this image to express her emotion which is a theme within my digipak and music video. On this part of the digipak, my main protagonist's name as well as the album's name will be shown.

Middle of Digipak

The middle of the digipak (right) will show an image of my main protagonist lying on a bed, similar to a scene in my music video. 

 

Inside Digipak

The first side (left) will show an image of the main artist again sitting on a bed, as well as a bibliography about the individual explaining some background information on her. The middle section will show another image of her in the background and this is where the CD will be placed. The last side (right) shows another image of the main protagonist as well as a bonus CD will be placed here. I plan to use images which show sex appeal, posture, attitude, vulnerability, emotion and attraction. I plan to use these aspects in my pictures because this will help express the moods within my digipak and music video. 

Back Panel

On this part of the digipak, the song list will be shown. I will also add an image of an extreme-close-up of lips which is used in the music video also. Also, on this section the barcode, price etc will be shown as this is important when purchasing a CD.

Producing my Digipak

I produced my digipak on Adobe Photoshop CS5 using a ready-made template. To produce my own digipak I had to import my own images to make it personal as well as relating to my music video. 

To begin with, I added an image which would be the front panel. I went to File > Open and chose the image I wanted to use. 

I selected the photo and copied it so I could then paste it on to the template. 

I adjusted the image so it would fit in the aligned panel, after this I pressed 'command T' in order for the image to stay in the panel. I then repeated these stages in order to add the rest of my images.

I then went on to add text to my first panel (the front of my digipak)..

I then went on to add the album name..

To produce my digipak I used images of the main protagonist (me) as well as a picture of champagne and a champagne glass. I used pictures such as these, which are edited with different effects in Photoshop and are mostly facial shots. 


Below is a final image of my digipak.