4) How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? It is clear than an extensive amount of media technologies have been used in the process of creating my Advanced Production. This presentation will establish these different technologies and their application throughout the development of my work.

3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?

When collecting feedback, we asked specific questions in relation to the video in order to see if our intentions were made clear for the audience. I have condensed down our audience feedback into short clips however will discuss the entire feedback given by these different people.

The first person we spoke to aged 16/17 was able to acknowledge the genre in which our video represents. Within the video they believed this as the video had a modern, contemporary feel which is something that is apparent within music videos. Also this person stated that they thoroughly enjoyed the music video and the elements of humour really made it effective and positive to watch for the audience. They believed that the narrative suited our genre and that as there were no artists featured within the video, they acknowledged that this was similar to other music videos that they had seen. They also liked the fact that the combination of shots to music was well suited as the clips were edited and placed in positions that matched the beat/pace of the song, that way shots to music were not asynchronous. She also stated how she liked that the beat of the song was accompanied with certain shots like feet reaching the floor, the closing of a door, this being that the beat matched the sounds that may have been made e.g. the stomping of a foot.

The second person we spoke to was an adult aged mid 30’s-early 40’s. We asked them about the target audience and who they believed our music video to be targeted at. It was acknowledged by them that ‘teenagers’ was the age group we were trying to target, as our target audience was 13-26, they were correct somewhat. This being that the people involved were young within the video as the whole situation seemed to appear as if Joe was a ‘Pop Star’ and his group of fans were following him. Typically fans who may act in this way are young girls whom may be obsessed with their music idol. However they also added that there were aspects of the video will would appeal and relate to different ages, this being that the aspects of humour could be enjoyed by all ages. They added that even the older generation could even relate to when they were a teenager and how they felt about their music idols. In relation to this, it is clear that our target audience is identifiable to all ages, however we like that our product can still be enjoyed by a number of ages. We asked several adults and elderly adults what they thought of our music video; initially people asked ‘Was yours the funny one?’ This is clear that our product was recognised for the humorous content of which applies to a number of ages. Similar remarks were made by children within younger years who thought our video was funny and they felt sorry for Joe.

We wanted to collect feedback from a fellow media student as they were able to identify any technical aspects that they found effective within our music video. We felt that a media student would be able to appreciate and acknowledge different technical aspects and their application rather than the viewing audience. The student we asked stated that they found the split screen effect, featuring three of Joe effective. They said that this must have been tricky to do in terms of cropping the clip into three whilst the crop looks discrete and effective. They also stated that they hadn’t seen that sort of thing within many music videos and was a good original effect on our part. They also liked the Point Of View shot when Joe was looking into the fridge, the said how it made it conform to our genre as it allowed the narrative to flow as a story/journey rather than a typical music video. Overall they believed that we had a good combination of shots and there was a good pace of editing. This related back to what our first person said as they liked how the music accompanied the pace of the narrative and the beat of the song was an indication of when the shots should change. – Zachary aged 18

We asked this person about the narrative of our music video and how they interpreted it. They were right in thinking that the concept of the narrative was to portray Joe as unlucky, aspects such as the toast being brown, falling down the stairs and the shower created this well. They stated that they found these aspects very humorous and believed that the humour running throughout was effective for the genre as humorous and not very serious narratives are common. They stated how they liked the concept of the narrative; the comparison between Joe being unlucky to having all the girls chasing him was effective. They also like the use of a circular narrative, the summing up of the music video and the portraying that it was all a dream was seen as effective. They said that they felt sorry for the main character and joked that ‘They wouldn’t mind a bunch of girls chasing him’ however they then considered that statement and said ‘although they were pretty weird, so I’m not sure’. This applies back to the idea of the male fantasy that we wanted to include and how the main character does note see the girls chasing him as such a good thing. Alex also compared our narrative to the ‘Lynx’ advert where the girls are chasing the man whom had sprayed himself heavily in Lynx which he found humorous. We liked that comparison, this being that as Alex remembered it for its aspects of humour; the audience would recognise ours for the same reason.- Alex aged 18

The final person we spoke to was in regards to positive and negative points included within our video. She stated that she liked the amount of people involved within the video as it made it look more effective. The question ‘Were those random people off the street, or were they people you actually knew?’ arose in relation to their previous comment. I liked that this question was asked as it is clear that we made our video look as though the girls were normal people who didn’t know one another which made the narrative look real. This question must have been asked if they doubted whether the people involved were friends of ours of people on the street. We wanted our video to seem as though these girls were not connected, we did this by showing them adding to the group from different locations and times throughout the narrative. They said that they liked the boy whom was involved as it added a sense of humour and topped the narrative off well. They believed that humour was created as the audience believe that the character has escaped the girls and just when he doesn't expect it, the boy joins in as well. A negative point was discussed, this being a shaky camera shot during the not on the fridge shot. Also she added that she shot was too short and she was unable to read what the note said entirely, however if the text had been written larger this may not have been a problem. –Sydney aged 16/17

Some of the people who gave feedback on my video also gave feedback on my ancillary tasks, accompanied by other members of my age group. I have received feedback from several people within the target audience and all of whom have pointed out similar things that they like.
All the people asked stated that the products do appeal to them, this being that they feel the black background accompanied with the bright image creates a professional and contemporary look. They believed it was eye catching and it would be something that they would consider looking at/purchasing in a shop. 
Hannah aged 18 said that she particularly thought the Digipack was effective, this being that she had seen products that it is similar to and it looks like a real product. She also added that she like how certain images and text (conventions/motifs) had been carried out throughout all of my work. I then asked her 'Do you think my work represents an effective promotional campaign?' she replied 'Yes, especially with the poster as it is looks like a real product'. 

After giving feedback about the technical elements within my music video, I then asked Zachary what he thought in relation to the construction and techniques used within my ancillary work. 

He stated that he liked the common application of the conventions running throughout. The Masthead was bold and eye catching, although he felt effects such as a bevel and emboss could help make the type face more three dimensional. I showed Zachary an image of the equaliser bars graphic that we had created, he said that he liked the image but felt that the image of the paint was just as effective. Also he noticed that the ABCD logo had been applied in the beginning of our music video and on my ancillary work. He said 'I think it's good that you have applied your group logo over the range of your products as this represents you as a group and gives a professional effect'. 

I asked Alex to critique my Ancillary work so that I had some criticisms in order for future reference for personal development of skills. His one criticism would be that he felt that I shouldn't have used the text IMPACT for the text on the back of my CD. He felt that the text was too bold and the titles of the tracks featured on the CD should have been in a different font. This is useful advice as this would have allowed my typeface on the front of the CD to appear more dramatic in contrast to the less bold/dramatic text on the back. 

I feel that I have learnt a lot in regards to my feedback. It is clear that we have definitely been effective in attracting our target audience. Our narrative is appealing to both our target audience as other age groups as it contains the elements of schadenfreude that people find humorous. In a sense we have elements of nostalgia as an adult mentions how people can relate and remember times of when they were a teenager and how they felt about the artists they liked. Our combination of song and narrative was effective as the beat of the song accompanies the editing of the clips well. This creates the idea of a constant beat and relates to the genre. Overall the collective feedback I have received has been predominantly positive however there are some aspects that I will consider in terms of further personal development of my technical skills.

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

It is essential to progress with products having used the same conventions and motif’s that run throughout all products in order to create recognition for the audience to artist and to represent us as a group. As a group, we have tried to adapt our work so that each product reflects aspects of one another in order for motif’s to run throughout all of our products.

This is a demonstration of this application-

Together all products represent us a group. I am personally happy with the products produced and am sure they represent an effective promotional campaign that could be release in relation to the promotion of Duke Dumont’s album. I have attempted to contain aspects of similar existing products in order to inspire my work and have a referral to real life products that I can adapt my work from. Overall I feel that their combination is very effective. They do appear to all be very similar and are related in a number of ways. If I was to release these products for the campaign, I am sure that an audience would be able to recognise them image I have created for the brand and associate it with Duke Dumont’s work and other products.

Question 1 shows how my products are similar to other existing products and the common motifs that run throughout. It is clear that these conventions that are similar with other existing products help create an association of genre for the audience. 

 

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

media products? 

My products attempt to combine a number of different conventions and motif’s that create meaning and association for the audience. It was essential for me to repeat these conventions in order to further the audience’s understanding of certain aspects of my products. This allows the audience to acknowledge and interpret my work in several different way e.g. the narrative, genre, common motifs and underlying message. When creating my product, it was vital that I referred back to existing similar products, not just for inspiration but as a comparison so that my work would appear as effective and professional as possible.

I have acknowledged that within promotional products that represent a campaign or person in general, they follow key codes and conventions in order for the audience to grow an acknowledgement of their products and associate it to them. I will compare and evaluate my work with existing products within the dance genre in terms of Camera work, Editing, Narrative and Ancillary products.

Narrative:

For this comparison I have used 'Teenage Dirtbag' by Wheatus. When watching this video, it is clear that they have used similar aspects in terms of their narrative and character development. First of all, the character is portrayed as a big of a 'loser' the audience see him falling over in the hall way and waving at a girl whom he thinks is waving back at him. We have tried to create an unlucky character similar to this. It appears that these sorts of characters are used due to their likeability and relativity factor, people enjoy watching these characters as they hope they succeed after all the bad that occurs to them. Not only this, but the video has a circular narrative of which we have included within our video. The boy falls asleep on the stairs, dreams of getting his dream girl at the prom and then wakes up again, back to reality. Our video conforms to this idea of escapism just like this one in the sense that the audience like to see other people's fantasies, and from this envisage their own fantasies. This video also involves schadenfreude throughout, of which is a very common aspect we have included. 

This is the video for 'Levels' from Avicii, this video belongs within the dance/remix genre similarly to ours. Again in terms of narrative, the video portrays this depressed 'loser' working the same mundane job everyday. We similarly show this with Joe getting up and going to work. His life then changes to accompany the song as he becomes exaggerated and dances spontaneously. The action within the narrative does not accompany the song, this is common as their are only a small amount of lyrics repeated, rather than a whole song. I have found that within this genre, the narrative is sometimes asynchronous in terms of its relation to the lyrics of the song. However this spontaneity creates humour for the audience, as well as him mouthing the words to the female singer. We feel that there are huge elements of spontaneity which create humour, this being that the girls chasing Joe is not summed up till the end of the song when the audience realise it was a dream. 

This is a similar video called 'White Noise' by Disclosure. The Narrative also follows one specific character like ours. It seems as though typically, people within the videos in this genre are often presented very ordinary compared to say the rap/ hip hop genre, where someone may be presented as flash or a 'ladies man'. In this case, people are presented in this way so that the audience can form personal relationships the characters involved as they are not perceived as arrogant characters, they are relate able which makes the humours aspects of the video, that bit more humorous.

Apparent common conventions are used within this video that represent Disclosure as artists and a brand. The image is a drawn distorted face that is used within their music videos and their promotional products. 

I feel that we have included common conventions and motif's that run throughout all of our work, that help represent us as a group. The image featured of the silhouette image of the man with the briefcase and the girls chasing him is used within all my ancillary work. Not only this, but there is a certain point towards the end of the video where we tried to re-create this image in a shadowed/silhouette.

Camerawork:

As mentioned previously that music videos within this chosen genre do not conform to the lyrics given. I have found that some videos are therefore almost like short films that include action and suspense. This is true in the case of the two video featured here, 'Titanium' by David Guetta and 'Control' by Matrix and Futurebound. Both of these videos include a 'chase' scene in which the main characters are trying to escape from something. This is often done so that the audience can in a sense route for the characters, as we want them to fulfil their journey. We have included a chase scene within our music video as Joe is escaping from the girls. This isn't a very big conventions of music videos within our genre, however it is a personal observation.

This is a video displaying clips from other music genres. The video includes Miley Cyrus (Pop), Eminem (Rap), Shakira & Rihanna (RnB) and Nickelback (Alternative Rock). Our music video subverts all of these other genres in a number of different ways:

The Pop Music Video 'Wrecking Ball' combines risqué and sexual elements, as Miley Cyrus is seen naked swinging on a large wrecking ball. Also, the audience see her licking a hammer and at the very most, wearing only a t shirt and underwear. This genre allows these sorts of elements to occur as often the artists are outgoing and willing to experiment in terms of their music videos in order to get publicity and to promote their music. Elements of Gaze Theory are used here as Miley Cyrus is attractive and physically fit. The Video actually features Miley Cyrus singing the song, as opposed to our genre where the artist would not be seen, nor would there be anyone singing it. The Lyrics also suit the narrative, the audience see a wrecking ball smashing into concrete and Miley lays on the ruins. Unlike our Music Video, where the narrative opposes what you may stereotypically put with the song. Or perhaps that because there are so little lyrics there is no way to match it with a synchronous Music Video. 

The main different between our Music Video and the one from Eminem is the contained serious elements included. The video itself is very serious and the lyrics are meaningful in the sense that they are about acceptance. This contrasts heavily with our humours video that contains schadenfreude and in no sense is our video didactic like this one, it is merely for entertainment and comedy purposes. The audience see Eminem rapping into a microphone at points, this helps to represent the genre as it gives the impression of a rap concert or show occurring. The Location seems to be filmed in a derelict and abandoned building, this adds to the enigma of the artist, his tough bravado and the seriousness of the song itself.

The video from Shakira and Rihanna is highly sexual in the sense that the women are wearing revealing clothing and are thrusting their bodies up against the wall, mimicking a sexual motion. This genre has certain expectations for its artists to look a certain way, typically female artists in RnB are African American or mixed race. These women typically are very attractive, physically fit and have large assets, hence their eagerness to display this in the video. This video is totally different to our in the sense of the locations used, they are in what appears to be a mansion of some sort. This helps to also establish the RnB genre as portrayed wealth is a common motif that runs through most videos. There is also no choreography within our video, as it appears the two artists have learnt a dance. Gaze theory is used here to the highest extent, in that the females are tying to appear sexy, rather than in our piece, Gaze theory is used in the sense that the audience may just associate Joe with being attractive in general. 

The final video from Nickelback is totally different to our video in general. There are commonly occurring band shots, which show all members of the band playing various instruments. There is narrative woven within the video, however most of the narrative are images of war and soldiers, suggesting that the narrative is meant to be didactic when accompanied with the song. This is not like our music video as mentioned previously that there is no serious intent. 

It may appear that our Music Video is quite random in the sense that there are no band shots nor does that narrative relate the lyrics highly. I believe that the song lyrics do relate to the narrative somewhat in that the song is called 'Need You' and the audience see girls chasing someone, so they are conveying behaviour which suggests they 'need' Joe. However we have noticed with quite a large selection of music videos within our genre that the songs are accompanied with asynchronous action and there are no band. The reasons that there are no band shots is due to the fact that often the DJ does not wish to be included or the shots would not be effective showing a DJ on a mixing deck, rather than someone say playing the guitar. These are two videos with asynchronous action which relates to our Music Video.

Camerawork:
'Love Generation' by Bob Sinclair contains a narrative that as a group we really liked. The focus on one character allows the audience to form a personal relationship with them and when they are portrayed as naive or unlucky, this relationship will be more apparent. We especially liked some of the shots from this video and took a great deal of inspiration from it when creating our own. We have included similarities in the ways in which both characters get up and get ready.
Here I have compared similar shots with our music video to 'Lover Generation', 'White Noise' and 'Silhouettes' by Avicii. It is clear that there are quite a few music videos within our genre that follow a similar narrative and therefore similar things are included. The narrative will follow one characters journey throughout the day, this will include, getting up, eating, going out etc.

 

Editing/Camera work:

These next selection of similar shots also are reflective in the similar narrative. 'Crush on You' by Nero features a boy whom appears to be involved with a number of girls at once, the audience see their strange reaction to this and his attempts to break away from it. Similar shots include running shots of the boys feet and slow motion running shots. We have included these shots as they emphasise the lengths in which the person is running and creates a dramatic effect. We found that using the slow motion reverse effect when the girls are running after Joe, allows the audience to see their facial expressions. Some of the girls have their mouths open and eyes widened, the shot running towards the lift shows them waving their arms around and running almost humorously. 

Editing/ Camera work:

We have developed and challenged certain conventions in terms of camera work and editing. We combined a shot using 3 Joe's to express the different things he has to do during the morning. We liked this shot, however it was difficult to do as each clip had to be cropped in a straight line, therefore we had to crop down the edges of tables and units in order for it to work. We felt that this was effective in showing numerous different things happening over a period of time, combined into one. As we have conformed to similar products throughout our music video in terms of narrative and camera work, we have not seen many shots like this within our genre. In this sense we have challenged and developed on this and have adapted it to make it our own. The point of view shot in the fridge allows us to conform to our genre as it creates more of a sense of a story being told, rather than a music video. This is common throughout most of the music videos we have seen as the narrative does not suit the music, allowing the video to be about anything the artist wants. 

Editing:

At the very start of the video I made a clip including our logo forming to create the final image, I felt that this would help to represent us as a group and our work. This is not used that often within music videos as commonly they jump straight into introducing the artist, this is also apparent within our genre as well. I have only find one example to compare to with 'Control' by Matrix and Futurebound, where they have a logo present at the beginning of their video. This logo may represent the production company as the image is not representative of the artist. 

Some artists like to introduce the track at the beginning of the music video by having text appear on the screen, allow the audience to read and identify what song and music video is about to be featured. This can even be apparent through the use of text or subtle. In the case of 'Levels' by Avicii, the building featured is called 'LEVELS inc', this is subtle however still links the video to the title of the song. Other music videos included in this comparison are 'Silhouettes' by Avicii' and 'Control' by Matrix and Futurebound. 

In terms of introducing the track, I created an image of 'Duke Dumont- Need You 100%' appearing across the screen from right to left, pausing in the corner of the screen for a few seconds and then cropping down our of sight. I created this in Adobe Premiere Pro in order to introduce the product, this is seen more on music channels to introduce one song to the next. However we have challenged conventions some what and have used this ourselves to introduce the product. 

SPACE FOR IMPROVED GRAPHIC APPEARING ON SCREEN. PLUS ADD NEW MUSIC VIDEO.

Ancillary work:

One of the difference may be that there is a great deal of Gaze theory included. The sexualisation of women is common within the R'n'B genre as there is an ideological image that they try to achieve. This sexualisation is not as apparent within our genre, it may be apparent within some albums as they may use a  psycially fit dancer on the front of a dance album. However albums including a DJ/ Dance Artist may not be this suggestive or sexualised. Gaze theory may be apparent if the artist themselves are attractive, however it will not be as forced in terms of the way artists are presented in other genres such as Pop and R'n'B, where the image is provocative and may be used to show assets of the singer and promote their image. 

One difference may be that artists like Jessie J and other well known singers may produce quotes used within their digipacks. This may not be as apparent for artists within the dance genre, this being that artists from genres such as pop and R’n’B are in the public eye all the time. Hence forth promote themselves and become influential figures in terms of their music, fashion and even idols for music lovers. As artists/DJs are not in the public eye that much, they are not as influential nor recognisable within the public eye. Hence they may not include quotes as the public may not find them that inspiring or insightful. Also, commonly more people aspire to be a singer rather than a DJ. 

Digi Pack

I used Adobe InDesign to create the product and I tackled several problems. The first problem I faced was actually near the completion of my product, when it came to printing, I found that I had set the document up in the wrong size. The size I had made my CD was almost two sizes too big, I then had to change the heights and widths of my document and scale all of my images and text to the size I wanted them. The structure itself was difficult in terms of imagining it as a booklet and thinking of how it will read and appear to the audience. Selecting the right images was also important, for this I had to compare numerous CD booklets in order to develop inspiration.

These are some of the images included within the Digipack taken. We felt that the use of black and white worked well as it accompanied the house style of having a black background and a whiter image, as this is what we have done for the background and text on our other products. Also as DJ's are not really ever seen in terms of their music videos or being promoted in a extensive way, the images used are quite effective as they are quite enigmatic. Some of the images of the female singer are half shadowed which definitely gives an enigmatic approach. The brick wall allows and urban and contemporary feel which relates to our genre and young target audience. The images are mostly of the artists posing and looking serious rather then smiling, adding to give a dramatic look to their character and it could also suggest that they take their music very seriously.

I also had to collect all the lyrics from Duke Dumont's tracks. This was difficult as the majority of the tracks were instrumental remixes and due to this had no lyrics, therefore the majority of the Digipack would have not have lyrics. Therefore I put next on the instrumental page that all of the tracks were produced by 'Turbo Recordings' as otherwise the page would have looked bare and this gives slightly more information about the tracks. The songs with lyrics were 'Need You 100%' 'The Giver' and 'Hold On'.
In terms of laying everything out on the page and the structuring of the images and text, I found this quite easy. This being as this was the last of my ancillary products made and therefore I was able to copy the images and conventions of my other products used. Hence why I have not uploaded much development for my Digipack as it was all fairly straight forward. I believe that I have followed my drafts in what I wanted to create and the images represent this well.

These are the finished pages of my Digipack-

Progression of Magazine advert

Progression of CD