1) What ways does your Media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our media product tends to challenge the forms and conventions of real media products. However there is also evidence of it developing and using existing forms and conventions. We chose to create our music video in this particular way in order to make it unique yet still complying with some conventions of a hip hop genre. By challenging the typical conventions of a hip-hop genre music video we believe that the music video will be enjoyed by a much larger, varied audience from the different social groups.
To begin with our music video falls in to the hip hop genre. Typically in a music video from the hip hop genre there would be evidence of a luxury lifestyle showing wealth through material things such as, cars, big houses, clothing, and electrical items etc through the mise-en scene of the video. However our video challenges this convention as almost the opposite effect is created where being the main character has been displayed as almost ‘your average person’ living a much more common lifestyle within society. We produced our video using a very ‘average’ character so that there would be an increased audience size as more people can relate to this type of character.
Furthermore in existing videos within the hip-hop genre one of Goodwin’s points; the notion of looking is a commonly used convention. Our music video challenges this convention as there is no voyeurism and women aren’t being objectified (unlike other music videos in the hip hop genre for instance, ‘Candy Shop’ by 50 cent.) Throughout the majority of our video the main character, Rob is looking directly at the camera (towards the audience) and thus there is no evidence of voyeurism or objectification of the artist. Generally Hip Hop music videos are filmed in high budget locations such as a private beach, mansion or possibly even a nightclub. Once again our video challenges this convention as it is filmed in a low budget location, our sixth form college. (Originally we had intended on filming in Cambridge town however plans changed in order to reduce transport problems for the cast and other issues affecting the efficiency of filming.)
On the other hand we have conformed to one particular convention of music videos within the hip hop genre. This being where the artist is the main focus of the video. We have used this convention in order to sell the artist and ensure the audience can recognise them. This convention is another of Goodwin’s points, to meet the demands of the record label and to sell the artist. Throughout our video ‘Rob’ – the main character is seen in almost every shot emphasising the ‘selling point’ of the music video and we have used many close-ups to ensure this. Moreover we have also included varied shots such as, medium and long shots, to differentiate our music video
Another of Goodwin’s points analysing the relationship between lyrics and visuals was challenged as we didn’t focus on creating a connection between the visuals and lyrics but more so on the music and visuals (once again another of Goodwin’s points). Our song is very upbeat and has quite a fast pace to it. We represented this in our video by the use of colour. We incorporated vibrant colours through the costumes and props included within our video. To emphasise the use of colour we edited the increased the brightness of the footage during the editing stages of production. Furthermore we ensure the main character’s walk was in time to the beat of the music this strengthened the relationship between the music and visuals once again.
When creating our digipack for our music video we incorporated aspects seen in other digipacks from artists within the hip hop genre as well as including our own, unique ideas to be in keeping with our music video that tended to challenge the conventions of the hip hop genre. In order to get an idea of how a digipack ‘should look’ we researched existing artist’s digipacks from the hip hop genre. We looked at 50cent, Nelly, Eminem and other similar artists. We found that their digipack’s had an intense focus on the artist. We decided to use this convention in our digipack in order to sell our artist and ensure they can be easily recognised, therefore we decided to use an image of our main character, Rob, we took various pictures of Rob in different stances in order to find an image that would be suitable. We used one of the images taken of Rob in the magazine advert to allow the relationship between them to remain strong, another convention typically used for the artist within the hip hop genre within their digipacks and advertising.
2) How effective is the combination of your main product and Ancillary task?
The music video and ancillary task (the digipack and magazine advert) secure a very strong relationship. Continuity is seen throughout the three products. This has been created by using various techniques and also conventions of typical hip-hop music genre. To begin with we included a still image of our main character on both the digipack and poster. Although the character maintains a different pose in each picture the images still show continuity as the style is kept the same. We chose to keep the character dressed in the same costume as in the music video to heighten the effectiveness of the continuity. We hoped that this technique would also allow the audience to recognise the artist (a convention that artists within the hip hop genre tend to use.) The images for both the digipack and poster were selected as they were the ones that we felt would ‘sell’ the artist to the best ability and create a comical effect that would tie in with our comical music video. The images were colourful, vibrant and eye-catching tying in with the theme of our music video, in which we intensified the brightness of the footage. The products within the ancillary task both used very similar fonts and the main colour scheme was purple. We used the colour purple to create continuity as the main character is wearing purple in our music video.
In our research we found that artists from the hip hop genre tended to include quotes concerning the excellence of their music videos. On both the digipack and advert we included quotes from NME magazine, the Sun and Mojo. We used these businesses as they are well known magazine/newspapers that have some link to the music industry, particularly Mojo and NME. By including these quotes we are also assisting in promoting the artist, as often customers will rely on these quotes.
On the other hand our DVD cover differentiates from the advert as it uses a brick wall as its background as apposed to a plain white background. We have included this background to fit in with our music video theme ‘the school boy geek.’ Whereas we included a plain background for the poster in order to depict the different product and allow repetition to be avoided. This white background also allows the main image to become more striking and eye-catching for the audience.
Looking at the feedback we received on the DVD cover it has been made apparent that it wasn’t necessarily as clear as it could have been. I feel that this was due to a lack of time that we had to spend on it. The intentions we had when creating the DVD were much higher than the amount of time we had. However I feel that the crucial elements of a DVD cover were included such as, the quotes, image of the artist, artists name, record label, barcode, general DVD information i.e., special features, ‘DVD’ and ‘HMV’ logo.
3) What have you learnt from the audience feedback?
During this project we have used blogger to post our thoughts, research, ideas, pitch, rough cut, final idea, ancillary task etc. We have received feedback that has been of great help in creating our overall products. The feedback expressed the audience’s thoughts and opinions on our work. We did receive some criticism but we used it as constructive criticism in order to better our products. This feedback allowed us to see areas that could be improved upon that we wouldn’t have necessarily noticed when working on the project all of the time. The ideas that were suggested helped us to improve and get the best possible product.
The first thing we found from our audience feedback on our pitch was that our original idea for our music video was possibly too ambitious. We initially planned to film in the centre of Cambridge but when we presented this idea to our classmates they gave us some realistic feedback suggesting how it may be difficult to find the time to carry out filming and also suggesting issues with transport (getting our desired, large cast to the centre of Cambridge) This feedback led us to rethink our original location and we decided upon filming in our sixth form where being it would be much easier and less problematic. This location did prove to be much more convenient for our cast and also meant that if, and when we may have needed to film extra footage it would have been done far more efficiently.
When we uploaded our rough cut to the blog we received mixed feedback, including positive and negative comments. The main negative feedback we received was concerning the gender of the artist who sings Stop Complaining and our main character. They stated that it was clear that the singer was female whereas our main character was clearly male. Although at first we debated whether to change this we decided upon keeping it the same. The reasons being that Rob’s character was a geeky, unpopular school boy who proved to be quite ‘random’ therefore the female voice just contributed to this slightly arbitrary effect that had been created.
The feedback enlightened us with another area that could be improved upon, we had minimal shot variation. Mostly being medium shots. The feedback suggested we included more shot variation. Therefore we included more close up’s and long shots; along with bettering our music video as a whole this technique would also help us to sell the artist.
On the other hand we were congratulated on the effectiveness of our lip-syncing and much of the feedback expressed the strength of our editing. Along with receiving feedback on our rough cut we also received feedback on our final cut which tended to be very positive.
Furthermore the feedback we received on our ancillary task was positive however there were some areas of our DVD cover that appeared to need improving. Unfortunately we were unable to apply these improvements as when we received the feedback the deadline for completion had already been passed. The reverse of the DVD cover was seen to be confusing, as the order of the quotes and special features were a little mixed up. Another piece of feedback we received was on the differentiation between the logo’s on the magazine advert and digipack. Finally we were also informed that a certificate rating was not included on the DVD cover, we were aware that we hadn’t included this however, it was a shady area as although our target audience was 15-18year olds we had to give our music video a certificate rating of 18 as the lyrics of the song included swearing. I believe that had we been allowed more time to complete the digipack these minor faults could have been improved or likewise if the feedback from the audience had been given before the deadline, proving the effectiveness of the feedback.
4) How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
Throughout this project a large variety of media technologies were used. To begin with one of the main technologies we relied on throughout our project was blogger. This website allowed us to display our working progress, through all of the stages of production. We were able to express our idea during the planning stages, research of other artists, digipack’s, music video’s etc in the research stages, our rough cut, final idea and ancillary task and many more of the vital stages of production could be entered on to our blog. The blog supported us with providing the opportunity for feedback from our audience and also the opportunity for others to look at our work. It also allowed us to evaluate our work in the evaluation stages of production.
Not only did we use the internet to aid our project we used professional programmes particularly in the editing/construction stages of the product. These programmes were final cut and Photoshop. When we carried out the preliminary task at the end of last year we created a short one minute video. When editing this footage I felt unsure of how the procedure worked and we stuck to very simple editing and cut techniques with no added effects. After completing this project I have successfully learnt to understand and use Apple’s final cut editing programme including special effects such as spin off’s and motion key frames. In our music video we have intensified the brightness of our footage; this is another new skill I discovered. We used different filters to enhance and edit the appearance of our footage in order to intensify the brightness we put on a colour corrector filter and changed the saturation and contrast of the footage. Final cut has played a major part in constructing and editing our product as we used it to edit all of our footage. I now feel comfortable in using Final Cut to edit footage and even to add special effects in order to improve the final piece.
Furthermore when producing the ancillary task, I have expanded my understanding of the programme Photoshop and developed my skills. Photoshop allows the user to edit and personalise graphics to their desires. I have used Photoshop in previous projects giving me a basic knowledge of how to work it but, not to the extent I did in this particular one therefore I have once again developed my skills. We used Photoshop when creating the digipack and poster. The programme allowed us to edit the main picture of Rob, using the ‘magic wand’ tool to erase the background of the picture and enable it to be placed on top of another layer or moved about. However we did face one problem to do with the amount of layers involved, if layers were left un-named or too many were created it could get very confusing and likewise time consuming to carry out a simple task.
During the construction stages, we used a dolly to assist with filming. This was a new piece of equipment that enabled us to achieve sturdy filming. I had never used a dolly before but, managed to successfully use it with ease. The dolly produced a much more professional result as hand held filming proved to be too shaky.
Overall I feel that our project went very smoothly. In some areas we could have used a little more time to complete tasks. However given the time, equipment, funds and knowledge we had we have produced a very good product. I feel looking back to the preliminary task last year I have thoroughly developed many skills particularly in the editing stages of production and therefore been able to apply them when creating our music video. I feel I am much more confident using the new media technologies and have learnt a lot from this project.
:)
No response to “ ”
Leave a reply