Evaluation Q4

4. How did you use new media in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
New media technologies have been very important throughout my production process. I used social media in order to gain vital audience feedback from my target audience, so that I knew throughout I was on the right track. I also used new media to share my products and to research existing media to gain inspiration and learn from existing products. 

Research: Once I’d decided that I was going to produce a music video I set about researching the codes and conventions as well as music videos on YouTube to get an idea of how to make one myself. I was drawn towards Jamie xx’s remix of Rolling in the Deep and felt that it would be an interesting challenge to make a video for a dance remix of a popular song. I then looked at the differences between mainstream videos and dance music videos and found that dance videos were mostly more creative as they were often funded by independent labels and so the artists had more freedom.
I used Yahoo to gain feedback from a wider audience on what they expect from a music video and kept this in mind during the process.
I also used slideshare to upload keynote displays that deconstructed existing products and showed the conventions, such as in my ancillary research.


Planning: Once I’d done my research I set about storyboarding ideas and putting together a filming schedule and shot lists. I found making shot lists very helpful as it was a great prompt to remember all the angles and scenes that I wanted to complete each day. In terms of how I used new media to plan my music video, I utilised YouTube a great deal and channels such as Vevo which display almost every music video ever made which was a great source of inspiration. Also I uploaded test shots I’d done and got feedback from them to help me work out exactly which shots I wanted to use in the video - which worked and which didn’t. 


Construction: During the construction I used facebook quite a lot to give feedback on each of my rough cuts. To begin with I edited the different locations and then eventually put them all together and, for instance in the case of the interlude, my peers were really helpful in deciding whether to use text and to have that section in black and white or in colour.
I used iMovie on my macbook to create all my videos and used Photoshop to create my ancillaries. Since my preliminary task last year I have improved enormously and have gained many more skills in terms of knowing how to use Photoshop, being able to identify codes and conventions and apply them to my own work. 

AS Pre-Lim, AS Final Magazine Cover, A2 Final Advert

Here is a picture of my preliminary magazine cover. Compared to today I knew very little about photoshop or the conventions of a magazine, hence the basic layout and evident dead space.
If I compare this with my advert I can see that I now have more knowledge on composition and colour schemes as well as photoshop skills in order to create an effective cover which can then be implemented into the advert, which would fit the genre of music and brand of the artist.
My video editing skills have improved since beginning the course as I now have more awareness of how existing videos are put together and so have more attention to detail and focus on the beat and the many interpretations that the audience can take away from watching the video as each individual has a different reading.


Evaluation: In evaluating my work I looked back through my slideshare and Youtube pages to see how I’ve progressed. I went on sites such as Pixton to create an animation to explain how I made my music video in question 1.
Here is a video looking at most of the new media I’ve used in making my production... 

Therefore, as you can see, New Media Technologies have been imperative in my creation of my coursework. In the 21st century, thanks to the rise of the internet, anyone can produce texts and therefore the line between consumer and producer has become almost non-existent. The advances in technology mean that an 18 year old student such as myself is able to make products such as a music video by using software such as iMovie, share it to the world through YouTube and make a cover and advert by using Photoshop. The process has become very quick meaning I can have direct access to the audience at the click of a button and gain vital feedback from them instantly and apply that feedback to my texts. I can also talk to people all over the world on sites such as Yahoo.

Evaluation: Q1.

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

In order for my music video and ancillary products to look professional and be successful in their target demographic they needed to use many of the forms and conventions that existing products use. As I was producing a music video for the dance/remix genre I wanted to include the conventions of dancing and artistic videos, whilst challenging the conventions of including ‘sexy girls’ with very little clothing as, while that is the stereotype that appears to ‘sell’, I wanted to progress from this idea as in 2012 I felt that women are more equal to men and therefore my target audience would appreciate a more intelligent look. In terms of big conventions that music videos use I featured lots of lip syncing and editing on the beat as well as having a narrative that reflected the content of the music... 


Comparison
I've created this presentation to compare in more detail my product with existing products...

Q1: Real Media Product Comparison

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Sound: Music videos often not only have the song that they are promoting but also diagetic sound that you would find in a short film, such as footsteps or the ‘real’ sounds of a location. I incorporated this by using sounds such as waves crashing and seagulls to fully set the scene of the beach - a key location in the video.
Text: In the video I’ve chose a more personal, impacting font style which I have edited together to look more contemporary and to feel more professional and important. The inclusion of the artist’s name and title of the song is often used in modern music videos, especially alternative artists, in order for the audience to remember the artist after viewing the song as these days audiences can be fickle as they flick through music video after music video. Thus in order to make any audience impact it is important to keep them engaged and to be bold, which I have tried to do.

I've continued this throughout the video as well to keep the theme running:

An example of existing products using this technique

In my ancillary tasks, I didn’t use any text for the single cover which, while against the generic conventions of mainstream products fitted in with Jamie xx’s existing covers. I went for simplicity and kept the ‘x’ brand in order for the cover to be recognisable to my target audience - both fans of jamie xx’s music and listeners to dance music who are mostly used to seeing stills from the music video as well as something more artistic and simple. However in my advert I did use text as the advert was to attract a more wider audience that may not have heard jamie xx’s music before. I still tried to keep it simple and so went for a black and white theme with font that suggested an established artist to give it more credibility. The colour red stands out which is why I used it for the words ‘out now’ in order to prompt readers to buy the song. I included reviews from well-known and respected magazines and newspapers in order to stand out to the audience that it is a good song. As is the convention, I included the website details of the artist so the audience can find out more. This is often done and is an example of the growth in multi-platform media: it is expected for artists to have an online presence.

I placed my advert into a real newspaper music section (The Daily Telegraph's Review section) and while the majority of the music reviewed there is aimed at an older audience, my advert stands out on the page and the inclusion of reviews from established institutions may help further to draw the average reader in and be interested in the advert. The ideal place for my advert to be situated would be in music magazines such as NME, Mojo and Mixmag as readers would be interested in music already and in the case of Mixmag specifically interested in dance music. Other ideas may be teen magazines or free newspapers such as the London Metro as creative types who are open to new things may be attracted. Otherwise a newspaper/magazine advert may not be the right way to promote this song in the modern market and an online advert such as the trailers before YouTube videos would be the ideal way to promote the song as my target audience (16-24 year olds) use social network sites such as YouTube daily, whereas market research I've conducted has shown me that very few 16-24 year olds read newspapers and magazines and that sales for magazines are dropping as the world gradually turns digital.


Genre: The music genre that I was working in was perhaps more complex than most because it wasn’t just a dance song but also a remix of a mainstream song and so I wanted to include both dance and pop music conventions to develop something more interesting and original. I swayed towards the dance music genre when creating my single cover, but when putting together my advert I also used elements of Adele’s advertising campaign - using an understated and sophisticated black and white palate, which meant that the blues in the cover image stood out and the advert and connections with Adele as well as Jamie xx - combining both their styles effectively.
The genre conventions I’ve used in my music video are as followed: lip-syncing, editing to the beat, engagement with audience, artist/character shown, music playing and some form of narrative/message.
The video genre I’m working in is romantic, however it is moving away from conventions by looking at the break up and not the ‘falling in love’ part of romance.
My video conforms to some conventions of a romance by including a couple in love (these portions making up the flashbacks) which builds audience expectations for the video. But then the rest of the video subverts the conventions by showing a strong single female who is moving on from the relationship. It plays with the conventions by showing her in similar conventions used in romantic videos and then showing herself happy in them on her own.

I put together this comic strip showing my process of production...

River Rough Cut

I've put together a rough cut of my preliminary filming, much of which I will be keeping in. I tried out a few effects and editing techniques to see how it would work...

Inspirational Shots

On Saturday I came across the below video which featured a female in beach and forest locations. The way she was acting, and many of the shots are similar to how I envision my video. Therefore it is very inspirational, and during my second beach shoot on Sunday, I was trying to emulate its characteristics and will definitely have it in my mind while shooting the forest sequences on Sunday. 

Here are some of the shots that I like from the beach location...

On my first shoot, I did similar angles and direction to those represented here, including close ups.

Also I had my artist spin on the beach, as I thought it fitted conventions. This clearly reaffirms this.

And the forest location...

While running through the forest in this video relates to the title/lyrics, I had originally wanted this also as it makes it feel more ethereal and personal.

 Another way for it to feel more personal and connect with the audience is to do extreme close ups in slow motion. I like this shot as she looks down and closes her eyes. I think it looks really good and artistic and am looking forward to imitate on Sunday.

When it comes to the editing process I may try some of the editing techniques in making the shots lighter (brightening the image) as it gives it more of a nostalgic feel, which is similar to the home-movie style that I wanted for some of the video.

Critiquing Existing Products: Dance Videos

Today I'm going to look at four music videos, some of which are of the dance genre, as well as others which feature inspirational techniques or locations...
Firstly I am going to look at Sunlight by Modestep.

I like this video as has a great USP as it uses older actors who get up to things which young people stereotypically get up to which is interesting and funny to see and has got people talking about - a great marketing device (another similar video is Danny Byrd's Tonight). 

There are many high angles used, as well as close ups of the action

The editing is very fast paced, matching the rhythm and pacing of the song, a common technique which I've looked at a lot. 
It starts off with an elderly woman opening her curtains and making some food, but after putting on a record and letting in her two male friends, the video cuts to the more traditional club/gig scene where Modestep are performing to its typical audience of 18-25 year olds - showing that the scene is less than typical.

In the club scenes they a shot very intimately with a lot of close ups of the decks, instruments and singer, as if you were there in that claustrophobic club, a great technique to use to make it feel more real and relatable to its target audience.
There is great use of slow motion throughout the video, which I think highlights the actions of the older characters as they progress through their day and also makes the change into real time towards the end more effective as the beat becomes much faster so it matches this. The video cuts between the typical club scenes to this narrative, which is effective in telling the narrative. The first shot of the 3 older actors doing something out of the ordinary is below.

They then go on to shop lift, drink heavily, play poker, smoke, take drugs, trash the house, walk along the beach, drink in public, smash bottles, do shots, get thrown out, pick up girls, go clubbing (it becomes clear that they end up in the same club as the one Modestep are performing in, tying up the video nicely), watch girls pole dancing, do more drugs, dance on a boat until dawn, having a party in their garden and having the police come round.

Overall, I think this is a funny (as this is not what you expect from the over 60's), well-shot and clever video that looks at the youth and elderly today and how they are portrayed, so has a message behind it. Also a reoccurring motif that is used is the artists logo, which is seen on the record playing and the helium balloons. 


Next, I'm going to look at another inspirational dance video - Flashback by Calvin Harris.

Flashback uses the lyrics and narrative of the song to create an interesting video. As he is trying to remember what happened to night before, so the video begins in the morning, with the artist alone on a boat surrounded by polaroid pictures. Edited to the music, we see flashes of the night before, specifically following one girl, as we move from streets to a club to a boat. It is edited quickly with lots of movement and we see the artist performing as well. I like the 'flashback' element and the use of the polaroids - a reoccurring motif. There is a lot of red lighting which is inspirational as I'm hoping to have my video toned blue.

Rizzle Kicks' video for Down With The Trumpets is is much more informal and features part of a beach location, so is interesting to look at as one of my locations is also the beach,

It is quite laid back and has a nice retro feel to it, especially with the tape player and huge stereo with unbuilt tv screen that they hold at the beginning. It brings a touch of nostalgia and a home-movie type feel that I'd quite like as well as building a connection with the artists. 

Seeing them both on the screen and holding it at the same time is a nice touch, that, combined with the music and lyrics gives the video a clever, cheeky and fun feel to it: then cutting to them outside fives it an edgy feel. As urban artists it is unusual to film the video on Brighton streets/beach and not on some shadowy streets or in a club. 
The bright lighting and British retro edge make it more fashionable, mainstream and accessible to everyone, whilst standing out from the rest of the urban market. The stereo/tv is a reoccurring motif that works well. 
The artists are very expressive with fluid facial expressions, movements and lots of dancing- contrasting with Calvin Harris who is very serious throughout Flashback. 
Jump cutting and repetition is used in front of the beach huts as some young guys dressed in urban clothing dance quite cheesily, indicating that this is obviously meant to be a little ironic and not to be taken seriously. Slow motion and clever editing make not having such a big budget, not be a problem. 

There is an interesting transition and the beginning of this video, which I have looked at briefly before...

The video overlaps the images of the artists face and shoes over night-time New York from above. I like this transition which I tried out a few days ago and will probably use in the verses in the beach and forest locations to add to the dream-like and home-movie style effect. 

Critiquing Existing Products: Rihanna

I thought it would be a good idea to look a little closer at other music videos already made to look closer at their editing techniques and structures in terms of locations and when they switch between them.

The first good example of this is Rihanna's video for Only Girl (In The World) which not only uses a lot of editing techniques like repetition, but is also a great example of colouring as the video is tinted red to match with the Artist's (then) new hair. This gives the whole video a staple style, which is then associated with the Artist.


The first 15 seconds (before the song has even begun)...

The video opens with the artist on some dunes seen from an establishing shot. We see a flash of her in a bed of flowers, which then cuts back again to the dunes, but this time with a mid shot. There are flashes of the artist's face and light flares as we see the artist from a great distance in a long shot. There is a lot of movement as we see a shot of her face again and then her in the flowing dress on the dunes once more with it blowing in the wind (thus matching the sound of wind). She is walking in slow-motion adding an ethereal element to the video, then the editing gets extremely fast as many images of the artist in various locations and poses flash across the screen and then the song kicks in. This is an effective way to begin, establishing the location, artist and feel of the video before fastening the pace dramatically to keep the audience watching.

0.15-0.30 Intro of song 
Now the song has started the editing doesn't slow down, reflecting the fast beat of the song. A lot of editing and camera techniques are used such as slow-motion, jump cutting as the artist takes off a piece of clothing and repetition of shots as a shot is played and then rewound and played again, sometimes backwards. It is playful, symbolising the feel of the song and the brand of the artist. Already about 3 'locations' have been established... 
1. On top of the dunes

2. In a valley of grassy desert

Jump Cut Example

3. A bed/wall of roses

Repetition Examples

0.30-1.00 Verse 1

The artist sings the first few lines of the song in 2nd location but she is moving and dancing as well as editing techniques such as jump-cutting her movements are being used to keep the established pace.

First few lines of the song, with repetition editing

Then in the gap between lines flashes of the other locations are used. The 3rd location is then chosen for the artist to sing the next line, before cutting back to the grass valley is cut back to for the next line. 
Then another 'location' is shown, of the dunes but this time in a different costume, but then it cuts out to show the artist jumping next to a big tree in the middle of nowhere, and then zooms out even further so the artist is all but a dot.
4. Grassy tree

The 2. location seems to be the main location for the artists singing as it cuts back to this for the next couple lines. Then a change in cutting during the gap in singing, as shots of the artist running down a dune, whilst zooming out and then a cutaway to the artists feet running and then a long shot zooming in to the artist of her standing half way down the dune.

Then it cuts back to 2. as she sings some more lines. But before she finishes singing (a break from the convention established so far) it cuts to her smiling in the 3rd location as rose petals fall on her in slow-motion, before back to 2. to lead into the chorus.


1.01-1:47 First Chorus
As the beat changes dramatically for the chorus so do the editing techniques to reflect this and to give it more impact.
She appears to fall quickly into the bed of roses, but then in time to the beat, moves around/falls further (see below). The technique uses jump-cutting which makes the change in beat a lot more dramatic and emphasised. 

Next, we see a close-up of the artists face as she sings part of a line, again in 3. but from a different angle and colouring. 

Then back to 2. to belt out some more, however very quick flashes of another location (3.a - 3. from a distance) are shown in time to beat, again emphasising the dance melodic beats which dominate the song. And then suddenly the 2. location changes as she is now standing in a field of flowers (location 5.), which is intercut (again in time with the music) with a close-up of her face as she sings and moves her hand across her face.

It then stops on 5. part way through the chorus for a few seconds, so quite a long time for the video, and then cuts to a mid shot of her singing, with wind being blown at her face, her arms above her head and the camera quite shaky - much less 'glossy' than before, as the artist gets caught up in the song. Then a long shot of 3.a with the wind blowing her back and the flowers in the ripples as if the music/her singing had done so. Then a close-up of her from an entirely different angle of 3.a as she looks into a flower and then up again, with the camera still from the original angle of 5. It then becomes clear that 3., 3.a and 5. are meant to be the same 'location', however 3. has different flowers and she is wearing a different costume, so it looks very different.
The wind picks up and the flowers in 5. are moving dramatically, she sings into the flower from the 3.a angle above, and the 3.a long shot of the wind through the flowers is shown, as the chorus picks up a notch.

New location, shaky camera movements and wind in the flowers

There is then a completely different change in location for the climax of the chorus - 6. she is on a hill in the grassy desert but with huge coloured balloons flying around and an interesting camera movement around the artists face as she sings. 

Camera moves around the artist as she sings

She maintains eye contact as it moves around her head (a similar idea that I have for 0:00-0:18 in my video).

Slow-motion is used a great deal as she swings around with a shawl with the balloons moving around her.


1:48 - 2:16 Verse 2
Interestingly the start if the verse begins with her singing from the same angle the end of the chorus uses of the camera moving around her face. It then cuts to a long shot of another location - 7. featuring a grassy desert with a giant rose. 

Rose location, including a shot from the previous location during gap in lyrics

Repetition editing is used once again signalling a verse as she dances in 7. around the rose. A shot of 6. is used in the break from the lyrics. She then caresses the rose, which various cuts if her in different poses around it, for the next line and break. 

The next line is sung in 6. the break using both 6. and 7. slow-motion movements. A slow shot of her singing and lying by the rose is used - pause in the action, contrasting from the chorus. 
But then, as this verse is incredibly short, a new technique is used where many shots are shown, very quickly almost making a continuous motion, as the chorus begins. Shots include...

2:17 - 2:48 Second Chorus 
She is in various poses from 7. ending with her on a cliff edge (8.) with a light flare, throwing her arms back as she sings the first line of the chorus, cutting to different angles in 8. a long shot, an extreme close-up of her face - again in time with beat like in the beginning of the first chorus. As the beat kicks in she is still in location 8. 

As it has been throughout the video the editing is done completely to the beat, which may be because the genre of the song for the artist is more dance-y than she has been and so wants to play up this fact. 

The entirety of this second chorus is based in location 8. which is unusual so far, but as it pre-bridge then they may have wanted to keep it simple so the bridge and last chorus would have more potency.


2:48 - 3:18 Bridge

Quick editing, location 9. intercut with 6.

Another location is introduced (9.) as the song changes into the interlude.

Lots of repetition editing used to match music

Here the editing techniques are more exaggerated as the beat is much more dominant in the song and there are editing tricks in the song itself with manipulation of the artists voice, so the editing reflects and matches this.

Noticeable use of blur, as well as transitioning into location 11.

3. is quickly shown again, before leading into the second half of the Bridge which shows another different location (10.) of the artist on a swing, swinging high above the grassy desert, matching the lyrics "take me high".

The Bridge ends with a studio location (11.) with green screen special effects of fireworks. The artist is jumping in slow-motion with the fireworks going off around her. This location is used until the end...


3:19-4:11 Third (and last) Chorus
11. is used until the end of the song, but is intercut with shots of previous locations as this is the climax of the song. 

Also another location is shown - 12. is of a tree (possibly 4. but at night, matching the fireworks theme of 11.) with colourful lanterns glowing in its branches. 

The climax of the song uses a new location intercut with previous locations

Colour seems to be a big part of the video as the colourful balloons (in 6. and 9.) are a staple of the video and now the same colours are used again for the lanterns at the end. This could be to emphasise the pink/red tones of the video which highlight the artists unique bright red hair.
The last shot (fades to black):

There are 12 locations overall...

1. Top of Dunes
2. Valley of desert
3. Wall of roses
4. Tree in desert
5. Field of flowers
6. Hill Top with Balloons
7. Giant Rose
8. Cliff Top
9. Ladders in Lake
10. Swing
11. Fireworks
12. Lantern Tree




The amount of locations used here has made me think that using lots of different locations is a good idea, fits conventions and keeps the video interesting to watch. I thought that perhaps I had too many before this, but now I don't! If I think carefully about costumes (i.e. how many costume changes per location, if any) then I will be able to follow the right conventions for the genre of a dance video. As there are quite a few costumes changes in Rihanna's video also.
Costume changes adds to the movement and pacing of the video, keeping the audience engaged. However, I will need to be think about whether quick cuts and editing will be enough for my video. The Rihanna video is more pop-dance, and as fashion is a huge part of popular music that is appropriate. However, I am using a dance remix, so there is less emphasis on fashion in dance and more symbolism and focus on the beats.


The 'narrative' to Only Girl (In The World) is that she is the "only girl in the world", thus this is represented by Rihanna being alone in this 'rose-tinted' (literally!) world. It makes a more dramatic impression, whilst being symbolic, artistic and looking good on screen which is of course incredibly important in contemporary music videos were competition is tough. But as you can see... 

...the video has 173,574,107 views (correct on the 17th September 2011, and increasing on average 300,000 views a day) so it has made its mark on the industry. As previously looked at, YouTube is the main market for Music videos nowadays and therefore social media has an impact on how music is shared and viewed. Other alternatives to YouTube are music channels on television, which are much more restricted on what they can broadcast at certain times - which YouTube isn't as much. So this has a bearing on the content of music videos as the institutions that run them can not show them if they deem them not suitable. This is something I have taken into consideration so, unlike Rihanna's video which is full of sexual references, I will tone down this and focus on making it as stunningly beautiful as 'Only Girl' is. Or as much as I can with my budget and equipment.


Another consideration is audience... 

As you can see Rihanna's key audience are females between 13-24 years and older males. The genre of dance is generally targeted towards 16-24 year olds and stereotypically males, so this may be something to look into in order to make sure I am engaging my target audience.