My Music Video and Ancillary Texts Together

Evaluation Q4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Click top right button to enlarge.

[TRANSCRIPT]

Throughout the production of my products, I have used various digital technologies through each stage (construction, research and planning and evaluation). Some are technologies that I have had previous experience with while others have been completely new to me. In answering this evaluation question, I will be looking at what digital technologies I used, why I used them and what I learned from them using them...

Evaluation Q3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Before producing a complete first draft of my music video, I produced small 10 second rough edits of ideas that I initially wanted to incorporate into my video. I printed the following questions to ask peers and family for feedback - I chose not to conduct a large survey using survey monkey because it was only rough edits  I was asking about and therefore didn't want to spend too much time waiting for lots of feedback.

Questions:

• Do you think it is edited well?
• Do you think the timings are correct?
• Is there anything I could change?
• What is your opinion on the effect I have used (colour correction). Does it go well with the style of the song/artist? Could it be changed in anyway?

As shown, the feedback was very positive as the majority of respondents said that the editing techniques I had used were effective and portrayed the genre well. I therefore went on to use the rough edits in my first draft, making minor changes to fit with the rest of footage I had filmed and edited together. While it was only a small piece of feedback, at the early stage I was at I learned that my editing skills were proficient enough to produce a full product that would look professional. This also gave me confidence in the type of video I was producing (in terms of narrative and who I had chosen to be my artist). Later, I completed several full drafts that I was completely happy with so instead of conducting surveys I asked people (teachers, parents, friends) to watch the videos and give general feedback and support in how they could be improved. This feedback, again, mostly included positive comments on aspects of my video (such as my editing-lip-syncing). Teacher feedback in particular really helped as they were the ones who had the most knowledge about what I was producing and therefore could give me direct feedback on how to improve my draft. While, overall, they said my product was good, they directed me to further filming techniques I could use (such as adding simple camera shot-pans/tilts that would give more variety to my video). From having one to ones with my teachers, I learned ways of going back and analysing my own work, as if it were someone else's, to be able to see areas of improvement, thus giving me a complete product that I was proud to have produced. While I haven't conducted mass surveys for each draft of my music video, I have still learned how my product has been successful from valuable feedback of small groups of people in my class. In a way this has been more beneficial for me in learning from my feedback because if my music video was to be a real product, it would probably be a low key, non-mainstream video because it would target small niche audiences due to the genre. Therefore not only have I learned more ways of producing a professional video, on top of the research I had done, but also how I have been able to affectively address my target audience through conventions.

Further Surveys I Conducted:
Research and Planning:
For my research and planning, I put together the following surveys in order to find out the demographics of my target audience. I did this to be able to understand who would consume my product, therefore allowing me to incorporate specific elements that would address them.

The following screenshots show the poll I added to my blog as part of my music video research. I didn't learn a lot from this poll because it was a lot more difficult to distribute it in order to get responses. Since I only received answers from two female respondents, with almost all similar answers, the results were not representative enough to tell me anything about my target audience- although it did give me a slight guide on where I should start with planning my video. For example, both said that performance is important in a music video, therefore (while not everyone would agree) I knew that it was something I should definitely consider when thinking about whether my video to be narrative based or not.

As I didn't get the amount of responses I was hoping to get, I created the survey again on survey monkey, asking the same questions, and then posted it on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. This meant that I would receive a wider range of responses and would be an easier way for people to access it.

Create your own user feedback survey

(Link to the results)

As shown, I got far more responses that included respondents of both genders. Therefore I could get a better a picture of how to address their age range (predominately 16-24) but also how aspects of my video should attract both males and females (although most respondents were females who the narrative of my video would be most likely to attract).

As these questions didn't specifically focus on target audience research, I went on to produce a Demographic Survey as this would provide the opportunity for me to get a variety of results from people across the college and even the world (since I posted it on social networking sites). Below I have summarised my results by creating an infograph.
- infograph
From the results of this survey I could a learn a lot more about how to address my target audience on a global scale as cultures differ so their views on the product I was making may have differed too.

The only problem with this type of research method is that it wasn't specific to my target audience in terms of genre. Therefore while I learned the average age of my target audience and were they are based, from a survey like this I could not tell whether they were fans of the genre or not- so maybe not the target audience I should have been looking to focus on. However, from later feedback, it appears that my product has in fact addressed my target audience.

Create your own user feedback survey
Again, I created this survey on surveymonkey and was able to get a lot more responses because I posted it on social media sites (facebook, twitter and tumblr). This then meant that I could receive answers from the age group that I was targeting because a larger proportion of 16-24 year olds were most likely to use these sites. From the responses,  I learned how my music video should be structured in order to meet the needs of those viewing the video, who like the genre. This guided me into looking at specific conventions of existing products.

Another problem with these three surveys, on a whole, is that because they were distributed individually, I couldn't get a real picture of what my target audience thought of music videos in relation to my genre. While creating my music video, I therefore had to assume that the majority where aged 16-24 because they were posted on social networking sites which are used mostly by this age group.

Digipak: (questions for all drafts were the same)

Link to the results of my survey:
First Draft
Second Draft

By looking at each of the results from the each draft I produced, they show that each time my product was improved and further reflected my artist's genre.

These results may not be reliable. however, because I didn't receive as many responses on my second draft as I did my first. I therefore haven't learned how good of a product my digipak is compared to real products, although this doesn't affect how I feel about the finished product.

However, these surveys do not show all of my audience feedback as throughout the process of creating my product I asked for teacher's and other student's advice on what particular pictures and editing effects I should use- therefore learning more about how my product could be improved via the use of editing and photography (learning the appropriate types of camera shots that suit such a product). Before deciding on the final draft, I also asked each individual in my class for their opinion on which which was the the best along with the best suited CD/DVD design. Although this was, again, limited due to close ended type of question (so wasn't able to learn why they were the best), I still learned that what I had produced was good enough to be chosen as a final product.

Album Advertisement: (questions for all drafts were the same)

Link to the results of my surveys:
First Draft
Second Draft
Placement

In conclusion, by comparing my products to these early responses, I can see that I have used them as a guideline to create my products. Therefore, from my audience feedback, I have learned that....

Evaluation Q2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Evaluation Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Final Ancillary Texts

Final Music Video

In this final draft I have made a minor change to one shot in the video (from the marina to the old town) because Jess was seen to be in the Old Town only once. While it isn't a massive change I feel it shows a bit more continuity. Overall I am really pleased with the final outcome of my video and I am glad I managed to get it finished before my free trial of premiere pro on my own computer ran out.

Placing My Product Onto Real Life Situations

 Here I used placeit.net to place the album cover and advert image onto real life objects where they would most likely feature. This was to get a better understanding of how it should look in order for it to look appealing to the audience.

I also created a small survey on surveymonkey to ask for general feedback on how well my products appeal to the audience and if they would be successful in real life. These are the results I received:

Creating The CD/DVD for My Digipak

This is a simple guide on how I went about creating my CD/DVD designs, using Photoshop. At first it was difficult to get to grips with the Elliptical Marquee tool and applying the copyright information but the overall process was effective and, I think, shows my creativity in the project.

CD/DVD Designs

Here I have produced another CD design for my digipak, from Jess' advice, and have feature them both on the two drafts of my digipak. While I like the look of the logo on the disc, I feel the second design is much simpler and smarter. I have asked other media students what they think and the majority preferred the logo design. They also suggested that the first draft of my digipak I produced is better because of the type of shots and colour which show continuity.

Second Draft of Digipak

In this draft, I have just changed the inside right image. While I like the photograph itself, I feel it doesn't give the digipak a consistant flow in terms of colour. All I have left to do now to complete my digipak is create the spine, get feedback and make any changes needed.

Third Draft of Music Video

As mentioned in the last post, this is just a quick draft after I added the opening shots. I am going to ask Tim and others for feedback on how effective these shots are and if there is anything else I should make changes to. Since my second draft, the only thing I have changed is the two shots of Jess' feet ,walking on the river bank, to a shot of her playing in the Old Town. the problem I may have now is trying to incorporate more shots within the old town as this is the only shot there. Another minor problem is the last pan shot of the River Bank-it is faster than the others. I thought I could use this from previous filming that I did but I may have to re-film it.

 

Filming

Today's weather wasn't any better than yesterday's but I went out to film anyway. Some of the footage I got didn't turn out too bad and I might be able to edit it so when put with the rest of my video, it won't look out of place because of the dullness. I am going to edit it together, to get an idea of what my finished product will look like, and post the draft but it is likely I will end up filming again.

Feedback of Digipak First Draft

As this screen shot shows, once I finished the first draft of my digipak, I asked Jess about it to see what she thinks. I will be conducting further questionnaires about it to get more feedback as well and then make any changes. I have almost finished my second draft and will be asking for her opinion of it again.

Where I Am At

There are obviously a fare few posts I need to finish and post to my blog. I am in the process of, firstly, trying to get all my products finished, to make sure they get done on time without me rushing. In terms of my music video, it is almost finished. Due to bad weather today, it looks like I am not going to get the last bit filmed. All I need to get filmed is pan shots of each location my artist appears in. This is going to be edited to the beginning of the video, hopefully adding at least 15 seconds to the overall length of the video. If I cannot get this filmed today, I will tomorrow if the weather picks up. In terms of my ancillary texts, I have completed my album advertisement and am currently producing a questionnaire in order to make any final changes ASAP. My digipak is almost finished too, again, I just need decent weather to get some photos. I hoping to get everything completely finished for Friday 20th. This will leave the last week of term for me to complete my evaluation questions and finish any unfinished posts.

Feedback On Music Video

As mentioned on my Second Draft post, the song was cut short due to the stress of trying to develop the narrative. Today I had booked lunchtime appointment with Tim to ask him for advice. I mentioned I couldn't film anything including Jess since she is not here. However he did give me some ideas such going back to locations to get pan shots to place at the beginning of the video. There is also just a few shots during the video that I need to change to make it look better and fit with the music. By adding in this footage in at the beginning will mean the overall length of the video will be extend by at least 20 seconds and will allow more effective editing such as fades-since at the beginning, it will not disturb the flow of the video. Over the next week I am aiming to get all the filming done and the video edited as a third and possible final product.

More Album Advert Drafts I Have Produced

These are just are few more drafts of my ancillary texts that I have produced in order to get a better idea of what my final product should look like.I will be asking several people which one they prefer and why and base my final design on that decision. The first four I have done, I feel, are quite boring. Although I like the placement of the logo, the background is too plain and doesn't really directly relate to the album or music video. In my opinion, I think the best design is the second to last. I have used the logo as away of displaying both the logo and her name. This has allowed me to use the album cover photo as well as the logo, reinforcing her independent style. The only problem I am going to have deciding now is the reviews- whether I should use the quote in the last design or just use stars. This is something I will also ask when conducting the small questionnaire.

Feedback For Second Draft of Advertisement

I have asked my other media teacher, Becky, for her opinion on my advertisement. Her first comment was that the black text blended too much with the image, making it hard to read. She also gave me advice on how to improve it and suggested I add a blue strip towards the bottom of the page. I am going to use this advice and see what the turn out it.

Second Draft of Album Advertisement

 These are two drafts I have produced as a second draft. They are pretty much the same except I have altered the font of 'The new album' to see what difference it would make. Compared to my first draft, it looks more varied because of the different for I have used for her name. It is still, however, difficult to read the black text and I feel it therefore doesn't flow very well when trying to look at the advert as a whole. I am therefore going to ask one of my media teachers for some advice on how to improve it to make look more conventional and easier to read.

Questionnaire For First Draft of Advertisement

First Draft of Album Advertisement

In this draft, I have took together conventions of album advertisement, in relation to my chosen genre. This includes the thin text I have used for the artist's name, although for my next draft I will apply the font, used for her name on the logo I created, as this will mean it will link better with the digipak. I have used more conventions such as the star rating from other magazines, the record label my artist is signed to and 'Includes...'. I do feel, however, that it is too simple and I need to use more fonts to make different text stand out but complimenting each other at the same time.

Oak Sessions

On my album advertisement, Oak Sessions is mentioned with the bonus tracks. 

"Oak Sessions is a community of creatives, recoding live sessions and videos to provide a platform to promote local and unsigned musicians. After four successful series, Oak is filming SERIES FIVE involving a wealth of talent from bands and artists all over the UK." (-taken from their website)

Although I considered using other live session companies such as Ont'Sofa, I feel that Oak Sessions is better suited to my artist as they deal with more local musicians. This, I feel, shows the close relationship my artist may have with her audience which is quite common of musician within the genre.

Questionnaire For First Draft of Digipak

First Draft of Digipak

 Front Cover:

Back Cover:

Inside Right Image:

Inside Image:

(with this image, in Photoshop, I cropped it and adjust the level of brightness before applying it to my digipak). I chose to use this image because, since my digiapk is part of a promotional package to promote my music video (main product) I felt it was appropriate to include and image that directly linked to it.

CD/DVD Design:

(see this post for how I made the discs)



Overall, I am pleased with my digipak, since it is only a first draft, as I feel I have effectively used conventions that I have researched into (e.g photography-types of shots). I will be conducting a survey for feedback on how good it is and if anything should be changed.