Evaluation of the use to blogger

I found using Blogger as a way of showing my development of my media absolutely awful. As much as I enjoy many new media technologies we have used such as Youtube. I thought Blogger was very inconvenient and not user friendly whatsoever. Perhaps it was due to the operating systems that we use at school and our internet connection but I did not have issues with any other websites that we used. I understand that my using blogger we have ease of acces to the coursework and do not need to send of files with the coursework in because it is all virtual but I believe that a better way to document my progress would have been uploading a word file online that could then be viewed by anyone who needed to view the coursework. Problems that I encounterd when using blogger included the in ability to change the layout of my blogs, for example on a blog where the layout seems sprawled around inserted photos I was unable to change this. When I uploaded a photo the layout of any words would automatically change. To add to my frustration on several occasions I would be editing a post when for reasons beyond me I would get a pop up, the page would close and I would lose my last hours work. I also thaught my blogged lacked security as anyone in my year group of 120 had acces to my blog and could quite easily erase all of my two years work on it. I know it was not required of me to critique Blogger but I thought a critical evaluation of a media method used during my media course would add value to my coursework.

TASK FOUR: HOW DID YOU USE NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?

Video Commentary Script

Ruby:We used many differnet types of media technologies extensively through out the five stages of production. In our research and development our group used the internet a lot. The internet enabled us to use websites such as youtube, where we were able to watch music videos that could inspire us and give us ideas this was very useful as our group lacked knowledge on the heavy metal genre so we were able to discover the generic approach music videos had to heavy metal. Online music browsing websites such as Itunes helped our group decide upon a song to use in the music video the availability of music over the internet made this a far easier job for us, as sampling music is cheaper and easier online than through CDs and other previous methods used to distribute music. Google made the research far easier by pooling information together where we would previously had to use books to research informatition, particularly google maps for browzing possible locations for the shoot.


Olivia:
In the planning phase of our project we used PowerPoint presentation as a method of sharing our ideas with the class this is very useful software as it is very good at showing simple presentations to a group of people using images and text through slides shows.. We could also then put our presentations online using a website called “slide share” this is a PowerPoint presentation sharing website that we used to make our completed presentations available online and also in order to attach them to our blogs. Our blogs were the method we choose to use to report everything that we did and evaluate it, this method is far more visual and expressive than a formal essay.


Luke:
On the actual shoot day we used a digital camera, the Sony Z1 and DSR 570, which are very mobile and this allowed us to vary our shots and therefore have a bigger variety to choose from when it came to editing. We used green screen a lot in our video because what we wanted to achieve could not be done on location or created in the studio so the best alternative was to use the green screen the use of the new media technology enabled us to achieve the unique visuals in our video


Ruby:
Due to new media technologies editing was made a lot easier as we were able to view the footage very easily on Final Cut Pro which has a relatively user friendly interface making it far more simple for us, as relatively inexperienced editors. After Effects which play a huge part in our project and are becoming more and more realistic as technologies advance played a huge part in our video and we would never have managed the complex after effect without having a program that manages to simplify them for us.


Olivia:The back drops for the green screen were created on after effects. These programs made it easier for the synthetics in our video to be achieved when working with a small budget size that we had, no longer do media products need huge budgets to achieve the realistic after effects. It also meant that we didn’t have to waste time on our shoot day travelling to do a location shot.


Luke:
Before the video finishes we will quickly talk about the distribution of our product.
New media technologies played a huge part in our distribution, video sharing website YouTube was supposed to be the main method of distribution however due to copyright laws it has been an issue and our video was removed by WMG from YouTube so it has been an unsuccessful method for distribution in our case. DVD is also being used as distribution as it is now easier to upload footage onto this format but it is more expensive to distribute via DVD than online however DVD is significantly more cost effective and efficient than VHS due to smaller packaging and less raw materials needed so we decided DVD would be a better format than VHS.. Thanks for taking time to watch our video commentary we hope you found it insightful and give us a really good mark, thanks.

TASK THREE: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR AUDIENCE FEEDBACK?

We got roughly 12 people who are members of our target audience to watch our music video and handed out some questionaires to them. This is the feed back we got:

 

-Does it fit the brief? (Does it look like a real pop promo) Why?

Most of our audience believed that the use of special effects while inputting a Sin City cityscape and having a narrative and performance element made the video fit the brief.

-What type of genre does this fit into to? Does it fit the genre?

The outcome of the answer fit our expectations where they thought that the video fit into the genre of rock/indie/alternative rock.

-Digipak and Poster. Does it fit into the video? How?

They thought that the dark and red colors fit into the theme of the video which they stated was danger and sex.

-Would you buy it? Why?

All of our viewers stated that they would have bought the song 'Demon Cleaner' after have had seen our music video.

-Who is the target audience meant to be from what you have seen?

We were aiming to a unisex audience and this was the answer we recieved from our viewers who said that our video is meant for both female and male audiences because of the sensual narrative element and the subverse performance element.

-What did you most like about it? Why?

Our viewers mostly liked the idea of the universalization of women seeing that we have female members of the band and a female murderer.

-What did you least like about it? Why?

Most of our viewers thought that the blood was too excess and graphic for a music video and made it look like a James Bond opening sequence.

-Do you think that the idea of having a female rock band was necessary? Why?

All of our viewers thought that the idea of a female rock band was sub verse from that of having a typical boy band and thought that it brought sex appeal to the video.

In order to generate audience feedback about the pop promo we used various digital technologies to reach viewers. The promo was uploaded onto YouTube this allowed the promo to be broadcasted to a wide audience all over the world. This allowed viewers to make comments, giving us audience feedback about the promo; however the disadvantage of using YouTube was that users may not have been browsing for anything specifically related to our promo and therefore may not have come across it. The video was also uploaded onto our blogs through the website Blogger. I then posted this link onto my Facebook page, this meant that our specific target audience could view the promo as my ‘Facebook friends’ are of my own age group who are our target audience (16-25 year olds). The feedback I received from my friends was that the video was of an impressive standard and appeared very professional as well as this they liked the use of a mixed gender band and the ‘sin city’ style narrative. However, only my friends could view the promo meaning that I could not reach a wider public audience through Facebook.


We also used a traditional form of research, our group got about 10 people aged 16-18 to watch our video and give feedback by answering pre prepared questions shown below. The advantage of this was that we could gain specific feedback of our choice. We asked our audience whether our promo looked professional. Most of our audience believed that the use of special effects where we used a Sin City cityscape and having a narrative and performance element meant that the promo conformed to the conventions of existing pop promos. We also asked whether the video fit the genre of indie/rock/alternative, we found out that most of our audience believed that our video fit the conventions of this genre. We also asked if the digipak and poster tied in well with the promo, the audience thought that the dark and red colours fit into the theme of the video which they believed represented danger and sex. We also asked if our viewers would buy the song, all of our viewers stated that they would have bought the song 'Demon Cleaner' after have had seen our music video. We were aiming to a unisex audience and this was the answer we received from our viewers who said that our video was meant for both female and male audiences because of the sensual narrative element and also because we had a mixed gender band. We also gained the information that our viewers mostly liked that we used women in our band as it presented gender equality as well as bringing sex appeal to the video and subverting stereotypes of typical of the genre four piece all male bands. However, most of our viewers thought that the blood was too graphic for a music video and made it look like a James Bond opening sequence.

The encoding-decoding model derives from the work of Stuart Hall. It is a theoretical model, which is based upon the notion that the audience do not act as a ‘mass’, but rather as a collection of smaller groups defined by social and ideological elements. Media texts are ‘encoded’ (both consciously and unconsciously) with the values of their producers, who are generally white, middle-class, men. However, the audience is not made up exclusively of these groups and different groups are likely to ‘read’ the text indifferent ways. This ‘decoding’ process has 3 possible outcomes which are a preferred reading, a negotiated reading and an oppositional reading. A preferred reading is when the audience understand the intended values and the concept behind the media text. From most the feedback we received it was clear that all of our audience gave the preferred reading about the narrative. Ultimately our promo was successful as all our aims and intentions translated effectively to our target audience. Predominantly our viewers understood that the woman represented a dominant female promoting male equality with women and subverting to gender stereotypes, however the power of her sexuality over the male is an existing stereotype of females. Having both genders within the band help to attract a mixed audience as there was sex appeal for both genders as well as subverting to stereotypes providing the band with an individual element.

TASK TWO: HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?

I have uploaded two powerpoint presentations below, one of which is is an introduction to some of the theroy our group used in order to have an effective combination of our main product and our ancillary texts the other presentation is how we used this therory in our product and evaluating the use of it.

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TASK ONE: IN WHAT WAYS DO YOUR MEDIA PRODUCTS USE, DEVELOP AND CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

The well know media theorist Keith Negus talked about specific conventions in music videos.
Keith Negus said Some acts are organic, organic acts follow these conventions:

-A ‘naturalistic’ approach to artists

-The seeds of success are within the artists, who have to be ‘nurtured’ by the record company.

-The image of the artist is ‘enhanced’ by the record company.

-The artist is given time to evolve and progress through their career

-Emphasis is given to album sales and the construction of a successful back catalogue

-Often aimed at older or more sophisticated consumers

-Profits generated by this kind of act tend to be part of a long term strategy by the record company

Keith Negus also referred to synthetic acts that followed these conventions.

-A combinatorial approach to artists and material

-Executives attempt to construct successful acts out of the artists and the songs at their disposal

-The image of the artist is often constructed by the record company

-The artist will be given a short time to prove their success before other combinations will be tried out

-Emphasis is given to single sales and to promoting first albums

-Often aimed at younger, less sophisticated audiences

-Profits generated by this kind of artist tend to be part of an immediate, short term strategy by the record company

I researched and analysed the major conventions of music videos with Beyonces music videos because she is a very popular music artist so follows a generic approach to her videos, although I would consider Beyonce quite organic because she is raw talent it is arguable that she is a synthetic act because she came from a girl group called destiny’s child.
Destiny’s child would defiantly be considered a synthetic group and was one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time, But it is arguable that once destiny’s child split up and Beyonce went solo she was an organic act because she had such talent that her record companies saw her as a long term investment rather than a short term one such as a act like sugar babes, or Hannah Montana. For this reason Beyonce is still a very popular music artist 6 years after going solo in 2005. This according to Keith Negus would cattogarise beyonce as a organic act because one convention of the organic act was “profits generated by this kind of act tend to be part of a long term strategy by the record company”.

However in Beyonces music videos such as “Single Ladies” is a very sexual performance with a complexly white background and only the performance element because the audience is so fixated with her star image that they do not need to see anymore the music video capitalises on the fact that the she is such a famous image.

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

Stills from music video.

This still from our video is used to make a unrealistic world a reality using special effects, in some ways it follows the existing forms and conventions of music videos because the special effects are used to make the narrative of the video more exciting and entertaining for an audience and for that reason alone, it is conventional for music videos. This still represents the narrative aspect of the promo. It is conventional of music videos to have a narrative as it is a way of building a star image for the artist as well as maintaining audience interest. Some artists do not use narrative as they already have an existing star image and large fan base or a more focused on their music so place the emphasis of their promos on the performance element. However, it is arguable that this still challenges conventions as it uses special effects to create the scene, this is not often used for bands within our specific choice of genre, and it is more conventional of the pop genre to use an unrealistic world. Using a woman in the promo and presenting her as a sexual magnet is a convention of the pop genre as women are often presented in a derogative way, wearing little clothing or as dancers and generally as sex symbols. Using this does not conform to the conventions of the indie/alternative genre, as bands of this genre usually place more emphasis on marketing their music through their talent rather than sexual magnetism; however the dark and powerful nature of the woman in the promo subverts gender stereotypes and therefore would attract a niche audience.

This image is a close up of the band’s lead singer, this a convention of music videos as the lead singer of a band is often present within the music video and is usually a focal point to the promo, through the use of close up we have conformed to this. By depicting him wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket we are presenting a ‘rock and roll’ attitude and star image, which is often depicted in other music videos of the genre. The microphone depicts the performance element of the promo, this a convention of the genre as predominantly bands in the genre place a focus on their music and performance suggesting that this is their passion.

This image furthers the use of special effects in our promo and conforms to the conventions of other promos that use special effects and green screen. This image suggests the male is in power by the way he is lit as well as his smart clothing; this conforms to stereotypes of masculine domination. He also appears mysterious due to the lighting; this contributes to the promos narrative which is a convention of promos as it markets the entertaining side of the promo to an audience and attracts them. However, within the genre special effects are not always used within a narrative as focus is often placed on an alternative band’s performance element therefore this also challenges conventions.

This image is created through special effects, often special effects are used in music videos and therefore we are using a music video convention. However, this image is not often seen within music videos, as the simple use of three colours that represent death and sex. It is more likely to see this image within a film narrative such as ‘Sin City’ therefore this challenges conventions of promos and provides individualism for the band.

The use of set with lighting and smoke is a convention of music videos within the genre; this dark, eerie atmosphere is often created within rock promos. The use of guitars presents a performance element within the promo and uses music video conventions. Their long hair is over the band’s face which provides a rock and roll element and uses conventions of the rock genre. The star image created is moody and individual, an image relevant to the genre. The use of female band members challenges conventions as it is rare to find female musicians within a rock band however it links to bands such as the White Stripes who have a similar image and band set up and therefore to an extent uses some conventions.

This image depicts the full band set up. It conforms to the conventions of music videos as the whole band is present within the video. Conventions are also used in that the band are all playing their instruments and therefore provides a performance element to the promo which is often scene in music videos, particularly of the genre. The low lit room provides an eerie atmosphere which ties in with the narrative and uses conventions as mostly the narrative links to the performance element within promos. The band is clearly dressed in an individual way which uses the conventions given within their genre. It perhaps challenges conventions as they are not presented on a stage with a crowd which is often depicted in promos within this genre.

Pannels from digi pak.

This is the front cover of the digi pak and depicts the band which uses conventions as artists are often depicted on the album cover which is a form of marketing the artist as buyers can clearly identify the artist’s album. The sin city scape continues the theme from the promo and image created for the band as being quite edgy and moody which conforms to conventions as often a particular image is used to market a band. The album title is depicted which is a convention of digi paks as it enables an audience to identify the album. The album title is the same as the song title which is often used as a way of marketing the single and linking it to the album. However, we have challenged conventions by not placing the band name on the cover; this was in order to present the band as individual. The way the band is dressed is an individual style and uses the conventions of the image of their genre.

This panel challenges the conventions of digipaks as the female from the promo is used, as she is not part of the band this is an alternative way of presenting the artwork and makes the band appear more individual and helps them to stand out as being different. The song titles are depicted which uses the conventions of promos, it allows an audience to know which track they are listening to on the album clearly, however sometimes song titles are depicted on the actual disk rather than on the panel. The low cut top represents her as a sex symbol and therefore attracts an audience, often sex is used to sell albums as it attracts a wider audience.

Promotional Poster.

This poster depicts the band name which is a convention used in promotional posters and it clearly promotes the band. We chose to use the same image of the band as the album cover which provides a common theme and uses conventions as it is a marketing pattern. However we have used a different background to create diversity and give some form of difference to the front panel of the digi pak. The same font is used which is identifiable to the band and uses the forms and conventions of marketing an artist to an audience. We chose to depict the tour dates as well promoting the album as a double marketing campaign and to provide more hype about the band. This uses the conventions of other marketing campaigns.

Poster

Here is an analysis of my poster and also the finished poster, to view the analysis please click on the image to enlarge it because i was unable to show it in its actual size.

Digi Pak

These images are our final digi pack (made on photoshop, photos taken on shoot day)

What Is A Digi Pak?

Digipacks are a type of CD packaging made out of card or other paper material. Digipacks can flip open like a book, or it can have three parts, so that one portion of the packaging opens to the right and one to the left, with the CD in the center portion. Usually, the portion of the digipack that hold the CD is made of plastic. Here is an example of a digipak for an oasis album.

The alternative to a digipack is a jewel case shown here

I wasn’t sure weather it was a better idea to use a digipack or a jewel case so I did a survey in my boarding house to discover whether more people liked their music in a jewel case or digipack. I asked 40 students and showed them the images of a jewel case and digipack I found that 26 out of the 40 students preferred a digipack presentation then a jewel case. Here are some pros and cons of digipacks which I found on a forum using Google as a research method.

-They look nice, and many bands and labels like to use them for aesthetic reasons. The three section digipack sleeves opens up more design options because there is more room. However, they're more expensive than traditional liner notes and jewel cases.

-Digipacks don't crack like jewel cases do, but they will rip and eventually the paper begins to peel apart and separate.

-The trays in digipacks break much more often then in jewel cases. There's not as much protection since the outer portion of made of paper, so the teeth that hold the CD in place crack and fall out easily.

-When the teeth of the tray does break in a digipack, the CD falls out of the bottom of the digipack, because unlike jewel cases, there is nothing to hold it in.

-Digipacks can be more environmentally friendly than jewel cases because they can be made of recycled paper - however, they aren't always in fact made in this way.

-However a small record company may be forced to use jewel cases because they are produced cheaper then digipacks even though they are less ascetically pleasing.

Our group decided to use a digipack in the end because they are a generally more preferable packaging according to our survey.

Digi Pack design and measurements

Post Production Evaluation