Evaluation
In this section I will evaluate all of the work that I have done over the previous months upon my music video and both my magazine advert and CD cover. I will explain why and how I chose to do certain parts of my project as I did. Very importantly I will also give my own personal feedback of my work which I feel will really help me in the future if I have to do a similar project.
In what ways does your product use, develop
or challenge forms of conventions of real media products ?
In order for me to create the best possible music video I firstly had to understand the conventions of a general music video. Although many videos do not fit with all of these conventions a lot use one or more of these within the video to make them successful. Conventions also greatly differ from each genre of music but this research gave me a good insight into what a typical music video would contain. Below are some bullet points on what conventions are used frequently within successful music videos.
As I said before the conventions of music videos change
dramatically depending on the genre of music the video is being made for.
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![Picture](/uploads/5/2/7/3/5273969/6262150.jpg?210)
Here are the genres that Jack Johnson music videos fit under. I decided to do some research into these genres to understand their conventions.
Folk Rock - is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music
Acoustic Rock - comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means
Soft Rock - is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music (often combined with elements from folk rock and singer-songwriter pop) to compose a softer, more toned-down sound
Alternative Rock - is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. Alternative rock consists of various subgenres that have emerged from the independent music scene since the 1980s, such as grunge, Britpop, gothic rock, and indie pop
I decided to research into what conventions were typically used within acoustic / folk rock videos. Below again are some bullet points.
When planning the content of my music video for Jack Johnson Banana Pancakes firstly i researches the conventions of a music video then the specific conventions of a video that fitted within the genre of the music for my music video . This is shown clearly above in both diagrams. When planning i attempted to include as many conventions as possible to create the most successful and professional looking video that would ultimately appeal to my target audience.
I think throughout my first, second and my final edit i have included enough of theses conventions to make my music video successful. Firstly the clothing used within the video would be seen on the actual artist Jack Johnson so was suitable for this video. It was also comfortable and audiences may aspire to dress or dress similarly to the character. We have used a variety of settings, including multiple outdoor scenes as indicated to be popular by many other Jack Johnson videos and also some shots indoors to reflect the lyrics of the song. The artist also appears throughout the video both playing a musical instrument and within the narrative with a member not from the band. I think this element has added a great amount of interest and this convention is used widely within the acoustic / soft rock genre.
Throughout my video i have definitely used a combination of long, mid and close up shots, yet i think that i have also gone against this convention by using quite a few close up angles. I think this was needed as all of the stop motion consists of close up angles. yet i think this is needed to show the correct amount of detail and works very well. I have also used a mixture of camera angles to add more depth and meaning to my music video.
Concerning the conventions of a music video and editing i think that i have not only used some conventions but also challenged some in order to create a well made video. I dont think all of the conventions would have been suitable for the song and for the shots that we chose. Were generally editing would be made so that the audience would not notice it I think our deliberate editing of our stop motion really brings a lot of interest to the video. When we conducted our focus group the stop motion section was the part that most people commented on positively. In our second edit we even decided to add in more stop motion. Yet we did still include regular narrative and lip sinking to match a normal acoustic music video.
I think throughout my first, second and my final edit i have included enough of theses conventions to make my music video successful. Firstly the clothing used within the video would be seen on the actual artist Jack Johnson so was suitable for this video. It was also comfortable and audiences may aspire to dress or dress similarly to the character. We have used a variety of settings, including multiple outdoor scenes as indicated to be popular by many other Jack Johnson videos and also some shots indoors to reflect the lyrics of the song. The artist also appears throughout the video both playing a musical instrument and within the narrative with a member not from the band. I think this element has added a great amount of interest and this convention is used widely within the acoustic / soft rock genre.
Throughout my video i have definitely used a combination of long, mid and close up shots, yet i think that i have also gone against this convention by using quite a few close up angles. I think this was needed as all of the stop motion consists of close up angles. yet i think this is needed to show the correct amount of detail and works very well. I have also used a mixture of camera angles to add more depth and meaning to my music video.
Concerning the conventions of a music video and editing i think that i have not only used some conventions but also challenged some in order to create a well made video. I dont think all of the conventions would have been suitable for the song and for the shots that we chose. Were generally editing would be made so that the audience would not notice it I think our deliberate editing of our stop motion really brings a lot of interest to the video. When we conducted our focus group the stop motion section was the part that most people commented on positively. In our second edit we even decided to add in more stop motion. Yet we did still include regular narrative and lip sinking to match a normal acoustic music video.
Here is a comparison between another Jack Johnson video and the one i made for Jack Johnson Banana pancakes to see how conventions are used within both videos. I would have liked to have compared a professional version of the video to my own but there hasnt been one made unfortunately. But i think this video will give a good comparison.
Within the professional video the first clear comparison of the two videos is the quality. Yet i do not need to take this into account as this could not be helped. If i had a larger budget i could have used professional equipment and it would have given a much higher quality along with a more technical editing software. A picturesque location is used within Jack Johnson video and i think that we have done the same within ours. The places would be desirable for the target audience to visit so they would in turn enjoy watching the video. One particular convention that i was very pleased to see was the use of longer shots within this video in comparison to many modern day videos. I think the pace of the song fitted well with the images as it does within my video that we created. Although the location was very picturesque only one location was actually used. Which i feel maybe took away from the interest of the video, i am pleased that i used more than one location within my own video to add another element. A lot of special effects were used within Jack Johnson's video which i feel detracted the attention away from the music slightly which i feel was unsuitable for the target audience.
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I feel that overall my finished music video looks very successful but here are a list of the actual positives and negatives of my video that i thought were appropriate.
* The overall pace of the video fits well with the pace of the song and the lyrics
* The narrative using the actor adds interest and another good element to the video
* A wide use of camera shots have been used within my video
* The use of stop motion works really well within this video and i think that we have used alot of ideas within the lyrics to combine it with the images of our music video. I think this is really effective
* The narrative using the actor adds interest and another good element to the video
* A wide use of camera shots have been used within my video
* The use of stop motion works really well within this video and i think that we have used alot of ideas within the lyrics to combine it with the images of our music video. I think this is really effective
* Some of the camera shots are too long and the audience may loose attention at theses points
* The matching of the miming and the song could have been a little better as there are points were you do not believe the actor could be singing
* There are points where the same images are repeated, i think that it would have looked better with a wider variety of shots
* The shots are all mainly from one angle which could make our video look amateurish
* Within some scenes the lighting is either too bright or too dark
* The matching of the miming and the song could have been a little better as there are points were you do not believe the actor could be singing
* There are points where the same images are repeated, i think that it would have looked better with a wider variety of shots
* The shots are all mainly from one angle which could make our video look amateurish
* Within some scenes the lighting is either too bright or too dark
How effective is the combination of your main products and
ancillary texts ?
When creating my CD cover and my magazine advert to promote the CD I needed to make sure that they were suitable for the target audience and were appealing and that they also complemented each other and the actual music video. I didnt want my magazine advert and CD cover to look too similar so i used the same image effect and colour scheme but changed the layout and inserted extra images on the magazine advert that reflected the genre.
The CD cover followed the typical CD cover conventions including the artist name and an eye catching image in the front. The back included a list of song names and song times, another eye catching image and all of the information needed for a CD cover, including a bar code and legal information.
The CD cover followed the typical CD cover conventions including the artist name and an eye catching image in the front. The back included a list of song names and song times, another eye catching image and all of the information needed for a CD cover, including a bar code and legal information.
For the main image on the front cover of the CD i used a sepia toned image of the sea and a sillohoute of a surfer. I used the sepia tone as it was subtle and i had used this effect within the narrative of my actual video. I think this linked them both together very well and was incredibly effective. From my audience research i also discovered my audiences love for the outside and also for surfing. Therefore i thought my choice of image was very appropriate. The back cover image was another sepia toned image with a sillohoete of a guitar to tie in the theme of music.
I found the creation of the CD cover rather difficult in the end. But overall i think the product is effective in promoting the artist and the songs within the album.
I found the creation of the CD cover rather difficult in the end. But overall i think the product is effective in promoting the artist and the songs within the album.
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What have you learned from your audience feedback ?
![Picture](/uploads/5/2/7/3/5273969/9889636.jpg)
I have used a great deal of audience feedback throughout my project to try and make the most successful product possible. I consulted my target audience at all stages of my project. Firstly this began with planning our pitch, we created a questionnaire in order to gain audience input and thoughts about what the music video should look like in their opinion. Our next piece of audience feedback followed our pitch, where our class (the same age as our target audience) gave feedback on our ideas and even gave us new ideas that we had not thought about. We also bounced ideas around in our group to come up with the best options. After completing the first stage of editing we gathered together a focus group of participants from our target audience and asked them to view our first rough cut. They then gave us an incredibly helpful set of opinions and criticisms that we could work on for our next edit. Audience feedback was essential as it also made us realise certain errors within our music video that we had just not seen ourselves. It was also essential that we targeted that specific audience as it needed to appeal to this audience to be successful!
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![Picture](/uploads/5/2/7/3/5273969/2648101.jpg?160)
I had already recognised who my target audience would be for the genre of Jack Johnsons music so i could ensure that when i was using audience feedback that i actually asked the correct audience. As the age range was similar to my own i used participants for the focus group and questionnaires from friends and school piers. This was very handy as it meant i could ask people that i knew and that felt comfortable with giving criticism to myself and to my group. This criticism was essential in creating a much better second edit of our music video that we were much more happy with.
How did you use new technology in the construction,
research, planning and evaluation stages ?
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![Picture](/uploads/5/2/7/3/5273969/8715501.jpg)
Within the construction of my
music video I encountered the usage of many new technologies. I decided on
using these technologies even though I was unaware of their usages to create
the most successful and professional looking music video possible. Some were brand new for me to use and others
I had used on a few occasions before hand in the previous year. When capturing
the footage for the music video I used a digital video, when filming we came
across a few problems with the technology simply as we were not fully
comfortable with it. Through experimenting with using the different buttons on
the camera we began to film. Within our music video we had planned a section to
be stop motion; we needed to work out how to take a still image on the digital
video to do so. As we had never produced a stop motion film before we also
researched successful stop motion clips to find ideas. After trying out many of
the functions on the camera we could not work out how to take a still image.
This was when we used the internet to find a site that clearly explained how to
capture the still image. As soon as we had discovered this the stop motion was
easy to do, yet very time consuming. I believe that all the work with the stop
motion was worth it as it looks very professional and adds a great amount of
interest to the video. After we had
captured the footage we had to upload it to a computer, on to an editing
software program called ‘Pinnacle’. I had never done so before on this piece of
editing software so this was a problem for the group; we used written step by
step instructions to help us along the way and managed to successfully upload
our footage. This was the first hurdle of using this particular editing
software as I encountered many problems. The computer and the software froze on
many occasions, we generally were very good at saving our work on a regular
basis but when we had been working for a couple of hours without saving then
the computer froze we lost a lot of work.
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![Picture](/uploads/5/2/7/3/5273969/4975582.jpg)
Within the research section of my music video I also encountered new technology; I uploaded my rendered first cut of my video to YouTube. This created a problem as I had never done this before, as a group we rendered the video then saved it to a pen drive. Where we were then helped to upload our video onto the site. Here members of the public could comment and ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ my music video. From this feedback I could then evaluate and change my ideas suitably. I noticed that it was also very easy for people to find our video on such a large database where it would not be possible for us to show these people regularly without the internet.
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![Picture](/uploads/5/2/7/3/5273969/374361.jpg?150)
Whilst planning and editing our music video we used a Smart Phone to play our chosen music, this was in order to make sure the imagery fitted in time with the lyrics and the tune of the song. When doing so it was difficult to start the video on the editing software and the music from the Smart Phone at the same time. Although after doing this on numerous occasions Ella and I became quite effective at doing so.
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![Picture](/uploads/5/2/7/3/5273969/2008804.jpg)
For the evaluation section of my
project I created an online website to display my research, planning and my
written evaluation. I began by using the site freewebs.com as I had used this
website before in the previous year. Yet when it came to editing my website at
home I encountered many problems between my personal computer and this site.
Information was hard to input and my computer kept freezing. This was in turn
very difficult, frustrating and time consuming. This was when I decided to
create my website using another site called weebly.com. Although I had never
used this site before it was easy to understand and I thought it gave a real
professional quality to my work, after experimenting with all of the functions
for a few hours I became quite at ease. The drag option to move sections of the
page around was very appealing as this was a function not so easy on
freewebs.com. In the end I was very pleased that I decided to switch website
creating websites as I believe it saved me a lot of time and an unneeded amount
of effort, which could in turn be put into the content. Unfortunately one
downfall to new technology which may arise was that the schools computers did
not fully support the website, this meant a lot of the time we spent in lessons
could not be used to edit our websites. As well as when we could access our
websites the site was very slow and unpredictable. Whilst creating my research
section for the project I also used the video viewing site Youtube.com and I
also gathered images from google.com.
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The new technology that I
encountered throughout my project has not only enabled me to produce the best
product possible, but has also helped me to broaden my understanding of new
technology. Equipment that I would have never had the chance to use before was
made accessible and I thoroughly enjoyed learning and using them. The skills I
have learnt with the new technology will no doubt help me also in the near
future.
How does your product meet forms and conventions ?
k
Clothing
It was essential that throughout the video the actor looked as though he could have actually been the writer of the song Jack Johnson. We didn't want to copy his style so we gave him a simple style that looked fashionable and which the target audience could aspire to look like or could actually look like this. For more interest we added another outfit for the narrative part of the story and made sure that our female audience also worked well within the genre. She is wearing an outfit that looks fashionable and that the audience would aspire and enjoy to look like.
It was essential that throughout the video the actor looked as though he could have actually been the writer of the song Jack Johnson. We didn't want to copy his style so we gave him a simple style that looked fashionable and which the target audience could aspire to look like or could actually look like this. For more interest we added another outfit for the narrative part of the story and made sure that our female audience also worked well within the genre. She is wearing an outfit that looks fashionable and that the audience would aspire and enjoy to look like.
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Location
We concluded in our research that conventions of a successful soft rock genre included a variety of locations for filming within. The locations were also outside which was something that we had seen previously in many Jack Johnson videos. We also chose a variety of locations to add interest to the video and separate narrative from the artist performing.
We concluded in our research that conventions of a successful soft rock genre included a variety of locations for filming within. The locations were also outside which was something that we had seen previously in many Jack Johnson videos. We also chose a variety of locations to add interest to the video and separate narrative from the artist performing.
Musical Instruments
We also included the convention of using the guitar that is heard within the song within the actual video. I focuses the audience more onto the lyrics and the actual song rather than the video which is a key part of the soft rock genre. It is much more about the actual music rather than lots of flashy editing and special effects. I am very glad that we used the guitar also as the actor was singing so i think it would have looked a bit odd if he wasnt also playing the guitar.
We also included the convention of using the guitar that is heard within the song within the actual video. I focuses the audience more onto the lyrics and the actual song rather than the video which is a key part of the soft rock genre. It is much more about the actual music rather than lots of flashy editing and special effects. I am very glad that we used the guitar also as the actor was singing so i think it would have looked a bit odd if he wasnt also playing the guitar.
k
Camera Angle
I made sure that i used a variety of close up shots, mid shots and long shots within my video to add depth and interest. This was a convention used throughout the majority of music videos. I also tried to use as many differing angles as possible including low angled shots and high angled shots to add variation and give a more professional feel to the video. I used the long shots to establish the scene and close up shots to show emotion and to focus the audience upon the lyrics within the song.
I made sure that i used a variety of close up shots, mid shots and long shots within my video to add depth and interest. This was a convention used throughout the majority of music videos. I also tried to use as many differing angles as possible including low angled shots and high angled shots to add variation and give a more professional feel to the video. I used the long shots to establish the scene and close up shots to show emotion and to focus the audience upon the lyrics within the song.
Special Effects
Within the narrative scenes we also decided to use a special effect on the editing software to give a warm homely feel and the feel of a home made video. I have seen this convention used throughout soft rock and acoustic genre videos and think it looks very successful. I also think it adds another interesting element to the video.
Within the narrative scenes we also decided to use a special effect on the editing software to give a warm homely feel and the feel of a home made video. I have seen this convention used throughout soft rock and acoustic genre videos and think it looks very successful. I also think it adds another interesting element to the video.
k
Narrative
Within the video we decided to use a narrative alongside the other singing parts and with the stop motion. The narrative played a role in using the lyrics and creating scenes that matched. As i have said before with this genre the main focus is the music and with the use of this narrative i think it focuses in on it even more. I also think that the love scene will also appeal to the target audience as they are of an age were they may be interested or are in relationships.
Within the video we decided to use a narrative alongside the other singing parts and with the stop motion. The narrative played a role in using the lyrics and creating scenes that matched. As i have said before with this genre the main focus is the music and with the use of this narrative i think it focuses in on it even more. I also think that the love scene will also appeal to the target audience as they are of an age were they may be interested or are in relationships.
Original
One convention of music videos that i definitely wanted to involve was the idea of the video being original and not like any other or having certain aspects that were original. This is where the stop motion element takes place, i think this is the most successful part of our video and the piece that i am most proud of. I think it sets our video ahead of some others for its originality. I think this would definitely appeal to our target audience and also other audiences.
One convention of music videos that i definitely wanted to involve was the idea of the video being original and not like any other or having certain aspects that were original. This is where the stop motion element takes place, i think this is the most successful part of our video and the piece that i am most proud of. I think it sets our video ahead of some others for its originality. I think this would definitely appeal to our target audience and also other audiences.
Miming
It was essential that within my video the lyrics within the song were at the exact same time as the actor miming the lyrics. This was a very difficult part to get correct but i think in most cases we done this well . There is one piece in our video were the timing does not completely match but after spending over 3 hours on this section we felt that it could not be improved any more without becoming a waste of time. This is very important as the audience needs to believe that the actor is actually singing within the video. This also takes into account the miming with the guitar.
It was essential that within my video the lyrics within the song were at the exact same time as the actor miming the lyrics. This was a very difficult part to get correct but i think in most cases we done this well . There is one piece in our video were the timing does not completely match but after spending over 3 hours on this section we felt that it could not be improved any more without becoming a waste of time. This is very important as the audience needs to believe that the actor is actually singing within the video. This also takes into account the miming with the guitar.
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Continuity
This convention was no doubt the most important when it came to music videos. If the video was not believable and did not flow well enough then nothing else would matter, the video would be poor. It was essential that throughout the video costume and props were kept the same when it was needed as the audience should not pick up on mis-en-scene or editing or camera angle errors. The video should bring an extra element to the song not detract away from it. I think that I carried this out well throughout the whole of the video.
This convention was no doubt the most important when it came to music videos. If the video was not believable and did not flow well enough then nothing else would matter, the video would be poor. It was essential that throughout the video costume and props were kept the same when it was needed as the audience should not pick up on mis-en-scene or editing or camera angle errors. The video should bring an extra element to the song not detract away from it. I think that I carried this out well throughout the whole of the video.
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My Personal Evaluation
Overall i have to say i am incredibly pleased with my overall project, including the actual music video, the CD cover, magazine advert and the website. As i have before mentioned there were uncountably many hard times and negative times throughout the project but the feeling that i now have being so proud of my video it was all worth the time, stress and hard work.