Evaluation, Question Four - Technologies, Miscellaneous

There were also some miscellaneous items of media technology in which I used to help the creation of our music video. One of these in particular was using the music production software Cubase Studio 4, using this I was able to edit our original track from its length of approximately five minutes to just fewer than three. This allowed the group to work quicker as it was a shorter track with fewer sections. We also used the DV cameras to record the footage for our music video – although we did not use any of the settings (such as effects) on the camera, it is still a use of media technologies worth mentioning due to its importance to our final product. If I were to improve on this use of media technology it would be to experiment more with settings on the camera, ranging from different effects to different types of focus and so on.

Evaluation, Question Four - Technologies, Photoshop

Within this advanced portfolio, another media technology I used was Adobe Photoshop to create my album package for the ancillary tasks. There were many features of Photoshop which I was able to use and manipulate to ensure my DVD cover and magazine advert were to a sufficient and professional standard. Some of the tools I used within Photoshop included the gradient tool (to create backgrounds) along with the pen tool (to draw certain ideas as found on my magazine advert) and the mask tool (used to cut images with plain backgrounds). I also used many of the filters to add effects to images which I thought particularly successful - these include some of the cartoonise features that I used within my front cover, where on the back sleeve of the DVD I have applied this filter to images of the band members. Another smaller media technology I used within creating my promotional package was the use of a mobile phone camera, used to take images of the warning sign after copyright issues of images which I found on the internet. Using this technology also allowed me to be more creative with imagery, therefore improving my final ancillary tasks to a greater extent.

Evaluation, Question Four - Technologies, Final Cut

One of the main media technologies I used within creating the coursework for the Advanced Portfolio was Final Cut Express, professional standard editing software which allowed us to edit a music video in a much easier way than using i-Movie, the previous editing software which we used for the foundation portfolio. Final Cut had many features which made it easier for us to put a music video together, such as the advantage of having multitrack video editing – this meant we were able to work in layers, and have all parts of footage available if we needed it. There was also advanced features of Final Cut which we were able to use to make our music video look even more professional, such as the ability to have split screen clips along with overlaying clips. We used these features well within the music video to go along with some of the rhythmic editing of the final product. One effect I thought we used particularly well within our Music Video was an effect called "Bad TV", used in the first screenshot which I have provided in this entry. The second and third screenshot show how we used different overlaying techniques within the music video.

Evaluation, Question Four - Technologies, YouTube

YouTube was also an important technology to help me within the Research and Planning stages of the production. This media technology has only become popular within the last few years, but the ability for people to embed videos on places such as blogging websites helped me greatly to express ideas and findings found within the Research and Planning section. This mainly involved adding music videos to the blog which was relevant to the research I was undertaking (such as low budget videos and videos from our chosen music genre).

Evaluation, Question Four - How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Throughout the production of the tasks for the Advanced Portfolio, I have come across many media technologies which have helped me to create material and realise my ideas. For example, the use of blogs is an interesting use of media technologies regarding documenting my work. I feel I have been successful in using features of Blogger, such as the ways of uploading images and embedding videos onto the blog from video sharing websites such as YouTube. I feel something I could improve on with my use of blogs is using features such as adding images and video to a greater extent, making more use of the advanced features of the website.

Evaluation, Question Three - Audience Feedback

The feedback we decided to act upon was the idea of the shots not being quick enough for the genre of music we decided to go for. As a result of this, we decided to review the section before the chorus, where the song builds in tempo - I feel it was the right decision to shorten the shots so that it fit the beat. In the final product, this is effective as it follows the Bordwell and Thompson editing theory (a convention of all music videos) but also fits in with the harsh, aggressive nature of our music genre.

Evaluation, Question Three - Audience Feedback

After speaking to some of the group of people we gained feedback from, it was good to hear that the music video met most of their expectations of conventions of the Drum n Bass genre and the medium of the Music Video. For example, I asked one member of the group about expectations of the Drum n Bass genre which they saw within our music video – they commented upon the use of shocking images (such as the drug themes in our final piece), a similar idea and convention used by bands such as The Prodigy, who use some controversial images such as cigarette packets, not for the mainstream audience (as used in the video for Warrior’s Dance, shown as an example in this entry).

Evaluation, Question Three - Audience Feedback

Audience feedback is an important part of the production process. It allows the producer to gather comments regarding their work and allows opportunities for improvement. As part of the advanced production, the comments which I received would allow our group to progress further and develop our music video. We gathered a small group of 17+ year olds (approximately our target audience group) and allowed them to watch the video, giving us feedback. One person we asked for feedback from stated: “I think the link to theories is very good like the cutting on the beat, I think also the use of colour was very good - the only improvement is that I would make some of the shots quicker”. Another person we asked included in their feedback that: “The music video is full of energy and is easy to take in...” One comment that came from someone who watched our music video was that "I think black and white would make it more professional" - from this comment, an improvement that I feel we could make is using more of the black and white effect in the video.

Evaluation, Question Three - What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Gaining peer feedback was very useful. As media producers, it allowed us to think about how to change and alter our music video to make the result a higher standard. From the audience feedback, I feel it would benefit our group to make some of the scenes and shots faster in the final edit, which would emphasise the genre – the fast paced, aggressive nature of drum n bass. It also made us ensure that our work when complete would target the correct people, as opposed to targeting those outside the genre.

Evaluation, Question Two - Link, Warning Sign

Another image which was prominent in my music video was the warning sign in the narrative section. I felt that this was an image which would work well in a design of a DVD album cover. With this in mind, I took a close up image of the warning sign, and added various effects to it such as saturation and an emboss effect, to make the image stand out. The effects to this image also made it look dangerous, a link with the aggressive nature of our genre. The use of effects on the image creates an air of the unknown, something which links into the mysterious and suspicious nature of our music video, another link to the video which I feel is successful.

Evaluation, Question Two - Link, Second Colour Scheme

I also used another colour scheme present in my music video for the inside DVD cover. Whilst this colour scheme was perhaps not as obvious as the red colour, there were elements of the colour black within the music video. This theme was particularly present through some of the shots later in the video. For example, some of the later shots of the lead singer are close up shots of his face in silhouette. I used the idea of the black theme with a streak of light going through as I felt again it connected with the genre of music we used. The colour of black gives a sense of mystery, another link with the music video of unseen activities which perhaps make the audience suspicious in some way.

Evaluation, Question Two - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Within the advanced production of the Music Video, there are a few themes and ideas which I have taken to use in my ancillary tasks of creating marketing material for the new artist. One example of a theme which I have taken directly from the Music Video is the colour scheme for my outside DVD cover and magazine advert – the idea of the red colour is present in some of the performance aspects of the video, taken from the red drum kit and the red lighting present in some places. I feel that this was a striking colour, which fit in well with the genre of music being aggressive, with red usually having connotations of danger and so on. I also used this red idea in my inside DVD cover for the track listing. Against the background, the deep red colour was bold and stood out, prominent for the audience.

Evaluation, Question One - Conventions, Themes of the Genre

Although in our video we follow a narrative, one of the main editing techniques used was the idea of montage editing – following a non chronological timeline in our video. Whilst it is clear there is some sort of narrative, the ideas and themes are usually not in a chronological order. The idea of montage editing is emphasised through our use of effects, creating a sense of unease for the audience, particularly through our use of the Final Cut effect “Bad TV” as seen in the instrumental section, as it could add a sense of mystery for the audience and also links in with the aggressive nature of our drum n’ bass genre.

Evaluation, Question One - Conventions, Montage Editing

Although in our video we follow a narrative, one of the main editing techniques used was the idea of montage editing – following a non chronological timeline in our video. Whilst it is clear there is some sort of narrative, the ideas and themes are usually not in a chronological order. The idea of montage editing is emphasised through our use of effects, creating a sense of unease for the audience, particularly through our use of the Final Cut effect “Bad TV” as seen in the instrumental section, as it could add a sense of mystery for the audience and also links in with the aggressive nature of our drum n’ bass genre.

Evaluation, Question One - Conventions, Live Performance

Particularly within our genre, an emphasis on live performance is important. To include this convention of the music video within our final product, we decided to film a performance segment of the video. This was done using equipment from our school’s music department along with a performance space including various lighting opportunities. In the final product, I feel that the band segments were a big success – we were able to synch the performance of the lead vocalist well with the original track along with getting tempos right with the drummer. This gave the product a professional look, but also emphasised the idea of music videos promoting a band or artist.

Evaluation, Question One - Conventions, Close Ups

The way the band is presented in a music video is very important. People who watch the music video and the target audience of the artist want to aspire to the people in the video – therefore, bands need to be represented in either a sexually attractive way or in a way that will inspire their audiences to be like them. One method of achieving this is using close ups of band members, a convention used in many music videos. In our final product, we have used this technique effectively, particularly in using close up shots of our lead singer. The lighting in these shots also helps, giving the lead singer a type of attitude and dark nature similar to that of our genre, something which our target audience would aspire to. It also links to Vernallis' theory of the "moment of pleasure", seeing the artist on screen so that people would perhaps feel sexually attracted to the band, as opposed to just liking the music.

Evaluation, Question One - Conventions, Cinematography

Another convention which we used very well within our final product of the music video is use of a variety of shots and cinematography. This keeps the music video interesting for the audience whilst making it exciting within the context of a music video. There are many examples of various shots we used; one of them I was particularly proud of was the shot in the narrative section moving through the branches, where the branches hide the action of the scene, making it very mysterious and creating a sense of the unknown. Other shots I was pleased with include some shots of the band segment which we filmed using the fig rig, where we were able to get effective close ups and flowing shots, giving the video more movement. The examples I have uploaded (one the completed music video and the other the live footage of the original band Pendulum). From these comparisons, it is clear that during the band segments of my music video has varied cinematography - the fig rig allowed us to create interesting shots of band members (such as the shots found of the guitarist and drummer in the performance segment of the video) and these were similar to some shots found of band members in the live Tarantula video.

Evaluation, Question One - Conventions, Godwin's Theories

We also used another media theory to help create a professional, effective music video. This was Andrew Godwin’s theory of amplification of the lyrics, meaning we were able to give the lyrics present in the video a new meaning. Whilst analysing the lyrics, we felt the lyric “inject me with bacteria” could be considered as almost a drug induced line. This analysis of the lyrics gave us the main theme of our music video, slightly controversial though fitting in with our gathered, “amplified” meaning of the lyrics.

Evaluation, Question One - Conventions, Bordwell & Thompson

One of the ways in which my main product follows conventions of music videos is by following one of Bordwell and Thompson’s editing theories – Rhythmic theories. This determines the duration of each shot, and has more of a link and impact with the music if the shots are edited as such so they change on the beat. I feel that there many example of when we have used this editing theory to a successful effect, for example, the point towards the middle of the song, before a chorus where the song builds with a strong bass drum beat. This accentuates the tempo of the song and also gives across the fast paced nature of the song as well as the fast aggressive nature of the genre.

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

Music videos are created mainly as a promotional tool to advertise new songs from artists ranging from different genres, bands and demographics. They appeal to everyone in different ways through means of different cinematography techniques, differing effects and differing editing techniques. Music videos appeal to all – they are usually the first airing of songs and albums for new and upcoming artists. I feel my music video is successful in advertising a new artist. It follows conventions such as cutting on the beat, close ups of the artists and a slight narrative within the video.