4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

We used a selection of new media technologies in the planning and research process, in the creation of are media products and the subsequent evaluation stages.
Planning/research
In order to gain an understanding of the 'indie' genre we would be representing and the conventions of existing media products, we used a variety of video hosting websites, including Muzu, Youtube and Yahoo Music. This meant that we had instant access to existing videos, and were able to specifically search for videos from the indie genre. One of the advantages of using Muzu was that we were able to search for specific artists and study several of their videos, by browsing their 'channels.' Since we would be using an established band on a record label, we had the advantage of being able to access a library of their existing videos. Before the existence of such websites, we would have had to rely on music channels, which would have wasted a large amount of time and meant that we were not able to watch them multiple times in a sitting, pause or rewind- unless we had recorded it from the television. In addition, videos of the indie genre are aimed at an alternative audience, so are not often featured on the main music channels such as MTV, with the exception of some chart-topping 'indie pop' bands such as Kings of Leon. This would mean we would probably have have had to rely on the NME channel, making it very unlikely that the videos we wanted to see would come on.


We were able to ask the band's permission to use our chosen track through a message sent to their Youtube channel. Without this platform, we would have had to write to the band, which would have been impractical and taken a lot longer to get a response.


We also used new media technology for deciding on which song to use for our music video from our band's album "Wall of Arms", as they had given copyright permission for us to use any song from it. We used the downloaded free music programme Spotify listen to the whole album without having to make a purchase. Before the advent of this programme and similar music sharing sites such as Last Fm, we would have had to pay to download possible tracks or had to buy a physical copy.


Another advantage of using the interactive video website Youtube was that we were able to view comments from the target audience on existing videos, which gave us a greater understanding of their expectations. The 'star' rating and number of views also indicated which of the videos we were looking at were most popular and liked by the audience.

We also used 3G phones during the planning process, as this enabled us to transfer the our chosen track which we had downloaded between the members of our group, via the bluetooth feature on our MP3 phones. This meant that we did not have to 'rip' the track from the album or download it individually.

New media technologies were also a key part of the analysis process in relation to our ancillary texts. When researching into digipaks of the indie genre. Spotify allowed us to view the album artwork for the existing Maccabees albums for free, and the 'artist radio' feature meant that we could view a variety of album artwork from similar indie artists, in order to gain a greater understanding of the conventions of the genre. This would previously have involved purchasing or borrow the albums in order to see the artwork, so we saved a lot of time thanks to this programme.We were also able to widen our understanding of the target audience by browsing the website of the indie music magazine 'NME' and 'Uncut' as these are 'alternative' magazines that have the same target audience as our products, so would be a suitable outlet for our advert. It also allowed us to see which artists are currently popular, without having to survey people or purchase the physical format of the magazine.

Construction
We used blogging to organise all of our work and upload files. The 'follow' feature allowed us to share information such as initial ideas for the video and possible photographs for the magazine advert and digipak between our group easily, which saved us having to email them to each other or using a USB stick/CD to transfer them between computers. Another advantage of blogging is that it meant that we could work on our coursework from any computer, at home or at school. This was much easier than having multiple word documents or powerpoint presentations. We also used Fronter for transferring files between computers, as it is a website it was also easily accessible from any computer.

We used Youtube to upload our animatic and video production, which meant that we were able to 'embed' them onto our blogs without using a DVD. This also made it easy for us to share the videos between our group, which were uploaded on one of our Youtube accounts, without us having to add them individually.We were able to transfer the music track for our video onto the computer we would be using to edit using the bluetooth function from one of our MP3 phones. This meant that we did not have to use a memory stick to transfer it.

Our video was recorded using an high definition camera onto an SD card at 720p quality. This meant that the resulting quality was much higher than our previous projects, which was recorded onto a DV tape. Using Imovie HD  meant that we were able to keep the high quality, although when we finally uploaded our video to youtube the quality was greatly reduced and pixelated, as we had compressed it when exporting it from Imovie. This meant that we had to upload it again at full quality, and thanks to the HQ setting on Youtube our video looked much better quality after this.

To create our magazine advert we used an online editing programme called Picnik and Abode Photoshop. This allowed us to layer images and create the 'polaroid' photos seen on the poster, without having to take actual polaroid photographs, as they are fast becoming a redundant format so the camera may have been difficult to get hold of. We used a programme called Paint Shop Pro 9 to create the digipak, which had a 'clone' function that allowed us to stitch images together to make the front cover look like a panoramic photo.

Evaluation
By uploading our video onto the interactive websites Facebook and Youtube, we were able to gain feedback from a wider global audience, rather than our peers and family members, as we had previously done at AS level. We had comments from a variety users around the world, and many gave more insightful and unbiased feedback than when we have done audience surveys in the past, as they had chosen to comment rather than doing it as a favour to us.

We again use the embed feauture on Blogger  at the evaluation stage, in order to share feedback interviews we had each taken between the group.

3. What have you learnt from audience feedback?

 I have answered this question in the form of a podcast:

2.How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

 I have answered this question in the form of a podcast

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

Video
Our video is for The Maccabees song “One Hand Holding.” They are a band which is most closely associated with the ‘indie’ genre, so we studied a range of existing videos from this genre in order to gain a greater understanding of the conventions.
We discovered that videos of the indie genre are typically performance based, focussing on the band playing their instruments in order to promote their music and image, as live performance is a key feature of the genre. (See below)









The Frightened Rabbit video for “Swim Until you Can’t See Land”





The Kings of Leon video for “Sex on Fire”



We subverted this common convention of indie genre by choosing to create an entirely narrative video rather than one revolving around life performance. This is a technique sometimes used in indie videos, which are like short films in their own right rather than simply a live performance of the song. This makes it more interesting and unpredictable for audiences, and fits with the ‘alternative’ philosophy of indie.

Our research also showed that many current indie videos contain elements of surrealism/fantasy, demonstrated by these shots taken from the Cage the Elephant video for “Back Against the Wall.”

These wacky characters are often integrated into everyday situations which are recognisable to the audience in order to catch their attention, create humour and make the artist appear unconventional. In the video for “Coffee and TV” by Blur, (see below) mundane objects- with the main character as a milk carton- are bought to life and given a personalities through animation. In the screenshot below the silliness of a carton of milk dancing is enhanced by the realism of the mise-en-scene.

 This quirky, immature sense of humour is something unique to the indie genre, as the usually fast-paced nature of the music is like an expression of youthful energy, accompanied by roguish band members who unkempt style presents a rejection the expectations of society. The use of bizarre fantasy characters in absurd situations and parody are distinctive to the indie genre. This is uncommon in videos of other genres such RnB, which often focuses on the image of the artist, promoting them as a serious musician and following more conventional storylines such as a difficult break-up, reflecting the emotional tone of the music. Indie videos are usually related to post-modernism, with disorderly rather than linear narratives and subverting audience expectations. Hence, we created a post-modern video, with a fragmented narrative, by including short shots of the girl cutting out pictures to interrupt the development of the relationship between the boy and girl.

We also followed the convention of many indie videos by including elements of the abstract and creating parody. However, unlike the aforementioned video for “Back Against the Wall” and many similar indie videos, we did not want the video to be set in an alternate reality involving strange characters and bright colours. Our limited access to technology and experience with animation meant that it was not a viable option for creating the abstract element of our video.

Budget constraints prevented us from hiring the strange costumes often used in indie videos, such as the gnomes used in “Back Against the Wall.”  The fact that we had received copyright permission from established indie band “The Maccabees” to use our track meant that we could not use performance of the band in the video. Thus, we decided to make our video entirely narrative-based, a technique sometimes used in indie videos, which are like small pieces of film in their own right rather than simply a performance of the song.


The advantage of using an established artist rather than an unknown band means that their image is not essential to show, as it is already widely known what they look like. Had we been promoting the debut of a completely unknown artist, performance would have been a key element to include in the video, as it would introduce the band to the audience and make them recognisable.

We used a similar technique to “Coffee and TV” video, by including an abstract element to an everyday situation which would be recognisable to our target audience. We parodied the generic “boy-meets-girl” love story which audiences will be familiar with, by creating an absurd love triangle involving a child’s doll as the third party. This meant that the audience would have to watch more closely to identify the abstract factor of the doll, and explains why some people we interviewed for feedback said that they did not fully understand the narrative until the boy in the video realises.

 

This is typical of the indie genre, as the rebellion against convention is expected and enjoyed by the ‘alternative’ target audience.  A similar concept is used in the Mystery Jets video “Half in love with Elizabeth”, in which the man in a relationship is obsessed with someone who is not his girlfriend- the Queen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The use of multiple shots of short duration and increasing cutting rhythm as the narrative develops is in some ways generic of indie, as most indie videos have a fast cutting rhythm. However, in the performance-based indie videos, the cutting rhythm relates more directly with the rhythm of the song, with the cuts fastest during the chorus and slower in the verses. 

 

Ancillary texts

From our research of indie digipaks, we had discovered that they often use images of unspectacular urban settings, with muted colours which highlight the often brighter text or motif. This is shown by this Arctic Monkeys album:

We have followed the conventions of the genre more closely in both ancillary products rather than the video, in order to appeal to our target audience. Music videos allow the artist more room for creative expression, as they are promoting a single rather than the whole album, so often differ greatly or are sometimes completely abstract narratives. The use of a panoramic image across 3 panels for the outside of the digipak is also a typical feature of digipaks, which encourages the audience to open them to view the full image. Our use of plain, sans serif font is also typical of the indie genre.

Our magazine advert is also similar to many existing adverts for indie albums, as it uses a post-modern image which will have artistic appeal to the target audience.

 

Digipak Analysis

Digipak Analysis front cover

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Digipak analysis inside

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Completed Digipak

 Note: Click images below to see full size

After initially intending to do a 4-sided digipak, we later decided to attempt the more challenging 6 panel format.

Outside

Inside

Magazine advert- final

This is the finished version of our magazine advert. We have changed the poster in the background in order to make it look less cluttered and more bold. The image of a 'poster within a poster' and the inclusion of the image of the girl walking on the inner 'poster' creates a postmodern effect and creates unconventional indie appeal. This concept has been used in many post-modern pieces of art, such as these works by surrealist artist René Magritte- that show a "painting within a painting."

The intention of the artist's work was to challenge the expectations of reality and force viewers to become sensitive to their surroundings. The intention of the poster is similar- to catch the attention of the audience but also to create a layered effect which challenged the expectations. This is similar to our video, in which 'all is not what it seems' between the boy and the girl, as at first glance they appear to be a normal couple, but as the video goes on it becomes apparent that there is a more sinister nature.

The use of a wall in the background links to the album title- "Wall of Arms."  The images of the band used on the poster were taken by a member of our media group at a Maccabees concert, and this is the only time that the band appear in our 3 products. The use of images from a performance reflects the importance of live gigs in the indie genre. Although we use a screengrab of the doll on the poster, we did not want to make it too prominent, as the advert is for the album rather than just the single.

Intertexuality is created by the use of the same font as the digipak. This relates the products to each other, making them more noticable to target audiences once they have seen one of them. The red font also links to the red motif of the music video and the image of the doll included on the poster is taken directly from the video, so that if the audience have seen it their attention may be drawn to the advert.

We have included the record labels in the advert, as the music industry demands that they feature. However, their position in the bottom corner suggests that they are not a key focus of the advert, which is typical of the indie genre.

The strapline showing the most popular singles on the album will attract the target audience, as they may have heard one of the singles on the radio or seen the music video for One Hand Holding. This means that people who are less familiar with the band but have liked the singles may be tempted to buy the digipak in order to hear the rest of the album

The action line of the website at the bottom of the advert entices modern audiences to seek out the additional information available

Magazine Advert- First + Second Draft

This is the initial mock-up of our magazine advert. We are pleased with the layout but want to change the 'poster' which appears on the wall behind the girl in the image. This is because we feel it looks too cluttered, as it was based on our initial idea of having objects relating to the girl in the music video on a table. We also need to add the record labels and artist website, as these are essential features of any magazine advert for an album release.

Digipak

Initial idea for back of digipak:

 We originally intended  use the image of the doll against the wall as the front cover of the digipak, with the girl on the back next to a "poster" displaying song titles.

We later decided that a panoramic image for our 4-sided digipak using a feature on a digital camera we had would be more effective. However, we found that this would make the height of the image too narrow, leaving a black space above and below it. We instead created a panoramic effect using images which we spliced together in an editing programme and airbrushed to create a single image. This will be the front and back, once we have added the album title and track list

Below is the inside of the digipak/CD tray
1. Without text  2. With "Pretext" font 3. With "Hand of Sean" Font

We originally intended to have the lyrics of each track written on the red section in handwriting-style font, but found that the inclusion of a single verse from the title track looked more visually appealing. One 3. We have kept a handwriting-style font, yet it looks somehow unprofessional compared to 2.

Possible photos for digipak

Here are the possible photos which we will be use for the digipak. We have followed a typical convention of the indie genre by using a familiar, unspectacular urban setting rather than a studio photoshoot. The use of the doll and the girl form the video will create intertexuality between all 3 products.

Digipak Analysis

Though the compact disc revolutionised the music industry when it was first introduced at the end of the 1970s, in the modern digital age it is fast becoming an obselete format. Since the removal of the CD 'single', the charts are now created from MP3 download sales, from websites such as napster or from itunes. In addition, websites such as youtube and lastfm have made it easy than ever to listen to an artist and watch live footage without having to commit to a purchase. The arrival of Spotify has also furthered this, as users are able to create playlists and listen to multiple albums from the same artists, without having to pay for any of it. Rather than playing music through a record player or CDs in a jukebox, music is now typically consumed through portable ipods and mp3 phones, using headphones and portable speakers.

However, there is still pleasure for audiences in having something tangible, a piece of artwork which can be enjoyed and treasured, connecting audiences with the artist. This also means that the 'album' CD format is now more important than it has ever been, as this is the only opportunity for audiences to have a 'hard copy' of a piece of music created by the artist. More loyal followers of particular bands are more likely to purchase a hard copy of a band's album over download, as it requires them to purchase the album in its entireity rather than simply downloading singles they have perhaps heard on the radio from it, as modern audiences often tend to do rather than purchasing the whole album.

The CD album has recently evolved in order to adapt to changes in the industry, hence the creation of the 'digipak' format. This is a more versatile format, allowing more variation and creative expression than the traditional plastic 'jewel case' format, as the albums vary from the more conventional 4 panel, to up to 6 or 8 panels, usually with an accompanying booklet. They often contain additional content such as bonus tracks and accompanying DVD, to encourage audiences to purchase them rather than download the single.

One of the main advantages of the 'digipak' is that it allows the audience to become more familiar with the artist on a personal level.

This suggests a return to the prestige of the much-loved vinyl format, where album artwork was considered as an integral part of the album. During the 1960s and 1970s, there were many iconic album covers created which still exist as merchandise: retro posters, teeshirts, art prints etc.

For instance, here is the front image of the 1979 album "London Calling" by The Clash, and below a retro teeshirt and collectable tin with the the album cover on. This shows the significance of iconic album artwork, as it is the image still connects the audience to the band and survives as merchandise some 30 years after it was originally released.

Digipak Research

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Initial ideas for magazine advert/digipak

In our initial planning of the magazine advert, we contemplated making a image which was composed from different boy parts of the boy and doll (e.g. the doll's face and the boy's body)  to make a mis-matched person which would challenge convention and attract the attention of the target audience. Another idea that we had was to make the image look like objects on a kitchen table, which linked to the video e.g. the doll and the purse which she picks up in the opening scene of the video. However, we thought that we should make the advert less strongly linked with the video, as we were advertising the album as a whole rather than just the single. We decided that we would link the advert to the album title, "Wall of Arms" by using a wall as the main backdrop for the image.

The image above also shows some initial digipak designs (on the left-hand side) for a 4-panel design. We intended to link the digipak to the initial advert design by continuing the idea of mis-match by using an image of a face, created by using parts of the girl, boy and doll's face. We thought that if the digipak had slits, we could have flaps that lift up like a children's book, revealing different combinations of parts of their faces underneath. However, we decided that this would be too complicated and the industry would probably not produce such a complicated and therefore expensive format.

Here is the revised design for the digipak, as we have now decided that a 6-panel format would allow us to include more images and therefore increase the appeal to the target audience. We will link the album title to the design by using a brick wall. We will use the red motif to link to the magazine advert and the video. There will be a scrap-book effect on the inside cover, using screengrabs from the video, which will appear to be stuck down by sellotape. Handwriting-style font will be used for the lyrics on the inside cover and the tracklist on the back

Magazine Advert- Planning and Research

Magazine Advert Analysis

The following adverts are taken from "Uncut" Magazine

This advert is promoting an album and DVD release by indie folk band "Noah and the Whale." I chose to use this advert for research as it is of a similar genre to the indie rock band we are promoting, and therefore has a similar target audience.

The title of the album "The First Days of Spring" has associations with youth, new opportunity and the outdoors- a themes which comes across strongly in the rest of the advert. It also suggests the end of the hardships of winter and promise of brighter prospects.

Typography
-The use of serif font for the album title is reminiscent of school-girl handwriting, such as in a journal or diary. This suggests happy memories and the idealism of youth and has associations with being a daydreamer
-The use of italics also has romantic undertones, such as in a love letter. This is fitting with the album, as relationships are a key theme.

Colour
-The muted colours of the poster are typical of the indie genre, as the bands are often styled in a retro way, with the promotional material reflecting this image
- The use of the pale blue image of the sky as the main background connotes tranquility. This fits with the often slow-tempo music on the album

-Light blue also has associations with idealism and freshness which fits with the theme of youthful optimism, innocence and new beginnings. This fits with the title track of the album, which includes the lyrics "It's the first day of spring
And my life is starting over again."

-The pale blue also links to the song title "Blue Skies" on the album

Image
-The soft focus on three of the band members suggests past memories and fits with the idea of tranquility which is portrayed in the advert. The light on their faces and the fact they are facing upwards connotes optimism and redemption- which fits with the idea of spring representing a new beginning

-The tall grass in the foreground has associations of life, nature and freedom- again reinforcing the meaning of the album title.

-The image appears to be slightly sepia tone, which is associated with childhood memories and old photo graphs

-The band member in the foreground is pointing an old-fashioned camera , which connotes happy memories. It is pointed at the audience, which involves them as young people and causes them to consider their own memories

Use of reviewer's comments/ratings 
-The inclusion of four-star ratings from reviewers suggests to the audience that they are buying  high-quality album which comes recommended by others
-The quotes are taken from respected music magazines such as "Q", which gives them credibility

-The reviews used describe the album as "beautiful" and "magical", which fit with the theme of the wonderment of youth and the associations with natural beauty and tranquility which are conveyed through the advert
 -----------------------------------------------

This is an advert promoting the indie singer/songwriter "Jamie. T" and his release of his "Chaka Demus" EP.

The amateur look of the image demonstrated by the torn edge and simple use of colour express the artist's humble South London roots. The advert is for an EP rather than an album, and also shows that it will be available on 12". This fits with the idea that the artist is going "back to basics", to provide the audience with raw music which has not been expensively produced. This indicates that he is trying to be taken seriously as an indie artist who the audience can relate to, and also reflects the premise behind the indie genre. The 'torn' edges also reflect the artist's rebellious persona (shown by the photo below of him with a can of cheap lager on the red carpet of the Brit Awards) which is typical of indie artists, as they are often presented as rejecting convention.

Typography
The artist's name and the title of the EP are in unassuming sans serif font, which expresses the "no frills" image the artist is trying to convey. The use of red font also draws attention to the advert, as red is often used to highlight key information, so will be noticeable to audiences.

Colour
The black and white effect of the image gives it a retro feel and the circular shape resembles a record. This fits with the "back to basics" values of the artist and the traditional philosophy of the indie genre.

Image
The artist is looking down from what appears to stairs, which expresses his urban roots and reflects his choice of song subjects- about "real" young people growing up in the city. The effect is that the target audience are able to relate to the artist. The use of a low-angle shot, where he is looking down at the audience is in an ironic way, as the artist has a down-to-earth image.

Audience Feedback

We interviewed a range of young people, (the primary target audience for the indie genre) both male and female, in order to obtain feedback about our video production.

Teacher feedback

Teacher Feedback

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We will add titles to our video in response to this feedback

Peer feedback

We posted our video on youtube and popular social networking site facebook, as well as asking for feedback from other students in class. This allowed us to gain feedback from a wider global audience, rather than simply our family and friends.


Comments from youtube:


This comment suggests that people liked our choice of narrative, and found it amusing. This was also commented on by the user below.

However, this person has pointed out that there were some continuity mistakes in our production. The comment about shaky shots is probably a reference to the scene of the boy's realisation, where we purposefully used hand-held camera in order to create a sense of chaos to reflect his state of mind as he struggles to take in the situation.



This suggests that our use of fast cutting rhythm and handheld camera before the ending was effective in creating tension

0:18


This individual thought that this shot was effective. We chose this angle because it included our red motif and it has a voyeuristic quality to it, as it gives the impression of someone being watched without realising it. This fits with the sinister side to the video, as the boy is being manipulated without realising, and the audience is made complicit in her plan

2:01


They also liked this shot. This over-the-shoulder shot from the doll's point of view, which we used in connection with a corresponding shot from the boy's point of view, in order to link the them together 


Comments from facebook:

Summary
Generally, we were praised for our editing and cutting rhythm. However, we learned from our feedback that some people found the narrative hard to understand initially, we suggests that our motif may not have come across as clearly as intended.

Video production

This is the original version we uploaded to youtube



However, we had compressed it for website quality, which meant that our motif and narrative were not as clear as they had been during editing. We have now re-exported it from imovie at full quality and uploaded it again to youtube



We learned from our teacher feedback that we needed titles at the beginning and end of the video. We had not included them, as our research was based on music videos online, which often do not have titles in the video itself as they are instead written above. Nevertheless, we have added titles on for this version:

Applying Goodwin's Theory to our music video

Applying Goodwin’s Theory To Our Video

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My Video Analysis

Video Analysis

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Photos to use as props

We have taken a series of photos of Jo and the doll on a 3G phone, which we have printed out and stuck on the wall of her room (where we will be filiming the scene of the boy's realisation and the flashbacks.)

We have also printed out a photo of the band and coloured in the lead singer's tshirt- to fit with the red motif of the video. As they are a famous band, we cannot use them in the video, but we have still included them in this way.

Mise-en-scene Analysis

Motifs
The colour red is a key motif in our video, so we subtly included this throughout. The doll's t-shirt enforces the meaning of the video, as it later matches the colour of the boy's t-shirt. Red can often signify danger, which tells the audience that the boy is in danger when he is being given it and later when wearing it.

As the main motif of our video, the doll will be positioned in the background in many of the shots. Although the audience may not notice this it first, it will become apparent through the boy's flashbacks near the end, as he realises that the doll has been there the whole time

Costume
We have decided to dress the girl in animal print in the opening of the video to subtly indicate her predatory nature, despite the fact that when the audience is first introduced to her she appears to be innocent

Lighting
We plan to use high key lighting for the opening sequence when the girl is getting ready to go out and walking along the road. We will use natural sunlight in the park when the boy and girl meet and in the subsequent shots of the development of their relationship (i.e. feeding the ducks, having a picnic). The high-key lighting will reflect the perfect facade of their relationship, which appears at first to be a generic "boy meets girl" narrative. In the short shots in between which show the girl cutting out photos of her and the doll, wrapping up a red teeshirt etc, we will use low-key artificial lighting to indicate the sinister undertones of the narrative. In addition, the scene near the end where the boy enters the girl's room will be lit using incandescent lighting, which will have the effect of enhancing the colour red- a key motif of our video which signifies danger.