Question 4;

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



This is a director's commentary about the technologies we used in creating and editing our films and also in working on the blog. It includes working with Final Cut Pro, Photoshop and the Internet to enhance our blog.

Question 3;

Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Justine Lord-Female, 18 years old.

What did you think of the music video overall?

The performance aspects of it is good which I like. The music video is good because it uses different locations, the building looks effective with the girls in the building.

How was the editing?

It cuts to the beat which is good and effective.

How does it compare or differ from the real world?

The genre of the music suits the performance in the video as it's drum and base and most drum and base videos have disjuncture and not a narrative or performance type video.

Any improvements?

Overall, I think it does not need any improvements.


Kyle McPherson-Male, 17 years old.

What did you think of the music video overall?

It's weird and unsual with the two characters running around the house.

How was the editing?

The editing was fast which cut to the beat.

How does it compare or differ from the real world?

It’s weird just like other drum and base music videos.

Any improvements?

It could have been improved by having different locations to show more weirdness of the characters.

Nicole Hamilton-Female, 17 years old.

What did you think of the music video overall?

Really good, I like the fast pace of the music video and the idea.

How was the editing?

It was really good editing. The effects are really effective and work on this music video.

How does it compare or differ from the real world?

I can see it on an actual music channel like Kerrang because it’s really good and looks like a professional video.

Any improvements?

One improvement could be that the car park should have not been visible in the background but overall it’s good.

This audience feedback shows us that we created a good product which would be representative of the real world media music videos. We used the correct type of production (disjuncture) for the song, and the comments we recieved reflect and support this. Our choice to use two locations also went down well, however some feedback suggested that we could have used more than two. If we had time to change this, we could go and explore other locations and get ideas for them but since we do not have enough time to do this we could not change it. The two locations seemed to work effectively enough, and help to reflect the different personalities of the characters. Another thing that has been praised is the editing. We worked tirelessley to make the shots cut to the beat, and make them look effective and professional, and therefore it has paid off by generating praise from people watching the video. The effects were also enjoyed by the viewers, and provided more positive comments for us and praise for the video. The comment we liked the best was by Nicole: "I can see it on an actual music channel like Kerrang because it’s really good and looks like a professional video." Our goal was to make the video look as professional and high quality as possible, in order to help compare it to real world media music videos. This comment shows that we have managed to produce this, and therefore our hard work has paid off.

Nicole's comment about the car park was something we had already picked up on-we were unhappy that this was in the shot, and tried to use shots where it was not included. The problem with this is that in order to see the faces of the characters when stood in the woods, the background had to include the car park. Therefore, there was not much we could do about this if we wanted to include the characters faces and have them standing in the specific position that we wanted them in (on top of the small hill, just before the entrance to the woods. The reason we had them standing here was it was metaphorically reflective of the characters changing personalities: the entrance to the woods was the entrance to their other personalities). If we had have had more time to film, we may possibly have found a better place to film the characters changing; however in the time that we had we thought that position was alright.

In light of this feedback, we haven't changed anything with the film. It seems to live up to expectations and is reflective of a real world media music video, which is what we were aiming to achieve. Constructive criticism contains changes that cannot be made as they are involved in the filming which we do not have any time left to change. If we had time, we would change this in order to make our film better and appeal better to our audiences.

Question 2;

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

The video involves two main characters, both girls, changing personalities from playing nicely to playing strangely and 'hurting' toys. The video is dark and gloomy, and has a strange and sinister vibe running all the way through it, enhanced by the effects on the video. We wanted to encorporate the ideas of a strange personality into the design for our CD and magazine cover, and the best idea we came up with was to use one of the girls that was in the video in our CD and magazine cover. We wanted to use just the eyes on the front and back of the CD cover; therefore we chose Erin because of the colour of her eyes (blue) and the make-up she wears-the blue eyes surrounded by eyeliner and pale skin stood out and looked effectively sinister when zoomed in. Also, we wanted to play on the idea that the 'eyes are the gateway to the soul'. For something to control these two girls, it would have to get in through the eyes and this was reflected in our CD cover. Therefore, we used just one eye on the front cover and zoomed in really close, and enhanced the contrast on the eye so the blue became piercing and electric. The writing we used was simple and plain and bold; it stands out against the eye and is easy to read. This CD cover appeals to our target audience as it is a young girl on the cover which they can relate to; as well as the blue of the eye is something many young girls strive to achieve with coloured contact lenses-the majority of these girls will listen to Pendulum, therefore it links back.
For our magazine cover, we had two ideas of which we were not sure which one we should use. One is a still taken from the video itself, therefore it has a direct link to the video and helps to sell it as it gives consumers an idea of the video that portrays the song. The other is in the same style as the CD cover, focused on Erin and the blue eye that is included in all four CD covers. Since we could not decide which one to use, we decided to put it to the classmates (who are in our target audience) to get feedback on which one they liked best. After 6 votes that were split down the middle (three for the masks and three for the eye), so we decided to go with the eye design, as it links directly to the CD cover and therefore if people see the magazine advert and decide to go out and buy the single, they will have a similar idea of what to look for when trying to find it. It also helps to keep the continuity between music video, CD cover and magazine, and ties them all together with one link-the eye.


This is the Magazine cover that we changed our minds to and decided to use. As you can see the text is the same font as we used in the CD cover, and the blue of the eye has been kept whilst everything else has been changed into black and white. This helps to make the eye stand out, and create an appealing but sinister effect, which reflects the video and the CD cover.
This is the Magazine cover that we decided not to go with. The masks are taken straight from the video, and in this way it links into the video. However, it does not have any links with the CD cover and could make the consumer confused about the song and what it is about. Therefore we decided to go with the more eye catching and continuous magazine cover.

This is the CD cover. The blue eye is well defined with the black make-up around it, and is relavent to the song especially since a line in the song is 'they are watching'. It also relates to the video in terms of the two girls becoming possessed and their eyes are covered by the masks.

The CD covers and Magazine advert are very effective as they both provide continuity to each other, and the magazine cover provides the best help in aiding consumers when buying the product, as they will have an idea of what to look for when searching through the CD racks in a high street shop. They relate to each other and to the video, and also appeal to the target audience as they can relate to the young adult on the cover. The images are appealing to the eye but also create a sinister effect which is reflective of the video, therefore providing an overall effect where they all play a part in helping to sell the product.

Question 1;

Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Music videos can be put into three categories; Narrative, Performance and Arthouse Abstract (disjuncture). We decided to go with Arthouse Abstract as we thought it would look best with the song that we chose (Granite by Pendulum). This song is in the genre of drum-and-bass and most drum and bass videos have disjuncture or performance videos, therefore we wanted our video to look as professional and similar to popular produced videos that are played on music channels such as MTV and VIVA. To do this, we had to put as much time and effort into the production as we could.

As we decided that we wanted a more disjuncture aspect to our music video we decided that we was going to reference some of the edits out of the Prodigy by the omen this was because when we was looking at this song, we liked the way he used the flashing light effect especially at the start of the video when the have the some on the girl, this is where the flashing light effect comes from in our music video.

We used a variety of equipment and conventions that would be used in the real industry. Although our camera was not particularly expensive or professional like the ones used in the real music industry, it was still advanced and did the main job it was needed for. To give our scenes a professional appearance we mounted our camera on a tripod so that we could change the height, angle and position of. This helped to keep the camera still when we needed it; however at some points in our video we did take it off the tripod and use hand-held shots to give the scenes a 'jerky' atmosphere. Thanks to the tripod our scenes looked of a high quality which could be compared to the real-world videos.

We had to make do with natural lighting; we didn't have enough money or people to transport lights to help illuminate the scenes or create shadows, therefore we used the natural lighting. Although a light may have helped to make the scenes look more professional, the natural lighting did the job well enough.

When we were filming we tried to keep the shots as consistent as possible, wearing the same outfits each time we were filming and trying to film in the same weather. This added consistency to our video and helped it to look professional as things weren't changing that shouldn't e.g. make-up, hair, costumes etc.

We used Final Cut Pro to edit our music video. This software enabled us to edit our video to a high standard, adding effects and distorting video clips to make the whole product look as professional as possible. We used the 'blade tool' to cut longer clips into shorter ones and help the scenes to flow consistently into one another. We used a lot of jump-cuts in our video and using the 'blade tool' helped us to cut small bits out of the scene to achieve these cuts and make the scenes 'jump'. We also used a video filter (bad film) to make the film look as though it had been filmed in the olden days; the juxtaposition of the bad film and modern day settings helped to add to the strange, uncomfortable vibe that we were aiming for in the video. The visual quality of our video looked impressive when using this 'bad film', and almost looks as though it could've been produced professionally.

We've challenged the forms and conventions of real media products by attempting to produce a high standard and high quality music video that could be compared to real media products, while using only the college equipment we had to hand and by working without a budget. Most music videos would have been produced with a high budget behind them, allowing them to use fancy sets, props, costumes and equipment that we did not have access to. We did have access to a green screen however, but this was the only thing that could have been compared to working with a budget. We couldn't afford to hire cast, or make a big performance video with a stage and a band.

Although we only had the college equipment to work with, I do think we have produced a high quality video that could have a chance to compete with the high standard of the real media music videos.

Research;

Most of our research is from the Youtube and the Internet. This is because they give useful and helpful information for us to use but also to take information from. The Internet isn't as reliable because some of the information can be faked or edited by other users for example Wikipedia. YouTube was useful because it allowed us to view videos that are related to our video for example, The Prodigy which was our intial idea to cover a music video. This is allowed us in lesson to watch the Prodigy videos quickly and get ideas. The internet, such as google helped us to find information about Pendulum, go to their website and find out more about them and their type of genre. We used the google to find out information about the Drum and Base genre.

http://www.djdownload.com/browse-music/drum-n-bass/11
This helped us find out information about drum and base and other related bands to Pendulum.

http://www.youtube.com
YouTube was helpful because we could watch videos as soon as we needed to see Pbedulum's original music video.

http://www.muzu.tv/gb?locale=en
MUZU is another video source which helps us watch videos when YouTube was not working.

http://www.pendulum.com/
This is Pendulum's official website which has lot of information on their tours, photos, albums, about the band etc. We used this to research their album covers.

http://www.wikipedia.org/
We have used Wikipedia although it is not a reliable source, we have looked at the information and then researched the information into detail to see whether it's true. This was particularly useful when we were researching Escape the fate's album cover and about their history.

To research the locations, we have one member in the group who lives in Chorlton which was helpful as she lives close to the abandonned building which we used for the video.

Finished CD Cover and Magazine

This is one of our final finished magazine covers. The shot we used is actually a still taken from the film of the masks on the floor. We edited it so that the masks and dolls were in colour but the leafy floor was in black and white. This gives the image a strange effect and puts emphasis on the toys.
Pendulum is written in the same font as when it was written on the CD cover; we wanted to keep this consistent so that people know what to look for when they are looking for the band's merchandise. This time, we have put a yellow glowing effect around the name, to make it look as if it has it's own light source. This helps it to stand out against the black and white background.
The rest of the text is in the same font, to keep it continuous and make sure there is not too many changes on the page that would make it look cluttered and uneasy on the eyes.
We have put the release date in a large font to make it stand out, and made the glowing colour the same colour as the text, so it looks like the text itself is glowing. Apart from the band name and single name, this is most important as it is what the advertisement is trying to sell. Again, we have put the bands website on the bottom of the page to give people who want to find out more about the band a way to do so.


This is our second Magazine cover. The girl in it is the girl that has been used in the CD covers and also in the video. This creates links to both the CD cover and the video, and helps to keep a continuity going across the different medias. The text is also the same so that it keeps the style the same and it would be easier to recognise when seen in a shop. The image is also eye-catching so that the consumers eye would be drawn to it in a shop.




CD Cover
This is the finished back cover.
Pendulum is written again in large font, with the blue glow around the edge to make it look almost like the blue of the eyes is reflecting off it. The track list only has a few songs because this is a single, not a full album.
The track list has an embossed effect on it which we darkened to make it stand out and sized it so that it just finishes above the eye so that nothing is intruding over the most important parts of the image. We put the band's website at the bottom so that if people want more information they can go to it. The last thing we put is the barcode, to make it look as realistic as possible.


This will go on the inside right hand side, where the cd will go. The image is plain because it will be underneath the plastic cd holder and therefore anything written on it will be hard for the consumer to read. Therefore we have left the image as it is, simple and plain to provide a background for the cd but to also link it in with the rest of the cd cover, and also the video.



This is the inside left cover of the CD case. Sometimes there will be a booklet with lyrics inside in this particular place, other times there is information about the band or songs etc. We decided to put information about the band's website, as most of the target audience will use the internet a lot to find and download music, therefore the information on this will lead them to it.
The text is in a bold font with a glowing effect around it which matches the colour of the girl's hair. This gives the text a nice effect, and makes it fit in but stand out of the image. It is also easy to read.


This will be the front cover of the CD. It is a simple image but extremely effective, as most people believe that the eyes are the 'gateway to the soul'. In our video, the two girls change their identities as their souls have been taken over which gives whatever has taken them over complete control. Therefore they do strange things. Another way this image links in with the song is through a lyric near the start of the song 'they are watching'. This image aims to provide a small insight into the song, and also a link into the video.
Pendulum is written in a large, bold font as it is the name of the band and the most important thing on the image, as the name is what people will look for when searching for it in a shop. It is large, bold and clear so that it stands out and is easy to see. It also has a glowing blue effect on it; this is to help it fit in with the blue of the eye-we want them both to link together so the image is easy on the eye and doesn't look confusing with too many colours.
Granite is written in the same font but smaller, and embossed to make it look almost like the texture of 'granite'. Both texts have been put into the top left hand corner to leave the rest of the image clear to see.

Album Cover draft

These are our drafts for the CD cover, back and insides. We have not fully decided on using these yet, we may go in a different direction.

This is the front cover for Granite album. The eye is representing one of the psychotic girls in the video. The hair is slightly covering bit of the eye which suggests some darkness within it. The eye looks 'gothic' as it has eyeliner and mascara which makes it look the type of person who would listen to this album. To do this album cover, we have taken a picture of Erin's face and cropped it so we had the eye. We then increased the hue/saturation so it looks bluer. We have also used the clone tool because there were reflections in the eye. To the title, we have added a glow to the white font because we want it to stand out. The glow is in faint blue. The title is simple and easy to read and catches people's eye. Granite is in much smaller font because it's the album name and not as important as the band's name although it's promoting the album. Granite is in a grey font colour.

The back album cover shows more personality of the person as the eyes are wide and they're not afraid of being being weird. The back cover includes the track list and a bonus track. The bar code is essential as its scanned and is an actual product. The website is there for people to log on to and find out more about the band, album, tours etc. The track list is also in a fancy font to make the songs stand out.

This is the right side of the album, it's half of Erin's face, this is because she features in the music video so if people have seen the video they will recognise her.

The left side of Erin's face. They almost look symmetrical, as the face would come together in the album. This is to prmote the video/song and the album itself as it's based around the song.

Finished Video

Video Analysis

The music video is an art house abstract video that does not use any narrative or performance. The video is simply about two females being psychotic and running around. The song starts off slow which makes the video start off slow by showing the abandoned building and setting the location/scene. Then the beat starts and so does the video which cuts to the beat of the song. Granite uses alienated sound effects at the beginning and shows footage of aliens, in our music video we have done this by using a hand held camera and moving it around in the air to get shots of trees and sky. This makes it seem alienated with the alien sound effects in the song. The video follows by the two females running around inside the building in a dark room and being strange. Then there is a close up of them being next to one another, the camera pans right revealing the room and also the characters in a mask. The masks look scary for younger audience but laughable for older audience. The video is freaky by the two characters playing a hand game by the window when suddenly they turn around and it makes it seem like they’re heads are twisted. The characters then find two dolls and start abusing them by throwing it against the wall, knifing the eye out and burning them. The editing transitions we have used are the sped up scenes to make it seem comic. A tint over the whole video has been added to Bad Film which makes it seem old. The video has minor flashes which extra effect of Bad Film. The location then changes to the woods in Chorlton. The characters drag the dolls on the floor and run around in the woods and being silly in front of the camera. The video has been changed to monochrome for a more Bad Film effect. There are scenes that contain ‘blood’ on the walls but this is only food colouring. The video finishes by the two characters spraying white party spray on the floor. We have not used any green screen because we thought it would not suit this type of video especially the scenes in the building and in the woods.