Evaluation Question 1 (Video)

Evaluation Question 1

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

Music videos are produced for both promotional and artistic purposes, representing the style of music and the portrayal of the artist in the industry. The music video and album cover released by an artist is the strongest way the public will view their persona, so the decisions made during these production processes are essential. The key conventions of music videos vary massively due to the wide range of styles they can be portrayed as. Music videos for pop music will usually feature the artist themselves, performing the song to camera, with a parallel narrative happening throughout the video, often literally depicting the lyrics being sung. I chose to challenge this particular feature of music videos by using a non-literal depiction of the lyrics, straying from the conventional way love songs are illustrated. I decided this in order to conform to the reception theory, allowing my audience endless boundaries, without restricting them to one particular portrayal of the song. Without dwelling on the lyrics themselves, I chose to focus on the tone and sound of the song itself; slightly moody yet enchanting. The song captures the daydreaming and fantasy of the theme, as the singer speaks of how she wishes things to be with the person she loves. I chose to use a combination of both green screen and live location footage in my video, portraying 'Alice' as directly addressing the audience through eye contact with camera in green screen footage, breaking the fourth wall and connecting with the viewer. I used a grainy, old-fashioned version of footage on the backdrop of the green screen, which is self-referential and indicates that the footage is not actually fantasy, but is forced, stopping the audience buying into the idea and believing it is real. 'Alice' invites the audience to join her in watching the simulated footage, yet 'Alice' is not actually real, despite attempting to connect with the audience, she is a simulated version of a fictional character - portrayed in a 'realistic' way (hyperreal simulation) supporting Baudrillard's theory of hyperreality.

Verses take  a linear narrative, watching the character discover new surroundings, we watch her slowly gain confidence before stamping her authority by painting roses and destroying the 'tea party'.  The choruses of the song break away from the linear narrative of the verses, taking the form of a flashback, the old-style effect creating a nostalgic feeling of yearning for the past. According to Barthes theory of narrative codes being like a ball of thread, my music video could be seen as a closed text, where there is only one obvious 'thread' to pull on, and the narrative can not be decoded in any other way. This can also be linked to Todorov's theory of equilibrium, disequilibrium, new equilibrium, where 'Alice' is placed in her surroundings (equilibrium), is lost and exploring in order to find her way (disequilibrium), before gaining confidence and settling in the environment (new equilibrium).

Although dated, Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze can be applied to the camera angles used, for example the first shot in the video which focuses on the artist's legs as she walks across, sexualising the character. The panning shots of table from 'Alice's POV and shots from other end of table from  the audiences perspective makes the viewer feel like they are sat with 'Alice', making connection with the character. The close ups on drinking tea see the shots becoming invasive, and the mid shots with branches in front of camera, give the impression of the audience spying on character. In terms of editing, I used slow, fade transitions to support the tempo of the song. I decided to use multiple exposure of 'Alice' representing simulation/duplication of her character, and my final shot of pouring tea in reverse – plays with the viewer's mind, reminding them that it is not a realistic representation, it is an edited reproduction.

In my digipack and magazine advert designs, I used the conventions I have become familiar with as a consumer. For example, my digipack features the artist’s face as the main image on the cover, making clear to their fans that it is theirs. I chose to merge an image of a rose on to the artist, making it look like a hat. I thought this conformed to the avant garde fashion and trends seen on pop stars such as Lady GaGa. I featured a barcode and a sticker indicating the hits on the album, which would be required for the CD to sell in shops. I added small print to the back of the digipak, with information about the record company, credits, and a website link to the record label and the artist herself. I labelled each side of the album ‘level 1’ and ‘level 2’, playing with the title of the album being ‘Video Games’ and therefore reinforcing that theme. My magazine advert included access to the twitter and facebook pages of the artist, as social networking has become a crucial way for artists gaining success virally.

Evaluation Question 2 (Video)

Evaluation Question 2

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

In terms of the roles and purpose of my music video, I would define my production as a postmodern text which allows the audience member to sit back, relax, and enjoy the video, without being challenged or provoked in any way. My use of theme also supports this, as the Alice in Wonderland style is something a wide audience would be familiar with, and therefore they are able to enjoy it. My music video’s purpose is to pleasantly entertain the viewer, while complimenting and working with the song. I sought to portray the artist in a way similar to a character in a video game, allowing the viewer to step into her shoes and experience the setting of the music video through her eyes. I think I effectively served this purpose by conveying the artist in a vacant, minimal way that would enable the audience member to visualise themselves in her shoes.

I created a house style for my productions in order to portray each of my texts as part of a brand. The main way that I did this was by using the theme of red roses. This idea came from using roses as a prop to show my Alice in Wonderland theme, representing the ‘Red Queen’, and also conveying the theme of romance in the song. I placed the roses in my set, on the table as part of the ‘tea party’ setting, and also scattered them on the ground, somewhat portraying the destruction of ‘Wonderland’ caused by Alice. I also had the character of ‘Alice’ paint the roses white, as this twisted the original narrative of the story, where the Queen of Hearts orders her followers to ‘paint the roses red’. I placed emphasis on the significance of the roses by having them in the majority of my shots, even if in the background. I also featured them in a lot of close up shots, and also my final shot, which I slowed down and let the shot linger in order to stress the roses as a significant symbol of my brand.

I used this style in my digipack and magazine advert designs in order to unite them together with my music video, and therefore I think the combination of my main product and ancillary texts was very effective. In my ancillary designs, I used feminine hues of red and pink to address my female market, and scriptlike fonts to convey a personal touch, as if the artist has written directly to the audience.

Evaluation Question 3 (Video)

Evaluation Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback was a fundamental part of my production process, as it allowed me to connect with my target audience and explore what it is that they would want from a music video. Gathering opinions from my audience was important in order for me to improve my work and find out which features of my production were the strongest.

My target audience for my music video is extremely versatile. The song I chose, ‘Video Games’ by Lana del Rey, has a vintage, classic sound, which would appeal to a wide age range, and the young, female artist allows female audiences to relate to her. I wanted to connect with my audience through the Alice in Wonderland theme, using significant props such as teacups and playing cards to trigger them into recognizing the idea, and also let the viewer step into the shoes of the character of ‘Alice’, or the artist. I think this theme and idea would appeal to a female audience due to the use of pretty, kitsch props and delicate, fantasy tone of the video. I chose to represent the character of ‘Alice’ in a way that would present her as a ‘normal’ girl rather than a fantasy character. I did this by dressing her in clothes that would be considered fashionable, yet still indicating the iconic features of the character’s costume. I dressed the artist in a pale blue dress, with white knee high socks, a headband, and black pumps, similarly to Disney’s interpretation of ‘Alice’. I also had her wear a fur coat, jewelry and false eyelashes, to link to current fashion trends that may be popular with a female audience.

In order to gain audience feedback, I organised a screening where a number of people would be able to watch my music video, and then I recorded them giving me feedback. I felt this was an efficient way to use my feedback, as I was then able to put the footage on my blog, where I could then store it in a place where I could watch it over again and take the advice that I had been given. I also had some people fill out an audience feedback form, which allowed my audience to put into writing exactly what they thought about my video, and also gave them a specific section on how to advise me to improve. I also used social networks to gather feedback from my audience, posting my music video on Facebook and blogging platform Tumblr. This was effective in gathering opinions from predominantly people of my own age. I also showed my video and print drafts to various members of my family, and asked them to pass them on to friends, in order to spread the audience as widely as possible. I found that the most positive feedback I received was surrounding the way I framed and lit my shots, and also my use of mese-en-scene to depict the Alice in Wonderland theme. The theme was instantly recognised by the viewers, without me having to prompt them, which was the desired effect. Initially, I also received helpful constructive feedback, commenting on the pace of my editing of the shots being off-beat and slow, so I used this comment and changed some of the cuts to speed up the pace of the video and fit it exactly to the beat of the song.

Evaluation Question 4 (Video)

Evaluation Question 4

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

From planning and researching at the initial stages of producing my music video, right through to shooting it and finally editing and evaluating the finished product, I have used a large variety of media technologies to assist my work. The first thing I did when considering my A2 Media production was create a blog using blogger.com. This would allow me to log all of my progress and ideas digitally throughout the course, which I found was an efficient way to keep all of my production notes together in an easily accessible way.  I split my blog into sections by using labels such as ‘Research’ and ‘Production Diary’, allowing me to access the information I need quickly. I found that using a blog throughout the progression of my coursework was beneficial in many ways, for example being able to view other people’s blogs for ideas and inspiration, and also the ability of having an ‘Inspirations’ page where I could log different music videos and images that stimulated the ideas for my work.

Before beginning to shoot my music video, I researched into the different digital equipments that would be needed. This included different lighting such as spotlights and fill lights, tripods and cranes for different camera shots and perspectives, cameras for shooting in HD and shallow focus, and equipment such as autocue and vision mixers to assist the production and editing. I decided to use the bright fill lights as I was shooting in a woodland setting at night, so maximum lighting was necessary. I chose to shoot at night time using the lights as it cast shadows in the background of the shots, making the environment look mysterious. I also used a tripod to steady my stationary shots and a steady cam for the shots where I used movement, ensuring that they were not shaky. To shoot, I used a Canon 550D camera, which allowed me to shoot in high definition and shallow focus. Using high definition ensured that the quality of my final product was professional-looking, and I used a cinematic shutter speed to increase this. Using a 50mm lens with an aperture of 1.8 allowed me to shoot in shallow focus, which enabled me to blur the background of the shot, giving it a softer, delicate finish. This was also useful in the shots where I wanted to blur the appearance of the fairy lights, making them blow up bigger, giving a fantasy effect. This wide lens made it easy for me to shoot at night time as it captured the light effectively. I also used a Sony camcorder when filming my green screen footage, as shallow focus was not necessary and would still capture the footage in high quality.

When it came to the editing process, I used technology in a number of ways. I used Adobe Premiere Pro to initially cut my footage into order, and worked with Premiere throughout the production, using it to sync the footage to the song, apply transitions and effects, and adapt the brightness and colours of the image. I also exported the footage into Adobe After Effects in order to edit the green screen section, and apply filters. I used an ‘indie film’ filter which gave it an aged, vintage look and increased the professional finish. I also used after effects to create the backdrop for the green screen, using an ‘old film’ filter and applying it to the footage from the verses.

When creating my digipack and magazine advert designs, I used Adobe Photoshop. I used the Canon 550D to take photos to use in my designs, and also took stills from my music video and edited them so they looked suitable for an advertisement. I downloaded fonts from refont.com, choosing the designs I felt suited the artist the best. I then used the warp tool on Photoshop to adapt the appearance of these designs, giving them my own personal flair. I used different filters and changed the colours and exposure of my images, giving them an artistic, soft look. For example, I used the emboss tool and blurs on the image on the front of my digipack to make the artist look doll-like.

Audience Feedback

Audience Feedback

I posted my music video on blogging platform Tumblr in order to generate more feedback and gather different opinions on my final draft. Here are some of the messages I received.