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

I used the following media technologies throughout my creative process:

Hardware



A MacBook pro, used to capture screen shots which were key in the deconstruction of alternative rock music videos as well as my evaluation responses. This piece of hardware also enabled me to access software and online resources, which were vital in completing virtually every task.



An Acer Aspire 6920, a Windows laptop, used to complete additional tasks throughout the whole process.



A Lexmark platinum pro 905 colour inkjet, a fax machine, printer, scanner and photocopier, used to scan my storyboard and moodboard into my Acer laptop, before transferring them to my MacBook Pro, where I uploaded them to blogger.



An Olympus VN6500PC, a digital voice recorder, used to record my interview with a fan of alternative rock music (audience research conducted during planning and research). I also used this device to record audience feedback regarding the final cut of my music video as well as recording one of my evaluation responses.



A Sony Cybershot DSC- T900, a digital camera which was used to take my location photos and photos of my artist which I used in the construction of my magazine advertisement.



A Canon Legria HFS21, a high definition video recorder used to shoot my music video.

Software:



Final Cut Express 4.0, a video editing application, used to edit the audio from my interview with a fan of alternative rock music. I also used this software to heavily edit the footage that I shot for my music video. I feel this product was invaluable in creating the final cut of my music video, as it helped me to be creative and realise my artistic vision. For example Final Cut Express allowed me to manipulate both the colour of my shots and the sequence in which they appear. I utilised Levi Straus’ theory of “Binary Opposition” in order to create a contrast between the colours of my shots, where colour was symbolically used to not only communicate the various shifts in the narrative of my music video but also help in establishing my desired atmosphere.

Screen shots showing how I manipulated the colour of my shots using Final Cut Express can be seen below.



The above shot is from the dream sequence in my music video and denotes the female protagonist laughing at the male protagonist (original footage from an early cut of my music video).



The above shot is taken from the final cut of my music video where I have decided to apply a brown sepia tint (video filter) in order to give it a surreal atmosphere and therefore distinguish it from "reality". I also increased the whites of this shot, although this is not displayed in the shot above.


Shot denoting the present (original footage)



shot denoting the final manipulated image in final cut. In order to achieve my desired atmosphere, I decreased both the saturation and the whites of the shot, as well as also decreasing the blacks of the shots. I felt this manipulation of colour was key in communicating my male protagonist's current conflict and ultimately giving the audience a sense of the bleakness of his situation.



The above shot is taken from the first cut of my music video which denotes a flashback, where my protagonist remembers a moment when he was happy.



The above screen shot is from my final cut of my music video, where I have manipulated the colour of the shot by incraesing the whites as well as the mids of the shot. I did this in order to give the audience an insight into how happy the male protagonist once was, which I hope will trigger sympathy from the audience, especially when contrasted with his current torment.



The screenshot above (taken from the first cut of my music video) denotes the male protagonist's psychological delusion that the female protagonist's new lover is mocking him.



The screen shot above is taken from the final cut of my music video, where I purposely decided to apply a red tint (video filter) in order to make the shot appear more ominous as well as separating the shot from the "reality" of my male protagonist's current situation.

Final Cut Express also allowed me to manipulate the speed of my original footage in order to better complement the pace of the song. Furthermore, this software enabled me to incorporate fadeouts, dissolve fades and dip to colour fades which helped the transitions between the shots as well as adding meaning to the subsequent shots. For example I used fadeouts in my dream sequence to make it more dramatic whereas, I used a dissolve fade which proceeded a still image of the female and her new lover laughing at the male protagonist, in order to embed the male protagonists insecurities – this transitions prolongs the laughter of the other characters in the video and consequently highlights the humiliation felt by the male protagonist – hopefully causing the audience to sympathise with him.

I further used Final Cut Express to edit the audio from my audience feedback which I received during post production as well as editing the audio of one of my evaluation responses.

Adobe Photoshop Elements, a graphics editing programme, used to create my ancillary tasks. I specifically used this application to add text to my ancillary tasks and to darken the photos I took of my artist when creating my magazine advertisement.

iTunes, a digital media player, used to convert a MP3 of my song into an AIFF format in order to make it more compatible with Final Cut Express.

Online resources:

Blogger, a blog publishing service, used to document the whole process from pre-production to production (including the evaluation).

Google, a search engine, used to source information relating to other artists of the rock music genre such as release dates regarding my researched music videos etc.

YouTube, a video hosting site, used to watch and then deconstruct other rock music videos. I also used YouTube to host my storyboard, interview with a fan of alternative rock music, my music video, my audience feedback and one of my evaluation responses.

Overall, my use of the above media technologies has enabled me, a media consumer to become, a savvy media producer, who can create professional media products at only a fraction of the cost of real life production companies.

Evaluation- What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I decided to divide my answer to the above question in two sections, with the first section detailing audience feedback received during pre-production, and the second section discussing audience feedback received during post production.

My response, which details how my audience feedback (see post titled "Graphs denoting the results of my questionnaire") informed the decisions I made during the critical period of pre-production, can be listened to by clicking here.

My response, in which I use my audience feedback as a measure of my how effectively my music video communicated my aims and intensions, can be listened to by clicking here.

My post production audience feedback, which I reference in the above response, can be listened to by clicking here.

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

I believe my ancillary texts (a digipak, a front cover of my artist’s album and a magazine advertisement) have a very close relationship with each other in that they collectively endorse my music video and ultimately my artist. I feel my products are an example of synergy which I utilised to optimise my artist’s exposure which I hope will result in increased profitability of my artist.





My digipak (which includes the front cover of the album), undeniably complements my music video, as it contains screen shots that were directly lifted from my music video, which were then cropped in the construction of my digipak. As previously mentioned, this key relationship, where one media text is representative of the other, helps to increase my artist’s exposure and profitability. For example if an individual appreciated the design of my album cover, they may purchase the album and eventually desire to watch the music video, which serves as the debut single from my artist, the audio of which is included in the track list of the album. Equally, if an individual appreciates my music video, they are more likely to purchase the album, in which the song heard in my music video can be found.

Furthermore, my digipak which includes my front cover, displays the title of the album, which is taken from the title of the song that is heard in my music video. The rhetorical and questioning nature of the title of my music video (“Say It Isn’t So?”) is reflective of the album and of alternative rock music in general. A genre which typically explores questions relating to personal identity and political issues. For example other song titles, found in the track listing of my album include “Society Or Abomination?” and “All I Can Be Is me”, give connotations of a political subtext and individuality which highlights the reoccurring themes of the album and ultimately gives the audience an insight into what they can expect when consuming the album and my music video.

In a similar manner, my magazine advertisement, also promotes my artist and hence the album as well as my music video not only incorporates my digipak into its design, but also displaying positive reviews (“Profoundly Powerful” and “A must own”), ultimately representing the product as appealing and therefore desirable.

My created media products (my music video, digipak which includes the front cover of my album and my magazine advertisement which advertises the album’s release) all are thematically connected through the theme of extreme emotion. For example, throughout my music video, I purposely included multiple facial expressions denoting my male protagonist’s anger, confusion and torment as seen in the screen shots below.







Similarly, my digipak also conveys the theme of extreme emotion by not only incorporating screen shots of my male protagonist’s torment, but also though the emotive design of the front cover. I purposely placed the title of the album close to my artist’s mouth in order to create the impression they are being shouted by him. The combination of the above design feature and my artist’s anguished facial expression as well as agonised body language, communicates that my artist emotions cannot be contained and must be expressed.

My deliberate use of the word “unleashed” instead of released in my advertisement, further references the theme of extreme emotion – the album release signifies the unleashing of my artist’s emotions. This extreme expression of emotions is typical of the alternative rock music genre which I wanted to further develop in the creation of my media texts.

My products are not only linked by theme but also by the aesthetics present in their respective design. For example the shots that denote the present torment of my protagonist in my music video, are dark and shadow infested in order to visually communicate the atmosphere, thus symbolically reflecting the emotional spectrum of my male protagonist. Likewise, my digipak (includes my front cover) and my magazine advertisement, both employ a similar colour scheme found in my music video and therefore builds upon the atmosphere of my music video.

Notably, all of my media products also feature a contrast in their design. For example, the contrast apparent in my music video is created through the contrasting colours, used to signify the narrative shifts (the dream sequence, the present, the past and my protagonist’s psychological delusions) in my music video. Whereas, in both my digipak (which includes my front cover) and in my magazine advertisement, a contrast is achieved by my employment of white and red fonts respectively, which are juxtaposed with the blacks and greys found in the visuals.

I feel that my music video establishes my artist’s identity, whilst my subsequently produced media texts reinforce that identity, an identity which is constituted by the reoccurring themes of extreme emotion, expression and provocative imagery, which is found in all my media texts. This notion of creating an artistic identity through the development of reoccurring motifs links to Goodwin’s ideologies regarding music video production, where he stated that the demands of the record label will require their artist to develop motifs. One could argue that the music industry's demand for an artist to develop motifs is actually a demand for their artist to develop a unique brand in order to increase their profitability. In response to the commercial demands of the music industry, I have essentially laid the foundation of a brand which can be further developed in the future and hopefully increase my artist’s profitability.



The notion of building a brand is closely intertwined with establishing an artist’s true identity. I feel all of my media products reinforce my artist identity. For example my music video contains inter-textual references (posters denoting Slash and Jimmy Hendricks which can be seen in the above screen shot) which pay homage to the rock genre and provides an insight into the origins of alternative rock music. My digipak contains agonised poses taken from my music video, which are synonymous with the rock genre. My magazine advert further helps establish my artist’s identity by introducing him as the “new voice of alternative rock”, thus instantly making communicating the musical genre adopted by my artist.

In my opinion, once an artist’s identity is established, it then becomes possible for the audience to identify with an artist and consequently form a collective identity with other individuals who either consume the products produced by that particular artist or other products relating to the musical genre of that artist.

Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy Of Needs” explains the psychological importance of a collective identity by suggesting that individuals have a need for self esteem and forming a collective identity increases one’s self esteem. Similarly, “The uses and gratification theory” also states that audiences use media texts as a way to explore their own personal identity. The above theories illustrate why I felt it was important to create a coherent identity for my artist within my created media products. I feel I maintained a consistency in the identity of my artist through my use of repeated of images, my employment of motifs and my use of a consistent colour scheme, as I felt it was fundamental that I did not confuse my potential audiences by communicating mixed messages. This clarity should hopefully optimise the number of potential audience’s who identify with my artist and ultimately purchase his products.

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

In my music video, I have developed the concepts of individuality and extreme emotion, which are synonymous with the rock genre. My music video does not have a direct political message unlike many other alternative rock music videos, but rather, focuses on the self conflict and psychological torment of the male protagonist. My male protagonist is represented as an individual who is lost in society as suggested by the screen shot below.



The above mis en scene elements denote various alcoholic products (bottle of vodka, beer cans etc) which signify that the male protagonist is an alcoholic. Notably, the fact the fact he is looking at a picture inform the audience that the betrayal of his lover is the reason for his alcoholism – my male protagonist is an individual who feels lost without his love and is drinking to escape his problems.The notion of being lost in society and therefore lacking an identity is another key genre characteristic of alternative rock music videos.

I also further developed the concept of extreme emotion by incorporating various psychological elements into my music video such as a dream sequence, supposed delusions and flash backs, all of which illustrate that the male protagonist is haunted by his memories. I felt the combination of the above psychological elements would give the audience an insight into the psychological conflict of my protagonist, thus legitimising his extremity of emotion as depicted by the screen shots below.






The above facial expressions represent an amalgamation of anger, desperation and anguish, emotions that are characteristic of the alternative rock genre and therefore comply with Andrew Goodwin’s belief that music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.

Whilst my music video conforms to the generic conventions of extreme emotion and individuality, one could argue that my music video also challenges the generic conventions of alternative rock by its exploration of love as seen below.






As previously discussed, alternative rock music videos typically direct their frustrations towards a political matter, rather than a personal conflict, where a sense of individuality is often displayed by the artists boldly criticising society.

My music video further challenges the generic conventions of alternative rock music by adopting a narrative approach where no performance based elements are apparent. My research highlighted that the majority of alternative rock music videos were either entirely performance based or concept based. However, my audience research highlighted that, 50% of my participants felt that the narratives in alternative rock music videos either lacking or were not effectively communicated thus illustrating that alternative rock audiences would appreciate a narrative based video.

As a result I decided to create a narrative based video which retained the symbolism present in concept based alternative rock music videos thus disregarding and ultimately challenging the generic conventions of this genre. In my opinion, I further challenged the generic convention of the genre by employing a sophisticated non-linear narrative which incorporated postmodern narrative devises such as a dream sequence, flashbacks and psychological delusions. In order to effectively communicate my narrative to my audience, I decided to use colour to separate the different narrative transitions in my music video.

The screen shots below depict the present, the past (flashback), the dream sequence and the delusional thoughts of my male protagonist respectively.










Furthermore, I also developed the principles of subjectivity, a key concept in postmodern media texts, where it is recognised that audiences are not given an objective account of the truth, but rather, a subjective portrait of events. In my music video, I decided to incorporate the concept of subjectivity, by not only including my male protagonist's psychological delusions, which blurs the line between imagination and "reality", but also by representing my male protagonist as an alcoholic. I purposely decided to portray my male protagonist in the above manner, where my intensions were to create a suspicion in the minds of my viewers, as to whether a relationship existed at all, or whether it is all a fabrication of my male protagonist's drunken imagination?

I believe Goodwin’s ideologies regarding music video production provide a good insight into what constitutes a real media product. Notably, my music video conforms to Goodwin’s belief that music videos should demonstrate a relationship between the lyrics and the corresponding visuals. As I interpreted the lyrics of the song to be about a failed relationship, I incorporated various mis en scene elements that are associated with romance such as photos, a rose and a fireplace.

Screen shots illustrating a more specific insight into the relationship between the lyrics and the
subsequent visuals of the music video can be seen below.




When the lyrics “I smell you on my clothes” are delivered, the male protagonist sniffs his shirt and rips it off in anger.








When the lyrics “You can let me go” are delivered, the music video displays a delusional thought of the male protagonist in which he is hugging the female protagonist. The music video then cuts to the male protagonist, who is seen hugging thin air and soon realises it was all in his mind – his memories of the female protagonist will not “let him go” – thus showing a contradictory relationship between the lyrics and the corresponding visuals – ultimately adding to the psychological nature of my music video.


My music video also demonstrates a relationship between the music of the song and the subsequent visuals of my music video, further supporting Goodwin’s ideology meaning that my music video draws parallels with real life media products. For example, during the breakdown of the song, where an electric guitar becomes a more prominent feature, which ultimately leads to the instrumental of the song adopting a faster pace, the editing of my music video is also increased. As this instrumental change signifies the climax of the song, I decided it would be appropriate to have this instrumental change to also represent the climax of my protagonist’s psychological torment. I achieved this by employing fast cuts, jump cuts and more anguished shots of my protagonist as well as increasing the frequency of the shots connoting the protagonist’s delusional thoughts during the above described instrumental change.

Although, my artist does not belong to a major label, he still faces the demands of the music industry where he needs to optimise his exposure to the public. In order to both fulfil my artist’s need for exposure and capture the full intensity of the anguished facial expressions, present in my music video, I have incorporated various close ups of my artist (see above screen shots which denote anguish at the beginning of the post).

My artist appreciated the defined visual style of my music video and its symbolic nature. I can only assume that he will continue developing the above elements in his subsequent videos so that he can become an identifiable brand. It is clear that my artist will need to develop reoccurring motifs throughout his work in order to establish himself as a unique and appealing brand, which should ultimately optimise his profitability, as suggested by Goodwin.
Goodwin also proposed that music videos often reference the notion of looking. My music video conforms to this ideology, where my male protagonist is seen looking at photos and a poster of the “Joker” as seen the screen shot below.



Notably, the concept of looking is further explored in the fast cuts denoting the "Joker", during the breakdown of my music video, where one could argue that the "Joker" is watching and enjoying the sight of the male protagonist's declining mental state (see screen shots used to highlight the presence of inter-textual references).

My protagonists also feels that he is being watched and mocked by the female protagonist and her new lover as seen below.





Furthermore, the fact that my music video contains inter-textual references means it conforms to Goodwin’s identified conventions of music video. For example: my music video incorporates various inter-textual references to the “Joker”, which are symbolically used to highlight my protagonist’s declining psychological health, especially during the breakdown of the song (see screen shots below).







Other inter-textual references in my music video allude to the rock genre as seen in the screen shot below.



These posters pay homage to the rock genre and therefore help the audience identify the genre of my music video.

Although, Goodwin proposed that music videos often include a voyeuristic treatment of the female body, I chose not to conform to this principle as I felt it was not appropriate when considering the lyrical content of my music video. I also believe that this sexist treatment of women may needlessly alienate any potential female viewers.

Ancillary task - digipak and front cover

Say It Isn't So ?- digipak

I wanted to focus on the emotions of the song and I felt the screen shots (anguished close ups of my artist) from my music video would convey the extremity of emotions (anger, desperation and frustration) that are synonymous with alternative rock music videos. These screen shots were originally manipulated for my music video by altering the colour of the shots, where I made them darker and more shadow infested so that they symbolically reflect the bleakness of my protagonist’s present turmoil and isolation. For my digipak, I further manipulated these screen shots by cropping these shots in order to eliminate any unnecessary mis en scene elements as well as further manipulating the colour by increasing the blacks and decreasing the saturation, thus creating my desired atmosphere.

Say It Isn't So - My front cover

My research highlighted that most alternative rock cd covers are simply designed and often allude to, or summarise the themes of the album. For example Linkin Parks 2007 album :"Minutes to Midnight" (see below) featured sillouettes of the band standing on rocks which faced the sea.




The above use of sillouettes symbolically communicates to the audience that the band are trying to re-establish themselves, as in the four years in between their last album and this release, they have developed their musical style. This album saw the band deviate from their neo-metal origins and experiment with elements of alternative rock. The vastness of the sea connotes that the bands artistic boundaries are as limitless as the sea.

I decided to design a simple album cover which captured the spectrum of emotions that the album will focus on. I purposely placed the albums title close to my artists mouth, in order create the impression that it is being spoken by him.

Ancillary task - Magazine advert

Please note that you can enlarge my magazine advertisement by clicking on it with your mouse.



I took additional photos in which I got my artist to adopt various poses. These photos were then manipulated by cropping and by adjusting the colour balance so that they appeared more atmospheric.

I decided to incorporate multiple photos of my artist in the advert, as I felt this would increase his exposure to the public and ultimately help in establishing him as a brand, thus fulfilling one of Goodwin’s identified principles.

I also decided to use a red font, as it would provide a contrast with the rest of the advert (which is dark and mostly black), subsequently capturing the attention of the magazine readers.

I also included reviews of the album as I thought this would prove a persuasive marketing decision as the reviews help establish the album as an appealing product.

Audience feedback on my music video

You can listen to audio from my audience feedback by clicking here

The final cut of my music video

The final cut of my music video can be viewed by clicking here

For best looking results please adjust the video resolution to 720P (although this takes considerably more time to stream).

Proudtion Note - my reflection on the shoot

Overall, my filming for my music video went very well and I was able to obtain all the required footage. As planned, I was able to stick with my schedule and managed to film my music over two days.

However, on the second day of filming, the actor that was meant portray the female protagonist’s “new lover” in my music video did not turn up. I decided to continue with the filming, especially as everything else was in place and I was concerned about the weather changing. Therefore I decided it would be better to source another actor and continue filming.
I also experienced problems with controlling the direction of the smoke produced by the smoke machine, which was easily affected by any changes in the direction of the wind. Also the amount of smoke produced by the smoke machine was underwhelming. Despite this , I feel that I have managed to get enough usable footage.

shooting schedule

I am planning to shoot my music video in two days, as I am concerned the weather will change, thus hindering the atmospheric qualities of my my dream sequence which takes place outdoors. Furthermore, the fact that I am borrowing a smoke machine for the dream sequence means it will have to be returned fairly quickly.

In my opinion two days should prove enough time in which to shoot my music video. In order to achieve this goal I will have to be very organised and manage my time effectively. My actors have agreed to start early and shoot until all of the desired footage is filmed. I aim to maximise the efficiency of my shoot by filming the footage relating to the present on one day, meaning that only the male protagonist will be needed on the first day of the shoot. I will shoot the dream sequence and the flashbacks depicting the male protagonist memories (including the argument) as well as the male protagonist’s delusions regarding the female protagonist and her new lover, on the second day of the shoot, where I will require all three actors to be present.

Props needed on day 1

As previously mentioned, the shots of my male protagonist, which denote his present torment will take place in the location of a room in my garage ( post labelled "Photos of filming locations and a discussion of costume")). I have already set up this room for the shoot as it is currently not used. The props and mis en scene elements that I have already incorporated are as follows: a sofa, a writing desk, a chair, pen, writing pad, small table with, empty bottle of vodka which I will fill with water, empty bottles and beer cans, various posters, two photographs, a guitar, mat, more beer cans and general clutter. However, I still need to source a fresh rose.

Props needed for Day 2

For the dream sequence I will need a smoke machine, engagement ring and ring box.

For shots that represent my protagonist’s memories and delusions, I will need the following props: photos, wine and wine glasses, guitar and candles.

Animated Storyboard

You can view my animated storyboard by clicking here

Photos of filming locations and a discussion of costume

Note: I apologise for the spacing in this post. I have spend hours attempting to fix the formatting issues in this post but have my attemps have been in vain.

My audience research highlighted the need for multiple locations and therefore I decided to shoot my music video in three different locations. I believe that the use of multiple locations will help the audience understand the narrative of my music video.

A small room in the back of my garage

I choose this location as I felt the small size of the room would allow to create a sense of intimacy and isolation as I plan to use it to film all the shots which denote the present, during which my protagonist is alone and tormented by his memories of his lover. I also felt that this location would allow me to manipulate the room’s mis en scene in order to achieve my artistic vision.

In order to prepare the room I have incorporated the following mis en scene elements:

• A poster denoting Slash – inter-textual reference that pays homage to the rock genre




• A poster denoting “The Joker” – used to connote my male protagonist’s mental state




• Empty bottles and beer cans – help to represent my male protagonist as an alcoholic.




• Acoustic guitar – connotes my male protagonist’s identity crisis as it is not an electric



• guitar, which are typically used in an alternative rock music videos.




• Clutter and mess – connotes the male protagonists is confusion – he is lost and his life is out of balance.



• Photos – used to signify the presence of a past relationship.
  


• Writing desk, writing pad, pen and chair – adds realism to room and serve as potential props for my male protagonist to interact with.



• A mat – adds further realism
  

Photots denoting the above mis en scene elements

I also plan to incorporate a fresh rose as a mis en scene element and will buy that a day before the shoot.

My living room

I plan to use my living room as the location where the flashbacks in my music video will take place. I feel that this is an appropriate location for my desired purpose, as it is a big room which is bright and colourful, and therefore would provide a contrast when compared to the location where the present will be filmed. I also feel that the fire place in my living room can be used to create a romantic atmosphere, further providing an atmospheric contrast between the present and the past (which is shown through flashbacks).

My Garden

In my opinion, my garden will prove a suitable location in which to film my dream sequence. I feel the use of a natural environment will once again provide a good contrast to the previously discussed locations, which are both indoors. I also feel that this the privacy of this location means that I will not face any difficulties that may arise from filming in public locations such as people walking through shots. I will however, have to be cautious when filming in order to avoid unwanted shadows (clearly visible in the above location photos) ruining my shots.

Other creative decisions – costume

I want the costume worn by my protagonists to be modern and representative of ordinary people in our current society. I feel this will help my audience to identify with my protagonist. Examples for possible costume include jeans, tee shirts, jackets, etc. In order to create the illusion of time which is a crucial concept in the non-linear narrative of my music video, my actors will have to change costumes during the shoot.

I also want the female protagonist to wear something that is red. The use of the colour red is often used to connote danger and therefore will my audience with an insight into how the male protagonist retrospectively views the female protagonist - she is a deceiver who cannot be trusted.

However, it is important to emphasise that the male protagonist’s perceptions of the female protagonist is likely to be bias(as I am planning to represent him as an alcoholic) and therefore cannot be trusted.