Music Video

Digipak

The colours are the same on the smaller images. When the images were shrunk they became darker, the larger version of the front and back cover are the correct colour.

Website

www.ethanwall09.wix.com/theperfectfall

Evaluation Question 4

How have I used technologies in the research, planning and creation of my products?

As we live in a technological dependent society, where convergence has become integrated into the day to day activities and usage of media technology is at its highest, it has become almost mandatory that different media technologies play a recurring role in all the stages of the development of our three products.

One of the most significant parts of my course is the research and planning as without this my final products would not have been the quality they are. I used several media technologies during the research and planning stage before even starting my three media products. At the beginning of the course we were tasked with creating a presentation that explained our music video idea.  This was beneficial as it gave us the opportunity to present our music video ideas and gain useful feedback. ­Once I had joined a group with Amy and Marc we presented our new idea. My group and I took advantage of the presentation tool Prezi to clearly present our idea to the rest of our class. This was beneficial as it is user friendly software with endless possibilities due to designs, functions and its compatibility with convergence. As the software was so user friendly it allowed us to present in a way that our audience was able to understand our concept.  Prezi was very useful software as its layout can represent how several little ideas can come together to create something much bigger. Another advantage of Prezi is the exciting transitions. Due to this I was able to keep my classmates concentration for longer than I would have been able to with other presentation devices. The following Prezi is the idea my group presented to the class before gaining feedback.

Prezi was an obvious choice when I was doing planning and researching as it was based on adding lots of little bits of data together to sum up to something much bigger, my final music video. However, as well as using Prezi we also chose to use an offline presentation software- Microsoft Office PowerPoint. With the help of online software called SlideShare we were able to view our PowerPoints online, with websites such as Blogger. After we had decided our narrative for our music video we decided to research the convention associated with our genre, Post Hard-core. This information would help shape our ideas and narrative to fit the genre norms. This task was important as without it we may have not made the products appealing for the target audience making them unsuccessful. Using PowerPoint was a better fit for this task than Prezi as its design and simplicity made it easy to record large amounts of information. Unlike my Prezi’s these presentations were not about the look of them or creativity but researching, documenting and understanding the factors, which will shape my band. My group and I were pleased with the information we found together and believe that it had shaped our final media products and the information found can be seen clearly in our products. I created a presentation on the conventions of a music video in general and then a more detailed one about the Post Hard-core music video conventions. I made this presentation to show the kind of artist we had created and the video conventions we had chosen. Throughout my project I constantly referred to these presentations to ensure  I was keeping to the genre conventions.

Throughout the whole project YouTube played a massive part. Not only did we use the online video database to upload our final music video but it also was a huge research tool when discovering similar artists. Not only was YouTube free, but it allowed my music video to reach a global audience. It was also a way of uploading data onto our blog. The first example of the use of YouTube was during the research stage when we were questing students in our school about our music video  idea trying to gain important feedback which would help the development of our music video. Recording the data and uploading it to YouTube became incredibly useful as it allowed me to retain the data and watch it several times over the course of my project so I was able to refer back to it when making my decisions.

In order to make the capturing of footage easier we recorded the clips from our smartphones, a technological device that allowed us to upload the videos to YouTube straight from our hand held devices. An example of this is when we filmed a focus group we had organised to review the first draft of our music video. Like the rest of our recorded feedback we were able review the information at our command. It also meant that we could not filter our results and just see what we wanted to see.

We also made use of the smartphone as a way of organising our band. We used two main technological devices to contact our band, Facebook and our phone messenger. Without these we would not have been efficiently able to contact our band who live on the other side to London to us.  The use of technology helped keep our band committed and allowed them to stay up to date and know what was happening when and where making them as efficient as possible. As a result our band managed to stay committed and managed to be time efficient.

The internet is a media technology. Having access to this and search engines such as Google we were able to partake in detailed research for similar artists and their media products which then will help us to shape our products. In order to find the conventions of our genre we looked into similar bands in the same genre and looked  at how the band are presented- their star image. We also looked into the target audience of these bands and how they view the group.  Due to the internet being so accessible we were able to partake in this task easily getting inspirations for our star image, digipak, website and music video. While we were researching this we also came across a students dissertation focused on the dress and behaviour of the Emo Subculture. This was beneficial as it allowed me to have a deeper insight of my target audience. Below are some of the external sources I took inspiration from.

Not only did the internet lend it self as a source of research it also allowed us to complete the legal requirements  when creating a product which contains a piece of media for another company, in our case we needed to get permission to use the song, One Hundred Sleepless Nights.  In order to gain permission we had to go through the process of licensing the song. To do this we emailed a employee at Fearless Records (they signed Pierce The Veil) explaining who we were and why we wanted permission to use the song. Once we had done this and they had replied we were directed to the right person who then created a contracted allowing us to use the song in our music video and upload it to YouTube. Without the internet in this task, the communication flow would have been much slower and we probably would not have been able to receive the email address in the first place.

For the rest of my planning and research I used several different pieces of software for small tasks. The most common ­software we used was Microsoft Word. An example was that the software allowed us to create an organised and clear shooting schedule and prop list to help prepare cast and crew for the shooting day.  The shooting schedule set out both days telling us the plan for the whole day making us as efficient as possible and prepping the band to what they should expect. Although we did not keep to the shooting schedule completely it was good as it gave us some indication of how long we should spend on each aspect. We used Microsoft Word as its features allowed me to create  a chart to make it easier to be viewed.

In order to keep to our shooting schedule, we used Google Maps in order to track how long it would take to get to the location of where we were filming, Leake Street, London.  Using this online navigation tool I was also able to find where I could park on the day of filming.  This free online software allowed my group and I plus the band to be organised as we sent all of the band members the best route to reach the location of filming to ensure they would be on time, so we could start when planned.

After we had finished the initial research and planning, we moved onto the creation of our music video, the most practical media product we would be creating. Due to this, the creation of our music video would only be possible with the use of technology, most of which being film equipment which we learnt to use at the beginning of our course. The first thing we did which included technology in order to create our music video was to create our animatic. After we had created the story board we took a photo of  every frame with our smart phone. After we had finished this we imported all the images onto our school’s new editing software Adobe Premiere Pro. We then imported the song One Hundred Sleepless Nights into the editing software. We then placed each frame in the order as to which it would appear in the music video. The duration of each frame would depend on how long that frame would be in the actual video. Although this task was very simple it turned out very useful as we could see what we needed to change about the music video.

The last thing before the recording of our music video was to set up a photo shoot. We did this shoot in various locations including the location we were planning to film in. As I am an event photographer and cameraman outside of school  we used my own equipment for the photo shoot which included a Sony A99 digital interchangeable lens camera with a Sony M60F external flash. The photos we planned to use for our website and digipak were edited with Adobe Photoshop CS6 at a later date.

The two days of filming finally came. For this task we used a wide range of technological equipment in order our create our video. This included several lights and a professional video camera. We also brought the Sony A99 in case we decided to take more photos on the day. As the filming was possibly the biggest task out of the whole course I was able to use my outside knowledge of the equipment and put it to action on the camera and video camera over the course of the two filming days as I recorded the most in my group for the construction of our music video. As we filmed in different locations I had to constantly adjust the aperture and lenses of the camera for the light to be perfect in location. Without the use of these technologies we would not have been able to construct our music video.

After we had finished shooting all the footage we were left with the task of editing. This is the stage in which the individual shots come together and create our final product. Editing is a very time consuming activity which involves lots of attention, patience and accuracy. As a group we started editing the video together until there was a clear structure. One this had been done, I moved on to editing the photos from the shoot while Marc and Amy edited the last bit of the music video. The editing was completed in the course of a week in which we would undertake regular editing sessions.  After the video was complete I wrote up a conclusion for editing in which I explained what technical decisions my group and I made and how we completed them in the software. This started with adding th song to the software to changing the position of clips in order to make the video’s message more effective and make the video cut to the beat making it run smoothly. An example of this was to add jump cuts at the beginning of the video in order to create the beginning of the narrative quickly, as it portrayed a that the couple had been together for a long period of time.

During the editing phase, we created two versions  of the music video, the first draft and the official video. The first draft was shown to focus group. They feedback we received from the group and our teacher helped us create the official music video in which there are several noticeable changes which made the video more watchable. I can confidently say I am happy with the final product and am proud to be apart of my group that created it.

  

My digipak was by far the most enjoyable product to make as I was already confident with the editing software, Adobe Photoshop CS6 due to my outside hobbies and my other A level subjects.  Without technology my digipak would not be close to the quality my final product has turned out to be. My digipak was made with the creation of different technologies coming together to make a professional looking product.

As the shoot was in London and not in a studio I was unable to use studio lighting which may have made the portraits look more professional. As I had not decided my design for my digipak when I did the shoot, I tool several photos of the whole bands and several portraits of each band member. As we different locations, I was constantly changing my aperture, shutter speed and lens in order to get the most professional shots. For the shoot I used my some of my own equipment including a Sony A99 digital interchangeable lens camera with a Sony M60F external flash and 3 different sized lenses.

Once I had taken all the photos and uploaded them into my laptop, I use Adobe Bridge, in order to view and organise my image. This offline organisational software was very beneficial as it allowed me to see thumbnails of all the photos and separated the ones I had already edited. As I had not yet designed my digipak I edited the best photos by importing them into Adobe Photoshop CS6 in which I enhances the colours by adjusting the colour levels, changing the brightness and contrast and play with the background lighting. I was able to do this as the professional software allowed my to be precise and edit pixel by pixel if it was needed.

After looking at more digipaks, I came up with the idea of drawing the front cover of my digipak. Although this did not use any technology I scanned in the completed image and improved it using Photoshop CS6. Below is the before and after of the front cover of my digipak and the images of the band I decided to include in my digipak.

After

After

After

     After

 After

With the use of Google I was able to add I was able to complete my digipak as I was able to find font websites, where I could find the perfect font for my band which would fit my genre. This task alone took a long period of time as certain fonts made my digipak look like the front page of a child’s book as it was a cartoon drawing.

Google also helped create my digipak as I could use the image search to get an image of a barcode to stick on my digipak to make it look professional. As well as this I was able to find other digipaks to I could see what was written for their copyright information.

Once I had finished creating this product I was very pleased with the result, as I believed it looked, stylish, professional and exciting to the eye.

When I shrunk the image the colours darkened. The larger versions of the front and back cover are the correct colours.

My final product I had to create was my website. In order to create this I used an online website design software, Wix. This


web design tool is very user friendly and included features to help you create a professional website which suites all your needs. For my website I chose not to use on of the templates the software offered but decided to create my own layout giving more creative control. As I designed the layout of my website I was able to relate it to similar products I had researched in order to make sure it fitted my genre and would appeal to my target audience.

Over time, the layout of my website did not change, however my background did. In the first draft of my website I used a slate black background as I felt the dark colour would fit the Post Hard-core genre.  Later on I decided to change this as I used the back cover of my digipak as my website background in order to make all my media products relate. As these were also dark colours it fit in just as well as the slate back background.

Throughout the whole of my website technology was used. On each page there was access buttons to social networking sites to follow the band further. This is an example of hyperlinking and convergence as it was information spread between different media platforms. Following this, there was a ‘recent tweets” column in which the band’s most recent tweets appeared on the page linking  Twitter with my website. As technology has advanced so much in recent years, my website was also able to include my digipak and official music video.

As an extra to my website I decided to make a “store” page in which band merchandise would be sold. Using the website www.4imprint.co.uk I was able to personalise  T-shirts, vest Posters and Cases. Without technology I would not have been able to publicise or create these items.

Below is a commentary of my music video summarising the different technologies used in the creation of my media products.

In conclusion, I believe that I have used media technology through the process from research to the creation of my final products and everything in-between. Due to the advanced technological world we live in, it is so easy to become a prosumer and create professional looking products and share it globally.

Evaluation Question 3

What I have learnt from audience feedback

Focus Groups

A focus group is a type of qualitative research where a selection of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions and beliefs towards a product or service. A focus group is and interactive open discussion where participants are encouraged to join in. A focus group is the most grass-roots way to learn about a media product. By gathering a group of regular people it is easy to find how a product has come up against competition or similar products. The feedback given can help direct a product path.

An advantage of focus groups is that different people can represent different demographics and backgrounds creating a wider range of answers. As well as this, participants have no commitment to the company so they are more likely to give honest answers. Furthermore, the answers given by the participants can improve the original products by suiting it more to the participants needs and wants. 

The disadvantages with focus groups are that the leader of the group can word questions as a way to get the desired answers. As well as this, some participants may over influence other participants making them just agree with them rather then saying how they actually feel. Furthermore, participants might fall under "right answerism" and just give the leader what he wants to here, rather then what they actually think about the product or service. another disadvantage is that the group of being being questioned may not fit the whole target audience due to income, religion, age, gender and location.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is gathered information that can not be analysed in a numerical form. Examples of this include, diary accounts, open ended questionnaires, unstructured interviews and unstructured observations. Qualitative data is typically descriptive data and as such is harder to analyse than quantitative data.

Qualitative research is useful for studies at the individual level, and to find out, in depth, the ways in which people think or feel, such as case studies.

Analysis of qualitative data is difficult and requires accurate description of participant responses, for example, sorting responses to open questions and interviews into broad themes. 

A good example of a qualitative research method would be unstructured and group interviews which generate qualitative data through the use of open questions. This allows the respondent to talk in some depth, choosing their own words. This then helps the researcher develop a real sense of a person's understanding of a situation. However, it can be time consuming to conduct the unstructured interview and analyse the qualitative data.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is data which can be gathered in a numerical form which can be out into categories, or in rank order, or measured in units of measurement. This Type of data can be used to construct graphs and tables of raw data.

Experiments typically yield quantitative data, as they are concerned with measuring things. However, other research methods, such as observations and questionnaires can produce both quantative and qualitative information. 

For example, a rating scale or closed questions on a questionnaire would generate quantitative data as these produce either numerical data or data that can be put into categories (e.g. 'yes' or 'no' answers.) whereas open ended questions would generate qualitative information as they are a descriptive responce.

Evaluation Question 2

How Effective is my promotional package?

The Promotion of a music video is rarely all about the music, but uses a range of products.  The music industry uses visual images as a key part of its marketing strategies. Kieth Negus argues that the "music video is used as a promotional tool" in order to help attract the star image. The star image is used to brand the product. Branding is then used by the music industry to create a range of products for audiences across a range of genres and music styles.

CD digipak design is crucial as it helps market the artist/band. This is due to the fact that the digipak design is the first thing they will see when buying or listening to the album. Due to this the artwork needs to attract the target audience using the conventions associated with that genre. Band's websites are   a common part of any marketing strategy, especially in the on line age as the band's star image can be promoted through the use of images, videos and social media.

According to Dyer, the visual 'star image' communicates important messages to the audience. Audiences  often associate the look and styling of an artists to a style of music and a specific genre. Some audiences idolise bands and singers and see them as sex symbols, fashion icons and celebrities. A look of a band's image can become iconic and then represent that artist. An example of this is the "black and white make up" which is associated with KISS' star image.

Band's websites contain information which publicises and promotes the artist's image and a range of information to an audience- or its fan base. Often this is organised into what Boyd has termed co-option.  All musicians websites are about promotion and information provided to the audience. All websites fit into three main categories:

Promotion of single or album release

Promotion of a tour or live appearances 

Merchandising- posters of the artist or band, sales of T-shirts etc

Musicians' websites contains information and media which helps promote and advertises the star image of the band to the target audience. Websites also offer other types of information for the target audience such as tour information, band news, biography information along side images, videos and merchandising this helps promote the band as it allows the target audience to follow the bands movement online. The point of a website is also to promote the albums and single of a musical act, especially if the content is new or near release. If this is the case, information about the album/single will be featured on the homepage of the website. An example of this is You Me At Six. Doing this helps convince the audience to buy the music subconsciously as they keep seeing "buy me".

In order to create the most effective, cohesive package of my products I analysed several websites and digipaks of artists who were in the Post-Hardcore genre. From this I found that the information featured on these websites included tour dates, latest news, music, videos and merchandising. Due to this I have featured all these pages on my band's website. From reviewing these websites I also realised that the majority of bands in this genre used graphics as there artwork for the digipak. As a result of this I designed and edited my own artwork to fit the conventions of the Post-Hardcore genre. Due to the ongoing theme of anti-authoritarianism and rebellion, I included objects burning as it portrayed anger and rage which fitted the band's star image and the Post-Hardcore genre. To help keep a running theme I also had graffiti behind the band members in the inside of my band. I did this as as it continued the theme of rebellion.

The star image I tried to create for The `Perfect Fall' is rebellious, anti-authoritarian, 'emo' and slightly anarchistic.   As this image fit the Post-Hardcore genre we branded our products to appeal to the Post-Hardcore audience, which also fitted my bands star image, appealing to my audience. Bands who have a similar star image are You Me At Six, Pierce The Veil, Sleeping With Sirens and My Chemical Romance. By reviewing these bands I was able to brand my star image in a similar way, in order to make sure it would appeal to my target audience. In order to promote my rebellious, anti-authoritarian, 'emo' and slightly anarchistic star image we used graffiti, piercings, dark lighting and the typical 'emo hair'. I created this star image so audiences would be able to know what genre the band is through the image which is created in the website, music video and digipak. I found from my research that the target audience from similar bands was the 'emo' subculture of rebellious, anti-authoritarian, 'emo' and slightly anarchistic teenagers who believe that "no one gets me" and uses music as a way to escape this reality. I have chosen to adopt this target audience for my band, The Perfect Fall. The VALS of my band's target audience is Rebellion which is inherent of the 'Emo' subculture. Throughout my media products I have  fit the image of rebellion anti-authoritarian, 'emo' and slightly anarchistic in order to appeal to this audience. I think in all three of my media products I have successfully and effectively promoted the band image to the audience as there is a constant theme of rebellious through the use of images such as fire and graffiti.

Philip Kotler defines marketing as a "Human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through exchange processes". This can be simplified to mean the selling of products and services. Marketing consists of four variables, the four P's of marketing are:

1. Price- How much the product will cost/ consumers will pay
2. Place- How is the product distributed and marketed to the target audience
3. Product- What is being branded- the star image
4. Promotion- How it will be advertised, where and publicised

Price

As the typical price of a CD is between £7-8, I have priced my album at £7.99, however songs will be able to get purchased for £0.99 online. The price of the vinyl album will be £9.99 as they are typically slightly more expensive.

Place

The album, "Innocence" will be distributes online to services such as iTunes, Spotify, Google Music and Amazon Music. There will also be a physical copy which can be purchased from the band's website, HMV, Amazon and BM Soho. International purchases will be available from Amazon. The music Video will be released on YouTube, The band's website and Fearless Records' website. The music will appear on various music programs such as Kerrang!TV and MTV Rock. The songs will also be heard on several radio stations such as Kerrang! radio.

Product

The bands star image is rebellious, anti-authoritarian, 'emo' and slightly anarchistic which will be portrayed through all of their media products.

Promotion

The bands album will be advertised on The Perfect Fall's website as well as Fearless Records' website, who promotes all of their signed artists. As well as this the album will also make appearances in magazines such as Kerrang! Promotion will also take place on social media such as Twitter and Facebook where the band will post links to the album and people will comment what they think of it, making the album a hot topic.

My group and I employed a drama teacher to read the questions for us, which we wrote ourselves:

1. Where did you draw influence from and how did you develop the star image?
2. What are the key meanings you put on your artist and what did those meanings stand for?
3. How did your music video, digipak and website work together to reinforce the star image and create a cohesive package?
4. Who is your target audience and what is the genre?
5. Do you think your products are available to your target audience
6. Which label did you choose and why?
7. Why do you think the meanings of your star image will appeal to your target audience.

Unfortunately I was ill the day of filming, however I helped created the questions and the answers beforehand.

My Final Digipak Design