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

Constructing the music video
In terms of making progress , it was vital that ALL raw footage filmed was kept. Deleting footage lends a disadvantage , due to the fact that a shot one may think is a bad shot , actually isn't and can be incorporated into a music video one way or another. This is the advantage of a digital camera . In my case the "HD digital Canon video camera'  , like any other digital camera it gives you the chance to review all footage taken on a shoot , therefore concrete decisions can be made on the set , whether a shot is worthy for the production or not.



Editing 

Premier Elements dashboard.

The editing software used was 'Premier Elements' This program enabled us as a class to edit sufficiently  with a wide range of effects and tools to make the best out of our productions .







Here's some examples of effects I utilized within my Production...

Black and white effect- This was useful in terms of fitting in with mise en scene. I wanted parts of the music video to reflect a sense of coldness and brutality due to the serious nature within the lyrics . The black and white effect helped with this.

Texturize- Also known as overlay , enabled me to place video clips on top of each other to make shots;that on there own would look plain , more interesting for the viewer.

Cross fade/transition - This effect allows shots to join nicely together . Instead of cutting from shot to shot.Cross fade joins to shots together by the existing shot fading out while the next emerges , creating a clean transition between two images.

Constructing the digipak and advertisement poster

The program used to create our digipaks was Photoshop.

Despite it being possibly the hardest editing software i'ver ever had to come to grips with with,it is fantastic at enhancing somewhat boring images, and making them look interesting.

Photoshop

Here's a panel from my digipak . Photoshop allowed me to crop all three band members from separate images onto one. As well as editing and moving the band's logo wherever I wish. 

When editing my advertisement poster, Photoshop enabled me to incorporate reviews and various other text to promote the band. It also allowed to edit the colour saturation . The image was in fact originally black and white , but I used the sponge tool to colour in the places I wanted .




Media technologies and creativity  

Research into un-signed bands- There are many sites on the internet where you can find unsigned acts Soundcloud ,Youtube etc. .However , I was lucky enough to know my band personally therefore technology was not needed to find my band .

Completed music video

Question 3 What have you learnt from audience feedback ?

Research method
 The research method used was a simple questionnaire , where participants were asked to circle a number 1(weakest) 5 (strongest)which they believed was right for the question asked.Participants were also asked to jot down their gender and age.Results were then totted up and the following findings were discovered...




Men preferred my music video more than women, this could quite possibly be due to no women whatsoever appearing in my music video , therefore women may have found it harder relating to my music video than men.

The age demographic that my music video appealed to the most was 16 to 24 year old's . All band members featured in the music video are 18 , therefore a young audience was probably attracted due to this factor .Because once again , they could relate to the music video .

No elements of my music video were considered either inappropriate or offensive...which is good.

The most appealing element of my music video was the editing.I frequently incorporated texturization into my music video ;making shots very busy and interesting . This may have been what my audience found appealing.


Here are some examples of audience feedback from the internet.One boy and one girl , so my findings aren't bias...

Both comments were rather pleasing .Particularly Alice's comment about the band's fans connecting with the music video. I thought this was incredibly serendipitous , due to the fact that the purpose of the shots mentioned were in fact intended to create that sense of connection between band and fans. Alice was also very correct when she elaborated on this point  , saying that a connection between band and fans would lend a helping hand to the marketing aspect.If a fan connects with a certain band or song they'll probably buy it...

If I was reference Gunther Kress and the idea of an ideal audience , I would agree that I made the music video for myself with little awareness of appealing to a wider audience. This links with the Idea of narcissism  ; stating that the music video was a reflection of myself and my ideas , with no real intention to appeal and represent anyone else.

Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product with ancillary texts?





Digippak

Firstly ...what is a digipak ? The aim of a digipak is to attract customers to buy the album , with the use of artwork ,photography and maybe iconic images.

A good digipak gives the artist a chance to be able to stick out amongst their competitors , and catch the eye of potential buyers.  One of the most iconic digipaks of all time is Nirvana's Nevermind .







Nirvana Nevermind

The cover picture of Nevermind shows an innocent baby being tempted by the corrupting influence of money. Life imitated art when Cobain(Lead vocalist) became less willing to share songwriting royalties with his bandmates once the money started pouring in.













Standard 4 panel CD case.





The construction of my digipak , is a conventional 4 panel CD case .





In order for the band's fan base to make a connection with the digipak and the music video, I've used Goodwin's theory of recurring motifs on each panel. This is where a memorable moment in the video is featured within the digipak. As you can see on the image below,the first shot of the music video is featured on the 4th panel of the digipak. When this is recognised by the audience , it's somehwat pleasing for them , as it creates a sense of realistation .



The first panel of my digipak is a still from one of the final shots of my music video. I chose this shot because the band are in 'mid flow' so to speak.Yet Solay ( Guitarist on the right) appears to be staring straight intot he lense of the camera , as if he's staring right at the potential buyer of the digipak . This is helpful in terms of catching the eye of the audience.





 

The shot I have have used for the 4th panel of my digipak, is the very first shot of my music video. The shot consists of a wall of an underpass in Norwich covered in highly political graffiti . I chose to have this as my final panel , because it makes it appear busy. With the graffiti and song tracks both on one panel. The use of graffiti on my digipsk was inspired by LA outfit Rage Against the Machine.It gives the digipak a sense of rebellion as it pays homage to a band that was highly polticial , who played gigs at various public demonstrations during the early 90's.

















The 2nd panel of my digipak was inspired by the ragged font of The Sex Pistols.The ragged indents of 'Upgrade' at the top of the panel, have been made to resemble the logo of the punk icons.



The 3rd panel of the digipak was shot in a dingy unerpass . What I like about this image is the use of a vanishing point ,leading into the unknown. This links to the track its self, as it is about poor leadership . 'Leading a nation into the unknown'.



My A4 poster refelcts the mise en scene of the music video. Elements such as the dark attire and chiaroscuro  lighting are both elements that are featured in rock /metal music videos. The image itself is also nearly identical to a shot featured within my music video,when all three band members are standing underneath Anglia square in Norwich. Again, the fan base / audience can identify links between digipak and poster with the music video.



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

Genre...



Guns n' Roses in traditional Rock music attire.

In terms of costume, generic clothing of the metal / rock genre have been utilized in my products and music video therefore, I have conformed to the genre convention. Black clothing, such as leather jackets and jeans is the typical attire of Rock bands .

The Upgrade - Conforming to the Rock/Metal genre , with their conventional black clothing .

Location of our Music video,

Anglia square Norwich.

The choice of location took much thought ,bearing in mind the genre of the band,it was important that we chose a location that reflected the message of most rock,metal and punk music which is , rebellion. In this case , The Upgrade's song USA is about lack of opportunities , therefore I decided to shoot the majority of our music video within a group of abandoned offices (reflecting a lack of jobs) in Anglia square of Norwich. The boarded up windows and masses of graffiti lent the location a sense of dinginess which contributes to the interesting mise-en-scene.

Narrative structure

My music video does not follow any real narrative structure . Instead , I chose to pay homage to bands such as the Beatles ; who include in their music videos ,shots of the band running around and having fun . This lends the Music video a sense of novelty and free will . This is important due to the serious political message within the track , therefore the sense of novelty counteracts the seriousness and creates an almost satirical element .

The Beatles -Hard DaysNight

Inter textual refrences

This iconic scene from the film Control inspired the very first shot of my music video.

I chose to use this shot because it highlights the importance of the frontman of the band.

A4 promotion poster

Digipack

Panel 1

Panel 2

Panel 3

Panel 4

Cover art of similar artists

Metal... a hard genre to define due to many sub-genres within it, Black metal,Heavy metal,Hair metal etc... However I have come to the conclusion that, The Upgrade are an alternative metal band. Alternative metal is all about making a bold political statement ;which is usually controversial ,and to challenge the norm.This is reflected in many Alternative metal band's art work. The reason Alternative Metal bands have this trait ,  is because it's a rebellion against the polished prim and proper music and image of the 80's...

The album, Journal For Plague Lovers by Welsh Alternative metal band Manic Street Preachers , actually had this album removed from the shelves of various stores due to the image. It was coincided inappropriate and that it promoted child abuse.James Dean Bradfield (Front man of the Manics) stated'Its ridiculous , various women artists can get away with exploiting their bodies to salivating males,This is minor compared'...

This is 'The Child with a Dove' by Picasso,from the Blue period. The child's face bears resemblance to that of Journal for Plague Lovers.Another interesting link between the two images is that Blue Period was a short period where Picasso focused on dark shades of Blue and Green occasionally warmed by other colours . As you can see , this technique has been used on the Album cover.

Badmotorfinger is a fantastic album released in 1992 by American outfit Soundgarden. Their music reflects the hard sounds of industrial the streets of Seattle , and challenges the US government of the time,via their socialist views expressed in their lyrics. The Red font is very similar to that of Russian propaganda art.