Critical

EvaluationCritical

EvaluationBy Rafael Gough

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

real media products?

My media product predominantly uses conventions of real music videos, CD digipaks and website home pages. My music video has taken ideas from videos that I analysed. I wanted to do it in black and white and for it to be focused mainly on the artist rather than for it to have a story. This is what my audience are used to. However, they are not used to them being in black and white. So here I have had a balance of using and not using conventions. I found a variety of different music videos to analyse, including ones that are and are not in black and white, and ones that are and are not focused on the artist. My band’s digipak front cover reflects upon those already on sale. It features the band name in the top left corner and the album name in the bottom right. Much like many of the ones that I analysed. The rear of the CD package features common conventions like the track names and a bar code, but the track names fit in better with the background image by flowing down the curves of the image. I feel I have developed on a convention here by improving viewing pleasure.

The website homepage uses many conventions, but also develops on them; it naturally has everything you would expect to be on a bands website like tour dates, news, discography etc. However I think that it has more than many band websites out there. Comparing it to ‘The Kooks’ website homepage I analysed, my website features much more on the homepage, engaging viewers with a lot more information and media as soon as they access it. This is done by creating a more visually stimulating homepage, offering pictures of the artist to the consumer as well as information being readily available without having to explore too deeply into the website. This allows the consumer to immediately get feel for the artist and the product.

Questions

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

The combination is one of the best parts of the whole product I have created. I spent a lot of time ensuring that none of the products look out of place in the D’Addario range. I have tried very hard to link all of my products together and I think it shows. After making the main product (the music video) in black and white, I thought it would be appropriate to make the two subsidiary products (the website and CD) predominantly black and white too. The jumper the artist is wearing in the music video is featured on the website. The CD also features similar material and a picture of the artist linking it back to the video. The CD and the website link together very well. All the fonts and main colours used are featured on both, the bands logo is spread throughout both products and the CD is even featured on the website as an upcoming album that can be pre-ordered. The colours are the same, the text is the same, the images are the same. I feel this creates a convincing and consistent brand.

This is what real artists would do. They want their look and logos to be widely known, and this can only happen if they spread their own conventions across their products and their brand. Though I have only used conventions here, I feel it’s the only way that it would be done in the real world. You don’t see many real artists that don’t continually use the some logo for instance. I wanted convergence and I think it has worked very well.

Questions

Digipak Front & back

Digipak Inside

Ancillary

TextsWebsite homepage

Main Product

&

Music Video

Audience

Feedback

Owen - I enjoyed watching the video, I liked how it was kept in one location and just focused on the artist. I liked the in house style of all the products and how they were all linked together with such things as colour schemes and fonts.

Leanne – I particularly like the website because it has everything I would want to find on a real bands website like tour dates and news. I also like how all the products are connected to each other and the genre of music. I liked the video, but because there was no real story, I didn’t feel properly engaged in the artist. I would have liked to see more into the artist’s life by a story being included.

Chris – I was particularly moved by the video’s contrasting emotional range. I was transported through Rafael’s world which made me feel how I can only assume he does. The website is nice and looked very real and the digipack is pretty slick. I like the barcode especially as it makes it look as if you can really buy the album.

Lois – I liked the black and whiteness of the video as I felt that it reflected the style of music. I also liked that it was quite simple so that I could focus more on the music which is what I really care about when watching a music video.

Comments From Peers on final products

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback is the most important thing to consider before attempting to create any media product. Before beginning the construction of my media products, I did a questionnaire that, when answered, would help me better understand who my target audience was and what they wanted from my media product. I had a rough idea of what I personally wanted to achieve in my product but I needed to clarify that others would like the same. When I got the results back, I learnt from my audience feedback and improved on my initial ideas. For example, I originally wanted my music video to feature only shots of the artist performing. However, from analysing the questionnaire, I discovered that my audience would also like there to be a bit of a story behind the video. I therefore filmed and edited my video so that it featured a bit of a story, but still allowed the viewer to establish their own ideas and views of what the artist was like.

After showing the same audience my finished products, I feel I have accomplished most of their original desires and even improved on them. However, there are some aspects I would change. For example I would have liked to include more settings in the video to gain extra interest. I would combine using more locations with adding more of a story. This would engage the consumer more by having an ongoing story to indulge in. I have learnt this from my audience feedback, and if I were to create another product, I would do it slightly differently.

Questions

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and

evaluation stages?

I used new media technologies in all stages of my coursework. In the construction, I used video editing software ‘Sony Vegas’ to compile and edit my video. Using this software was not easy at first but by the time I’d finished editing the video, I was confident in using the basic features. I added music, made the video black and white and spliced many clips together, even adding text over the video.

I used ‘Photoshop’ to produce the CD package and some of the images for the website. I am very familiar with what this software has to offer due to using it in AS Media Studies and in Photography A2 level. I improved my existing knowledge of this software using it in a different context.

Using iWeb I created the website. This was a very time consuming task as I have never used the software before but it didn’t take long before I was more confident. This software is rich in features and I was able to create an interesting homepage, and some other pages that were hyperlinked to. Though the brief only required me to produce a homepage, I went beyond this and created more pages in order to make all of the hyperlinks actually active. This makes the whole website much more real.

When doing research and planning, I used the internet and its services like YouTube to access music videos that I analysed using ‘Microsoft Word’. PowerPoint was used to create this slideshow, enabling me to fit even the evaluation into the D’Addario look. I also used ‘Blogger’ to present my work electronically as a blog (something that was required of me in the brief). This shows that I am capable of using a variety of different new media technologies effectively.

Questions

Conclusion

In conclusion I feel my products have achieved their purpose. The video has demonstrated aspects such as appropriately framing a shot, selecting mise-en-scène, like colour and lighting, and using sound with moving images effectively.

My CD digipak shows conventions of real media products, hosting a variety of images, fonts and text sizes but complying to the conventions by having an ongoing theme throughout.

The website combines text, images and video that is appropriate with the whole style, combined with my other products. I feel the page communicates clearly and effectively, allowing the reader to navigate easily though the material.

The audience feedback shows that the majority are pleased with my final products and would happily make a purchase if they saw my work in a shop or online. I’m glad that they appreciated the in house style that I created and got a ‘feel’ for the artist through the video. I am personally pleased with all my products and I feel I have appropriately completed each set task to the best of my ability.