Evaluation

For the advanced portfolio, I was told to create and present a media product. I chose to do the music video product. This required me to create the video, a CD cover and also a poster. In a set time we had to shoot and edit the video, whilst also updating blogs to keep track of the work. I had the option to work in a group but I chose to this work individually because doing the work outside of college would be more difficult if I were to rely on someone else. The project required me to include skills which I had not yet developed. For example, the use of editing and shooting for the music video was a more recent skill development, particularly the editing as I have never used the programme before.

The brief which I had chosen was the one for the music video which stated: a Promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options: a cover for its release on DVD, a magazine advertisement for the DVD and also a website homepage for the brand. I chose to do the magazine advertisement and the album cover. I began by thinking of different songs which I could have used for the video. My initial idea was to shoot the video at a party and use the song by Black Eyed Peas – I gotta feeling. This would have worked well as I had many opportunities to film this. This would obviously have targeted a younger generation of around 16-23 year olds. As I began planning and researching the band etc, I realised it was not what I would be able to do because some of the things I wished to include were too difficult to achieve. I then changed the song to Damien Rice – Cannonball which meant my video would also have to be changed. I then began researching the singer and some of his original videos, which appear to be for different and alternate to standard music videos. I then analysed the lyrics and decided on a ballet scene in which a girl is dreaming of being a dancer. This video would appeal to more general or older audiences, around 18-30. Looking at different audiences when deciding on my video I discovered that the music of this artist is very popular amongst all ages, therefore the range of age is rather wide.

In terms of my production, I feel the finished product has followed many typical conventions which would generally be used in a music video. For example, many music videos often involve a story of some kind, mine has a simple story which is easy to follow which is often the case in music video’s. For example in Michael Jackson’s Thriller video, there is a story about being chased by dead people and ending where the female thinks it’s a dream. I had to make sure my video had this particular convention because, in many cases, it’s difficult to create a music video without some sort of story. The video also includes a few different characters which again is a typical convention. Characters play a major part. In some cases it is a character which is trying to show something or just play a separate part. In other cases it is the artist shown on the video, often miming along with the song playing over the video. In my video I have not used the artist miming over the top, but instead I have chosen to use characters without the artist. The camera which I used to film my video was a camera of my own, because I felt it was too time consuming to wait for a college camera. When I had filmed I was told the camera resolution and quality was not as good as it could be if a college camera had been used. I knew I did not have time to start over so I had to use what I already had.
In my opinion, my video appeals to my audience rather well. The idea that the girl is dreaming of being a dancer could maybe relate to other people within the audience. It sends a clear message to the audience of what it is about. The audience are right for this sort of video and I feel it achieves this by giving out the message which suggests if you want it you can go for it.

For my ancillary texts, I believe that I have combined them in such a way that they are all connected together. They are effective because I have used conventions such as the same colour schemes throughout. Also I have used the same fonts and ideas which are portrayed in my video throughout the ancillary texts. I think the fact that my colours are not very specific through my video, because they are in large environments where the colour combinations cannot be controlled. I researched different music video conventions and what would be included. The ideas I had gone for was the mellow and slightly dark appeal because the video is representing a longing for the idea of being a dancer. My video suggests that the girl will not achieve this therefore the mood of it is quite a depressing one. This means that, to combine the video with the ancillary texts, they had to have similar colours, so I used dark reds and blacks to create my album cover and poster. The costumes which I have used don’t particularly reflect the genre despite the dancer wearing a leotard. I also used the idea of the colours of the leotard, which was dark red and black, to further develop my ancillary texts. The general costume of my other character was mainly how the actress had wanted to dress because I had wanted this particular character to be as realistic as a college student as possible. I did not really use that many props within my video because the video was set within college therefore a lot of things were already in place for me. For example, the theatre which I had used already had everything in place, the lighting which was used was how I liked it to be, and there was no need for any extra props other than my character doing the dance which was required. The idea that there was no props was what I wanted because it made the video simple and that’s the idea which I was going for. During the other parts of filming where we see the girl walking around the college, again I did not involve many props because it would have been unnecessary. The only props which were needed were the table and chair when we see the girl asleep. The idea for the video was to convey a simple lifestyle of a student who wanted more out of the life she had.
The only two characters which I had used were the dancer and the college student. Originally I was going to involve another student to speak to the college student and join her walking around, but generally I wanted it to have the idea that the college student was lonely and possibly a student with no friends. This emphasises the idea that she is in her own world. The lonely feeling also emphasises the genre of the video which comes across as slightly down and depressing whilst it could also be considered as a happy genre because of the idea of the dreamer.

Audience feedback is very important to this project because it shows an honest opinion to what people think. It also shows a non biased opinion rather than my own which is essential.

The audience feedback which I have been given has shown quite a lot in helping me to create my product to a good standard. The initial questions which I had used were designed to help me choose the right genre and audience portrayed through my video. This proved positive in helping me decide and compare my own ideas with what other people had said. This showed me that other peoples opinions are extremely important within my work because they can assist to changing and helping rather than relying on my own opinion.


I have learned many new skills whilst at college using the facilities offered to me over the past 2 years of work. When I started my AS year at college I began using the blogger system. At first I struggled with this programme because I had never used it before and it was obviously a new skill which I needed to develop. This was essential for my work because it is an easy way to store work and also keep track of things. It became much more important during the second year when it was necessary to upload my video etc. This is why it was so important that I had learned all the necessary components to control the programme. It is also useful that I could store my questionnaire on my blog because then the audience could easily access it which made it much easier.
There were many challenges in terms of using software. For example, I was never familiar with the ‘Photoshop’ programme. I found it extremely difficult to use even in my first year and often found myself asking for help in using it off teachers and other students. This meant that the posters and other things for my project were more difficult because I needed to use this programme but often needed assistance which was quite time consuming.
Another programme which proved a challenge was the college editing software ‘Adobe Premier Pro’. I struggled to use this because again it was new to me and it took a while to get used to. When I first uploaded my video it proved to be difficult because the format of my own camera which I used was not the right one for the software. Therefore I needed to change the format of the video. This again required help and again was quite time consuming. For the photograph I had used for the album cover, I did the editing at home with the programme ‘Picasa’. I had the option to use Photoshop but decided against it because I found it much easier to use this programme which I was very familiar with because I have used it for years. When I brought the photograph to college I transferred it from the memory stick onto the computer and added other things on top of the photograph to create my album cover. Other than these the technologies and programmes I was dealing were not a problem whatsoever, because some of the time I was using my own facilities from home, including the camera.


The first and probably most important thing that I would do in improving my work would be to issue my time keeping much better. I often found myself running out of time and struggling to keep up. So this would be essential if I were to re-do this project. Another important change would be that I would use one of the college cameras to do the project as it would probably show a much better quality video. The camera I used was good but not quite good enough so show essential quality. The reason I did not use a college camera was because by the time I had come around to filming there were no cameras available, again an issue of my own time keeping. Another thing I would improve would be the lighting which was used for the dance scenes. Initially I wanted to use a darker look for the dancer and possibly a spotlighted look for the dancer herself, but with the camera quality I had it was not possible, once again the time keeping was a big part of this problem.

Another potential change I would make would be to take a lot more time to consider the song I chose to use. During the process I had a few ideas but only two were initially put into the blog because they were seriously considered and partly used. I think if I had spent more time deciding, I could have come up with better connections for my song to my video. This links to the idea that more research could have been done. I could have researched songs more in depth but again did not get the opportunity due to time. It was a struggle to fit the song to the video because they do not quite match and the relevance of the song to the video is hard to see.

The Final Video

Spine

This smaller section would be the spine of the CD case. Initially there was meant to be two different designs because there will be two spines on the cover, but i decided that i would have the same designs for both of the spines because i am trying to keep the cover simple. The design of font and colour are still the same.

Inside Cover

This is the inside cover of the album. Again the use of the continuous colours and font are used. Also the idea of the writing up the sides of the cover are again used to give a border-like effect. I have also included the song titles in this section despite them also being on the back cover. They are set out in a different way to the ones on the back cover.

Front Cover

This is the front cover of my Album. The design i have used has the right colour schemes and the font is again continuous throughout my product. My initial idea was for the front cover to have lots of things on it and to quite full of different things. After i had thought about it i decided on the opposite. This is why there is barely anything on the front cover because i went for the idea that my poster and video were very simple and straightforward for certain reasons concerning the genre. Therefore i simply used a design, The title of the song and the artists name. Despite not being much, i believe this approach has been very effective.

Behind The CD

This is the part of the album which goes behind the disc placement. This section is quite plain because there would not be a lot to see with the CD being over the top. Again i have used the idea of the writing being stretched across the top and bottom. This shows some sense of continuity with it being horizontal.

Back Cover

This is the back of my digipak. The background which i have used is continuous and is used throughout the CD digipak. The colours used on the background are of a dark red and grey style, with the writing in black. These are the colours that i originally wanted to use because they are the matching colours to the leotard on the music video. The leotard gave me the idea for the colour scheme. The font style i have used is also constant. The style is called 'garamond' and is used on all of the writing on the products. The style of the writing which is written down the sides is quite a common feature in album design so i thought that i would borrow this technique as i feel it is quite effective.

Album Digipak Analysis 2

This is another digipak which this time shows the back of the digipak rather than just the front. This is another typical style of CD covers where we see the large photograph nearly central on the front cover, and also we see the title and artists name in large lettering above the photograph. This is following typical conventions because the title and name is at the top and the photo is practically central. We can see on the back cover that the track listing and also more writing is on the back. The writing on the back is in fact the title again which is not a very general convention but an idea to consider when creating my own. The inside of the case has a design behind the CD itself and then a design on the CD also. This is again typical because the CD doesn't look very authentic without its own design. The tracks are again listed on the opposite page, with a plain background giving the simple edge that the front cover had. I will definitely be considering this factor in my own design.

Album Digipak Analysis 1

When creating my digipak, i need to be aware of different conventions which are used when making and designing them. They are very much similar to a magazine advertisement in the sense that they both promote and intend to sell the album positively. Here we can see one example of a digipak. Immediately we can see the title of the album, which is obviously a main convention. In this case we can also see the two album artists at the top of the front cover, again the artists name is very relevant. The same colour and font theme are carried out throughout the digipak, which is always really important to its appeal. The CD itself has nearly the same design as the front cover, which is something i should take note of. We cannot see the back of the CD from this angle, but generally this is where the track listings are. In some cases they are also printed on the inside cover. This is something i may take into consideration when creating my digipak.

Poster

This is my poster for one of my ancillary texts. The poster has the typical conventions which are generally required but also challenges others. For example, I have the large title which is usually placed at the top of the page, but in this case it is at the bottom. I also have the song title which again is the bottom. The main photograph takes up a lot of the space on the page which is quite typical of a poster. The release date is large and central which, in my opinion, is very important so the audience know when it is available. The reason that the poster doesn't have much detail on it is because the whole idea was for it to be simple, because in a way in connotes how we see the college girl in the video - very simple yet feeling not enough. The reason why the photograph is in black and white was to create a more dull and down feeling towards the song, because that is the way in which the video portrays it. I have also gone for the specific colours and fonts because i will be trying to keep the same ideas of colour and font throughout the project. The colours i have used are the colours of the dancers leotard within the video.

Magazine advert analysis

The next thing i need to do for my project would be to create a magazine advertisement.

The first thing i would need to do is decide which sort of magazine my advert would be put into. In a personal opinion i think that the type of magazine could be any sort of womans magazine for ages 18-25, or magazines such as 'heat' or 'new', which are for gossip and information. I think if it was to be put into a music magazine it wouldn't really matter which one, unless it was put into a rock magazine, in which case it would not fit in right because it is not within the rock genre, although i think that it fits into quite a lot of other genres. For example, the rock band 'kiss' would not be seen advertised in a pop magazine such as 'smash hits' because the audience is all wrong and the consumer of the pop magazine would not generally consume the music of kiss.

Conventions of a Magazine Advert

The general conventions of a magazine advert are quite similar to the conventions which would be included in any magazine advert. For example, in this advert we can see a photograph of Eva Longoria, who is a famous actress and is known for her sex appeal. She is advertising a new ice cream. Typical conventions we can see here are that in the top corner we see the word 'new'. If it is generally a product then we can often expect to see this on the advert. it suggests something exciting because it hasn't been seen before now. Another convention we see is the slogan which is near enough central on the page. It is clever because its only four words but it says what you need to know. The background is dark and the writing is white so we can see the writing much more clearly, this is a common effect on the conventions of a magazine advert. We also see the title on the page, but it is shown on the bottom of the page and is not all that clear to read, this could be because the name is not particularly important becuase the advert is so well known in a short space of time, that the actress and the slogan are the only things that need to be seen. Also, the idea that the photograph is practically in the centre of the page is a typical convention. This is often the case when advertising because it attracts the audience, especially if the photograph is of a well known famous person of some description.

Name of the Artist

The name which i have chosen to use for my artist is Erin Dice is have chosen this name simply because it is very different. If people are trying to impersonate or sound similar to the work of another famous artist the name often sounds similar but never exactly the same. This is a reason why i chose the name also. The fact that it is different and strange relates to the ideology which Damien rice originally has, he often has rather strange and unexplainable music videos, despite them being entertaining.

Characters

There will not be that many different characters in the video. There will obviously be the main character which will be Emily Potter, playing the part of the girl who is dreaming of what she wants. The other character i will be using is Emma Metcalfe, who will be the dancer in my video.

I want the first character, the one who plays the girl in the daydream, to be dressed like a normal college kid. I want her to blend in generally with the college and to not stand out or look different in any way. I want my second character, the dancer, to be wearing a leotard style outfit which is suitable for dancing in, and to be rather plain looking with no stand off features in particular.

Lyrics

Here i am going to analyse the lyrics of the song i have chosen, i will highlight specific words which i think would be important when making my video.







There’s still a little bit of your taste in my mouth

There’s still a little bit of you laced with my doubt

It’s still a little hard to say what's going on

There’s still a little bit of your ghost your witness

There’s still a little bit of your face i haven't kissed

You step a little closer each day

That I can´t say what´s going on

Stones taught me to fly

Love, it taught me to lie

Life, it taught me to die

So it's not hard to fall

When you float like a cannonball



There’s still a little bit of your song in my ear

There’s still a little bit of your words i long to hear

You step a little closer to me

So close that I can't see what's going on



Stones taught me to fly

Love taught me to lie

Life taught me to die

So its not hard to fall

When you float like a cannon



Stones taught me to fly

Love, it taught me to cry

So come on courage, teach me to be shy'

Cause its not hard to fall,

And I don't want to scare her

Its not hard to fall

And i don't want to lose

Its not hard to grow

When you know that you just don't know



Little bit

In terms of this song this short phrase suggests the idea that you aren't getting very far, the idea that your only moving a little bit at a time, the video involves a young girl dreaming to be a dancer, therefore its suggesting that she isn't getting very far.

Whats going on

This phrase suggests the idea of confusion. The idea that the girl in the video is so far into daydream that she is loosing sense of reality. It suggests that she just doesn't understand or that things don't make sense.

closer each day

This is one similar to 'little bit' in a way that it shows she isn't getting much further by the day, but in this sense its suggesting that is is actually getting somewhere even if it is slowly. The idea that she will achieve what she wants it will just take time.

float

This is the idea that she is in a dream world, that she isn't in reality. She doesn't have her feet on the ground because she is so far into her daydream. This is also a suggestion for the dancer herself because it shows that the dancing is so graceful that the dancer is near to floating

song

A very literal meaning for this part of the song. This would suggest how much the girl loves her music and dancing and is just an emphasis to show that.

fly

Another idea similar to the 'floating'. Again the girl is in her daydream therefore she isn't on the ground. Although she does seem to be upset and down, the idea of dreaming is keeping her flying so to speak.

fall

This is a different connotation because this suggests that things could go wrong, her dreams of being a dancer could be ruined. the full line for this part is 'its not hard to fall' which again shows that its not difficult for the girl to have her hopes ruined by something.

don't know

The last two words of the song. The idea that because she is down about the whole situation she has given up on many things and just doesn't seem to know what to do anymore. There is no determination shown, simply just the want for dance.



This information should help me build my music video.

About Damien Rice

Damien Rice was born 7 December 1973 and is an Irish singer songwriter. His music is similar to that of the work of James Blunt or James Morrison, which includes slow and meaningful songs. For this reason, i think my music will be aimed at many different types of people and cultures of different ages. His music is worldwide and young and old people both appear to enjoy it. Therefore my age group is fairly brief but i will generally be aiming this production at ages 18-25.

Change of plan...

I have decided that i will need to change the song which i had originally chosen because the video i have chosen to do would not fit this particular song. The video which i originally decided on was for the song Black eyed peas - I gotta feeling. The video would of been a party scene with dancing drinking etc. I have now found out that the party scene would be extremely difficult to shoot as well as being costly in terms of time and money. Therefore i am now using the song by Damien Rice called Cannonball. The video which i have chosen to do to go with it is one using two characters, one is a professional dancer and the other a girl who dreams of being a dancer. The Song is around 5 minutes long.