Skills development

Skills development throughout the creation/design of my media products 

Here is a skills development journal showing the various techniques I have used when creating my various media products. Although the video editing is showing my focus group, this technique was also used when editing my music video. 

Focus group feedback on digipak and advertisement

Here is the feedback I received during my recent focus group about my Digipak and advertisement. The overall consent was that my ancillary products reflected the music video well, the images were really nice and there was an overall good house style. The areas for improvement that were highlighted were they didn't like the boarder on the font and that I could use more pink within my products, however as one member of the focus group pointed out it was his personal preference not to have a boarder around the font. I will be taking this into consideration when re-visiting my ancillary products to make decisions on the final outcome.

Focus group feedback on Music Video

Here is the focus group feedback for our music video.
This was important to do as we needed to gather feedback on the music video rom our target audience. The target audience was mainly teenage females, yet not excluding young males as well. Due to this we have three females and two males within the focus group to highlight what they felt was good about the video and areas we could improve on. During the discussion various elements of our video were highlighted as being successful. These are elements such as; a clear focus on the artist, cinematic images throughout, a clear link between the lyrics and visuals and a good amount of lip syncing. Areas for improvement that we could improve was a shot that had the reflection of the camera in it and the suggestion that with the black and white editing, we could fade it into shot more. Due to the fact that the camera being visible in one shot was only noticed by one member of the focus group with the others pointing out that they did not notice it along with our tight deadline we will not be editing this shot again. We will also not be editing the large part of our video that included the flashback as again this would be very time consuming considering our time scale however we have watched our video again and seen and acknowledged these issues.

Initial Finished Advertisement

Here is my first finished advertisement. As you can see I have used the house style of the same font for all of the text featured on the advertisement. I have also included the handwritten font to represent the signature of the artist. Included on my advertisement I have used ratings from different music magazines, this is a convention usually found on advertisements and will help the audience in their decision to purchase the album. I have included the text 'The debut album includes hit singles 'home' and 'the best mistake'' this is so that the audience recognise the songs that have been in the charts and are therefore more likely to purchase the album, thus promoting it. I have used the artists' website and a release date, so that the audience can visit the site and access different content and so that they know when they can go and purchase the album. Within editing I have given the image a warm filter to fit with the overall house style of the music video and axillary products which again fits with the conventions of the acoustic/indie genre of music. The font has been given a white/pink boarder as to stand out against the darker background therefore becoming more noticeable. I will make changes to the design of my advertisement depending on the feedback I gain from the focus group I am going to hold later on. 

Initial Finished Digipak

Here is my inital finished digipak. Elements that I have included are, thankyou's, a lyric sheet, social networking sites, a barcode, the artist signature, the alum title and the artist name. The shot types I have used are medium/close up shots. The house style includes the pink colour that is featured in the video and in the artists' styling. Within editing I have used a warm filter on the images to make them look aesthetically pleasing and fit in with the wholesome feel that the acoustic/indie genre conveys. Depending on the feedback from my focus group I will make changes to my digipak accordingly/where I see fit. 

Font Chosen for my digipak and advertisement

The first font I have chosen to use is the one above. I have chosen this font for the name of the artist and the title of the album for the digipak. I have also chosen to use this font for the text on the advertisement, this is because I felt using the same font throughout the digipak and the advertisement would make the overall house style of the axillary products fluent and therefore the audience would associate both products with each other. I have chosen a strong sans serif font to contrast against the soft images and editing that I will be using when designing my Digipak and advertisement, thus leading the text to stand out and make the digipak and advertisement look stronger.

The second font that I will be using on my digipak and advertisement is in a hand written style. The purpose for using this font is to recreate the artists' signature, this I feel will add a more personal touch to the overall products. 

Choosing the font for my digipak

During the production of Digipak I was unsure whether or not to use a handwritten font or the strong font as seen in the top image. I then decided to rotate the image so that the artist is facing the left hand side, this is because I felt that the text would look more noticeable on this side and when doing this the text no longer covers the artists' face. I am still unsure whether or not to use the handwritten font or the stronger font and due to this am relying on the feedback from my focus group to then make a decision on if the font looks more suited with either font.

further development of skills throughout the production of my music video and axillary products

Advertisement Flat Plan

Here is the flat plan for how I am going to design my advertisement. By looking at a range of advertisement examples I have produced a plan that I feel fits with the forms and conventions of real advertisement products whilst still fitting with the genre that I have chosen to produce these products for (indie/acoustic). Furthermore by producing this I now have a clear plan for all the element that I will need to include and where on the advertisement they will be situated, making the production of my advertisement smooth.

Music Video: Filming and Editing Job Role List.

As you can see here is a clear list of the job roles that myself and Brittany had throughout the production of our music video and taking images for out individual digipak's.

Advertisement brain storming.

Here is a mind map I have produced around the design of one of my axillary products, this being the advertisement for my digipak. I have gathered ideas on various elements that I plan to include on the advertisement including; the location, the release date and the house style that will be present. I aim to use the same font and house style on my advertisement that I will on my digipak as this will signify to the audience that both products are linked to each other and to the music video I have produced.

Digipak brain storming.

Here is a mind map that I have produced around the design and look of my digipak. I have included various items that will be featured on the digipak including the location the images will be taken in, the fonts and house style I will be using and how many sides my digipak will have.
I felt this was necessary to do as I now have a clear idea of all the features that I need to include on the digipak as well as being able to use this as a checklist when actually producing/designing my digipak.

Digipak flat plan

Here is the flat plan for the various sides of my 6 sided digipak.  As you can see I have included features that many digipak's include such as the track list, thankyou's and links to the artists' social network sites. I have chosen to add close up's and mid shots within my digipak as they seem to be the mainstream shots used on digipaks. The theme of my digipak is going to be a woodland shoot, with a very natural setting and warm tones to it. The styling of the artist and colours used in the overall house style will reflect the pink editing used throughout the music video, showing intertextuality.

Examples of Indie/Acoustic genre advertisements and digipaks

Here I have researched some Indie/acoutsic genre digipak covers and advertisements. I felt this was important to do as looking at some products that are on the market that fit with the same genre I am designing for will help me to develop the house style for my digipak. For example all fonts that are used on each of the digipaks are strong, yet are not too overpowering. This ensures that the focus is on the artist, much like the editing that is used in the genres music videos. Soft editing/colours have been used on many of these products, particularly Gabrielle Aplin's and Laura Mvula's. Laura Mvula's digipak front cover again reiterates that fact that the focus is on the artist rather than overcrowding the cover. You can tell this as the cover features only an extreme close up of the artist and the album title and artist name. When producing my own digipak I aim to not overcrowd each of the sides keeping a minimal house style, therefore fitting in with the genre. Gabrielle Aplin's digipak covers also include the handwritten signature of the artist, an element I aim to feature on my own digipak. Looking at an advertisement for Nina Nesbitt's recent album you can again see that an extreme close up has been used (to fulfil the demand from the record label) and has features such as the release date. Again the font is feminine yet strong enough to stand out against the background. The location of each of the images is again a natural location, an element that seems to be always included in this particular genre, again this will be featured in my own ancillary products. 

Other Digipak photography.

Here is the other images I have taken to include in my digipak. These are images that I have taken of a local forest, where we shot the sparkler scene at the lake. I will be inlcuding these in some form on the digipak as I feel this is important as it will bring the music video and ancillary products together with intertextuality that will fit with the natural location theme present in the acoustic/indie genre of music

Digipak Images.

Here are the various images taken for my Digipak and Advertisement poster. Due to constructing a six sided Digipak/ I will be choosing six images to ensure that I have a suitable range for production. By choosing a range of images from different angles (close ups, mid shots) I will be able to pick the best ones to be included on the Digipak.

Here are the final chosen images for my digipak:

As you can see I have chosen  a mid shots and a close up. I feel this would be best suited for my Digipak/poster as it would conform to the demands put on the artist from record labels for close up images yet also fit in with the acoustic genre of music with the mid shots showing a naturally pleasing background.

Peer feedback on First Finished Draught of Music Video.

Peer feedback on music video.

1)      Favourite images and connotations

The sparkler at the end is really pretty, like the balloons on the guitar as well. Scenes on pier are good.

The sparkler works really well and the overall tones and colours look great

Really like the tones of the video and the overall feel.

Balloons and sparklers work really well

Colour and tone matches the pace of the song and genre

The black and white bits for the flashback makes it very effective

The writing ‘best mistake’ is good

Love the whole video, works really well with the music. The colour works great and adds to the whole ‘cute’ feel of the video! The balloons and the sparklers are nice too. The writing at the beginning and end fits in well. And lip syncing is in time

2)      What aspects of the video promote the track?

When she writes ‘best mistake’ on the pad.

Goodwin’s theory of matching lyrics with visuals.

Lip synching and matching the lyrics with the visuals

The song title written on the notepad

Visuals: male and female and the photography

Flashbacks
The best mistake written down on the pad was a good

 Flashback relates to why she is upset due to the boy

3)      How does the video use musical genre conventions?

Lip synching, guitar…

Good use of lip synching.

The acoustic guitar in the video reflects the genre and style of the video. Beach videos are typical of the acoustic/indie genre

Guitar and other props as well as the style of the music and light colours.

Lip syncing is all in sync and looks good with the music

Lip syncing and editing to the beat etc

4)     Creative use of technical skills (controlled use of camera; variety of shot sizes; editing techniques; lip synch; pace and rhythm):

 Your lip synching is good, and lots of different shot types. Plus switch to b&w is well done.

 Very good camera control and variety of shorts. The editing is very good too and a good use of colour and tones.

Good range of shots CU, MS and LS. Fade looks good from colour to B&W

Good use of camera shots, lots of close ups, medium shots and long shots

Use of lots of different shots make it more interesting.

Pace and rhythm work well and lip syncing is all in time and works well.

5)      Area for improvement:

Random shots of life buoy?

Maybe slow down the sparkler to create a better effect?

Slow down some cuts in the lake scene, show more of the sparkler

None that I can think of.

 The lake bit was a bit wobbly, and there could have been more lip syncing in parts, but I liked the bit where she threw the stone and it made a ripple.

Could of included more extreme close ups, of lips and eyes ect

During the black and white parts looked out of focus and some were wobbly

As much as I love the colour and it works great, sometimes I think it could be toned down a bit?!

How are the acoustic/indie genre conventions present in my own video?

How are acoutic/indie genre conventions present in my own video?

1) The location: The location my music video fits with the conventions of this genre as it is set in a natural environment, this being the beach. The beach is a prime example of the type of location that the acoustic/indie genre music videos are set in as the softness of the setting reflects the softness in the lyrics that most of the songs have. Furthermore the location for my music video reflects this genre as many of these songs feature lyrics that are linked to escaping and being free. The idea of having my music video set at the beach portrays an infinite and free feeling.

2) The editing: The editing of my video fits with the conventions of indie/acoustic music videos as it has used pink/purple undertones and highlighted the use of natural light. I have found this to be present when researching this particular genre. Furthermore my music video also highlights natural daylight with various shots of the sun.

The editing also conveys the theme of most indie/acoustic genre music videos. Most music videos from this genre hold a theme of nostalgia, romance and have an overall warm feeling. This is conveyed from the use of the pink undertones that give the overall video this affect. My video also conveys nostalgia as a flashback has been used to show the artist looking back on her relationship, this has been edited in black and white, a technique used in many indie/acoustic music videos.

3) The use of the artist playing their instrument:
Throughout my video the artist is seen with their guitar, this is a feature that many indie/acoustic music videos hold as it presents that the video is about the music and not the editing and imagery to the audience. This is a feature I have also used.

Finished cut of music video: Adrienne and Britt

 This is the first finished draft of our music video, which is awaiting peer feedback. After we have received our peer feedback we will take into consideration the opinions and make changes to our video accordingly.

Analysing Advertisements

1) Paul Weller 'Sonik kicks'

The first album advertisement I will be analysing is Paul Weller's 'Sonik Kicks'. The house style of this advertisement is bright colours and a 'masculine' font. I feel the font can be recognised as being masculine as it does not involve any italics a feature that many albums and advertisements from the male gender seems to portray. The advertisements includes typical conventions in the fact that it has an album rating and singles that have likely been in the chart recently. This I feel is a very strong and important feature to include when designing my own advertisement as these will influence the audiences' decision to purchase the album. This is because if well known newspapers and magazines have given the album a good review, and the target audience have heard the songs on the radio and know they are included on the album, they are more likely to go and purchase it. 

This advertisement includes colours that would stand out. For example if you were to turn the page in the magazine this is featured in, you would be more likely to stop and look at the image due to the use of the infra-red colours in the house style that they have chosen to use.

Furthermore another feature that this advertisement includes is the artists' website at the bottom. This will be a feature that I aim to include within my own advertisement as I feel it provides the audience with a personal link to the artist and when visiting the website will have access to content that is likely to make them feel as though they know the artist better. Lastly the artist has included the logo of the label they are signed to, to promote the company they are effectively representing during their career. 

2) Kaiser Chiefs 'Souvenir'

The second advertisement I am going to analyse is the Kaiser Chief's 'Souvenir: The singles collection 2004 - 2012. I have chosen to analyse this advertisement as it is extremely different and intriguing to me. Firstly an element from this advertisement can be linked to postmodernism. This is because the centre image is surrounded by what looks to be souvenirs that all have the bands name on them. These souvenirs would have been collected from holidays and by looking at these, may lead the audience to think back to a certain holiday they went on with their loved ones, this with the fact that the album is a hits collection from 2004-2012 gives the album a sense of nostalgia throughout. The advertisement follows typical conventions including the release date, the bands website (giving the audience access to content linking them to the band on a more 'personal' level), a QR code (to enter apps a form of cross media convergence to promote the band/album further), the title and the bands name.

The house style of this advertisement is a black masculine style font (the band are males) fitting with the genre. The black stands out nicely against the white of the background, as does the red of the stick of rock that the album title and artist name are presented in. The images around the sides add an element of bright, cheerful colours, giving an idea of how the audience will feel when listening to songs on the album that they may not have heard for a number of years as well as being very vibrant and eye catching to draw in the audience potentially purchasing the album.

3) Florence and the machine 'Lungs' 

The final advertisement I am going to closely analyse will be Florence + the machine's 'lungs'.

I have chosen to analyse this one as it conveys very different elements to the previous advertisements I have analysed. 

Firstly the artists' name is in italics, giving it a more feminine feel, as the artist is a female herself, yet the overall house style still appeals to both genders as a stronger font has been used for the album title and information included at the bottom of the advertisement. This advertisement, like the others, conforms to many conventions typically present on an advertisement. These being the release date, the artists' website and tracks that would have been in the charts, catching the attention of the audience as they will have likely heard these songs on the radio and therefore be more inclined to purchase the album. The image of the artist has a necklace that are lungs, this is a direct reference to the fact that the album is titled 'lungs' and could also be a representation of the artist herself as she is known for particularly strong voice and therefore lungs that will be noticeable to her fans. The photography on this advertisement includes the artist laying on a bed of flowers, this fits with the genre of her music as it gives a wholesome feel the the advertisement using the natural element of the flowers, this being aesthetically pleasing to the audience the advertisement is targeting. The house style of the white font stands out nicely against the black of the background, again leading the text to be easily noticed.

First cut of music video.

Here is the first cut of the music video which is still awaiting filming for the flashback scene.